STAAR EOC Test: Writing : Knowledge of Grammatical Principles
Study concepts, example questions & explanations for STAAR EOC Test: Writing
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Example Questions
Example Question #1 : Modifier Word Modified Agreement Errors
Are you trying to stick to a budget? Using coupons for purchases, also known as “couponing” is a great way to save money on groceries. Coupons are a little piece of paper that can give you a discount on what you buy. You will be amazed at the great bargains and amazing savings you can get!
It’s easy to get started. When you open up your daily newspaper, one might find a glossy insert full of coupons. Some of the coupons will be for things you don’t buy, some will be for things you buy all the time. Go through the coupons and chop out the ones you can use.
The key to successful couponing is getting multiple copies of coupon circulars. Ask your friends, your neighbors, and family if they have any extras. Some coupon users even go through the recycling at their office to find more coupons! Have you ever heard of such a thing in your life! Completely devoted, these circulars help coupon users to get even more savings.
Couponing might sound like hard work, but for many people, it’s also a hobby. Not only does it help them save hundreds of dollars per year, but also it gives them a fun challenge every time they do their shopping.
Select the answer that would best correct the underlined and bolded portion of the passage.
Some coupon users even going through the recycling at their office
Some coupon users even go through the recycling at their offices
(no change)
Some coupon user even going through the recycling at their office
Some coupon users even go through the recycling at his office
Some coupon users even go through the recycling at their offices
Here, you need to correct an error of agreement between a modifier and the word it its modifying. The subject of this sentence, "coupon users," is plural. The context of this passage gives no indication that all coupon users work together in a single office, so the noun "office" must also be plural to convey the multiple places where this action is occurring.
Example Question #1 : Noun Noun Agreement Errors
Are you trying to stick to a budget? Using coupons for purchases, also known as “couponing” is a great way to save money on groceries. Coupons are a little piece of paper that can give you a discount on what you buy. You will be amazed at the great bargains and amazing savings you can get!
It’s easy to get started. When you open up your daily newspaper, one might find a glossy insert full of coupons. Some of the coupons will be for things you don’t buy, some will be for things you buy all the time. Go through the coupons and chop out the ones you can use.
The key to successful couponing is getting multiple copies of coupon circulars. Ask your friends, your neighbors, and family if they have any extras. Some coupon users even go through the recycling at their office to find more coupons! Have you ever heard of such a thing in your life! Completely devoted, these circulars help coupon users to get even more savings.
Couponing might sound like hard work, but for many people, it’s also a hobby. Not only does it help them save hundreds of dollars per year, but also it gives them a fun challenge every time they do their shopping.
Select the answer that would best correct the underlined and bolded portion of the passage.
Coupons is that little piece of paper
Coupons are little pieces of paper
Coupons are that little piece of paper
Coupons are the little piece of paper
(no change)
Coupons are little pieces of paper
Here, the test taker is asked to correct an error of agreement. The subject of this sentence is "coupons," which is plural. In order to grammatically agree, the phrase describing it, "a little piece of paper," must also be plural. The correct answer fixes this mistake by changing the phrase to the plural form, "little pieces of paper."
Example Question #1 : Knowledge Of Grammatical Principles
Are you trying to stick to a budget? Using coupons for purchases, also known as “couponing” is a great way to save money on groceries. Coupons are a little piece of paper that can give you a discount on what you buy. You will be amazed at the great bargains and amazing savings you can get!
It’s easy to get started. When you open up your daily newspaper, one might find a glossy insert full of coupons. Some of the coupons will be for things you don’t buy, some will be for things you buy all the time. Go through the coupons and chop out the ones you can use.
The key to successful couponing is getting multiple copies of coupon circulars. Ask your friends, your neighbors, and family if they have any extras. Some coupon users even go through the recycling at their office to find more coupons! Have you ever heard of such a thing in your life! Completely devoted, these circulars help coupon users to get even more savings.
Couponing might sound like hard work, but for many people, it’s also a hobby. Not only does it help them save hundreds of dollars per year, but also it gives them a fun challenge every time they do their shopping.
Select the answer that would best correct the underlined and bolded portion of the passage.
It does help them save hundreds of dollars per year, it also gives them a fun challenge every time they do their shopping.
Not only does it help them save hundreds of dollars per year, it gives them a fun challenge every time they do their shopping.
Not only does it help them save hundreds of dollars per year. It gives them a fun challenge every time they do their shopping.
Not only does it help them save hundreds of dollars per year, and it gives them a fun challenge every time they do their shopping.
(no change)
(no change)
This sentence is correct as written, making use of the correlative conjunctions "not only... but also" to express inclusion. These correlative conjunctions should be included in the same sentence, and both should be used. Correlative conjunctions are a fairly easy area of grammar, as they will always match up consistently with their required pairing conjunction!
Example Question #1 : Modifier Placement Errors
Are you trying to stick to a budget? Using coupons for purchases, also known as “couponing” is a great way to save money on groceries. Coupons are a little piece of paper that can give you a discount on what you buy. You will be amazed at the great bargains and amazing savings you can get!
It’s easy to get started. When you open up your daily newspaper, one might find a glossy insert full of coupons. Some of the coupons will be for things you don’t buy, some will be for things you buy all the time. Go through the coupons and chop out the ones you can use.
The key to successful couponing is getting multiple copies of coupon circulars. Ask your friends, your neighbors, and family if they have any extras. Some coupon users even go through the recycling at their office to find more coupons! Have you ever heard of such a thing in your life! Completely devoted, these circulars help coupon users to get even more savings.
Couponing might sound like hard work, but for many people, it’s also a hobby. Not only does it help them save hundreds of dollars per year, but also it gives them a fun challenge every time they do their shopping.
Select the answer that would best correct the underlined and bolded portion of the passage.
(no change)
These circulars, completely devoted, help coupon users get even more savings.
These circulars help coupon users get even more savings, completely devoted.
These circulars help completely devoted coupon users get even more savings.
Completely devoted, these circulars help get even more savings for coupon users.
These circulars help completely devoted coupon users get even more savings.
When using modifiers, they must be placed in a clear, grammatically relevant part of the sentence. The modifying phrase, "completely devoted," should be placed as close as possible to the phrase it modifies, "coupon users." Otherwise, the misplaced modifier confuses the sentence's meaning, making it sound as though the circulars themselves are devoted.
Example Question #1 : Comma Errors
Are you trying to stick to a budget? Using coupons for purchases, also known as “couponing” is a great way to save money on groceries. Coupons are a little piece of paper that can give you a discount on what you buy. You will be amazed at the great bargains and amazing savings you can get!
It’s easy to get started. When you open up your daily newspaper, one might find a glossy insert full of coupons. Some of the coupons will be for things you don’t buy, some will be for things you buy all the time. Go through the coupons and chop out the ones you can use.
The key to successful couponing is getting multiple copies of coupon circulars. Ask your friends, your neighbors, and family if they have any extras. Some coupon users even go through the recycling at their office to find more coupons! Have you ever heard of such a thing in your life! Completely devoted, these circulars help coupon users to get even more savings.
Couponing might sound like hard work, but for many people, it’s also a hobby. Not only does it help them save hundreds of dollars per year, but also it gives them a fun challenge every time they do their shopping.
Select the answer that would best correct the underlined and bolded portion of the passage.
(no change)
Some of the coupons will be for things you don’t buy and some will be for things you buy all the time.
Some of the coupons will be for things you don’t buy some will be for things you buy all the time.
Some of the coupons will be for things you don’t buy but some will be for things you buy all the time.
Some of the coupons will be for things you don’t buy, but some will be for things you buy all the time.
Some of the coupons will be for things you don’t buy, but some will be for things you buy all the time.
A comma splice occurs when two complete sentences are joined with just a comma. Obviously, in this question you are being asked to correct such an error. You have two options to correct a comma splice. You can either replace the comma with a period to create two complete sentences, or you can use a comma and a conjunction. In this context, the second sentence provides a contrast to the first sentence, so it is appropriate to use a comma and the conjunction “but.” Eliminating the comma creates a run-on sentence even if the conjunction "but" is added. The use of the conjunction "and" is grammatically correct, but it is not as strong a choice since it does not communicate the contrast between the two sentences.
Example Question #2 : Comma Errors
Are you trying to stick to a budget? Using coupons for purchases, also known as “couponing” is a great way to save money on groceries. Coupons are a little piece of paper that can give you a discount on what you buy. You will be amazed at the great bargains and amazing savings you can get!
It’s easy to get started. When you open up your daily newspaper, one might find a glossy insert full of coupons. Some of the coupons will be for things you don’t buy, some will be for things you buy all the time. Go through the coupons and chop out the ones you can use.
The key to successful couponing is getting multiple copies of coupon circulars. Ask your friends, your neighbors, and family if they have any extras. Some coupon users even go through the recycling at their office to find more coupons! Have you ever heard of such a thing in your life! Completely devoted, these circulars help coupon users to get even more savings.
Couponing might sound like hard work, but for many people, it’s also a hobby. Not only does it help them save hundreds of dollars per year, but also it gives them a fun challenge every time they do their shopping.
Select the answer that would best correct the underlined and bolded portion of the passage.
purchases, also known as "couponing." Is
(no change)
purchases also known as "couponing" is
purchases, also known as "couponing," is
purchases; also known as "couponing," is
purchases, also known as "couponing," is
Here you are being tasked with correcting an interrupting phrase error. An interrupting phrase is a phrase that provides extra information, but which can be removed without changing the sentence. These phrases should be surrounded on both sides by commas. In the original text, the second comma after "couponing" is missing.
Example Question #2 : Knowledge Of Grammatical Principles
Are you trying to stick to a budget? Using coupons for purchases, also known as “couponing” is a great way to save money on groceries. Coupons are a little piece of paper that can give you a discount on what you buy. You will be amazed at the great bargains and amazing savings you can get!
It’s easy to get started. When you open up your daily newspaper, one might find a glossy insert full of coupons. Some of the coupons will be for things you don’t buy, some will be for things you buy all the time. Go through the coupons and chop out the ones you can use.
The key to successful couponing is getting multiple copies of coupon circulars. Ask your friends, your neighbors, and family if they have any extras. Some coupon users even go through the recycling at their office to find more coupons! Have you ever heard of such a thing in your life! Completely devoted, these circulars help coupon users to get even more savings.
Couponing might sound like hard work, but for many people, it’s also a hobby. Not only does it help them save hundreds of dollars per year, but also it gives them a fun challenge every time they do their shopping.
Select the answer that would best correct the underlined and bolded portion of the passage.
(no change)
key with
key into
key for
key with
(no change)
This question queries correct preposition to use with a noun. When you use the noun "key" to describe an important secret or way of mastering something, you need to use the preposition "to" to follow. This rule is idiomatic, which means it must be memorized.
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