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PRACTICAL GRAMMAR FOR WRITING

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FINAL TEST SAMPLE

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Time: 60 minutes

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Part 1: The paragraph below lacks its topic sentence. Read the paragraph and write an

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appropriate topic sentence for it.

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_________ The first is invention, which is aided by any number of techniques, including free-
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writing, mind-mapping and outlining. In this first stage, it is important for a writer not to edit but to
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let ideas flow and to simply get them down on paper. After invention comes the first draft - the

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stage where the ideas start to take shape. Many writers use a sentence outline at this stage to see
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where they need to cut and where they need to add material. The first draft is also where writers
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should develop a tentative thesis to guide the structure of their essay. The next stage of the
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process is when both the second and third drafts are done. Here, ideas and structure are refined,
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and the thesis is revised until it becomes the unifying idea of the paper. Finally comes the last
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stage, that of editing. Writers should take care at this stage that all sentence structure and
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punctuation is correct, and they should make corrections to documentation format as needed.

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Writers often repeat these four phases more than once, or skip a phase and go back to it, making
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the writing process more cyclical than linear.

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Part 2: The paragraph below lacks its concluding sentence. Read the paragraph and write
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an appropriate concluding sentence for it.

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My hometown is famous for several amazing natural features. First, it is noted for the
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Wheaton River, which is very wide and beautiful. On either side of this river, which is 175 feet wide,
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are many willow trees which have long branches that can move gracefully in the wind. In autumn
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the leaves of these trees fall and cover the riverbanks like golden snow. Also, on the other side of
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the town is Wheaton Hill, which is unusual because it is very steep. Even though it is steep,
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climbing this hill is not dangerous, because there are some firm rocks along the sides that can be
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used as stairs. There are no trees around this hill, so it stands clearly against the sky and can be
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seen from many miles away. The third amazing feature is the Big Old Tree. This tree stands two
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hundred feet tall and is probably about six hundred years old.
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Part 3: Fill each blank with an appropriate coordinator, subordinator, conjunctive

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adverb, relative pronoun, or relative adverb.

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The Dead Sea, as the name suggests, has no living creatures in it. It has no fish,
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seaweed, algae, or life of any kind. This is because it is so salty. (1)…………… a fish
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accidentally makes its way into it, it will die instantly. The Dead Sea is (2)……………. an
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interesting lake that it is very low. In fact, the Dead Sea is the lowest exposed place on Earth,

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(3)…………….. its surface is more than 390m below the sea.

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As the Dead Sea has a high salinity, some interesting effects can be noticed by those

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(4)……..……. visit the lake. The Archimedes principle states that an object (5)…….……..is

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immersed in a fluid is buoyed up by a force equal to the weight of the fluid displaced by the

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object. (6)……...……..salt water is heavier than fresh water, objects in salt water are more

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buoyant and so float more easily.

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The main reason (7)…….……..the Dead Sea is so salty is that, (8)…..………it has one
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primary and many secondary sources of water flowing into it, no water flows out of it. The

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only way for water to escape the Dead Sea is to evaporate. (9)…………..water evaporates, it
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leaves the salt behind. (10)……………., from time to time, the salinity of the lake is reduced
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due to flooding.
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Part 4: Write a paragraph (about 150 words) on one of the following topics:
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1. Choose a food and describe how to make that food.
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2. Many people say that there are many good opportunities for students in a big city.
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Do you agree or disagree with this? Support your opinion with relevant facts, explanations or

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experiences.
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