Editing Practice (Answer Key)

1. Steve is a bank manager. He works in a bank (a) in center of London. Every morning he gets
up at seven o’clock, has breakfast and a cup of coffee and reads the ‘Times.’ Then he goes to
work (b) by the bus. In the morning, he usually makes the telephone calls, sees the (c)
customars. He has lunch at a (d) restaurent near the bank. In the afternoon he works until (e)
five or five-thirty and then he goes home. He doesn’t work on (f) sundays; he goes to the cinema
or reads. He likes novels and history. He is not married. He has two brothers who live in Oxford.
Usually, his brothers (g) meets Steve at the weekend. Both of them are studying at a university.
They like (h) Steves job very much. That’s why, they want to do job in a bank.

a) missing article- in the center

b) wrong use of article- by bus
c) misspelled word- customers
d) misspelled word- restaurant
e) missing comma- five or five-thirty, and
f) mistake in capitalization- Sundays
g) mistake in subject-verb agreement- meet
h) missing apostrophe- Steve’s

2. (a) After spending a year in France. My parents decided to go to the United States. That’s
why, my family and I returned to the United States for a (b) months visit. We were surprised
to find how (c) diferent and strange the United States had become. As we were leaving the
airport, we noticed how much bigger everything seemed. (d) The cars the highways and the
potholes were huge! Life also seemed so much faster. (e) Everyone were hurrying somewhere,
and no one looked very happy. We were hurrying too. We were trying to shop, to see the dentist
and doctor, and visit friends. For us, the most (f) frustreting thing was the lack (g) in public
transportation. American drivers are not as courteous as we had (h) thought, we had to drive
our car everywhere. Of course, we enjoyed American beef, American ice-cream, and especially
iced (i) tea but we were sad about the filthy roadsides, the graffiti, and the ever-present
television programs. While we were returning to France, my parents said, “We would be much
more tolerant of our life in (j) Paris.

a. fragments- …France, my parents…

b. missing apostrophe. month’s
c. misspelled word- different
d. missing comma between items in a series- The cars, the highways
e. mistake in subject-verb agreement- Everyone was
f. misspelled word- frustrating
g. wrong use of preposition- lack of public
h. run-on sentences- thought; we had to1
i. missing comma between two complete thoughts- tea, but
j. missing quotation mark- Paris.”

1
A run-on sentence occurs when two independent clauses are not properly separated or connected. In the original
sentence, there were two independent clauses without appropriate punctuation or a conjunction to join them. The
corrected sentence now uses a semicolon to separate the clauses, making it a properly punctuated compound
sentence. Thank you for pointing out the terminology.
 3. i) Were very happy ii) that you remember us. iii) Best thing in our life is to have a friend like
you. iv) The friendship is a precious thing in everyone’s life. Last month when you called us
from Comilla, we became highly v) sarprised. Our mother often said, vi) “he will be back.”
See! It was true! She also told, vii) he can never forget us. Many viii) persons in our village
still remember how much close we had been. Now we are eager to know how is your life going
on in ix) AMERICA? We hope everything is fine. We believe you will remember us like x)
this and we will cherish your friendship forever.

i) MA. We're very happy.

ii) No error. that you remember us.
iii) AM. The best
iv) AM. Friendship is a precious thing…
v) SE. surprised.
vi) CLM. "He will be back." See! It was true!
vii) MQ. "He can never forget us."
viii) SP. Many people in our village...
ix) CLM. America.
x) MC. like this, and we will...

4. As the youngest member of the family, i) jamal enjoys some privileges. Firstly, he gets gifts
from everyone in all occasions. Also, everyone considers him the most important person in the
ii) family in contrast, his eldest sister has to take care of all others in the family. Sometimes
even his uncle and aunt iii) calls iv) his to v) no if he needs something new. Secondly, vi)
whenever there is anything wrong. Everyone first thinks of the safety of Jamal. He also tries to
return everyone’s love with lot of vii) respects, he tries to help them in any kind of problem. If
viii) problem is too serious, he tries to give them at least mental supports. Last year he ix) calls
the police when a thief broke into their house. That step saved everyone from a big danger x)
in that night.
i. MCL- Jamal
ii. R- family. In contrast,
iii. SVAM- call
iv. IPP- him
v. SE- know
vi. F- wrong, everyone
vii. MS- respects; he
viii. AM- the problem
ix. T- called
x. IP- danger that night

5. The history of the United Kingdom (a) was full of wars, invasions, revolutions, and
interesting rulers. (b) Numerous castles, old cathedrals, and ruins is evidence of the kingdom's
past. (c) The "uk," as it is often called, was once the world's most powerful nation. Canada,
Australia, India, Pakistan, and even the United States are among nations that (d) used to be
controled by the United Kingdom. (e) She is also the birthplace of the English language. There
are (f) many remarkable landmark to see (g) at the United Kingdom such as the Tower of
London, Big Ben, Oxford University and (h) a mysterious Stonehenge. Oxford University, (i)
founded sometime in the 12th century is the oldest university in the English speaking world.
Many of the United Kingdom's former prime ministers attended Oxford. Stonehenge, (j)
located near salisbury, England, is a group of giant standing stones arranged in a circular
formation. Archaeologists believe the formations are over 4,500 years old. No one knows
exactly what Stonehenge is meant to represent.

a) T. is
b) SVA. are
c) CAPS. “UK”
d) SM. controlled
e) PR. It is
f) SP. landmarks
g) PR. in the United Kingdom
h) A. the mysterious
i) PNC. century, is
j) CAPS. Salisbury,

6. The history of the United Kingdom is full of wars, invasions, revolutions, and (i) interesting
and excitement rulers. Numerous castles, old cathedrals, (ii) and ruin are evidence of the
kingdom's past. The "UK," as it is often called, was once (iii) the worlds most powerful nation.
Canada, Australia, India, Pakistan, and even the United States (iv) are among nations. That
used to be controlled by the United Kingdom. It is also the birthplace of the English language.
(v) Their are many remarkable landmarks to see in the United Kingdom such as the Tower of
London, Big Ben, Oxford University and (vi) the mystorias Stonehenge. Oxford University,
founded (vii) sometime on the 12th century, is the oldest university in the English speaking
world. Many of the United Kingdom's former prime ministers attended Oxford. Stonehenge,
located near Salisbury, England, (viii) was a group of giant standing stones arranged in a
circular formation. (ix) Archaeologists believes the formations are (x) over 4,500 years old no
one knows exactly what Stonehenge is meant to represent.

i. P- interesting and exciting

ii. SP- ruins
iii. A- world’s
iv. F- are among nations that used
v. HM- There
vi. SM- mysterious
vii. PR- in the 12th century
viii. T- is a
ix. SVA- believe
x. R- old. No
7 a. i) It is breakfast time. You have been looking forward to eating a nice ripe banana ever
since you wake up. ii) Just when you reach for the delicious piece of fruit on your counter, you
see something that make you much less hungry: a swarm of fruit flies! iii) Fruit flies are tiny
insects that are attracted to ripe or rotting fruits and vegetables. The flies not only eat the fruit,
they also lay there eggs there. iv) A single fruit fly can lay up to 500 eggs of the surface of a
piece of fruit. v) Within eight days, the fruit flies that hatch from this eggs are full adults that
can then lay their own eggs. vi) As you can see, what might start out as a small fruit fly problem
can become very large very quickly? vii) Although there is a chanse fruit flies can carry germs
on to your food, this is not very likely. viii) Fruit flies are annoying, but they probably will not
hurt you. because they are such a nuisance, however, most people want to get rid of these
irritating bugs as quickly as possible. ix) Some people use pesticide sprays on the fruit flies.
Although this will kill the flies, it will also spred harmful poison all over your kitchen. x)
Luckily, there was also a completely safe way for you to get rid of fruit flies in your house.

i. T- woke up
ii. SVA- makes
iii. PA- their
iv. P- on the surface
v. PA- these eggs
vi. IP- quickly.
vii. S- chance
viii. CL- Because they
ix. S- spread
x. T- is

7 b. i) Versailles is the site of the Palace of Versailles, one of the most storied buildings in the
history of france. ii) It was originally built as a hunting palace by King Louis VIII in 1624. In
1669, King Louis XIV begin searching for a grand site where he could conduct the affairs of
France and control the government. iii) He settled of the hunting palace and expanded it into
the world’s largest palace. iv) In adition, the King hoped to build a governmental center apart
from Paris. v) The palace took 36,000 workers fifty years to build. The palace is spread out
over 280 acres and they can house 20,000 people! vi) The palace feature over 700 rooms and
67 staircases. vii) There are dozens of unique rooms, features gardens, and halls. One of the
most renowned rooms of the Palace of Versailles is the Hall of Mirrors.

i. CL- France
ii. T- began
iii. P- on the
iv. S- addition
v. PA- it can
vi. SVA- features
vii. IP- features, gardens