2 2

Writing and Language Test

35 MINUTES, 44 QUESTIONS
Turn to Section 2 of your answer sheet to answer the questions in this section.

DIRECTIONS

Each passage below is accompanied by a number of questions. For some questions, you
will consider how the passage might be revised to improve the expression of ideas. For
other questions, you will consider how the passage might be edited to correct errors in
sentence structure, usage, or punctuation. A passage or a question may be accompanied by
one or more graphics (such as a table or graph) that you will consider as you make revising
and editing decisions.

Some questions will direct you to an underlined portion of a passage. Other questions will
direct you to a location in a passage or ask you to think about the passage as a whole.

After reading each passage, choose the answer to each question that most effectively
improves the quality of writing in the passage or that makes the passage conform to the
conventions of standard written English. Many questions include a “NO CHANGE” option.
Choose that option if you think the best choice is to leave the relevant portion of the
passage as it is. e54zvcm33h7s66m9842n7w6ig2xyc2

Questions 1-11 are based on the following passage. 1

A) NO CHANGE
Texting to Keep a Language Alive B) Saanich,
C) Saanich;
According to a recent survey, the traditional
D) Saanich—
language of the 1 Saanich a First Nations indigenous
community with roots on Canada’s Vancouver Island,
2
has fewer than twenty fluent 2 speakers. All of them
A) NO CHANGE
over the age of sixty. Those numbers suggest a language B) speakers, all of whom
C) speakers; all of whom
D) speakers, all of them

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 2 2
at risk 3 for being lost forever. Because the cultural 3

identity and memory of a group of people are so closely A) NO CHANGE

B) of being
bound to language, members of the Saanich community
C) to be
worry that such a loss would be disastrous. 4 By
D) being
contrast, members of the Saanich community are
working to revive their language by expanding its speaker 4
base, and are doing so in an unexpected manner: via text A) NO CHANGE
messaging. B) For instance,
C) As a result,
Until the 1970s, the language of the Saanich was
D) In addition,
strictly oral. But in that decade a Saanich man named
Dave Elliott embarked on a project of capturing as much
5
of it as he could 5 in written form through writing.
A) NO CHANGE
Because numerous letters from the A-Z Roman alphabet B) in writing.
are required to reproduce phonetically the 6 language’s C) by hand, rendering it in written form.
D) by taking down the language in writing.
complex sounds, resulting in excessively lengthy words,
Elliott decided to create his own Saanich alphabet. Unlike
6
the Roman alphabet, Elliott’s new alphabet utilized only
A) NO CHANGE
one letter to denote each sound. Elliott’s work made it B) language’s complex sound’s,
possible to teach the language—written as C) languages complex sounds,
SENĆOŦEN—in a classroom and to preserve it in D) languages’ complex sounds’,

dictionaries.

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 2 2
Now, the Saanich 7 include SENĆOŦEN in the 7

local school curriculum. Texting has been 8 criticized Which choice best introduces the main topic of the
paragraph?
as a form of communication that weakens language by
A) NO CHANGE
allowing abbreviations and nonstandard usage. Yet B) have up to one hundred second-language
FirstVoices Chat, a smartphone app used by SENĆOŦEN speakers.
C) can use SENĆOŦEN to text.
texters, actually strengthens the language by enabling,
D) are looking to young people to revitalize the
and encouraging, 9 its use to spread beyond those few language.

aging speakers. The app, which was created by First

Peoples’ Cultural Council, an organization working to 8
Which choice is most consistent with the way texting
revitalize indigenous culture, allows users to download
is characterized in the sentence?
keyboards tailored to different indigenous languages, A) NO CHANGE
including SENĆOŦEN. B) evaluated
C) analyzed
D) reprimanded

9
A) NO CHANGE
B) one’s
C) his or her
D) their

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 2 2
FirstVoices Chat has made great strides since Elliott’s 10

initial work by facilitating the language’s movement out Which choice most effectively supports the point
made earlier in the sentence?
of classrooms and dictionaries 10 and introducing the
A) NO CHANGE
ability to type different characters. Most importantly, the B) in a process that many languages around the
texting app puts SENĆOŦEN in the hands of younger world have undergone.
C) due to Elliott’s recognition of the language’s
generations. Children and teens are widely recognized as decline.
the most frequent of texters, but they are also a group D) and into the everyday life of Saanich
communities.
crucial to preserving a language. “Young people,” the
linguist Gregory Anderson explains, “are the key
11
stakeholders and the ones who may or may not pass it
The writer wants a conclusion that restates the main
down to their own children.” As the Saanich and idea of the passage. Which choice best accomplishes
this goal?
especially their youth text in SENĆOŦEN, then, 11 they
A) NO CHANGE
are changing how older members of the Saanich B) they are becoming less reliant on traditional
community view texting. dictionaries and courses for language learning.
C) the number of texts sent in SENĆOŦEN has
increased significantly in recent years.
D) they are taking an important step toward
ensuring the continued vitality of their
traditional language.

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 2 2
Questions 12-22 are based on the following passage. 12
Which choice provides the best transition from the
previous sentence?
Little Films with Great Implications
A) NO CHANGE
Throughout the natural world, microorganisms,
B) Generating a sticky substance,
including bacteria and algae, can organize on surfaces C) In this arrangement,
and form colonies called biofilms. 12 Because they can D) Since most bacteria and algae are invisible to the
naked eye,
form on both living and nonliving surfaces, they are more
protected from outside forces than they would be as
13
single organisms. Some biofilms can 13 cause health
Which choice is most consistent with the overall style
problems, and others can have a negative effect on and tone of the passage?

ecosystems. While medical and scientific communities A) NO CHANGE

B) make you real sick,
have been interested in exploring biofilms, technical
C) mess with people’s physical well-being,
limitations have hampered 14 they’re efforts. However, D) perniciously affect an individual’s constitution,
recent research is changing that. An international team of
biologists and physicists has had great success in its 14
investigation of this subject by focusing on how biofilms A) NO CHANGE
form from one type of bacteria, Vibrio cholerae. B) its
C) there
The complex three-dimensional structures of
D) their
biofilms cannot be studied with traditional microscopes,
so the scientists started out by building a custom 15
microscope that allowed them to capture images at A) NO CHANGE
different depths within biofilm layers. Special software B) regard
was then developed to combine these images and C) behold
D) observe
reconstruct the layers so the researchers could see each
cell in relation to the biofilm as a whole. With these tools,
the scientists could 15 witness the size and shape of
thousands of cells that live in biofilms at various growth
stages.

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 2 2
16 In fact, the researchers grew Vibrio cholerae in a 16

liquid solution in tiny tubes made of glass and silicone A) NO CHANGE

B) Next,
and examined the resulting biofilms with their new tools.
C) However,
By studying the computerized models they compiled
D) Despite complications,
17 using images captured by a specially built
microscope, they found that small groups (1–6 cells) are 17
typically arranged in a single-file line; medium groups The writer is considering deleting the underlined
portion, adjusting the punctuation as needed. Should
(20–100 cells) spread out in an asymmetrical the underlined portion be kept or deleted?
two-dimensional 18 shape; and large groups A) Kept, because it explains how the researchers
(200–1,000 cells) generally form a three-dimensional proceeded to gather information.
B) Kept, because it provides a transition to the
cluster. Once a biofilm 19 reach 2,000 or more discussion that follows in the sentence.
microorganisms, the cluster forms a symmetrical and C) Deleted, because it needlessly repeats
information provided earlier in the passage.
highly organized dome, with cells arranged in a dense
D) Deleted, because it contradicts details about the
20 pattern, it provides a growth advantage and optimal study provided later in the paragraph.

access to nutrients.
18
A) NO CHANGE
B) shape, and
C) shape—and
D) shape and,

19
A) NO CHANGE
B) reached
C) reaches
D) have reached

20
A) NO CHANGE
B) pattern, but providing
C) pattern that provides
D) pattern; providing

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 2 2
Because the researchers were able to track the 21

progression of complexity in biofilm formation, they now Which choice most effectively sets up the
information that follows in the paragraph?
have a greater understanding of just what makes these
A) NO CHANGE
structures unique, 21 but they concede that additional B) as well as how they are structured internally.
studies are necessary to fully understand why biofilms C) and they published their findings in Proceedings
of the National Academy of Sciences.
develop. As Robin Gerlach, a chemical and biological
D) which lays the groundwork for future advances.
engineering 22 professor at Montana State University
notes, “We are continuing to learn about how to control 22
them better.” With the knowledge gained from this A) NO CHANGE
investigation, scientists may be able to not only develop B) professor at Montana State University, notes,

ways of treating dangerous biofilms, such as bacteria that C) professor, at Montana State University, notes
D) professor, at Montana State University notes
have become resistant to antibiotics, but also design and
build biofilms of beneficial microorganisms, such as
those that can treat wastewater.

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 2 2
Questions 23-33 are based on the following passage 23
and supplementary material.
A) NO CHANGE
B) careers. Careers
Hybrid Careers in Technology C) careers; those careers
An increasingly important development in the D) careers: careers

workplace is the rise of hybrid 23 careers; careers that

combine training in one discipline, such as marketing or 24
A) NO CHANGE
physics, with expertise in information technology (IT)
B) even
fields, such as computer science and information systems.
C) instead
More than ever, technology skills function as a D) therefore
supplement to knowledge from another field. In fact,
attaining expertise in a traditional career path often
requires familiarity with computer science to take
advantage of cutting-edge developments. Students
preparing to enter the job market should 24 nevertheless
consider how developing hybrid skills can give them
access to a range of rewarding careers.

Unauthorized copying or reuse of any part of this page is illegal. 25 CONTINUE

 2 2
Animator Kira Lehtomaki’s career illustrates the 25

value of studying technology in combination with a more Which choice most effectively combines the
sentences at the underlined portion?
conventional profession. Lehtomaki was inspired
A) to become an animator by watching animated
25 to become an animator. The inspiration happened films like Sleeping Beauty when she was a child.
when she was a child and watched animated films like B) when she was a child watching animated films
like Sleeping Beauty, which led her to become an
Sleeping Beauty. In college, she recognized that animator.
C) by Sleeping Beauty, the watching of which, along
computers were becoming dominant in the world of
with other animated films, in childhood led her
animation, 26 she majored in computer science rather to become an animator.
D) as a child to become an animator who was
than art, pursuing her artistic interests through an online
watching animated films like Sleeping Beauty.
school called Animation Mentor. Lehtomaki regards the
technological skills she learned in college as vital to her 26
professional success. “Computer science taught me how A) NO CHANGE
to think about things, how to break down and solve B) so she
C) therefore, she
complex problems,” she says. She now applies those
D) DELETE the underlined portion.
analytical skills in her 27 job and using modeling and

27
A) NO CHANGE
B) job; using
C) job, uses
D) job, using

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 2 2
graphics software to help create films for a major film 28

studio. 28 As evidenced by this skill set, Lehtomaki has Which choice provides the most effective conclusion
to the paragraph?
come a long way from the summer job she once had at
A) NO CHANGE
Disneyland decorating cookies. B) However, by focusing on skills such as how to
use spreadsheets and word processors,
introductory courses in computer science have
not done enough to prepare future IT workers.
C) Lehtomaki’s trajectory shows how
multidisciplinary training can allow workers to
construct career paths that suit their interests
and passions.
D) Computational thinking is the skill most closely
associated with the kind of problem-solving that
Lehtomaki deploys on the job.

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 2 2
A study of job growth in the IT sector in the United 29

States shows that Lehtomaki is far from unique in making A) NO CHANGE

B) their
the most of such a combination to improve 29 our
C) her
career prospects. For example, there were 45,991 digital
D) your
marketing and marketing automation 30 jobs positions
that merge statistical and IT roles with traditional 30
marketing skills advertised from April 2014 to A) NO CHANGE
B) jobs (positions that merge statistical and IT roles
with traditional marketing skills)
C) jobs positions that merge statistical and IT roles
with traditional marketing skills,
D) jobs—positions that merge statistical and IT
roles with traditional marketing skills

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 2 2
March 2015; the field experienced 31 135 percent 31

job growth from 2011 to March 2015. Data analysts— Which choice provides accurate information from
the table?
professionals 32 who are wizards at both statistics and
A) NO CHANGE
the software used to organize sets of data— 33 were B) 145
almost as in demand, with 41,000 open positions from C) 15

April 2014 to March 2015. Their field saw a remarkable D) 3

372 percent increase in jobs from 2011 to March 2015.

32
Hybrid Job Openings in the US IT Sector Which choice best maintains the style and tone of the
Percent passage?
Job openings, increase in A) NO CHANGE
April 2014– jobs, 2011–
B) who have what it takes for
Job type March 2015 March 2015
Web development and C) possessed of high-caliber skills in
67,250 3%
design D) proficient in
Mobile development 41,032 135%
Product management 40,752 7%
Digital marketing and 33
45,991 145%
marketing automation Which choice is best supported by the information in
Data analytics 41,000 372% the passage and the table?
User interface/user
29,825 15% A) NO CHANGE
experience
All IT jobs (hybrid B) saw twice that number of job openings,
1,975,788 7%
and nonhybrid) C) didn’t see as many jobs added as product
managers did,
Adapted from General Assembly and Burning Glass Technologies,
“Blurring Lines: How Business and Technology Skills Are Merging to D) were hired less often than any other IT
Create High Opportunity Hybrid Jobs.” ©2015 by General Assembly professionals were,
and Burning Glass Technologies.

Developing competencies in two different areas may

require additional time in school, but the extra effort is
likely to pay off. In the words of Scott Erker, a senior vice
president of human-resources consulting firm DDI,
“What’s called a hybrid job today will be the standard job
of tomorrow.” Preparing for the contemporary workplace
means considering the exciting opportunities that
training across multiple fields can reveal.

Unauthorized copying or reuse of any part of this page is illegal. 29 CONTINUE

 2 2
Questions 34-44 are based on the following passage. 34
A) NO CHANGE
“I’m Just Like My Country”: Lin-Manuel Miranda’s B) while at a bookstore that sells popular books:
Hamilton C) when the impulse hit him at a bookstore:
Composer and lyricist Lin-Manuel Miranda was D) at a bookstore:

inspired to create the award-winning Broadway musical

35
Hamilton after, on a whim, he picked up a best-selling
A) NO CHANGE
biography of US founding father Alexander Hamilton
B) supports
34 while looking through top-selling books, including
C) documents
biographies, at a bookstore: “I was just browsing the D) demonstrates
biography section. It could have been [former president]
Truman [that I selected].” The biography he read 36

35 encloses Hamilton’s most well-known 36 roles: A) NO CHANGE

B) roles military
military captain during the Revolutionary War, cowriter
C) roles. Military
of The Federalist papers, the nation’s first secretary of the D) roles; military
treasury, and creator of the federal banking system. What
fascinated Miranda, however, was Hamilton’s life story as 37
an American immigrant and as an ambitious youth Which choice provides the best transition from the
previous paragraph to this one?
navigating a contentious political environment.
A) NO CHANGE
To 37 study the lesser-known aspects of Hamilton’s
B) learn more about Hamilton’s accomplishments
life, Miranda drew on inspiration from his family’s as a founding father,
C) highlight Hamilton’s prolific writing career,
experiences and his own career choices. Miranda saw
D) turn Hamilton’s life and legacy into a musical,
parallels between Hamilton’s early life 38 and his own
father, who migrated to New York from Puerto Rico as a
38
teenager and went on to establish a successful political
A) NO CHANGE
consulting company. Hamilton, who was raised on the B) and that of
C) and those of
D) compared with

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 2 2
Caribbean island of St. Croix, also moved to New York as 39

a teenager. 39 Remarkably hardworking and At this point, the writer is considering adding the
following sentence.
enterprising, Hamilton became a 40 protégé, of George
To get a better sense of Hamilton’s life, Miranda
Washington, within five years of his arrival in New York. read the founding father’s letters and other
writings and consulted with historians.
In the musical, 41 Miranda presents Hamilton’s
Should the writer make this addition here?
qualities as quintessentially American: Hamilton
A) Yes, because it supports the paragraph’s
declares, “I’m just like my country / I’m young, scrappy implication that Miranda, like his father and
Hamilton, is hardworking.
and hungry / and I’m not throwing away my shot.”
B) Yes, because it explains how Miranda knew
about the similarities between Hamilton and his
father.
C) No, because it interrupts the paragraph’s
description of Hamilton’s experience as an
immigrant.
D) No, because it fails to specify the historians with
whom Miranda consulted.

40
A) NO CHANGE
B) protégé, of George Washington
C) protégé of George Washington
D) protégé of George Washington:

41
Which choice most effectively sets up the quotation
that follows in the sentence?
A) NO CHANGE
B) the American Revolution is underway:
C) many of the highlights of Hamilton’s political
career are dramatized:
D) most of the dialogue is sung instead of spoken:

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 2 2
Miranda also drew from his experiences working for 42

his father, a former advisor to New York City mayor Ed A) NO CHANGE

B) After he read Hamilton’s biography;
Koch. Miranda’s own involvement in politics gave him a
C) Upon reading Hamilton’s biography,
unique vantage point from which to observe the inner
D) Having read Hamilton’s biography—
workings of governmental legislation. “The real [stuff]
happens in the backroom,” he explained. “I’ve seen it 43
firsthand.” 42 He finished reading Hamilton’s A) NO CHANGE
biography, Miranda discovered that the founding fathers B) claim and when telling
C) claim; when he tells
similarly used informal private gatherings to influence
D) claim when he tells
Washington’s administration. In the musical, Hamilton’s
adversary Aaron Burr jealously remarks on Hamilton’s
44
ability to shape policy measures by getting into “the room Which choice provides the most effective
where it happens.” Hamilton supports this 43 claim. introduction to the paragraph?
A) NO CHANGE
When he tells Burr that “decisions are happening over
B) A gifted cast brought Hamilton’s life to the stage.
dinner”—a remark that could also be used to describe
C) Even with its contemporary style, Hamilton is
twenty-first-century political life. timeless.
D) The political environment has changed
44 A success on Broadway, Hamilton won the
dramatically since Hamilton’s day. e54zvcm33h7s66m9842n7w6ig2xyc2

Grammy award for Best Musical Theater Album.

Miranda’s emphasis on Hamilton’s youthful
industriousness and the intricacies of political decision-
making shows audiences that the environment of the
founding of America resonates with the politics of today.

STOP
If you finish before time is called, you may check your work on this section only.
Do not turn to any other section.

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