Section 2 – Structure and Written Expression
Section 2 – Structure and Written Expression
This section consists of sentences that test your knowledge of structural and grammatical elements of standard written English. These sentences include a variety of topics and give no advantage to students in specific fields of study. When topics have a national context, they may refer to United States or Canadian history, culture, art or literature. However, knowledge of these contexts is not needed to answer questions concerning the structural or grammatical points.
Structure
Directions: Questions 1–4 are incomplete sentences. Below each sentence you will see 4 words or phrases marked A, B, C and D. Choose the 1 word or phrase that best completes the sentence.
Examples
Geysers have sometimes been compared to volcanoes __________ they both emit hot liquids from below Earth’s surface.
A. despite
B. because
C. in regard to
D. as a result of
The sentence should read, “Geysers have sometimes been compared to volcanoes because they both emit hot liquids from below Earth’s surface.” Therefore, you should choose B.
During the early period of ocean navigation, __________ any need for sophisticated instruments and techniques.
A. so that hardly
B. when there hardly was
C. hardly was
D. there was hardly
The sentence should read, “During the early period of ocean navigation, there was hardly any need for sophisticated instruments and techniques.” Therefore, you should choose D.
Written Expression
Directions: In questions 5–10, each sentence has 4 highlighted words or phrases. The 4 highlighted parts of the sentence are marked A, B, C and D. Identify the 1 highlighted word or phrase that must be changed in order for the sentence to be correct.
Example
The sentence should read, “Guppies are sometimes called rainbow fish because of the males’ bright colors.” Therefore, you should choose answer (A).