IFI Training

INSTITUTE FOR THE INDIVIDUAL

WordCrafting Basics

Proficiency Quiz

Name:

Department:

E-mail:

Toolkit

1. Identify the noun(s) in the following sentence: Utah has great skiing!

Utah has great skiing

2. In the sentence, "Look at the green tree." ______ modifies the word tree.

Look at the green

3. In the sentence, "Always keep your pets inside during the winter." __________________ modifies the word keep.

Always your pets inside during the winter

Using the key below, identify the type of verb in the following phrases.

(A) Action verb (Noun ->)
(B) Passive verb (Noun <-)
(C) Equivalence verb (Noun = Noun/Modifier)

4. Sarah is ten years old.

A B C

5. The car was washed by the attendant.

A B C

6. The team won the championship.

A B C

7. T/F The most effective sentences use verbs that show action.

T F

8. In the sentence, "The car was stuck in the mud." The phrase _________________ modifies the word stuck.

Fill in the blank with the appropriate word, subject, verb, or object.

9. Scissors is the _______ of the sentence: "Use the scissors to cut the rope in half."

Subject Verb Object

10. Parents is the _______ of the sentence: "The parents held a meeting to determine the best way to raise money for the school."

Subject Verb Object

11. Worked is the _______ of the sentence: "Janice worked late last night."

Subject Verb Object

12. Ticket is the _______ of the sentence: "Jerry paid his speeding ticket without complaining."

Subject Verb Object

13. Create a basic sentence core using president as the subject, drove as the verb and car as the object.

Using your sentence core from question #13, write a noun modifier (adjective) in front of the subject of the sentence.

Again using your sentence core, add a prepositional phrase after the object of the sentence.

Add a verb modifier in front of the verb.

Finish your sentence with filler words and punctuation.

14. T/F You can combine sentence cores by using conjunctions and subordinators.

T F

15. _______ is the conjunction that joins the sentence cores in the following sentence: "Eli loves to play football, but his brother, Tom, prefers basketball."

Eli loves to play football but his brother Tom prefers basketball

Identify how many sentence cores are in each of the following sentences.

16. "The baby cried loudly all night long so the mother spent the night trying to calm her."

Cores

17. "The postman delivered the mail on time even though the road construction hampered his efforts."

Cores

18. "After the engineering team completed the white paper, they started working on the proposal because they knew they could win the proposal effort."

Cores

19. "Mike knew the yellow parakeet was the best choice for a pet for his daughter."

Cores

20. "The recipe made three dozen cookies even though the cook said it would only make two dozen."

Cores

Style

21. Mark the nouns that are concrete (words that create a picture).

Snow	Desk	Inquiry	Procedure
Wordiness	Gear	Window	Aspect
Fruit	Friend	Possibility	Mountain

22. T/F False subjects like it, this, and there add length to your writing and reduce the clarity of the message.

T F

23. Which of the following sentences describe an easy way to make passive sentences active.

A. Change the verb.
B. Turn the sentence around.
C. Change the object.
D. All of the Above.
E. A and B

24. While the active sentence style is more simple and clear, sometimes the passive approach is better. Which of the following identify instances when you might choose to write in a passive style.

A. The receiver is more important than the actor.
B. You don't want to mention the actor or don't know who the actor is.
C. You don't want to communicate clearly.
D. A and C
E. All of the above

Rewrite the following statements using strong verbs to create clear meaning from these weak and wordy phrases.

25. The director made an announcement of:

26. Kellie made an attempt to:

27. The firemen accomplished the extinguishment of the fire:

28. The group made a study of:

Word Choice

Fix the following redundant terms by picking the unnecessary word.

29. Proceed Ahead

30. True Facts

31. Fatally killed

32. Living survivors

Simplify the following phrases

33. Three hours of time

34. Few in number

35. Due to the fact that

36. Brief in duration

37. T/F In business writing, sometimes you want to use more words than necessary to convey your message.

T F

38. T/F Simple mistakes will not impact the effectiveness of your message.

T F

39. T/F Spelling and punctuation contribute to the overall message you deliver in written communication.

T F

40. T/F It's okay to use doublespeak and cliches as long as you know the audience well.

T F