Quiz — Chapter 6: Sentences That Work

Target: 70%+ before moving on.

Answers and explanations are hidden — try each question before expanding.

Section 1 — Multiple Choice

1. Which sentence contains a dangling modifier? - A) "After we ran the tests, the build was promoted to staging." - B) "After running the tests, the build was promoted to staging." - C) "We promoted the build to staging after running the tests." - D) "After the test run, the build was promoted to staging."

Answer **B.** *After running the tests* implies a human runner, but the subject is *the build*, which didn't run the tests. A supplies the actor in a subordinate clause (*we ran*); C makes *we* the subject; D converts the phrase to a noun (*the test run*) that needs no actor. Only B leaves the modifier dangling. (§6.2)

2. "The build passed, we shipped it." The fastest correct fixes are: - A) Add a semicolon, OR change the comma to a period, OR add so after the comma. - B) Add another comma. - C) Capitalize We. - D) It's already correct.

Answer **A.** This is a comma splice — two independent clauses joined by only a comma. Valid fixes: period, semicolon, or comma + coordinating conjunction (*so*). B (another comma) does nothing; C doesn't address the splice; D is wrong — it *is* an error. (§6.4)

3. Which fix for the splice "The cache expired, latency rose" best expresses cause and effect? - A) "The cache expired. Latency rose." - B) "The cache expired; latency rose." - C) "When the cache expired, latency rose." - D) "The cache expired, latency rose, and users complained."

Answer **C.** Subordination (*when*) explicitly frames the first clause as the condition and the second as the result — it encodes the cause→effect logic into the grammar. A (period) and B (semicolon) are correct but leave the relationship *implied*, not stated. D doesn't fix the original splice; it adds a third clause and a new comma issue. (§6.4)

4. Identify the subject of "The collection of scripts that automate the nightly backups ___ stored in version control." and the correct verb: - A) subject scripts; verb are - B) subject backups; verb are - C) subject collection; verb is - D) subject collection; verb are

Answer **C.** The subject is *collection* (singular) — one collection is stored. *Scripts* and *backups* are inside the intervening phrase. Strip it: *"The collection … is stored."* (§6.5)

5. Which list is correctly parallel? - A) "Run tests, the deploy should happen, and notifying the team." - B) "Run tests, deploy the build, and notify the team." - C) "Running tests, deploy the build, and you notify the team." - D) "Tests are run, deploy the build, notify the team."

Answer **B.** Three imperative verbs (*Run, deploy, notify*) — one consistent grammatical shape. A, C, and D each mix imperatives with participles, passives, or second-person forms. (§6.6)

6. What is wrong with "The throughput of the new pipeline is higher than the old system"? - A) Subject–verb agreement. - B) Illogical comparison — it compares throughput to a system, not throughput to throughput. - C) Comma splice. - D) Nothing.

Answer **B.** You can't compare *throughput* (a measurement) to *the old system* (a thing). Fix: *"…higher than **that of** the old system."* (§6.6)

7. Which sentence is punctuated correctly? - A) "The tests passed, however we rolled back." - B) "The tests passed, however, we rolled back." - C) "The tests passed; however, we rolled back." - D) "The tests passed however; we rolled back."

Answer **C.** *However* is a conjunctive adverb, not a conjunction, so it can't join two clauses with a comma. The correct pattern is semicolon before, comma after. A and B are comma splices; D misplaces the semicolon. (§6.4)

8. The orphan this problem is best fixed by: - A) Deleting the sentence. - B) Putting a noun immediately after this (this delay, this mismatch). - C) Replacing this with it. - D) Adding a comma after this.

Answer **B.** Forcing a noun after *this* gives the reader a concrete antecedent — and often reveals that you hadn't pinned down what you meant. C just swaps one vague pronoun for another. (§6.3)

9. Which sentence has a misplaced modifier? - A) "The job deletes only files older than 30 days." - B) "The job only deletes files older than 30 days." (meaning: it deletes nothing newer) - C) "Only the job deletes files older than 30 days." - D) "The job deletes files older than only 30 days."

Answer **B.** If the intended meaning is "it deletes nothing newer than 30 days," *only* must sit before *files*, as in A. In B, *only deletes* says the job *only deletes* (vs. archiving) — a different claim. The misplacement changes the meaning. (§6.2)

10. Prose where every sentence is 5–6 words and subject-first fails because it: - A) Is grammatically incorrect. - B) Flattens cause-and-effect to equal weight and creates a tiring, choppy rhythm. - C) Is too concise. - D) Uses too much passive voice.

Answer **B.** All-short prose drops the subordination that shows which fact caused which, and the unvaried rhythm tires the reader. It's not a grammar error and not "too concise" — it's a *variety* failure. (§6.7)

11. Tighten with mechanics-level moves: "There is a configuration option that has the ability to disable logging." - A) "A configuration option can disable logging." - B) "There exists a config option able to disable logging." - C) "Logging can be disabled by a configuration option that exists." - D) It's already concise.

Answer **A.** Delete the expletive (*there is…that*) and promote the real subject (*option*); change *has the ability to* → *can*. B and C keep padding; D is wrong. (§6.8)

12. "Each of the services have their own configuration." The correct version is: - A) "Each of the services have its own configuration." - B) "Each of the services has its own configuration." - C) "Each of the services has their own configuration." - D) "Each of the service has its own configuration."

Answer **B.** *Each* is singular, so the verb is *has* and the pronoun is *its*. (D corrupts *services* → *service*.) (§6.5)

Section 2 — True/False with Justification

For each, decide true or false and write one sentence of justification.

T1. A grammar-checker reliably catches dangling modifiers.

Answer **False.** A dangling modifier is a complete, parseable sentence; the error is in *meaning*, which checkers can't read. They approve *"After deploying, latency dropped"* as grammatically fine. (§6.1)

T2. A comma splice and a run-on are fixed by the same set of options.

Answer **True.** Both wrongly fuse two independent clauses; both are fixed by a period, semicolon, comma+conjunction, subordination, or semicolon+adverb. They differ only in whether a comma is present. (§6.4)

T3. In technical writing, you should always replace a repeated noun with a pronoun to avoid sounding repetitive.

Answer **False.** Technical writing prefers repeating a noun over risking an ambiguous pronoun — the reader is scanning and may not remember what *it* referred to. Precision outranks literary elegance here. (§6.3)

T4. "The data is" is simply wrong and should always be "the data are."

Answer **False.** This is field-dependent. Many sciences require *"the data are"* (Latin plural); general and business writing widely accept *"the data is"* as a collective singular. Know your field's convention and be consistent. (§6.5)

T5. Starting a sentence with But or splitting an infinitive is a grammar error to be avoided.

Answer **False.** These are superstitions, not rules. *"To boldly go"* and a sentence opening with *But* are both legitimate; the real rules prevent ambiguity, not Victorian etiquette. (§6.10)

T6. A perfectly clear, concise sentence (by Chapter 3's standards) cannot contain a Chapter 6 grammar error.

Answer **False.** Clarity and correctness are different properties. A tight, vivid, jargon-free sentence can still dangle a modifier or splice two clauses. (§6.1)

Section 3 — Short Answer

S1. Name the five ways to fix a comma splice, and state which one best encodes a cause→effect relationship.

Model answer + rubric Period, semicolon, comma + coordinating conjunction (FANBOYS), subordination, semicolon + conjunctive adverb. **Subordination** (*because, when*) best encodes cause→effect because it grammatically marks one clause as the condition/cause and the other as the result. *Rubric: all five named (3 pts) + subordination identified with reason (2 pts).*

S2. Explain why the rule "give every this a noun" does double duty — what it fixes for the reader and what it reveals about the writer.

Model answer + rubric For the reader, it supplies a concrete antecedent, removing ambiguity. For the writer, it forces conscious identification of *the one thing* being referred to — and often reveals you hadn't actually pinned that down (an orphan *this* is unfinished thinking). *Rubric: reader benefit (1) + writer diagnostic / unfinished-thinking insight (1).*

S3. Give the deletion trick for catching subject–verb disagreement in a long sentence, and demonstrate it on one example.

Model answer + rubric Strip every phrase between the subject and verb, leaving the skeleton, then check agreement. E.g., *"The list of vendors who passed the audit (are/is) posted"* → strip to *"The list … is posted."* *Rubric: states the strip-the-middle method (1) + correct demonstration (1).*

S4. Why do all-long and all-short prose both fail? Name the single principle that fixes both.

Model answer + rubric All-long exhausts working memory (every sentence defers its point); all-short flattens cause/effect to equal weight and reads choppy. Both are fixed by **sentence variety** — matching length and structure to the weight of the idea, using contrast for emphasis. *Rubric: both failures named (1) + "variety" as the unifying fix (1).*

S5. Why must you hunt errors one family at a time rather than reading once for "all errors"?

Model answer + rubric Attention is limited, and reading once for everything lets your brain re-read your *intention* and skip the errors invisible to you. One family per pass keeps the search specific enough to actually catch each type. *Rubric: limited-attention/curse-of-knowledge reason (1) + family-per-pass method (1).*

Section 4 — Applied Scenario

AS1. Here is a (fictional but realistic) excerpt from an incident report draft. Find and fix every error, naming each:

"After investigating the logs, the root cause was identified as a memory leak. The leak, which had been slowly growing for weeks, were not caught by monitoring, this is because the alert threshold was set too high. There are several action items that the team has the ability to implement, they include lowering the threshold, the addition of a memory dashboard, and we should schedule a load test."

Rubric + sample fix Errors present: dangling modifier (*After investigating … the root cause*), subject–verb disagreement (*The leak … were*), orphan *this* (*this is because*), expletive + wordiness (*There are several action items that … has the ability to*), comma splice (*…implement, they include*), faulty parallelism (*lowering …, the addition of …, we should schedule*). Sample fix: *"After investigating the logs, **we identified** the root cause as a memory leak. The leak, which had been growing for weeks, **was** not caught by monitoring, **because** the alert threshold was set too high. The team **can implement** several action items: **lowering** the threshold, **adding** a memory dashboard, and **scheduling** a load test."* *Rubric:* 1 pt per error correctly identified and fixed (6 total). Full credit requires naming each error type, not just rewriting by ear.

Scoring & Next Steps

Score What it means Do this
< 50% The error families aren't yet automatic Re-read §6.2–6.6 and redo Part A and B of the exercises
50–70% You recognize errors but mis-fix some Redo Part B; focus on the comma-splice five-fix table (§6.4)
70–85% Solid — you can diagnose and repair Proceed to Chapter 7; do the Project Checkpoint error audit
> 85% You're ready to edit others' work Try Part E (build your error signature) and move on