Quiz — Chapter 8: Paragraphs That Flow
Target: 70%+ before moving on.
Answers are hidden. Try each item before expanding. Every answer says why the right choice is right and the others wrong, with a section reference.
Section 1 — Multiple Choice
1. What is "the unit of thought" in a document, according to this chapter? - A) The sentence - B) The paragraph - C) The section - D) The word
Answer
**B.** A single sentence carries a fact or fragment; a *complete idea*—claim, support, qualification, consequence—usually takes several sentences working together, and that bundle is the paragraph. The sentence is the unit of grammar, not thought. (§8.1)2. The given-new contract says each sentence should: - A) Begin with new information and end with familiar information - B) Begin with familiar information and end with new information - C) Contain only new information - D) Repeat the previous sentence's main point
Answer
**B.** Open with the "given" (what the reader already has) so they have a handhold, then deliver the "new" at the end (the stress position). Old-to-new is the reader's default expectation; reversing it is a leading cause of choppy prose. (§8.3)3. A paragraph reads choppy, but every sentence in it is grammatically correct and individually clear. The first thing you should do is: - A) Rewrite each sentence to be smoother - B) Add transition words to every sentence - C) Reorder the information so each sentence opens with something already known - D) Make the sentences shorter
Answer
**C.** Choppiness with clear sentences is a *cohesion* problem—it lives in the seams, not the sentences. Reorder for given-new before rewording; the sentences aren't broken, the order is. (A) and (D) "fix" sentences that aren't broken; (B) often makes it worse by stuffing transitions. (§8.3, §8.5, §8.7 Mistake 1)4. Which transition correctly marks an adversative (contrast) relationship? - A) Therefore - B) Furthermore - C) However - D) Consequently
Answer
**C.** "However" signals contrast/qualification. "Therefore" and "consequently" are causal; "furthermore" is additive. Using a causal or additive word where a contrast exists (or vice versa) misleads the reader. (§8.4)5. The topic sentence does two jobs. The second job—the one most writers miss—is to: - A) Summarize the whole document - B) Serve as a contract with the writer that the paragraph holds one idea - C) Provide a transition to the next paragraph - D) State the most surprising fact
Answer
**B.** Beyond signposting for the reader (job one), the topic sentence is a *unity check for you*: once you've stated the paragraph's idea, anything that doesn't serve it is either off-topic (cut/move) or a second topic sentence (split). (§8.2)6. "Cohesion" and "coherence" differ in that: - A) They are synonyms with no real difference - B) Cohesion is global sense; coherence is local stitching - C) Cohesion is local sentence-to-sentence stitching; coherence is whether the whole thing makes sense - D) Cohesion applies to fiction; coherence applies to technical writing
Answer
**C.** Cohesion = local (do sentences connect to neighbors?). Coherence = global (does the passage add up to a point?). A passage can have one without the other, and the diagnosis tells you which tool to use. (B) reverses the two. (§8.5)7. A paragraph "reads smoothly but you can't tell what the point was." This is a failure of: - A) Cohesion — reorder for given-new - B) Coherence — find and state the controlling idea - C) Grammar — fix the sentences - D) Length — make it shorter
Answer
**B.** Smooth + pointless = *coherent prose, incoherent content*… actually the reverse: it's **cohesive but not coherent**. The stitching works (smooth) but there's no controlling idea. Fix by finding/stating the point (topic sentence), not by reordering. (§8.5)8. For technical documents read on screens, paragraph length should generally be: - A) Exactly five sentences, always - B) As long as possible to seem thorough - C) Shorter than most writers think—often three to five sentences, broken on idea seams - D) One sentence each
Answer
**C.** Default short; length follows the idea; break long paragraphs on idea boundaries, not arbitrary line counts. On screens, blocks over ~five or six lines read as walls scanners skip. (A) is too rigid; (D) is fragmentation. (§8.5)9. You write "This means the deploy will be delayed," where "this" refers vaguely to the previous three sentences. The fix is: - A) Delete the sentence - B) Add a noun so "this" has a clear referent ("This dependency conflict means...") - C) Change "means" to "implies" - D) Move it to the end of the paragraph
Answer
**B.** A dangling "this" with no specific referent is the seam-level version of the bare-"this" pronoun problem ([Ch 6](../chapter-06-sentences/index.md)). Anchor it with a noun so the reader knows what "this" is. (§8.7 Mistake 4)10. Which is the most common transition error in technical writing? - A) Using too few transitions - B) Using "however" where there is no actual contrast - C) Using "first/then/finally" for steps - D) Putting a transition mid-sentence
Answer
**B.** The frequent error isn't absence—it's the *wrong* transition, especially a false "however" promising a contrast that never lands. Every transition must name a relationship that exists. (C) is correct usage; (D) is fine and often smoother. (§8.4, §8.7 Mistake 3)Section 2 — True / False with Justification
T/F 1. "If you fix every sentence to be clear and well-written, the paragraph will automatically flow."
Answer
**False.** Flow lives in the *seams between* sentences—information order and logical connections—not in the sentences themselves. Two paragraphs of identical, equally clear sentences can read smooth or choppy depending only on order. (§8.3 threshold concept)T/F 2. "Every sentence in a well-written paragraph needs an explicit transition word."
Answer
**False.** When given-new flow makes a connection obvious (especially same-direction, additive links), the transition should stay *implicit*. Explicit transitions are for genuine turns (adversative, causal) and paragraph boundaries. Transition-stuffing reads as mechanical and slows the reader. (§8.4, §8.7 Mistake 6)T/F 3. "The topic sentence must always be the first sentence of the paragraph."
Answer
**False**—but *usually* true. First is the default and the right choice when in doubt, because it serves the scanner. Occasionally a paragraph builds to a surprising conclusion and the topic sentence lands last. That's an exception you earn, not a free choice. (§8.2)T/F 4. "A paragraph can be perfectly cohesive and still fail to make a point."
Answer
**True.** That's the "cohesive but not coherent" failure: smooth sentence-to-sentence stitching, but the well-connected ideas don't build to anything. Smoothness can disguise emptiness. (§8.5)T/F 5. "When a paragraph gets too long, you should cut it at roughly the midpoint."
Answer
**False.** Break on the *idea seam*—where one point ends and the next begins—not at an arbitrary line or sentence count. An arbitrary cut can split a single idea in half, breaking unity. (§8.5)Section 3 — Short Answer
SA1. In one sentence, state the given-new contract.
Model answer + rubric
*"Open each sentence with information the reader already has and end it with the new information you want to deliver."* **Rubric:** full credit names both halves (given/familiar first, new last) and the idea of reader expectation; half credit names only one half.SA2. A reader says your report is "hard to follow." Name the two diagnostic questions you should ask before fixing anything, and what each answer would tell you to do.
Model answer + rubric
(1) "Are the sentences individually clear but the reading bumpy?" → **cohesion** problem → reorder for given-new and fix transitions. (2) "Are the sentences smooth but I can't extract the point?" → **coherence** problem → find and state the controlling idea (topic sentence). **Rubric:** full credit distinguishes cohesion (reorder) from coherence (restate the point) and ties each to a fix.SA3. Name the four transition relationships and give one word for each.
Model answer + rubric
Additive (and/also/furthermore); Adversative (but/however/yet); Causal (because/therefore/so); Sequential (first/then/finally). **Rubric:** full credit names all four with a correct example each; the key insight is naming the *relationship* before the word.Section 4 — Applied Scenario
Scenario 1 (graded by rubric). Revise the paragraph below. It is coherent (the story makes sense) but not cohesive (the sentences clatter, and one transition lies). Reorder for given-new, fix the false transition, and split if unity is broken. Do not add or drop facts.
"A new linter was added to the CI pipeline last sprint. However, code quality complaints dropped sharply afterward. The linter flags unused imports and inconsistent formatting. Developers initially pushed back on the added friction. Most now say it catches issues before review. The pipeline runtime increased by about 20 seconds."
Rubric
**A strong revision (one possibility):** *"Last sprint we added a new linter to the CI pipeline; it flags unused imports and inconsistent formatting. Code-quality complaints dropped sharply afterward. Developers initially pushed back on the added friction, but most now say the linter catches issues before review. The one cost: pipeline runtime increased by about 20 seconds."* Score on: (1) **given-new**—do sentences open with established info (linter → its checks → complaints → developer reaction)? (2) **false transition fixed**—the original "however" wrongly promised a contrast between adding a linter and quality improving (that's a *result*, not a contrast); it should be removed or replaced, and a real "but" can sit at the genuine contrast (pushed back → now like it). (3) **facts preserved**—all six facts present. (4) **reads cleanly aloud** with no seam stumbles. Full credit: all four. The linter-runtime cost belongs at the end as the one trade-off, in the stress position.Scoring & Next Steps
| Score | What it means | Do this |
|---|---|---|
| < 50% | Core ideas not yet solid | Re-read §8.2–§8.4 (topic sentence, given-new, transitions); redo Exercises B1–B4 |
| 50–70% | Recognize the ideas, shaky on application | Redo Exercises Part B (the reorder and transition tasks) until reordering feels automatic |
| 70–85% | Solid — ready to move on | Proceed to Chapter 9; do the Project Checkpoint paragraph pass on your draft |
| > 85% | Strong command | Try Extension E2 (build a known-new chain on purpose) and Part E in the exercises |