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3. Editing Sentences for Errors – Part 3 Directions: The following…
3. Editing Sentences for Errors – Part 3
Directions: The following paragraph has many errors. Carefully read it, sentence by sentence. Then answer the questions that follow. Click [This sentence] in each question to see the referenced sentence in the passage.
The Luck of the Irish?
11A persons’ origins do not have to dictate the outcome of his or her life. 22Award-winning author Frank McCourt is an example of this statement in his inspirational autobiography, Angela’s Ashes, McCourt describes the challenges of his impoverished childhood in Ireland. 33McCourt was born on New York City; his mother had immigrated from Limerick, Ireland, and his father from Northern Ireland. 44The Great Depression hit the McCourt family hard, they decided to move back to Ireland in hopes of receiving financial support from their family. 55McCourt’s grandparents were not in fact supportive but felt disgusted that his mother had married a man from the North. 66The family settled in Limerick yet they struggled to make ends meet. 77The family had hard times in Ireland, and there were little work for McCourt’s father; when his father did find work, he usually went to the bar and drunk the entire paycheque away in one wild Friday night. 88McCourt vividly remembers the details of his childhood eating nothing but bread for weeks at a time, running around barefoot in the winter, and sharing a flea-ridden bed with his three brothers. 99However, McCourts academic success set him apart from other children. 1010His Catholic-school teachers often recommending that he pursue a career in the priesthood. 1111Despite all odds Frank McCourt eventually moved back to the United states, where he became a New York City high school English teacher and later a Pulitzer Prize-winning author. 1212McCourt’s success it seems came from his intelligence and from the strength of his spirit.
Source: McCourt, Frank. Angela’s Ashes. New York: Scribner, 1996. Print.
1. [This sentence] has an error. This sentence ………… . The word persons’ must be changed to …………… .
2. [This sentence] is a run-on sentence. To correct this error, insert a semicolon between the words and .
3. [This sentence] incorrectly uses a preposition. The word ……….. must be changed to ………… .
4. [This sentence] ……………… . To correct this sentence, replace the comma with a semicolon between the words ………….. and ………… .
5. [This sentence] lacks commas to set off a parenthetical phrase. A parenthetical phrase is a phrase that is not essential to the meaning of the sentence. To correct this sentence, insert a comma before the word ………. and after the word …………. .
6. In [This sentence], the coordinating conjunction is the word ………… . To correct this sentence, insert a …………. the coordinating conjunction.
7. [This sentence] displays incorrect verb tenses twice. To correct this sentence, change the word ………… to ………… , and change the word to .
8. In [This sentence], a colon may be used to introduce a list. Insert a colon between the words ……….. and …………. .
9. [This sentence] is missing an apostrophe. To correct this sentence, change the word …………….. .
10. [This sentence] has an error in the use of the past tense. To correct this error, change …………… .
11. Which of the following statements are true about [This sentence]? Check all that apply.
You should not capitalize the word English.
It would be correct to add a colon after the word eventually.
It would be correct to add a comma after the word odds.
You must capitalize the word states.
12. [This sentence] contains a parenthetical phrase that is punctuated incorrectly. Select the correct version of this sentence below.
McCourt’s success, it seems, came from his intelligence and from the strength of his spirit.
McCourt’s success it seems came from, his intelligence, and from the strength of his spirit.
McCourt’s success, it seems came from his intelligence and from the strength of his spirit.
