Paragraph Development Practice Exercises 5

Paragraph Development Practice Exercises

The study guide for these practice exercises can be found at:

Practice Set 1

Answer questions 1–3 on the basis of the following passage.

(1) As soon as she sat down on the airplane, Rachel almost began to regret telling the travel agent that she wanted an exotic and romantic vacation; after sifting through a stack of brochures, the agent and her decided the most exotic vacation she could afford was a week in Rio. (2) As the plane hurtled toward Rio de Janeiro, she read the information on Carnival that was in the pocket of the seat in front of hers. (3) The very definition made her shiver: "from the Latin carnavale, meaning a farewell to the flesh." (4) She was searching for excitement, but had no intention of bidding her skin good-bye. (5) "Carnival," the brochure informed her, originated in Europe in the Middle Ages and served as a break from the requirements of daily life and society. (6) Most of all, it allowed the hard-working and desperately poor serfs the opportunity to ridicule their wealthy and normally humorless masters." (7) Rachel, a middle manager in a computer firm, wasn't entirely sure whether she was a serf or a master. (8) Should she be making fun, or would others be mocking her? (9) She was strangely relieved when the plane landed, as though her fate were decided.

Which of the following changes needs to be made to the above passage?
1. Part 2: Insert the before Carnival.
2. Part 3: Italicize carnavale.
3. Part 6: Italicize serfs.
4. Part 9: Change were to was.
hich of the following numbered parts contains a nonstandard use of a pronoun?
1. Part 1
2. Part 5
3. Part 7
4. Part 8
Which of the following changes needs to be made to Part 5 of the passage?
1. Insert quotation marks before originated.
2. Remove the comma after her.
3. Remove the quotation marks around Carnival.
4. Insert quotation marks around society.

Answer questions 4–6 on the basis of the following passage.

(1) A metaphor is a poetic device that deals with comparison. (2) It compares similar qualities of two dissimilar objects. (3) With a simple metaphor, one object becomes the other: Love is a rose. Although this doesn't sound like a particularly rich image, a metaphor can communicate so much about a particular image that poets utilize them more than any other type of figurative language. (4) The reason for this is that a poet composes poetry to express emotional experiences. (5) Succinctly what the poet imagines love to be may or may not be our perception of love. (6) Therefore, the poet's job is to enable us to experience and feel it the same way. (7) You should be able to nod in agreement and say, "Yes, that's it! (8) I understand precisely where this guy is coming from."

The tone of this passage is very formal; the last sentence is not. Which of the following would be more consistent with the tone of the passage?
1. This guy is right on.
2. I can relate to the poet's experience.
3. I know this feeling.
4. This poem gets right to the point.
Which of the following numbered parts contains a nonstandard use of a pronoun?
1. Part 3
2. Part 5
3. Part 6
4. Part 7
Which of the following adverbs should replace the underline word in Part 5 of the passage?
1. Consequently
2. Normally
3. Occasionally
4. Originally

Answer questions 7–9 on the basis of the following passage.

(1) Light pollution a growing problem worldwide. (2) Like other forms of pollution, light pollution degrades the quality of the environment. (3) Where once it was possible to look up at the night sky and see thousands of twinkling stars in the inky blackness, one now sees little more than the yellow glare of urban sky glow. (4) When we lose the ability to connect visually with the vastness of the universe by looking up at the night sky, we lose our connection with something profoundly important to the human spirit—my sense of wonder.

Which of the endings to the following sentence would be the best concluding sentence for this passage? The most serious damage resulting from light pollution is to our
1. artistic appreciation.
2. sense of physical well-being.
3. spiritual selves.
4. cultural advancement.
Which of the following changes needs to be made to Part 4 of the passage?
1. Change we to you.
2. Change my to our.
3. Change we to I.
4. Change my to his.
Which of the following numbered parts contains a nonstandard sentence?
1. Part 1
2. Part 2
3. Part 3
4. Part 4

Practice Set 2

Answer questions 10–12 on the basis of the following passage.

(1) Typically people think of genius, whether it manifests itself in Mozart symphonies or Einstein's discovery of relativity, as having a quality not just of the divine, but also of the eccentric. (2) People see genius as a "good" abnormality; moreover, they think of genius as a completely unpredictable abnormality. (3) Until recently, psychologists regarded the quirks of genius as too erratic to describe intelligibly; however, Anna Findley's groundbreaking study uncovers predictable patterns in the biographies of geniuses. (4) Despite the regularity of these patterns, they could still support the common belief that there is a kind of supernatural intervention in the lives of unusually talented men and women. (5) _____. (6) For example, Findley shows that all geniuses experience three intensely productive periods in their lives, one of which always occurs shortly before their deaths; this is true whether the genius lives to nineteen or ninety.

Which of the following sentences, if inserted in the blank numbered Part 5, would best focus the main idea of the passage?
1. These patterns are normal in the lives of all geniuses.
2. Eerily, the patterns themselves seem to be determined by predestination rather than mundane habit.
3. No matter how much scientific evidence the general public is presented with, people still like to think of genius as unexplainable.
4. Since people think of genius as a "good" abnormality, they do not really care what causes it.
Which of the following changes needs to be made to the passage?
1. Part 1: Change Mozart to Mozart's.
2. Part 3: Change too to to.
3. Part 4: Change there to their.
4. Part 6: Change geniuses to geniuses'.
Which of the following numbered parts contains a nonstandard use of a pronoun?
1. Part 2
2. Part 3
3. Part 4
4. Part 6

Answer questions 13–15 on the basis of the following passage.

(1) Horatio Hornblower, a British naval hero whose exploits take place during the great age of sailing ships, is a fictional character created by author C. S. Forester. (2) The Hornblower novels trace the heros career from its very beginning, when he joins a British warship as a seasick midshipman, and follow his rise through the ranks until he reaches the level of Admiral of the Fleet. (3) The Hornblower novels are famous for their exciting battle scenes, as wooden sailing ships range the seas firing broadsides at one another. (4) But these novels are significant for more than that: they also provide a very accurate picture of what life is like aboard those great ships of war during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. (5) It was a hard life! (6) Sailors lacked what we would consider edible food and drinkable water, often for months at a time. (7) Discipline was severe—a sailor could be flogged for what we today would consider minor offenses—yet the Hornblower novels also help us to understand that such discipline and self-denial were essential to the safety and effectiveness of warships in that age. (8) The Hornblower books are available in paperback and hardcover. (9) Forester's Horatio Hornblower novels thus serve two very valuable functions: they give modern audiences a glimpse into a bygone era, showing us what life was like for the fighting men of the seas; and they manage to provide many hours of enjoyable reading in the process. (10) Combining these two elements together is indeed a remarkable literary feat.

Which of the following editorial changes should be made to improve the focus of the passage?
1. Reverse the order of Parts 2 and 3.
2. Remove Part 5.
3. Part 10: Change Combining to Combined.
4. Remove Part 8.
Which of the following changes needs to be made to the passage?
1. Part 4: Add a comma after But
2. Part 6: Remove the comma after water
3. Part 2: Change heros to hero's
4. Part 9: Change Forester's to Foresters
Which of the following sentences has an error in verb tense?
1. Part 2
2. Part 3
3. Part 4
4. Part 5

Answer questions 16–17 on the basis of the following passage.

(1) The Disasters of War is a famous series of prints by Spanish artist Francisco Goya, which he etched between 1810 and 1820. (2) The individual prints depict the devastating effects of the war waged by Napoleon against the people of Spain. (3) The scenes that the artist represented showed the ravages of the Napoleonic Wars on ordinary people focusing on the side effects various battles had on commoners. (4) This approach to artistic representation of battle was unusual at the time, since most artists sought to capture the actions and deeds of soldiers who were actually fighting the war. (5) But Goya wanted to protest against Napoleon's war-mongering and greed, so he showed the world what the battles did to ordinary people who were merely trying to live out their lives. (6) Goya feared that his prints would be very controversial, and that he might suffer for making them. (7) This fear caused him to keep the works secret not permitting them to be made public until well after his death.

In which of the following numbered parts should a comma be inserted?
1. Part 6
2. Part 7
3. Part 1
4. Part 2
Which of the following sentences is a run-on?
1. Part 6
2. Part 5
3. Part 4
4. Part 3

Answer questions 18–20 on the basis of the following passage.

(1) Whether or not you can accomplish a specific goal or meet a specific deadline depends first on how much time you need to get the job done. (2) What should you do when the demands of the job precede the time you have available. (3) The best approach is to correctly divide the project into smaller pieces. (4) Different goals will have to be divided in different ways, but one seemingly unrealistic goal can often be accomplished by working on several smaller, more reasonable goals.

Which of the following sentences has an error in the verb infinitive?
1. Part 1
2. Part 2
3. Part 3
4. Part 4
Which of the following words should replace the underlined word in Part 2 of the passage?
1. exceed
2. succeed
3. supercede
4. proceed
Which of the following sentences in the passage needs a question mark?
1. Part 1
2. Part 2
3. Part 3
4. Part 4

Practice Set 3

Answer questions 21 and 22 on the basis of the following passage.

(1) The Competitive Civil Service system is designed to give candidates fair and equal treatment and ensure that federal applicants are hired based on objective criteria. (2) Hiring has to be based solely on a candidate's knowledge, skills, and abilities (which you'll sometimes see abbreviated as KSA), and not on external factors such as race, religion, sex, and so on. (3) Whereas employers in the private sector can hire employees for subjective reasons, federal employers must be able to justify his decision with objective evidence that the candidate is qualified.

Which of the following sentences lacks parallelism?
1. Part 1
2. Part 2
3. Part 3
4. Parts 2 and 3
Which of the following sentences has an error in pronoun agreement?
1. Part 1
2. Part 2
3. Part 3
4. Parts 2 and 3

Answer questions 23 and 24 on the basis of the following passage.

(1) A light rain was falling. (2) He drove home by his usual route. (3) It was a drive he had taken a thousand times; still, he did not know why, as he passed the park near their home, he should so suddenly and vividly picture the small pond that lay at the center of it. (4) In winter, this pond was frozen over, and he had taken his daughter Abigail there when she was small and tried to teach her how to skate. (5) She hadn't been able to catch on, and so after two or three lessons Abigail and him had given up on the idea. (6) Now there came into his mind an image of such clarity it caused him to draw in his breath sharply; an image of Abigail gliding toward him on her new Christmas skates, going much faster than she should have been.

Which of the following changes needs to be made to the passage?
1. Part 3: Change the semicolon to a comma.
2. Part 4: Remove the word and.
3. Part 5: Change the comma to a semicolon.
4. Part 6: Change the semicolon to a colon.
Which of the following changes needs to be made to the passage?
1. Part 3: Replace their with there.
2. Part 4: Remove the comma after over.
3. Part 5: Change him to he.
4. Part 6: Replace Christmas with Christmas'.

Answer questions 25–27 on the basis of the following passage.

(1) For years, Mt. Desert Island, particularly its major settlement, Bar Harbor, afforded summer homes for the wealthy. (2) Finally though, Bar Harbor has become a burgeoning arts community as well. (3) But, the best part of the island is the unspoiled forest land known as Acadia National Park. (4) Since the island sits on the boundary line between the temperate and sub-Arctic zones the island supports the flora and fauna of both zones as well as beach, inland, and alpine plants. (5) Lies in a major bird migration lane and is a resting spot for many birds. (6) The establishment of Acadia National Park in 1916 means that this natural monument will be preserved and that it will be available to all people, not just the wealthy. (7) Visitors to Acadia may receive nature instruction from the park naturalists as well as enjoy camping, hiking, cycling, and boating. (8) Or they may choose to spend time at the archeological museum learning about the Stone Age inhabitants of the island.

Which of the following sentences is a sentence fragment?
1. Part 2
2. Part 3
3. Part 4
4. Part 5
Which of the following adverbs should replace the words Finally though in Part 2?
1. Suddenly
2. Concurrently
3. Simultaneously
4. Recently
Which of the following changes needs to be made to Part 4?
1. Insert a comma after the word zones.
2. Delete the word Since at the beginning of the sentence.
3. Delete the comma after the word inland.
4. Add a question mark at the end of the sentence.

Answer questions 28 and 29 on the basis of the following passage.

(1) A smoke detector should be placed on each floor level of a home and outside each sleeping area. (2) A good site for a detector would be a hallway that runs between living spaces and bedrooms. (3) Because of the "dead" air space that might be missed by turbulent hot air bouncing around above a fire, smoke detectors should be installed either at the ceiling at least four inches from the nearest wall, or high on a wall at least four, but no further than twelve, inches from the ceiling. (4) Detectors should not be mounted near windows, exterior doors, or other places where drafts might direct the smoke away from the unit. (5) Also, it should not be placed in kitchens and garages, where cooking and gas fumes are likely to set off false alarms.

Which of the following numbered parts contains a nonstandard use of a preposition?
1. Part 1
2. Part 3
3. Part 4
4. Part 5
In which of the following numbered parts should a pronoun be replaced with a different pronoun?
1. Part 1
2. Part 2
3. Part 3
4. Part 5

Answer questions 30–32 on the basis of the following passage.

(1) Heat exhaustion, generally characterized by clammy skin, fatigue, nausea, dizziness, profuse perspiration, and sometimes fainting, resulting from an inadequate intake of water and the loss of fluids. (2) First aid treatment for this condition includes having the victim lie down, raising the feet 8 to 12 inches, applying cool, wet cloths to the skin, and giving the victim sips of salt water (1 teaspoon per glass, half a glass every 15 minutes) over the period of an hour. (3) _____. (4) Heatstroke is much more serious; it is an immediate life-threatening condition. (5) The characteristics of heatstroke are a high body temperature (which may reach 106°F or more); a rapid pulse; hot, dry skin; and a blocked sweating mechanism. (6) Victims of this condition may be unconscious, and first aid measures should be directed at cooling the body quickly. (7) Heatstroke often occurs among poor people in urban areas. (8) The victim should be placed in a tub of cold water or repeatedly sponged with cool water until his or her temperature is lowered sufficiently. (9) Fans or air conditioners will also help with the cooling process. (10) Care should be taken, however, not to chill the victim too much once his or her temperature is below 102°F.

Which of the following sentences, if inserted into the blank in Part 3 in the passage, would best aid the transition of thought between the first and second paragraphs?
1. Heat exhaustion is a relatively unusual condition in northern climates.
2. The typical victims of heatstroke are the poor and elderly who cannot afford air conditioning even on the hottest days of summer.
3. Heat exhaustion is never fatal, although it can cause damage to internal organs if it strikes an elderly victim.
4. Air conditioning units, electric fans, and cool baths can lower the number of people who suffer heatstroke each year in the United States.
Which of the following numbered parts draws attention away from the main idea of the second paragraph of the passage?
1. Part 6
2. Part 7
3. Part 8
4. Part 10
Which of the following numbered parts contains a nonstandard sentence?
1. Part 1
2. Part 3
3. Part 5
4. Part 8

Practice Set 4

Answer questions 33 and 34 on the basis of the following passage.

(1) To test for carbon monoxide (CO) contamination, meters must be held head high. (2) Appliances should be operating for five to ten minutes before testing, a check must be made near all gas appliances and vents. (3) If vents are working properly, no CO emissions will enter the structure. (4) If the meters register unsafe levels—above 10 parts per million (ppm)—all occupants should be evacuated and the source of the contamination investigated. (5) Occupants should be interviewed to ascertain the location of the CO detector (if any), the length of time the alarm has sounded, what the occupants been doing at the time of the alarm, and what electrical appliances were functioning. (6) Occupants should not re-enter the premises until the environment is deemed safe.

Which of the following numbered parts contains a nonstandard verb form?
1. Part 2
2. Part 3
3. Part 5
4. Part 6
Which of the following numbered parts contains a nonstandard sentence?
1. Part 2
2. Part 4
3. Part 5
4. Part 6

Answer questions 35 and 36 on the basis of the following passage.

(1) Glaciers consist of fallen snow that compresses over many years into large, thickened ice masses. (2) Most of the world's glacial ice is found in Antarctica and Greenland glaciers are found on nearly every continent, even Africa. (3) Presently, 10% of land area is covered with glaciers. (4) Glacial ice often appears blue because ice absorbs all other colors but reflects blue. (5) Almost 90% of an iceberg is below water; only about 10% shows above water. (6) What makes glaciers unique is their ability to move? (7) Due to sheer mass, glaciers flow like very slow rivers. (8) Some glaciers are as small as football fields, while others grow to be over a hundred kilometers long.

Which of the following sentences is a run-on sentence?
1. Part 1
2. Part 2
3. Part 3
4. Part 4
Which of the following sentences contains an error in punctuation?
1. Part 3
2. Part 4
3. Part 5
4. Part 6

Answer question 37 on the basis of the following short description.

(1) Herbert was enjoying the cool, bright fall afternoon. (2) Walking down the street, red and yellow leaves crunched satisfyingly under his new school shoes.

Which of the following is the best revision of the description?
1. Herbert was enjoying the cool bright fall afternoon. Walking down the street red and yellow leaves crunched satisfyingly under his new school shoes.
2. Herbert was enjoying the cool, bright fall afternoon. He was walking down the street, red and yellow leaves crunched satisfyingly under his new school shoes.
3. Herbert was enjoying the cool, bright fall afternoon. Walking down the street, he crunched red and yellow leaves satisfyingly under his new school shoes.
4. Herbert was enjoying the cool, bright fall afternoon. Walking down the street, red and yellow leaves were crunched satisfyingly under his new school shoes.

Answer questions 38–40 on the basis of the following passage.

(1) The building in which Howard Davis was to teach his under-graduate evening course, Interpretation of Poetry, was Renwick Hall, the General Sciences Building. (2) Markham Hall, which housed the English Department offices and classrooms, was to be closed all summer for renovation. (3) Howard's classroom was in the basement. (4) The shadowy corridor that led back to it was lined with glass cases containing exhibits whose titles read Small Mammals of North America, Birds of the Central United States, and Reptiles of the Desert Southwest. (5) The dusty specimens perched on little stands; their tiny claws gripped the smooth wood nervously. (6) A typewritten card, yellow with age, bearing the name of its genus and species. (7) The classroom itself was outfitted with a stainless steel sink, and behind the lectern loomed a dark-wood cabinet through whose glass doors one could see rows of jars, each holding what appeared to be an animal embryo floating in a murky liquid. (8) The classroom wreaked of formaldehyde.

Which of the following sentences, if inserted between Parts 6 and 7, would best fit the author's pattern of development in the second paragraph of the passage?
1. Howard would be teaching Byron, Shelley, and Keats this term.
2. In the display case opposite Howard's classroom, a pocket gopher reared up on its hind legs, staring glassy-eyed into the open doorway.
3. Although Markham was at least twenty-five years younger than Renwick, the administration had chosen to renovate it rather than the aging, crumbling science building.
4. Genus and species are taxonomic categories.
Which of the following numbered parts contains a nonstandard sentence?
1. Part 1
2. Part 2
3. Part 6
4. Part 7
Which of the underlined words in the paragraph needs to be replaced with its homonym?
1. led
2. their
3. read
4. wreaked

Answers

b. The word Carnavale is a foreign word; therefore, it must be italicized. Choice c is incorrect because there is no reason to italicize the word serfs, an ordinary noun, in the passage. Choice a is incorrect because the definite article is not needed before the word Carnival used as a proper noun. Choice d is incorrect because the verb were is used correctly here, in the subjunctive mood.
a. The objective pronoun her is misused in Part 1 as a subject pronoun; it needs to be replaced with the pronoun she.
a. Quotation marks need to be inserted before the quotation is resumed after the interrupting phrase, the brochure informed her. Choice b is incorrect because the comma is required to set off the interrupting phrase from the quotation. Choice c is incorrect because the close quotation marks are necessary before the interrupting phrase. Choice d is incorrect because the quotation is not finished; it goes on for another sentence.
b. This statement maintains the formal tone established by the rest of the passage. Choices a, c, and d are still too informal.
d. In Part 7, the pronoun you needs to be changed to we to agree in number and person to the antecedents used earlier in the passage. Choices a, b, and c are incorrect because none of these sentences contain a nonstandard use of a pronoun.
a. Consequently means as a result of. The adverbs listed in choices b, c, and d do not address this sequence.
c. Choice c reflects the sentiments in the last sentence of the passage. Choices a, b, and d do not state such a profound effect.
b. The pronoun my needs to be changed to our to agree in number and person withthe pronoun we. Choices a, c, and d fail to correct the pronoun/antecedent agreement problem.
a. Part 1 is a fragment and needs a verb to make it a complete sentence. The sentences in choices b, c, and d are complete.
b. The main idea of this paragraph is that, while genius has a recognizable pattern, the patterns are extraordinary. Choice b directly states that the patterns have the eerie quality of fate. Choice a does not focus ideas, but rather repeats material already stated. Choice c focuses attention on the side idea of the popular opinions about genius. Choice d contains material that is irrelevant to the main idea and argument of the passage.
a. The possessive Mozart's is required before the gerund composing. Choice b is incorrect because too, meaning excessively, is required in this context, not the preposition to. Choice c is incorrect because the possessive form does not make sense in this context. Choice d is incorrect because there, not the possessive pronoun their, is required in this context.
c. Part 4 contains an error in pronoun/antecedent agreement; the pronoun they must be changed to it in order to agree in number and person with its antecedent, regularity. Choices a, b, and d are incorrect because they contain standard uses of pronouns.
d. The passage discusses the fact that the Hornblower books are both educational and enjoyable. The fact that they are available in paperback and hardcover is irrelevant to the passage's topic.
c. The phrase hero's career is possessive—the career of the hero—and therefore, heros needs an apostrophe. The plural of hero is heroes.
c. Sentence 4 shifts from the past tense to the present tense with the verb is. The sentence should read, "… what life was like …."
b. There should be a comma after secret, since the sentence contains two clauses.
d. Sentence 3 needs a comma after ordinary people, separating the two clauses.
c. To correctly divide is a split infinitive. The infinitive is to divide. Choices a, b, and d do not make this kind of error.
a. The context requires a verb that means to extend beyond, not to come before. The words in the other choices do not have this meaning.
b. Part 2 is the only interrogatory sentence in the passage. Since it asks a question, it needs a question mark as punctuation.
a. Since the sentence states that the system is designed to give, then it needs to ensure as well. Choices b, c, and d are correct as written.
c. The pronoun his should be replaced with their in order to agree with federal employers. There are no errors in pronoun agreement in choices a, b, or d.
d. A semicolon should separate two complete sentences (independent clauses); the second half of Part 6 is not a complete sentence but a restatement of a portion of the first half. This makes a colon appropriate. Choices a and b would create run-on sentences. Choice c would incorrectly separate two independent clauses joined by a conjunction (and) with a semicolon.
c. The pronoun is one of the subjects of the sentence, and so it should be changed from the object form him to the subject form he. Choice a is incorrect because their, meaning belonging to them, is correct in this context. Choice b is incorrect because the comma is necessary before the conjunction. Choice d is incorrect because the possessive form is not required in this context.
d. Part 5 is the only sentence fragment in this passage. It needs a subject in order to express a complete thought.
d. The word recently is the best contrast to Finally though in Part 2. Choices a, b, and c indicate time lapses that would not necessarily take place in the context of the passage.
a. The comma is needed to set off the introductory clause from the independent clause. Making the changes stated in choices b, c, or d would create a nonstandard sentence.
b. The phrase at the ceiling should be replaced with on the ceiling.
d. The pronoun it should be changed to they to agree in number and person with its antecedent, detectors. Choices a, b, and c are incorrect because they contain standard uses of pronouns.
c. The paragraphs are related in that they both talk about the physical effects of extreme heat on people and the treatment of these conditions, but the main subject of each paragraph details a different condition resulting from extreme heat. The second paragraph begins by mentioning that heat stroke is much more serious than the condition mentioned in Paragraph 1, heat exhaustion. Choice c best aids the transition by ending the first paragraph with an explanation of the most serious effects of heat exhaustion, thereby paving the way for the contrasting description of the far more serious condition, heat stroke. Choice a is off-topic; choices b and d are both about heat stroke, so they belong in the second paragraph, not the first.
b. The main idea of this paragraph is a description of the symptoms and treatment of heat stroke. The information in Part 7 about the most common victims of heat stroke is least relevant to the topic of the paragraph. The other choices, by contrast, all either discuss symptoms or treatment.
a. Part 1 is a sentence fragment; it contains no main verb.
c. The phrase what the occupants been doing needs an auxiliary verb—for example, it might read what the occupants had been doing. Choices a, b, and d are incorrect because they contain standard verb forms.
a. Part 2 contains a comma splice; the comma should be replaced with a semicolon. Choices b, c, and d are incorrect because they contain standard sentences.
b. Part 2 expresses two complete thoughts as one. To correct this sentence, a comma should be added after Greenland and the conjunction but should precede the independent clause.
d. Even though it may look like a question, Part 6 is not an interrogatory sentence. It should not be punctuated with a question mark.
c. This choice adds the subject he in the second sentence, eliminating the dangling modifier walking down the street. Otherwise the sentence reads as if the leaves are walking down the street. All other choices ignore the problem of the dangling modifier and add grammatical mistakes to the sentences.
b. This paragraph's purpose is descriptive; it describes the classroom and the corridor outside it. Choice b is correct because the information in the sentence adds to the description of the corridor. Choice a is incorrect because it adds information that describes the course Howard is to teach, which is not the subject of this paragraph. Choice c is incorrect because it adds information about the two buildings mentioned in the first paragraph; therefore, it rightfully belongs in the first paragraph, not the second. Choice d is incorrect because it adds information irrelevant to the paragraph.
c. Part 6 is a dependent clause with no independent clause to attach itself to; therefore, it is a sentence fragment.
d. The word wreaked should be replaced in this context by its homonym reeked. Choices a, b, and c are all incorrect because the words indicated are all used correctly in their context.

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Paragraph Development Practice Exercises 5 (page 3)