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Answer Key to Exercises
See pages 521–560 in The Scott, Foresman Writer, Fifth Edition.
EXERCISE 8.1
Answers will vary. Some possibilities:
1. Depending upon degree of acquaintance, the style may vary from
moderately formal to slightly informal. In describing
qualifications for the position, the writer might include personal
details to give the reader hints about his or her personality.
2. An informal style that presents information in a direct, friendly
manner will be most likely to attract readers.
3. Depending upon the size and character of the church community,
the style may range from slightly formal to casual.
4. Depending upon the purpose of the home page (e.g., to provide
potential employers with easy access to one’s résumé versus to
communicate about one’s hobbies), the style may range from
moderately formal to very informal.
EXERCISE 8.2
Answers will vary.
EXERCISE 8.3
Answers will vary. One possibility:
Recent reports indicate that budgetary issues will not allow for the
renovation of the campus dorms this year. However, I believe that some
administrative expenditures bear further scrutiny as they seem to
undercut these reports. While the administration’s expensive soirees are
the most obvious target for review, I suggest that the entire
administrative salary structure might benefit from a more critical cost-tobenefit analysis. At the very least, our administrators need to make
attempts to more strongly identify with students’ needs, like the muchneeded renovation of our housing.
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EXERCISE 8.4
Answers will vary. Some possibilities:
1. People in their 40s and 50s who want to look their best often
consider cosmetic surgery.
2. Today even high school physics teachers should know their
chaos theory, or they will look out of date to their students.
3. Business executives sometimes worry about leaving their
children in day care while working long hours to get ahead.
4. One of the candidates running for Congress in my district has
been a county judge for many years.
EXERCISE 8.5
Answers will vary.
EXERCISE 8.6
Answers will vary. Some possibilities:
1. Jewish director-producer Steven Spielberg traces his interest in
filmmaking back to his childhood, when he recorded family
occasions with his parents’ movie camera. (Unnecessary
identification of Spielberg as Jewish doesn’t contribute to the
desired meaning of the sentence.)
2. Negro African-American baseball players formed their own
leagues in the early 1900s. (“Negro” is an outdated term that is
largely unacceptable in current usage.)
3. Indians Native Americans, Eskimos Inuit, and other primitive
indigenous groups are often portrayed sympathetically in the
movies. (“Indians” and “Eskimos” are outdated terms that are
largely unacceptable in current usage. “Primitive” reflects a
cultural bias.)
4. Unlike most American teenagers, Asian students are
hardworking, academically oriented, and respectful of authority
figures. (Broad stereotypes are included that would be offensive
to both Americans and Asians. Rewording would include the
acknowledgement that these are stereotypes.)
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EXERCISE 8.7
Answers will vary. Some possibilities:
1. Although this sentence is a “true” statement, since Barney Frank
has publicly discussed his homosexuality, the phrase “almost the
only open homosexual” is disconcerting when read as a sentence
by itself. Many readers would be offended by the phrase unless
the information is clearly relevant to the larger discussion in
which the sentence appears (e.g., an article about an upcoming
vote on a gay-rights bill).
2. This sentence implies that it is somehow remarkable to be able to
write when one is over 70, an implication that would be insulting
to many elderly Americans.
3. The term “victims” oversimplifies the status of people affected
with AIDS and implies that all are incapable of caring for
themselves.
EXERCISE 8.8
Answers will vary. Some possibilities:
1. “Cops” is generally perceived as a prejudicial term by the lawenforcement community.
2. “Welfare mothers” is both offensive and overly broad as a
category for a discerning discussion of political issues.
3. “Sorority girls” and “fraternity guys” are terms used
prejudicially against certain groups.
4. The sentence implies that anyone growing up in an inner city
lives in a ghetto and is unlikely to be successful in a chosen
profession. It also inaccurately equates poverty with despair.
EXERCISE 9.1
Answers will vary.
EXERCISE 9.2
Answers will vary.
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EXERCISE 9.3
Answers will vary.
EXERCISE 9.4
Answers will vary.
EXERCISE 9.5
Answers will vary. Some possibilities:
1. The graceful, towering elm trees once common throughout North
America have disappeared, victims of Dutch-elm disease.
2. This relentless fungal infection destroys the vascular system of
the elm, causing mature, thriving trees to become leafless husks
in a few short weeks.
3. Few great urban parks in the United States can match the
diversity of New York’s Central Park, with its sizable zoo,
pleasant gardens and fields, glistening ponds and lakes, and
world-class museums.
4. Wealthy bankers, glittering show people, and down-on-their-luck
street people alike jostle shoulders and shopping bags in this
refreshing urban oasis.
EXERCISE 9.6
1. The Atlanta Braves, Washington Redskins, and Cleveland
Indians are sports teams whose names occasionally stir
controversy among Native American political interest groups.
2. Car insurance is getting so expensive in urban areas that many
college students have to rely on the city bus.
3. Ike mistakenly signed up for the yoga class because his doctor
told him that doing the cobra stretch and the sun salutation
would strengthen his injured back muscles.
4. At Martha’s Fourth of July party, the Vienna sausage didn’t sit
well with the Boston cream pie and strawberry ice cream.
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EXERCISE 9.7
Verbal phrases are underlined.
1. Waving at the crowd, the winner of the marathon took a victory
lap. (adjective; modifies “winner”)
2. The waiter certainly seemed eager to please us. (adverb;
modifies “eager”)
3. The salesperson enjoyed demonstrating the self-closing door on
the minivan. (direct object)
4. Harriet bought an awning to reduce the light (adverb; modifies
“bought”) streaming through her bay windows. (adjective;
modifies “light”)
5. To cherish the weak and the dying was Mother Teresa’s mission
in life. (subject)
EXERCISE 9.8
Answers will vary. Some possibilities:
1. To speak candidly, many newspaper reporters don’t know beans
about their beats.
2. We should be able, the weather having cleared, to take the
launch to the island.
3. Johnson, the tide of public opinion having turned, became a
viable candidate for governor again.
4. The entire network down, work in the electronic classrooms had
to stop for the day.
EXERCISE 9.9
Answers will vary. Some possibilities:
1. Rudolph Giuliani, 107th mayor of New York City, first gained
prominence as a federal prosecutor.
2. In Anasazi architecture, a prominent feature is the “kiva,” a
circular enclosure sunk in the ground and used for ceremonies
and meetings.
3. The technique called “pure fresco”, painting with plaster stained
with pigment, produces enduring images such as those on the
ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, Michelangelo’s masterpiece.
4. The gizzard, a part of the digestive system, of a bird is thick with
muscles for grinding food.
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5. Shakespeare’s masterpiece, Macbeth, includes three witches, the
Weird Sisters.
EXERCISE 9.10
Subjects are underlined once, predicates twice. Understood subjects
follow their sentences.
1. The wood on the deck warped after only one summer.
2. Jeremy has been trying to reach you all day.
3. Attend the rally this afternoon. (you)
4. Keeping focused on schoolwork is hard on weekends.
5. Be careful. (you)
EXERCISE 9.11
Answers will vary. Some possibilities:
1. All the students in the class who had nose rings and tattoos said
they supported the Democratic party’s proposals.
2. But everyone in the class who owned an autographed photo of
Newt Gingrich opposed the Democrats’ policies.
3. Companies that offer generous benefits packages and pay good
wages are prospering more today than firms that overwork and
alienate employees.
4. The original Star Wars trilogy, which was re-released in 1997,
has been joined by a new series of films in the saga.
5. Teens prefer to congregate in places where they can socialize
without adult supervision.
EXERCISE 9.12
Answers will vary. Some possibilities:
1. Even though most of us love to debate about politics, Americans
vote in record low numbers.
2. Many young people put little faith in the social security system
since they realize that older generations will soon exhaust its
funds.
3. If the earth’s temperature increases enough, the polar ice caps
will soon melt and the level of the oceans will rise.
4. Although they know the dangers, surprising numbers of children
still smoke.
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EXERCISE 9.13
Noun clauses are underlined.
1. What politicians say often matters less than how they say it.
(subjects)
2. Whoever sent a letter of condolence should receive a prompt
reply from us. (subject)
3. Why so many people care so much about celebrities is beyond
my comprehension. (subject)
4. Someone had better explain how the dogs got loose. (object)
EXERCISE 9.14
Answers will vary. Some possibilities:
1. Dogs, cats, rabbits, and even fish enrich and enliven our lives by
comforting and accompanying us.
2. The biological and chemical sciences challenge and undercut our
assumptions and presuppositions.
3. Activities such as long-distance running and rock climbing can
damage our health and endanger our lives.
EXERCISE 9.15
Answers will vary. Some possibilities:
1. The housing market finally recovered, but mortgage lenders
remained nervous.
2. Citizens’ groups invest time and money on get-out-the-vote
campaigns, yet many voters still skip general elections.
3. Vitamin C is good for colds, and Vitamin E keeps the skin in
good condition.
4. Most Americans get their news from television, so news anchors
are powerful people.
5. Tough drunk-driving laws are fair, for there is no reason to
tolerate inebriated drivers on the highway.
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EXERCISE 9.16
Answers will vary. Some possibilities:
1. Don’t feel sorry for the spare and thorny plants you see in a
desert: they don’t want or need more water.
2. Barren stalks, wicked thorns, and waxy spines are their
adaptations to a harsh environment; such features conserve water
or protect the plants from desert animals and birds.
3. Spring rains can create an astonishing desert spectacle—cacti
and other plants explode into colorful bloom.
4. Many animals call the desert home too, from tiny lizards to
scrawny coyotes; they are just as well adapted as the plants.
EXERCISE 9.17
Answers will vary. Some possibilities:
1. Ordinary books are still more convenient than most
computerized texts; moreover, they employ a technology that
doesn’t go out of date as quickly—paper.
2. Most people would save money by using public transportation;
nevertheless, they elect to use their private automobiles for daily
commuting.
3. American colonists resented England’s interference in their
political and commercial lives; therefore, the 13 colonies decided
to fight for their independence.
EXERCISE 9.18
Answers will vary. Some possibilities:
1. Even though we think of books as portable, bound volumes, the
original books of Babylonia and Assyria were collections of
inscribed clay tablets stored in labeled containers too heavy for
one person to move.
2. Although they remained the most convenient medium for
recording information until the Egyptians developed papyrus
around 3000 BC, clay tablets had many drawbacks.
3. Egyptian books were lighter than clay tablets but still awkward
to carry or read because a single papyrus book comprised several
large, unwieldy scrolls.
