Adult ESL/ELL Advanced Quiz: Editing For Professional Audiences
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Editing For Professional AudiencesQuestion 1 of 10

A student has written the following paragraph for a formal academic essay on immigration policy:

'Many immigrants who come to the United States are fleeing poverty, violence, or political persecution. These people deserve our sympathy and support. Its a no-brainer that we should help them. The data clearly shows that immigrants contribute positively to the economy, filling labor shortages and paying taxes. So its obvious that restrictive immigration policies are counterproductive and wrong.'

An editor preparing this paragraph for an academic audience must address tone, mechanical errors, and unsupported logical claims. Which of the following is the MOST accurate assessment of the revisions needed?

Two mechanical errors ('Its' without an apostrophe in sentences three and five), one tone problem ('no-brainer' is informal slang), and two logical overstatements ('no-brainer' and 'obvious') that should be replaced with evidence-based hedging language appropriate for academic writing.
Two mechanical errors ('Its' without an apostrophe in sentences three and five), two tone/register problems ('no-brainer' is informal slang and 'These people deserve our sympathy' is emotionally loaded language unsuitable for academic writing), and one logical error (the conclusion that restrictive policies are 'wrong' is a normative moral claim that the economic data cited cannot support).
One mechanical error ('Its' in sentence three), two informal expressions ('no-brainer' and 'So its obvious') that undermine academic register, and one logical error where economic contribution data is used to conclude that restrictive policies are morally 'wrong,' which conflates empirical evidence with a normative judgment.
Two mechanical errors ('Its' in sentences three and five), one logical error in the conclusion where economic data is used to support a moral claim, and one structural problem where beginning the final sentence with 'So' signals unsupported causal reasoning and is inappropriate for formal academic prose.
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Adult ESL/ELL Advanced Quiz

Adult ESL/ELL Advanced Quiz: Editing For Professional Audiences

Practice Editing For Professional Audiences in Adult ESL/ELL Advanced with focused quiz questions that help you check what you know, review explanations, and build confidence with test-style prompts.

What this quiz covers

This quiz focuses on Editing For Professional Audiences, giving you a quick way to practice the rules, question types, and explanations that matter most for Adult ESL/ELL Advanced.

How to use this quiz

Try each quiz question before looking at the correct answer. Use the explanations to review missed ideas, then come back to similar questions until the pattern feels familiar.

All questions

Question 1

A student has written the following paragraph for a formal academic essay on immigration policy:

'Many immigrants who come to the United States are fleeing poverty, violence, or political persecution. These people deserve our sympathy and support. Its a no-brainer that we should help them. The data clearly shows that immigrants contribute positively to the economy, filling labor shortages and paying taxes. So its obvious that restrictive immigration policies are counterproductive and wrong.'

An editor preparing this paragraph for an academic audience must address tone, mechanical errors, and unsupported logical claims. Which of the following is the MOST accurate assessment of the revisions needed?

  1. Two mechanical errors ('Its' without an apostrophe in sentences three and five), one tone problem ('no-brainer' is informal slang), and two logical overstatements ('no-brainer' and 'obvious') that should be replaced with evidence-based hedging language appropriate for academic writing.
  2. Two mechanical errors ('Its' without an apostrophe in sentences three and five), two tone/register problems ('no-brainer' is informal slang and 'These people deserve our sympathy' is emotionally loaded language unsuitable for academic writing), and one logical error (the conclusion that restrictive policies are 'wrong' is a normative moral claim that the economic data cited cannot support). (correct answer)
  3. One mechanical error ('Its' in sentence three), two informal expressions ('no-brainer' and 'So its obvious') that undermine academic register, and one logical error where economic contribution data is used to conclude that restrictive policies are morally 'wrong,' which conflates empirical evidence with a normative judgment.
  4. Two mechanical errors ('Its' in sentences three and five), one logical error in the conclusion where economic data is used to support a moral claim, and one structural problem where beginning the final sentence with 'So' signals unsupported causal reasoning and is inappropriate for formal academic prose.
Explanation: When editing academic writing, you need to audit a passage on three separate tracks simultaneously: mechanical correctness (punctuation, grammar), register (is the tone appropriate for the context?), and logical validity (does the evidence actually support the conclusion?). Missing any one of these tracks is what makes this question tricky. The paragraph contains exactly two mechanical errors: "Its" appears without an apostrophe in both sentence three ("Its a no-brainer") and sentence five ("So its obvious"), where the contraction "It's" (it is) is required. The passage also has a clear register problem with "no-brainer," which is casual slang with no place in formal academic prose. But here's the subtler issue that separates B from the other choices: the phrase "These people deserve our sympathy" is emotionally loaded language — it appeals to feeling rather than evidence, which violates academic neutrality. Finally, the conclusion that restrictive policies are "wrong" is a normative moral claim, meaning it's a value judgment, not a logical conclusion that economic data can prove. Data can show policies are ineffective; it cannot prove they are morally wrong. Answer B correctly identifies all of these as distinct problems. Answer A misses the emotional language issue entirely and mischaracterizes "obvious" as a logical overstatement rather than recognizing the deeper empirical-vs.-normative problem. Answer C counts only one mechanical error, incorrectly overlooking the second "Its" in sentence five. Answer D raises a stylistic point about "So" that, while debatable, isn't one of the core documented problems, and it misses the register issue with "no-brainer." Your strategy: when a question asks you to assess multiple error types at once, treat each category as a checklist — don't let finding one error cause you to stop looking.

Question 2

An ESL student preparing a cover letter for a corporate position writes the following closing paragraph:

'I am very excited to hopefully join your esteemed company and feel that I would be a great fit. Please don't hesitate to contact me at your earliest convenience. I look forward to potentially discussing this further with you and am very confident that this opportunity would be a very good match for both parties involved.'

An editor revising this paragraph for professional tone must address hedging language, informal constructions, and word repetition. Which revision BEST improves the paragraph's overall professional quality while preserving the writer's intent?

  1. 'I am enthusiastic about contributing to your organization and believe my qualifications align well with this role. Please contact me at your convenience to continue the conversation. I welcome the opportunity to discuss my candidacy further and am confident this position would be mutually beneficial.' (correct answer)
  2. 'I am very enthusiastic about joining your esteemed company and feel strongly that I would be an excellent fit for the role. Please do not hesitate to reach out to me at your earliest convenience. I look forward to discussing this opportunity further and am highly confident it would be a great match for both parties.'
  3. 'I am excited to join your company and believe I am a great fit for the position. Please contact me at your earliest convenience so we can discuss this further. I look forward to our conversation and am confident this would be a good match for both of us going forward.'
  4. 'I am enthusiastic about the opportunity to contribute to your team and am confident my background aligns with your needs. I invite you to contact me at your convenience to arrange a discussion at your earliest opportunity. I remain certain this role represents an excellent match for both parties involved.'
Explanation: When revising professional writing, you need to evaluate three distinct problems simultaneously: hedging language (words like "hopefully" and "potentially" that undermine confidence), informal constructions (phrases like "don't hesitate" or vague terms like "very good match"), and word repetition (overuse of "very," "both parties," etc.). The best revision eliminates all three issues without changing what the writer actually means. Answer A does this most completely. It removes hedging entirely — "hopefully join" becomes "contributing," and "potentially discussing" disappears. Informal phrasing like "don't hesitate" is dropped in favor of the direct "please contact me." Vague repetition is tightened: "very good match for both parties involved" becomes the precise, professional "mutually beneficial." Every change serves a purpose, and the writer's core message — enthusiasm, confidence, and an invitation to connect — remains intact. Answer B is the most common trap. It removes hedging words but keeps several informal or weak constructions ("do not hesitate to reach out," "great match for both parties") and simply swaps weak intensifiers for stronger ones ("very" becomes "highly," "strongly"). It polishes the surface without fixing the structure. Answer C strips out the hedging but oversimplifies the language, losing the polished register expected in corporate correspondence. Phrases like "good match for both of us going forward" sound casual rather than professional. Answer D overcorrects into redundancy — "contact me at your convenience to arrange a discussion at your earliest opportunity" repeats the same idea twice in one sentence, creating new wordiness while trying to fix old problems. Your strategy: when evaluating professional tone revisions, read each option against all stated criteria — not just one. A revision that fixes hedging but introduces new problems is not the best answer.

Question 3

The following paragraph appears in a student's formal business report on workplace diversity:

'Companies who implement diversity initiatives tend to perform better financially. This is because diverse teams bring different perspectives to the table, which leads to more creative solutions. In todays competitive market, businesses that neglect to address diversity issues will ultimately suffer the consequences. Its important, therefore, for management to prioritize these kind of programs moving forward.'

An editor reviewing this paragraph for a professional audience must correct punctuation errors, a word-form error, and a diction issue that affects formal register. How many total distinct errors of these types exist in the paragraph, and which answer correctly identifies all of them?

  1. Three errors: 'todays' is missing a possessive apostrophe (should be 'today's'), 'Its' at the start of the fourth sentence is missing a contraction apostrophe (should be 'It's'), and 'these kind of' uses mismatched number agreement and should be 'this kind of' or 'these kinds of.'
  2. Four errors: 'todays' missing an apostrophe, 'Its' missing an apostrophe, 'these kind of' is incorrect in number agreement, and 'who' should be 'that' because 'companies' is a non-human entity and formal style requires the relative pronoun 'that' for non-personal referents.
  3. Four errors: 'todays' missing a possessive apostrophe, 'Its' missing a contraction apostrophe, 'these kind of' is incorrect in number agreement and should be 'this kind of' or 'these kinds of,' and 'bring different perspectives to the table' is an idiomatic cliché that lowers the formal register of a professional business report. (correct answer)
  4. Three errors: 'todays' missing an apostrophe, 'Its' missing an apostrophe, and 'bring different perspectives to the table' is an informal idiom that reduces the report's formal register and should be replaced with precise analytical language.
Explanation: When editing professional writing, you need to scan for multiple error types simultaneously: punctuation (missing apostrophes), grammar (number agreement), and register (whether word choices suit a formal audience). Train yourself to read each sentence with all three lenses active. In this paragraph, four distinct problems exist. First, "todays" needs a possessive apostrophe → "today's." Second, "Its important" uses the possessive pronoun "its" when the contraction "it's" (it is) is required. Third, "these kind of" creates a number mismatch — "these" is plural but "kind" is singular, so you need either "this kind of" or "these kinds of." Fourth, "bring different perspectives to the table" is an idiom — a fixed informal expression — that weakens formal register in a professional business report. Precise language like "contribute varied analytical perspectives" would be more appropriate. Answer C identifies all four errors correctly, making it the right choice. Answer A finds only three errors and misses the idiomatic cliché entirely, leaving the register problem unaddressed. Answer B correctly counts four errors but misidentifies the fourth: it flags "who" as incorrect for referring to companies, claiming formal style demands "that" for non-human entities. While "that" is acceptable, "who" for organizations is widely accepted in formal writing and is not a clear error — this is a distractor based on an overstated rule. Answer D finds only three errors, correctly identifies the idiom problem, but misses the number-agreement error with "these kind of," so it undercounts. Your strategy: when a question says "identify all errors," assume there may be more than the obvious ones. Always check punctuation, grammar, and tone/register as separate passes.

Question 4

A career counselor is reviewing a student's professional biography for a LinkedIn profile. The student has written:

'John is a passionate and hardworking individual who is very dedicated to his craft. He has worked in the marketing field for the past 5 years, during which time he has developed a wide range of skills. John is a team player who thinks outside the box and always gives 110%. He is excited to leverage his skill set to drive impactful synergies in a forward-thinking environment.'

The counselor must edit this biography to eliminate clichés and jargon while preserving specific, concrete professional information. The counselor identifies that one sentence contains NO salvageable concrete information and should be deleted entirely rather than revised. Which sentence is it, and why?

  1. The first sentence, because 'passionate,' 'hardworking,' and 'dedicated to his craft' are all generic clichés that provide no specific information about John's professional identity, making the entire sentence content-free regardless of revision.
  2. The third sentence, because 'team player,' 'thinks outside the box,' and 'gives 110%' are all overused clichés that carry no concrete meaning in a professional context, and no specific factual content is embedded within the sentence that could be retained through revision. (correct answer)
  3. The fourth sentence, because while 'leverage,' 'skill set,' 'impactful synergies,' and 'forward-thinking' are jargon-heavy, the sentence still conveys John's professional aspiration and enthusiasm, which could be rewritten with concrete language about his goals.
  4. The second sentence, because stating he has worked 'in the marketing field for the past 5 years' is vague without specifying his exact role, and 'a wide range of skills' is too general to be useful, meaning the sentence contributes no meaningful professional information.
Explanation: When editing professional writing, you need to ask two questions about every sentence: (1) Does it contain clichés or jargon? and (2) Even beneath those problems, is there a concrete fact worth saving? A sentence deserves deletion only when the answer to that second question is "no." The third sentence — "John is a team player who thinks outside the box and always gives 110%" — is the one to cut entirely, making B correct. Strip away every cliché, and nothing remains. "Team player," "thinks outside the box," and "gives 110%" are pure filler phrases with no embedded fact underneath them. There is no job title, no skill, no achievement, no industry detail — nothing a revision could rescue. Choice A tempts you because the first sentence is genuinely bad writing. However, it does contain one recoverable idea: that John works in a specific craft or field. A skilled editor could rewrite it as a focused professional identity statement. Deletion would throw away that seed of content. Choice C is actually incorrect reasoning about the wrong answer — the fourth sentence is jargon-heavy, but it contains John's professional aspiration (seeking a collaborative, innovative environment). That goal can be rewritten concretely, so the sentence is worth revising, not deleting. Choice D is a trap for students who confuse "vague" with "content-free." The second sentence contains two genuine facts: five years of experience and work in marketing. Both can be made specific through revision — neither requires deletion. Your strategy tip: ask yourself, "If I removed every buzzword, is there still a fact left?" If yes, revise. If no, delete.

Question 5

A student writing a professional grant proposal includes the following paragraph:

'The principle goal of this initiative is to provide underserved communities with access to digital literacy resources. We plan to partner with local schools and non-profit organizations to insure maximum outreach. The program will be comprised of three phases: assessment, implementation, and evaluation. Each phase will build upon the proceeding phase to create a cohesive, comprehensive framework.'

An experienced grant editor identifies four word-choice errors in this paragraph — each involving a commonly confused word pair. Which answer correctly identifies all four errors and their replacements?

  1. 'Principle' should be 'principal'; 'outreach' should be 'reach' (more direct and less jargon-heavy in formal grant writing); 'comprised of' should be 'composed of'; and 'proceeding' should be 'preceding.'
  2. 'Principle' should be 'principal'; 'insure' should be 'ensure'; 'non-profit' should be 'nonprofit' (the standard closed compound in American English style guides); and 'proceeding' should be 'preceding.'
  3. 'Principle' should be 'principal'; 'insure' should be 'ensure'; 'maximum' should be 'optimal' (more precise in grant language where resources are limited); and 'proceeding' should be 'preceding.'
  4. 'Principle' should be 'principal' (adjective meaning main or primary); 'insure' should be 'ensure' (to make certain, not to obtain coverage); 'comprised of' should be 'composed of' (since 'comprise' means to contain, making 'comprised of' redundant); and 'proceeding' should be 'preceding' (meaning coming before, not moving forward). (correct answer)
Explanation: When editing professional writing, you should watch for commonly confused word pairs — words that sound similar or look alike but carry distinct meanings. Grant proposals are especially high-stakes for this, since errors signal carelessness to reviewers. The passage contains exactly four such errors, all cleanly identified in D. First, "principle" (a noun meaning a rule or belief) should be "principal" (an adjective meaning main or primary) — the goal is the primary goal. Second, "insure" specifically means to obtain insurance coverage; the correct word is "ensure," meaning to make certain. Third, "comprised of" is technically incorrect: "comprise" means to contain or consist of, so you say "the program comprises three phases" — not "is comprised of." The correct phrasing is "composed of." Fourth, "proceeding" means moving forward, while "preceding" means coming before — each phase builds on the previous one, so "preceding" is required. A is wrong because it replaces "outreach" with "reach," framing a stylistic preference as a word-choice error — that's not the same thing. It also misses the "insure/ensure" error entirely. B is wrong because it flags "non-profit" vs. "nonprofit" as one of the four errors. That's a hyphenation/style question, not a confused word pair — and it completely misses the "comprised of" error. C is wrong for a similar reason: swapping "maximum" for "optimal" is a matter of tone and precision, not a word-choice error involving a confused pair. Your study tip: memorize the comprise rule — "the whole comprises the parts," never "is comprised of." It trips up even experienced writers and appears frequently on editing-focused exams.

Question 6

The following is an excerpt from a student's academic research proposal:

'This study will attempt to try to explore the effects of bilingual education on cognitive development in children. The data that we collected shows a positive correlation between bilingualism and increased executive function, which proves that bilingual education is superior. Furthermore, the literature review of prior studies we have reviewed suggest several conflicting viewpoints that must be reconciled.'

An academic editor reviewing this proposal for submission to a peer-reviewed journal identifies multiple issues. Which of the following editorial changes addresses the GREATEST number of distinct problems in terms of accuracy, academic tone, and grammatical correctness?

  1. Replace 'attempt to try to explore' with 'investigate' to eliminate triple redundancy; change 'we collected' to 'collected' to maintain objective academic voice; change 'proves' to 'suggests' to accurately reflect that correlation does not establish causation; and correct 'suggest' to 'suggests' to fix subject-verb agreement with the singular subject 'literature review.' (correct answer)
  2. Replace 'attempt to try to explore' with 'seek to explore' to reduce redundancy; change 'positive correlation' to 'causal relationship' to increase precision; change 'proves' to 'demonstrates' to soften the claim; and remove 'prior' from 'prior studies we have reviewed' as redundant given the context of a literature review.
  3. Replace 'attempt to try to' with 'attempt to' to reduce some redundancy; remove first-person pronouns throughout to establish formal academic voice; replace 'superior' with 'more effective' to moderate the evaluative claim; and change 'suggest' to 'suggests' to correct subject-verb agreement with 'literature review.'
  4. Replace 'attempt to try to explore' with 'examine' to reduce redundancy; change 'shows a positive correlation' to 'proves causation' for stronger scientific framing; change 'superior' to 'preferable' to soften the evaluative language; and rewrite 'literature review of prior studies we have reviewed' as 'existing literature' to eliminate redundancy.
Explanation: When editing academic writing, you need to evaluate changes across multiple dimensions simultaneously: redundancy, academic voice, logical accuracy, and grammar. The best editorial revision is the one that correctly fixes the most problems without introducing new errors. Answer A earns that distinction. It eliminates the triple redundancy of "attempt to try to explore" by replacing all three verbs with the single precise word "investigate." It removes the first-person "we collected" to establish the objective, impersonal tone expected in peer-reviewed writing. Crucially, it changes "proves" to "suggests" — a critical fix, because correlation never establishes causation; claiming otherwise is a fundamental scientific error, not just a tone issue. Finally, it correctly identifies that "literature review" is the singular subject of the verb "suggest," fixing the subject-verb agreement error to "suggests." Four distinct, legitimate problems — all correctly resolved. Answer B fails because it replaces "positive correlation" with "causal relationship," which actually worsens the scientific accuracy problem rather than fixing it. That's the opposite of good editing. Answer C only reduces the redundancy partially ("attempt to try to" → "attempt to") rather than eliminating it fully, and "attempt to explore" still contains unnecessary phrasing. While C does correct the subject-verb agreement, it doesn't address the "proves" causation error specifically. Answer D makes the scientific accuracy problem dramatically worse by changing "shows a positive correlation" to "proves causation" — a disqualifying error that no careful editor would make. Your study tip: on questions testing editorial judgment, eliminate any answer that introduces a new error, regardless of how many things it fixes. One wrong "fix" can disqualify an entire option.

Question 7

A graduate student submits the following paragraph for peer review in a professional communication course:

'The committee have reached a decision regarding the new policy implementations. Each of the board members have submitted their individual feedbacks on the proposal. Irregardless of the outcome, the organization must insure that all stakeholders are informed of any and all changes going forward in a timely fashion.'

A peer reviewer must identify the sentence that contains the MOST errors affecting professional readability and accuracy, then determine the total number of distinct errors in that sentence. Which sentence is it, and how many errors does it contain?

  1. The first sentence; it contains two errors: 'have reached' should be 'has reached' in American English professional contexts where collective nouns take singular verbs, and 'implementations' is unnecessarily wordy where 'implementation' (singular) would be more precise and direct.
  2. The second sentence; it contains two errors: 'have submitted' should be 'has submitted' because 'each' functions as a singular indefinite pronoun and governs singular verb agreement, and 'feedbacks' is non-standard since 'feedback' is an uncountable noun in formal usage and does not take a plural form.
  3. The third sentence; it contains three errors: 'irregardless' is a non-standard, widely stigmatized form that should be replaced with 'regardless,' 'insure' means to obtain insurance coverage and should be 'ensure' in this context, and 'any and all changes' is redundant phrasing that inflates the prose without adding meaning in professional writing. (correct answer)
  4. The second sentence; it contains three errors: 'have submitted' should be 'has submitted' due to subject-verb agreement with 'each,' 'feedbacks' should be 'feedback' since the word is uncountable, and 'individual' is redundant because each member's submission is inherently individual and the word adds no new information.
Explanation: When reviewing professional writing, train yourself to count every distinct error in each sentence — not just the obvious ones. The sentence with the most errors is your target. The third sentence is the most problematic, and here's why it earns three clear strikes. First, "irregardless" is not a standard word in formal English; the accepted form is "regardless." Second, "insure" specifically refers to obtaining financial insurance coverage — the correct word here is "ensure," meaning to make certain. Third, "any and all changes" is redundant phrasing; "any" and "all" overlap in meaning, so using both bloats the sentence without adding precision. Three distinct, well-documented errors make this sentence the clear winner, confirming C as the correct answer. Answer A identifies two real issues in the first sentence — subject-verb agreement with collective nouns and wordiness with "implementations" — but two errors fall short of three. It's a reasonable observation, just not the worst offender. Answer B correctly catches two errors in the second sentence: "each" requires a singular verb ("has submitted"), and "feedbacks" misuses an uncountable noun. However, B stops at two errors and misses what D attempts to find. Answer D tries to elevate the second sentence to three errors by labeling "individual" as redundant. While this is a style observation worth discussing, it's a much weaker and more debatable claim than a clear grammar or word-choice error — making D's three-error count less defensible than C's. Your takeaway: on error-identification questions, work methodically through every sentence before deciding. Don't stop at the first sentence that seems wrong — the "most errors" trap is designed to reward careful comparison.

Question 8

A student writing a professional grant proposal includes the following abstract for an academic conference:

'This paper examines the impact of social media usage on academic performance among university students. We analyzed data from 500 participants over a six-month period. Our findings indicate that excessive social media use negatively effects academic performance, particularly in students who use social media for more then three hours daily. These results have important implications for educators and policy makers alike, and we recommend that universities should consider implementing digital wellness programs.'

The abstract contains both word-choice/spelling errors and a structural redundancy that weakens its academic authority. An editor must correct these issues for a peer-reviewed submission. Which revision correctly fixes ALL identified errors without introducing new ones?

  1. '…excessive social media use negatively affects academic performance, particularly in students who use social media for more than three hours daily. These results have important implications for educators and policymakers, and we recommend that universities consider implementing digital wellness programs.' (correct answer)
  2. '…excessive social media use negatively affects academic performance, particularly among students who use social media for more then three hours daily. These results have important implications for educators and policymakers alike, and universities should implement digital wellness programs.'
  3. '…excessive social media use has a negative effect on academic performance, particularly in students who use social media for more than three hours daily. These results have important implications for educators and policymakers alike, and we recommend implementing digital wellness programs at the university level.'
  4. '…excessive social media use negatively affects academic performance, particularly in students who use social media for more than three hours daily. These results have important implications for educators and policymakers, and we recommend that universities should consider implementing digital wellness programs.'
Explanation: When editing academic writing, you need to scan for three distinct problem types simultaneously: spelling errors, wrong word choices (homophones or near-homophones), and structural redundancy. Train yourself to read once for meaning, then again specifically hunting each error type. The original passage contains three problems: "effects" (should be "affects" — a verb, not a noun), "then" (should be "than" — used in comparisons), and the redundant construction "we recommend that universities should consider." The word "recommend" already carries the meaning of suggestion, so adding "should" creates a grammatical redundancy that weakens formal writing. "Consider" is also unnecessarily weak — a direct recommendation is more authoritative. Answer A correctly fixes all three: "affects" replaces "effects," "than" replaces "then," and "we recommend that universities consider" removes the redundant "should." It also drops "alike" — a minor but appropriate tightening. This is your correct answer. Answer B fixes "affects" and drops "alike," but keeps "then" instead of correcting it to "than," leaving one spelling error uncorrected. Answer C fixes "affects" and "than," but keeps "alike" and restructures the recommendation as "we recommend implementing digital wellness programs at the university level" — this introduces new phrasing not requested and doesn't cleanly resolve the original redundancy; it sidesteps it instead. Answer D fixes "affects" and "than," but crucially preserves the original redundancy: "we recommend that universities should consider." This is the trap option — it looks complete but misses the structural flaw entirely. Your study tip: when a question mentions both errors and structural issues, the trap answers almost always fix the obvious spelling mistakes but leave the subtler redundancy intact. Always read for logic and grammar together.

Question 9

A professional communications instructor marks the following email draft from a student:

Subject: Question about the assignment

'Hey Professor,

I just wanted to reach out real quick and touch base with you about the upcoming assignment that is due next Friday. I'm kind of confused about weather we need to include a works cited page or a reference list. Also, could you tell me if APA or MLA is excepted for this class? Thanks so much for all your help!

— Jake'

The instructor identifies both spelling/word-choice errors and professional tone issues in this email. If a student corrects ONLY the two spelling/word-choice errors but leaves all tone issues intact, which of the following represents that partially corrected version?

  1. 'Hey Professor, I just wanted to reach out real quick and touch base with you about the upcoming assignment due next Friday. I'm kind of confused about whether we need to include a works cited page or a reference list. Also, could you tell me if APA or MLA is accepted for this class? Thanks so much for all your help! — Jake'
  2. 'Dear Professor, I wanted to reach out quickly and touch base about the upcoming assignment due next Friday. I'm a bit confused about whether we need to include a works cited page or a reference list. Also, could you clarify if APA or MLA is accepted for this class? Thank you for your assistance. — Jake'
  3. 'Hey Professor, I just wanted to reach out real quick and touch base with you about the upcoming assignment that is due next Friday. I'm kind of confused about whether we need to include a works cited page or a reference list. Also, could you tell me if APA or MLA is accepted for this class? Thanks so much for all your help! — Jake' (correct answer)
  4. 'Hey Professor, I just wanted to reach out real quick and touch base with you about the upcoming assignment that is due next Friday. I'm kind of confused about weather we need to include a works cited page or a reference list. Also, could you tell me if APA or MLA is excepted for this class? Thanks so much for all your help! — Jake'
Explanation: When a question asks you to make only specific corrections and leave everything else unchanged, your job is precision editing — not improvement. You must resist the urge to "fix" things that weren't asked about. Start by identifying the two spelling/word-choice errors in the original email. The word "weather" is used incorrectly — the student means "whether" (introducing a choice between two options). The word "excepted" is also wrong — the student means "accepted" (meaning allowed or approved). These are classic homophones and near-homophones that even advanced writers confuse. Everything else in the email — the casual "Hey," the filler phrases like "real quick," "kind of," "touch base," and the informal "Thanks so much" — represents tone problems, not spelling errors. The question specifically tells you not to fix those. Answer C is correct because it fixes exactly "weather" → "whether" and "excepted" → "accepted," while keeping every informal tone element from the original, including the unchanged phrase "that is due next Friday." Answer A is a trap — it also corrects the two spelling errors, but it quietly removes "that is" from "assignment that is due," which is a small but unauthorized change to the original text. Watch for subtle edits that sneak in. Answer B overcorrects everything — it changes the greeting to "Dear Professor," removes casual phrases, and rewrites the closing. This fixes tone issues, which you were told to leave alone. Answer D makes no corrections at all — both "weather" and "excepted" remain, so this is the unedited original. Your strategy: before selecting an answer, create a checklist of only the authorized changes, then eliminate any option that does more or less than that list.

Question 10

A student is editing a memo for a corporate audience. The original draft reads:

'Per our conversation, please be advised that the meeting has been rescheduled to Thursday, March 15th at 2 PM. All personal should make sure to bring their quarterly reports. The meeting will discuss about the new budget allocations, performance metrics, and personal development goals. Attendance is mandatory for all full-time personal.'

The editor notices one word used incorrectly throughout the memo and one instance of a grammatical construction error. After correcting both, how many total word-level changes must be made to the memo?

  1. Three total changes: 'personal' appears twice as an error and must be corrected to 'personnel' in both instances, and 'per our conversation' should be replaced with 'as we discussed' since the Latin-derived phrase is considered overly bureaucratic jargon in contemporary professional memo style.
  2. Four total changes: 'personal' must be changed to 'personnel' in all three sentences where it appears — including 'personal development goals' in the third sentence — and 'discuss about' must be corrected to 'discuss' by removing the redundant preposition 'about,' since transitive verbs do not require a prepositional complement.
  3. Two total changes: 'personal' must be changed to 'personnel' once in the phrase 'All personal should,' since that is the only instance where the word is clearly used to mean employees, and 'discuss about' must be corrected to 'discuss' because 'discuss' is a transitive verb that does not take the preposition 'about' as a complement.
  4. Three total changes: 'personal' must be changed to 'personnel' in the second sentence (referring to staff), 'personal' must be changed to 'personnel' in the fourth sentence (referring to full-time employees), and 'discuss about' must be corrected to 'discuss' by removing the preposition 'about,' since 'discuss' is a transitive verb that takes a direct object without a preposition. (correct answer)
Explanation: When editing professional writing, train yourself to scan for two distinct error types simultaneously: word choice errors (using the wrong word) and grammatical construction errors (incorrect sentence structure). This memo contains one of each. Start with "personal" vs. "personnel." Personal means private or individual; personnel means staff or employees. Scan every instance: "All personal should" (sentence 2) clearly refers to staff — that's an error. "Personal development goals" (sentence 3) is actually correct — it's a standard HR phrase meaning individual growth goals, not referring to employees. "Full-time personal" (sentence 4) again wrongly substitutes personal for the word meaning employees — another error. So personal needs correction exactly twice: in sentences 2 and 4. Now the grammatical construction error: "discuss about." Discuss is a transitive verb, meaning it takes a direct object directly — no preposition needed. You discuss something; you don't discuss about something. Removing "about" is one word-level change. That gives you three total changes, confirming D is correct. Here's why the other choices fail: A counts only two corrections for personal (missing sentence 4 entirely) and incorrectly flags "per our conversation" as an error — style preference isn't a grammatical error. B wrongly counts "personal development goals" as an error, misidentifying a legitimate phrase, and inflates the total to four. C only corrects personal once, missing the fourth sentence entirely. A useful strategy: always distinguish between errors (rule violations) and style choices (preferences). Exams test rules, not taste.