Language Standards: Grammar and Usage (CCSS.L.11-12.1)

Help Questions

Common Core High School ELA › Language Standards: Grammar and Usage (CCSS.L.11-12.1)

Questions 1 - 10
1

While the Institutional Review Board (IRB) is charged with ensuring ethical compliance across participating hospitals, investigators bear the immediate responsibility for executing protocol-specific safeguards. Because the trial spans multiple sites and staggered enrollment windows, not only must the principal investigators harmonize consent scripts, but they must also coordinate adverse event reporting so that data are comparable across contexts. If the protocol were to be revised midstream—a contingency contemplated in the statistical analysis plan—it is essential that the committee approve any amendments before data are collected; otherwise, both the validity of the findings and the integrity of the oversight process would be jeopardized. Moreover, although each hospital operates under its own administrative calendars, the IRB's determinations, which are distributed electronically, should be treated as binding upon receipt, lest avoidable delays attenuate participant protections.

Which version of the sentence best conforms to formal academic usage regarding the subjunctive mood and treatment of collective nouns?

It is essential that the committee approves the revised protocol before any data are collected.

It is essential that the committee approve the revised protocol before any data is collected.

It is essential that the committee approve the revised protocol before any data are collected.

It is essential the committee were to approve the revised protocol before any data are collected.

Explanation

Formal academic usage calls for the mandative subjunctive after expressions like 'It is essential that': the verb takes the base form 'approve.' In scientific register, 'data' is conventionally treated as plural ('data are'). Choice C satisfies both; A violates the subjunctive ('approves'), B mis-treats 'data' as singular, and D is an unidiomatic and incorrect construction with 'were to approve.'

2

Preparing the municipal compliance memorandum required reconciling statutory language with agency practice, a task complicated by the ordinance's ambiguous timeline provisions. The draft I inherited was rhetorically emphatic but structurally uneven: it identified noncompliance, proposed remedies, and then digressed into anecdote. In legal analysis, however, parallel construction and precise reference are not a matter of style alone; they clarify obligations and apportion responsibility. Because multiple offices share oversight, the memorandum must state not only what landlords owe tenants but also what records must be retained and for how long. Furthermore, when attributing lapses, the writer should distinguish between failures of notice and failures of documentation, lest the conclusion collapse disparate infractions into a single, vague defect. Finally, the audience—counsel, administrators, and auditors—expects prose that is at once direct and decorous, avoiding both colloquialism and unnecessary nominalization.

Which revision best achieves parallel structure and correct pronoun case while preserving a formal legal tone?

The statute requires landlords not only to notify tenants but also to maintain records; between the city and me, compliance has been scarce.

The statute requires not only that landlords notify tenants but also landlords maintaining records; between the city and I, compliance has been scarce.

The statute requires landlords both notifying tenants and to maintain records; between the city and myself, compliance has been scarce.

The statute not only requires that landlords notify tenants, but also to maintain records; between the city and I, compliance has been scant.

Explanation

Choice A is parallel ('to notify' ... 'to maintain') and uses the correct objective case 'me' after the preposition 'between.' B and D violate parallelism and use 'I' where 'me' is required; C mixes forms ('notifying' vs. 'to maintain') and misuses the reflexive 'myself' without an appropriate antecedent.

3

In revising the agency's environmental impact plan, the policy team confronted a familiar problem: preliminary data arrive in batches, yet deadlines demand a coherent narrative before all metrics stabilize. Because the executive summary will circulate widely, modifier placement must be scrupulous, and terms of art should be used with care. For example, only the committee, not the consultants, evaluated the raw field notes; careless positioning of 'only' would invert that meaning. Likewise, the plan's funding structure, which comprises baseline appropriations and two contingent tranches, should be described precisely, avoiding diffuse constructions that obscure who acts. Dangling introductions—Having reviewed the dataset, the policy recommends—invite ridicule in peer reviews and litigation alike. The document must therefore balance brevity with exactness, foregrounding agents and actions while reserving abstractions for definitions and appendices.

Which sentence avoids a dangling modifier and uses precise formal diction appropriate for a policy document?

Having reviewed the dataset, the policy recommends that agencies allocate additional funds, which comprise three categories.

After reviewing the dataset, additional funds should be allocated by agencies, which are comprised of three categories.

After the dataset was reviewed, the committee recommends agencies allocate additional funds that are comprised of three categories.

After reviewing the dataset, the committee recommended that agencies allocate additional funds; the plan comprises three categories.

Explanation

Choice D correctly anchors the introductory modifier to the agent ('the committee'), avoids the criticized 'comprised of' construction by using 'comprises,' and punctuates two independent clauses with a semicolon. A and B dangle the modifier, and both B and C use 'comprised of'; C also shifts tenses inconsistently.

4

In the methods section of a quantitative study, stylistic flourishes can occlude logic: readers rely on cues—relative clauses, appositives, and conjunctive adverbs—to parse causal chains. When reporting results, writers should deploy semicolons to join independent propositions whose relation is contrastive or inferential; commas, by contrast, cannot bear that weight when adverbs such as 'however' or 'therefore' mediate the connection. Nonrestrictive information, which supplements but does not delimit a noun, should be set off cleanly—with commas, parentheses, or dashes—so that the grammatical spine remains visible. Finally, demonstratives must anchor to clear antecedents; this prevents a string of 'this' and 'that' from drifting into ambiguity. Precision at the sentence level is not pedantry; it is methodology.

Which sentence correctly integrates a conjunctive adverb and a nonrestrictive clause in formal academic prose?

The results were significant, however the sample which because of attrition was smaller than anticipated limits generalizability.

The results were significant; however, the sample—which, because of attrition, was smaller than anticipated—limits generalizability.

The results were significant; however the sample, that because of attrition was smaller than anticipated, limits generalizability.

The results were significant however; the sample—which because of attrition was smaller than anticipated—limits generalizability.

Explanation

Choice B places a semicolon before 'however' and a comma after it to join two independent clauses; it also sets off the nonrestrictive clause with em dashes and uses 'which' appropriately. A is a comma splice and lacks needed punctuation around the nonrestrictive clause; C misuses 'that' in a nonrestrictive context and omits the comma after 'however'; D misplaces the semicolon after 'however,' disrupting the clause boundary.

5

Because the protocol contemplates recruiting participants from multiple clinics, the Institutional Review Board emphasized, in its correspondence, that data governance must precede data collection. The principal investigator, whose prior studies have attracted scrutiny, affirmed that identifiers would be removed before any dataset is exported; nevertheless, the Board insisted on an independent audit. If the data was to be compromised, it would be necessary that the study is suspended, the memo noted, because reputational damage is not easily remediated. Although the team argued that such a contingency was improbable, the Board—citing precedent—required a written stoppage plan as a condition of approval. Moreover, the Board advised that communications with participants avoid speculative assurances, lest the consent process be vitiated by inadvertent overstatement.

Which revision of the sentence in the passage beginning "If the data was to be compromised" best conforms to formal academic English by correctly employing the subjunctive mood and maintaining parallel structure?

If the data were to be compromised, it would be necessary that the study be suspended.

If the data were to be compromised, it would be necessary that the study is suspended.

If the data was to be compromised, it would be necessary that the study be suspended.

If the data were to be compromised, it would be necessary the study were suspended.

Explanation

Formal academic prose uses the past subjunctive were in hypothetical conditions and the mandative subjunctive be after expressions of necessity: "it would be necessary that the study be suspended." Options B and C mix indicative and subjunctive forms; D omits the required complementizer that and is awkward.

6

In preparing the compliance plan for the clinical trial, counsel reminded investigators that procedural precision functions as both shield and compass. Deviations, however trivial they may appear in the moment, accrete; in enforcement actions, agencies tend to read omissions cumulatively rather than charitably. Effective compliance requires investigators to document adverse events promptly, to notify the sponsor within 24 hours, and ________. Because protocols are often revised midstream, the plan also specifies who may authorize amendments; further, it supplies a crosswalk aligning internal forms with statutory definitions. The goal is not merely to satisfy auditors, but to embed habits of exactitude that survive the inevitable stress of recruitment deadlines. Clarity at the level of syntax, they noted, prevents ambiguity from metastasizing into liability.

Which choice best completes the sentence to maintain parallel structure and formal style?

maintaining an auditable trail of remedial steps taken.

the maintenance of an auditable trail of remedial steps taken.

to maintain an auditable trail of remedial steps taken.

that an auditable trail of remedial steps are maintained.

Explanation

The series begins with "to document" and "to notify," so the third element should match with an infinitive: "to maintain." A uses a gerund, B switches to a nominalization, and D introduces a that-clause and mismatches subject–verb agreement (trail ... are).

7

Following the journal's thematic issue on algorithmic accountability, the editor solicited post-publication critiques from senior reviewers whose specialties, while adjacent, seldom intersect in practice. The resulting memorandum, written in a measured register and replete with cautious hedging where evidence was thinner, praised the authors' transparency but questioned the scope of their validation data. The editor invited Dr. Rao and I to review the manuscript, noting that no reviewer was more cautious than her; consequently, the draft response avoids categorical claims, and instead delineates conditions under which the findings should be treated as provisional. This exchange, the editor suggested, models the sort of collegial rigor that, if replicated across fields, could recalibrate incentives toward robustness rather than novelty.

Which revision of the sentence beginning "The editor invited Dr. Rao and I" correctly applies pronoun case in formal academic writing?

The editor invited Dr. Rao and I to review the manuscript, noting that no reviewer was more cautious than she.

The editor invited Dr. Rao and me to review the manuscript, noting that no reviewer was more cautious than her.

The editor invited I and Dr. Rao to review the manuscript, noting that no reviewer was more cautious than she was.

The editor invited Dr. Rao and me to review the manuscript, noting that no reviewer was more cautious than she.

Explanation

After the verb invited, the objective case me is required; in formal comparisons, than she is acceptable as an ellipsis of "than she is." Options A and C misuse I as an object; B uses the objective her in a comparison where the subjective form is preferred in formal prose.

8

In the governance audit of the hospital system, the committee synthesized incident reports, procurement logs, and compliance attestations; the resulting recommendations are intentionally narrow, designed to be revisable as conditions change. After concluding the audit, the erroneous transactions were reported by the committee only to the board, a choice motivated by confidentiality obligations imposed under the settlement. While the public will eventually receive a redacted summary—once patient identifiers are removed and legal review is complete—the interim distribution list remains limited to oversight bodies. The memorandum therefore employs a restrained tone, eschewing speculative language in favor of explicit contingencies. That restraint is not a euphemism for evasiveness; it reflects an institutional commitment to accuracy over speed.

Which revision best eliminates the dangling modifier and clearly indicates that only the board was the recipient of the report, while maintaining formal tone?

After concluding the audit, the erroneous transactions were only reported to the board by the committee.

After concluding the audit, the committee reported the erroneous transactions only to the board.

After the audit was concluded, the erroneous transactions were reported only to the board by the committee.

After the audit's conclusion, the committee only reported the erroneous transactions to the board.

Explanation

B makes the modifier logically attach to the subject (the committee) and places only immediately before the prepositional phrase "to the board," clarifying the recipient. A retains the dangling modifier and misplaces only; C removes the dangling modifier but is needlessly passive; D's only modifies the verb, creating ambiguity.

9

In preparing an appellate brief for a regulatory dispute, counsel must articulate hypothetical scenarios without implying that the court has already accepted them. The agency's interpretation, although entitled to limited deference, would shift if intervening legislation altered the statute's operative terms. To preserve institutional credibility, the brief should distinguish between what the law currently compels and what it would compel under counterfactual conditions; doing so allows the argument to anticipate objections while avoiding rhetorical overreach. Additionally, where the analysis addresses prospective reforms, the prose must maintain a formal register and avoid colloquialisms that might suggest advocacy untethered from the record. The following candidate sentence is intended for the section discussing possible legislative changes. Select the version that most precisely expresses a hypothetical, preserves clear parallelism, and adheres to conventions appropriate for a professional legal audience.

Which sentence should be inserted into the brief?

If the statute were to be amended, the agency should revise its guidance to preserve transparency and to ensure consistent enforcement.

If the statute was amended, the agency should revise its guidance to preserve transparency and ensuring consistent enforcement.

If the statute would be amended, the agency should revise its guidance to preserve transparency and to consistently enforce.

If the statute be amended, the agency should revise its guidance preserving transparency and to ensure for consistent enforcement.

Explanation

A correctly uses the subjunctive for a hypothetical (were to be amended) and maintains parallel infinitives (to preserve… and to ensure…) in formal legal register. B misuses tense and breaks parallelism; C uses a conditional auxiliary incorrectly and creates a fragmentary complement; D is nonstandard and contains a faulty prepositional construction.

10

During a graduate research seminar, the program director circulated proposed guidelines for a multi-site pilot. The document seeks to signal collegiality while also delineating a chain of responsibility. Because several faculty members will mentor student investigators, the statement must be precise about comparative commitments and about who, ultimately, will make time-sensitive decisions. In drafting the announcement, the director wished to acknowledge a particular colleague's unusually heavy lift without sounding exclusionary; she also wanted to codify a requirement concerning the project's lead. The following candidate sentence is intended for the closing paragraph of that announcement. Choose the option that best observes formal pronoun case in comparisons and prepositional phrases, and that correctly employs the mandative subjunctive to express a requirement.

Which sentence best satisfies these aims?

Professor Lin has carried much of the load; no one is more committed to the pilot than her, and between you and I, the committee requires that whomever leads the study submits a revised timeline.

Professor Lin has carried much of the load; no one is more committed to the pilot than she is, and between you and me, the committee requires that whoever leads the study submit a revised timeline.

Professor Lin has carried much of the load; no one is more committed to the pilot than she, and between you and I, the committee requires that whoever leads the study submits a revised timeline.

Professor Lin has carried much of the load; no one is more committed to the pilot than her, and between you and me, the committee requires that whomever leads the study submit a revised timeline.

Explanation

B correctly uses she as the subject in the comparison (than she is), me as the object of the preposition (between you and me), and the mandative subjunctive (the committee requires that whoever leads the study submit…). A, C, and D contain pronoun case errors and/or incorrect indicative agreement after a mandative verb.

Page 1 of 2