HiSET: Language Arts - Writing : HiSet High School Equivalency Test: Writing
Study concepts, example questions & explanations for HiSET: Language Arts - Writing
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Example Questions
Example Question #4 : Writing Conventions
After attending a performance of a local jazz band, a blogger wrote the following article.
1 The Mahoney Performing Arts Center played host to a truly inspiring performance by the William Eastwood Quintet last Saturday evening. Although Mr. Eastwood and his fellow musicians have a songbook comprised solely of jazz standards, many of them are over 50 years old, the Quintet breathes new life into each song they play. The works of jazz legends such as Dizzy Gillespie and Duke Ellington were certainly in competent hands throughout the two-hour performance.
2 Eastwood departed from jazz tradition by beginning his set with a ballad, You Must Believe In Spring. While this choice meant that the audience was not as energetic as it might be had he chosen a more upbeat number, it also gave listeners a chance to appreciate the outstanding interplay between the members of the Quintet. Audience members who wanted to snap their fingers or clap along with the beat were rewarded by several livelier songs in the middle of the performance, climaxing with an incendiary rendition of Gillespie’s classic, Salt Peanuts.
3 While the focus of the show was clearly the outstanding saxophone playing of the band’s leader, Eastwood gave ample opportunities for his fellow musicians to shine. In particular, pianist Devon Semien, who took the spotlight for a 5 minute solo during the classic Body and Soul.The entire band were in synch throughout the performance, signaling that William Eastwood is going to a force in the jazz world for years to come.
Which answer choice best replaces the bolded and underlined phrase?
they are playing.
(no change)
it plays.
played by the Quintet.
played by them.
it plays.
"Quintet" is a collective noun; therefore, it requires both a singular predicate and a singular pronoun.
Repeating the phrase "the Quintet" twice in one sentence creates a sentence that is both wordy and redundant.
Example Question #4 : Writing Conventions
Harrison had math test last Wednesday. He studied really well and thought that he did really good. When he walked into school today, Harrison’s teacher looked at him strangely. Harrison started to sweat, because he assumed the teacher’s expression meant he did poorly on the test. Harrison began to wonder wear he went wrong. The teacher walks around the room and handed out the graded assessments. Then the teacher, who had been walking around the room, paused in front of Harrison’s desk, and Harrison thought that he must of performed worst on the test than the rest of the class had. Then, to Harrison’s surprise, the teacher smiled, exclaiming that Harrison had scored one hundred percent.
What is the best way to correct the bolded and underlined section of the passage above?
Harrison took math test
Harrison had some math test
Harrison had math test (no change)
Harrison would have had a math test
Harrison had a math test
Harrison had a math test
The problem with the phrasing as originally stated in the passage is that the noun "math test" lacks an appropriate article (the, a, an, etc), which must precede a singular noun. Because of this error, the phrase must be changed in order to be grammatically appropriate. The answer choice "Harrison had some math test" is incorrect because the word "some" describes a plural noun. The word "test" is not plural, so these terms do not agree. The answer choice "Harrison took math test" has the same error as the original in its lack of an article. The choice "Harrison's math test" does not fit into the sentence, because by removing the verb, the sentence becomes a fragment. The answer choice "Harrison would have had a math test" is inconsistent with the rest of the passage because it is in the conditional tense (indicated by "would") and implies that Harrison did not actually complete the math test. As such, the answer choice "Harrison had a math test" is correct.
Example Question #11 : Verb, Pronoun, And Modifier Forms
Harrison had math test last Wednesday. He studied really well and thought that he did really good. When he walked into school today, Harrison’s teacher looked at him strangely. Harrison started to sweat, because he assumed the teacher’s expression meant he did poorly on the test. Harrison began to wonder wear he went wrong. The teacher walks around the room and handed out the graded assessments. Then the teacher, who had been walking around the room, paused in front of Harrison’s desk, and Harrison thought that he must of performed worst on the test than the rest of the class had. Then, to Harrison’s surprise, the teacher smiled, exclaiming that Harrison had scored one hundred percent.
What is the best way to correct the bolded and underlined portion of the passage?
he did really good (no change)
he did really well
he performed very good
he did very good
he went really well
he did really well
The answer choice "he did really good" is incorrect in that it makes no change to the original statement in the passage. There is, however, a problem with this statement. The word "good" is an adjective. Adjectives modify nouns. In this statement, however, the word "good" is used to modify the verb "did". A word that modifies a verb is called an adverb, and the adverb version of the word "good" is "well". So, the answer choices using the word "good" as an adverb are incorrect. The answer choice "he went very well" is also incorrect because the word "did" and "went" are not synonyms. Harrison "did" well on the test. The test "went well". The statement "he went well" (referring to Harrison with the pronoun, but the test with the verb) does not make sense.
Example Question #12 : Verb, Pronoun, And Modifier Forms
Harrison had math test last Wednesday. He studied really well and thought that he did really good. When he walked into school today, Harrison’s teacher looked at him strangely. Harrison started to sweat, because he assumed the teacher’s expression meant he did poorly on the test. Harrison began to wonder wear he went wrong. The teacher walks around the room and handed out the graded assessments. Then the teacher, who had been walking around the room, paused in front of Harrison’s desk, and Harrison thought that he must of performed worst on the test than the rest of the class had. Then, to Harrison’s surprise, the teacher smiled, exclaiming that Harrison had scored one hundred percent.
What is the best way to revise the bolded and underlined portion of the text?
performed worst on the test than the rest of the class had (no change)
performed the worst on the test than the rest of the class had
performed worst on the test than the rest of the class did
performed worse on the test
performed worse on the test than the rest of the class had
performed worse on the test than the rest of the class had
The error in the original passage is the usage of the word "worst". The word "worst" is a superlative adjective, meaning that it implies that Harrison is of the lowest standard. As such, this word requires no standard of comparison, because it implies finality in regards to every set of people. The proper word to fit into the bolded sentence is "worse". The word "worse" is a comparative adjective, so it makes sense to include the phrase "than the rest of the class had" as a basis of comparison. The word "worse" requires a standard of comparison, which is why the answer choice "performed worse on the test" is also incorrect.
Example Question #13 : Verb, Pronoun, And Modifier Forms
The media center is a very helpful place on campus if a person is in need of information. Newcomers to the library, who do not know to whom they should address their questions regarding the center, should simply approach the information desk. There are over one thousand books here, and anyone with a library card can access it. The media center can have a very positive effect on any student's grade. (no error)
Choose the answer choice containing a grammatical error.
(no error)
effect
who do not know to whom
address
can access it
can access it
In the sentence "There are over one thousand books here, and anyone with a library card can access it," the subject of discussion is the collection of one thousand books. The implication of the sentence is that a student with a library card can access the books. When a noun is replaced by a placeholder pronoun, such as "it" or "they" the placeholder must agree with the original noun. The word "it" does not agree with the phrase "one thousand books" because while "it" is singular, "one thousand books" is plural. The correct sentence would have been "There are over one thousand books here, and anyone with a library card can access them."
Example Question #51 : Hi Set High School Equivalency Test: Writing
Jimmy is annoyed at the video game that he was playing. For one thing, there was not nearly enough interesting characters suspenseful moments or exciting escapes in the game to satisfy him. For another, it was incredibly hard while playing the game to control the cars. It always wanted to veer to the left when he tried to steer to the right. But the ending of the game was worst. By the time he got to the end, the hero had decided to stop chasing rogue spies and therefore marry his girlfriend, a surprise attack resulted in her being kidnapped, and the hero must go on a final mission to save her before the game can be completed. That would of been fine, except it involved tracking the enemy using a helicopter, and Jimmy much to his chagrin never mastered flying the helicopter.
Choose the option that best corrects the bolded and underlined section of the text.
The game
Jimmy
They
(no change)
They
The previous sentence makes it clear that it is the cars that Jimmy cannot control. "Cars" is a plural noun, so the pronoun should be changed to the plural "they."
Example Question #52 : Hi Set High School Equivalency Test: Writing
Jimmy is annoyed at the video game that he was playing. For one thing, there was not nearly enough interesting characters suspenseful moments or exciting escapes in the game to satisfy him. For another, it was incredibly hard while playing the game to control the cars. It always wanted to veer to the left when he tried to steer to the right. But the ending of the game was worst. By the time he got to the end, the hero had decided to stop chasing rogue spies and therefore marry his girlfriend, a surprise attack resulted in her being kidnapped, and the hero must go on a final mission to save her before the game can be completed. That would of been fine, except it involved tracking the enemy using a helicopter, and Jimmy much to his chagrin never mastered flying the helicopter.
Choose the option that best corrects the bolded and underlined section of the text.
there were not nearly enough
there is not nearly enough
there had been not nearly enough
(no change)
there were not nearly enough
The verb in this phrase needs to agree with the phrase that follows it, which is a list of plural nouns; thus, the phrase "there were not nearly enough" is most appropriate.
Example Question #2 : Grammatical Agreement
After attending a performance of a local jazz band, a blogger wrote the following article.
1 The Mahoney Performing Arts Center played host to a truly inspiring performance by the William Eastwood Quintet last Saturday evening. Although Mr. Eastwood and his fellow musicians have a songbook comprised solely of jazz standards, many of them are over 50 years old, the Quintet breathes new life into each song they play. The works of jazz legends such as Dizzy Gillespie and Duke Ellington were certainly in competent hands throughout the two-hour performance.
2 Eastwood departed from jazz tradition by beginning his set with a ballad, You Must Believe In Spring. While this choice meant that the audience was not as energetic as it might be had he chosen a more upbeat number, it also gave listeners a chance to appreciate the outstanding interplay between the members of the Quintet. Audience members who wanted to snap their fingers or clap along with the beat were rewarded by several livelier songs in the middle of the performance, climaxing with an incendiary rendition of Gillespie’s classic, Salt Peanuts.
3 While the focus of the show was clearly the outstanding saxophone playing of the band’s leader, Eastwood gave ample opportunities for his fellow musicians to shine. In particular, pianist Devon Semien, who took the spotlight for a 5 minute solo during the classic Body and Soul.The entire band were in synch throughout the performance, signaling that William Eastwood is going to a force in the jazz world for years to come.
Which is the best choice to replace the bolded and underlined phrase?
had been
might have been.
may be
(no change)
might have been.
The sentence is written in past tense (first verb is "meant"). In order to maintain tense consistency, the correct conditional verb phrase should be "might have been".
Example Question #12 : Writing Conventions
The following sentence contains one error. Please identify the underlined word or phrase that should be changed in order to make the sentence correct.
After learning that her father was allergic to dogs, Becky gave the puppy to Tom and I.
gave
Tom and I
learning
allergic to
her father
Tom and I
The sentence contains the wrong pronoun case. Since the speaker of the sentence is receiving the action, the object pronoun "me" should be used. It should read "Tom and me." When there are two people receiving an action, in this case "Tom" and "me," it is called a compound object. An easy way to make sure that you are using the correct pronoun form (either "me" or "I") is to remove the other person, in this case "Tom." This trick relies on your grammar ear. Reading the sentence as "After learning that her father was allergic to dogs, Becky gave the puppy to I." sounds and is wrong. Reading it as "After learning that her father was allergic to dogs, Becky gave the puppy to me." sounds and is correct.
Example Question #53 : Hi Set High School Equivalency Test: Writing
What is the best way to rewrite the given sentence?
Its a shame that the tree lost most of its leaves.
It's a shame that the tree lost most of it's leaves.
Its a shame that the tree lost most of its leaves. (no change)
Its a shame that the tree lost most of it's leaves.
It's a shame that the tree lost most of its leaves.
Is a shame that the tree lost most of its leaves.
It's a shame that the tree lost most of its leaves.
This answer uses the contraction "it's" (meaning "it is)" and the pronoun "its" (indicating possession) correctly. A good way to check whether you are using the correct form of either "its" or "it's" is to expand "it's" to "it is." Saying "It is a shame that the tree lost most of its leaves" still makes sense. However, "Its a shame that the tree lost most of it is leaves" does not.
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