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75 multiple-choice questions on Conventions: Grammar, Usage, and Mechanics, about 50% of the 6th Writing & Language bank. Every one carries a written rationale.
Conventions: Grammar, Usage, and Mechanics is one of 6 chapters in CoStudy's 6th Writing & Language bank, and it holds 75 of the bank's 150 multiple-choice questions — roughly 50% of the total. That proportion is not arbitrary: chapters follow the certifying body's published exam outline, and the number of questions in each is set by that domain's published weight, so the share of your practice time this chapter takes matches the share of the real exam it accounts for.
Studying by chapter is worth doing once you have a diagnostic score. A single overall percentage tells you whether you are close; it does not tell you which domain is dragging. Working a weak chapter in isolation, and re-testing it in isolation, is the fastest way to move a score that has stalled — and it is why the mock exams in CoStudy report by domain rather than as one number.
10 questions drawn from this chapter, with the full rationale shown — the controlling principle behind the right answer, and why each wrong option tempts and fails.
Which word is a preposition?
Answer: B — Beneath
B) 'Beneath' shows a relationship of location. A) Adverb. C) Subordinating conjunction. D) Coordinating conjunction.
A credible source is one that is:
Answer: C — Written by qualified authors, reviewed by editors, published by reputable organizations, cites its own sources, and is current to the topic's needs
Credibility criteria. (A), (B), (D) misread.
Which sentence varies its structure most effectively?
Answer: B — After arriving home, I ate dinner and did homework before going to bed.
B) Combines clauses smoothly with varied phrasing. A) Choppy simple sentences. C) Strings of 'and' = monotonous. D) Fragment list, not full sentence.
Which sentence has the modifier placed correctly?
Answer: A — Running through the park, the dog chased the squirrel.
A) 'Running' clearly modifies 'the dog.' B) Squirrel isn't doing the running — dangling modifier. C) Awkward placement. D) Over-punctuated.
Which sentence shows correct comma usage after an introductory phrase?
Answer: B — After the game ended, we went home.
B) Comma separates introductory dependent clause from main clause. A) Missing required comma. C/D) Misplaced commas chop the sentence.
Which sentence is in the present perfect tense?
Answer: B — I have walked to school.
B) 'Have + past participle' = present perfect. A) Simple past. C) Future. D) Present progressive.
Which sentence has the adjective correctly placed?
Answer: B — The big red balloon floated away.
B) English adjective order: opinion → size → color → noun. A) Reverses size and color. C/D) Mangled order.
Choose the correct verb: 'The data ___ surprising.'
Answer: A — is
A) In modern usage, 'data' is treated as singular ('is'). B) Traditional Latin plural; many style guides now prefer singular treatment. C/D) Awkward and not standard.
Prewriting strategies include:
Answer: C — Brainstorming, outlining, freewriting, mapping, researching — getting ideas on the page before drafting
Prewriting prepares ideas. (A), (B), (D) misread.
Which sentence avoids a comma splice?
Answer: B — The rain stopped; we went outside.
B) Semicolon properly joins two ICs. A) Comma splice. C) Run-on. D) Over-punctuated nonsense.
These are a sample. The full Conventions: Grammar, Usage, and Mechanics chapter runs 75 items with per-chapter progress tracking, on the web and in the iOS app.
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