Writing and Sterling Group
WRITING SKILLS TEST SAMPLE ESSAY
INSTRUCTIONS: You will have 15 minutes to read and think about the following topic. You may make notes or outlines on the scratch paper provided. Remember, one way to have a good idea is to have many ideas. At the end of 15 minutes you will have 45 minutes to write your essay. Allow yourself at least five minutes to edit and proofread. Dictionaries may be used in this part of the examination. It has been suggested that true happiness lies in liking those things we approve of and approving of the things we like. Most people spend a great deal of time and energy trying to harmonize the two, often without much success. Such attempts may be about something minor, such as eliminating a bad habit or cultivating a good one, or about something more important, such as choice of major, career, or mate. Some people, for example, struggle to give up smoking: they like to smoke but don't approve of smoking because it is dangerous to their health. Others become computer science majors, aiming for a successful career, but find they really don't like working with computers. Write a clear and fully-developed essay giving an example or examples, which demonstrate what this statement means: "True happiness lies in liking those things we approve of and approving of those things we like." Your example(s) may be taken from your personal experiences or drawn from situations you have heard or read about. You should: 1. Describe your experience(s) or example(s) with specific details. 2. Explain why or how your example(s) or experience(s) show what the statement means.
WRITING SKILLS TEST SAMPLE PASSAGES
DIRECTIONS: In the passages that follow certain words and phrases are underlined and numbered; in the right-hand column are alternatives for each underlined part. Choose the one that best expresses the idea, makes the statement appropriate for standard written English, or is worded most consistently with the style and tone of the passage as a whole. If
INSTRUCTIONS: You will have 15 minutes to read and think about the following topic. You may make notes or outlines on the scratch paper provided. Remember, one way to have a good idea is to have many ideas. At the end of 15 minutes you will have 45 minutes to write your essay. Allow yourself at least five minutes to edit and proofread. Dictionaries may be used in this part of the examination. It has been suggested that true happiness lies in liking those things we approve of and approving of the things we like. Most people spend a great deal of time and energy trying to harmonize the two, often without much success. Such attempts may be about something minor, such as eliminating a bad habit or cultivating a good one, or about something more important, such as choice of major, career, or mate. Some people, for example, struggle to give up smoking: they like to smoke but don't approve of smoking because it is dangerous to their health. Others become computer science majors, aiming for a successful career, but find they really don't like working with computers. Write a clear and fully-developed essay giving an example or examples, which demonstrate what this statement means: "True happiness lies in liking those things we approve of and approving of those things we like." Your example(s) may be taken from your personal experiences or drawn from situations you have heard or read about. You should: 1. Describe your experience(s) or example(s) with specific details. 2. Explain why or how your example(s) or experience(s) show what the statement means.
WRITING SKILLS TEST SAMPLE PASSAGES
DIRECTIONS: In the passages that follow certain words and phrases are underlined and numbered; in the right-hand column are alternatives for each underlined part. Choose the one that best expresses the idea, makes the statement appropriate for standard written English, or is worded most consistently with the style and tone of the passage as a whole. If