Nursing Elites

1. What is missing from the following sentence: 'He asked, When is the assignment due?'

• A. There should be quotation marks.
• B. There needs to be a semicolon after 'asked.'
• C. There should be a comma after 'assignment.'
• D. Nothing is missing.

Correct answer: A

Rationale: The correct answer is A. The sentence is missing quotation marks around 'When is the assignment due?'. Quotation marks are essential to indicate that the words enclosed are being directly quoted. Choice B is incorrect because a semicolon is not needed in this context. Choice C is incorrect as a comma is already present after 'He asked' to separate the introductory clause. Choice D is incorrect because the sentence does lack proper punctuation, which are the quotation marks.

2. Which of the following examples correctly uses quotation marks?

• A. “Where the Red Fern Grows” was one of my favorite novels as a child.
• B. Though he is famous for his roles in films like “The Great Gatsby” and “Titanic,” Leonardo DiCaprio has never won an Oscar.
• C. Sylvia Plath’s poem, “Daddy,” will be the subject of this week’s group discussion.
• D. “The New York Times” reported that many fans are disappointed in some of the trades made by the Yankees this off-season.

Correct answer: A

Rationale: The correct use of quotation marks in choice A is to enclose the title of a book, 'Where the Red Fern Grows,' indicating that it is a specific title that should be distinguished from the rest of the sentence. Choice B incorrectly uses quotation marks for movie titles, which should be italicized or underlined. Choice C correctly uses quotation marks for the title of a poem. Choice D has an extra space before the opening quotation mark, which is incorrect.

3. Which of the following spellings is correct?

• A. Dependant
• B. Dependent
• C. Dependunt
• D. Dependent

Correct answer: D

Rationale: The correct spelling is 'dependent,' meaning someone who relies on another for support. Choice A, 'Dependant,' is a common misspelling. Choice B, 'Dependint,' is incorrect. Choice C, 'Dependunt,' is also incorrect. Therefore, the correct answer is 'Dependent.'

4. Identify the incorrect usage of punctuation in the following sentence: 'The children, eager to play, ran outside; it was a beautiful day.'

• A. comma after 'children'
• B. comma after 'play'
• C. period after 'outside'
• D. no errors

Correct answer: C

Rationale: The sentence contains two independent clauses that should be separated by a semicolon or period, not a comma. The incorrect punctuation is the period after 'outside.' A period or semicolon is needed to correctly separate the two independent clauses. The comma after 'children' and 'play' are correctly used to set off non-essential participial phrases. Choice D is incorrect as there is a punctuation error in the sentence.

5. A teacher wants to counsel a student about using the word ain’t in a research paper for a high school English class. What advice should the teacher give?

• A. Ain’t is not in the dictionary, so it isn’t a word.
• B. Because the student isn’t in college yet, ain’t is an appropriate expression for a high school writer.
• C. Ain’t is incorrect English and should not be part of a serious student’s vocabulary because it sounds uneducated.
• D. Ain’t is a colloquial expression, and while it may be appropriate in a conversational setting, it is not standard in academic writing.

Correct answer: D

Rationale: The teacher should advise the student that 'ain’t' is a colloquial expression, and while it may be suitable in informal or conversational settings, it is not standard in academic writing. Using colloquialisms like 'ain’t' in formal research papers can diminish the professionalism and clarity of the writing. Choice A is incorrect as the presence of a word in the dictionary does not solely determine its appropriateness in formal writing. Choice B is incorrect because the student's academic level does not justify the use of non-standard English. Choice C is incorrect as it focuses on the perceived uneducated sound of 'ain’t' rather than its appropriateness in formal writing, which is the key concern for the research paper in question.

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