Free PERT Writing Exam Flashcards

A verb must match its subject in number — singular subjects take singular verbs, plural subjects take plural verbs. Example: 'The student writes daily' vs. 'The students write daily.'

Ignore prepositional phrases that fall between the subject and verb — the verb agrees with the true subject, not the noun closest to it. Example: 'The box of supplies IS on the shelf' (subject is 'box,' not 'supplies').

Collective nouns take a singular verb and singular pronoun when the group acts as one unit. Example: 'The team practices its drills every morning.'

Two subjects joined by 'and' form a plural subject and take a plural verb. Example: 'The coach and the players ARE arriving early.'

When subjects are joined by 'or' or 'nor,' the verb agrees with the subject nearer to it. Example: 'Neither the manager nor the employees WERE informed.'

Each, either, neither, everyone, everybody, someone, anybody, and nobody are always singular and take a singular verb. Example: 'Everybody in the class HAS a copy of the syllabus.'

A pronoun must agree in number with the noun it replaces (its antecedent). Example: 'The corporation released ITS annual report' — not 'their,' because 'corporation' is a singular noun.

Subjective pronouns (I, he, she, we, they, who) serve as sentence subjects; objective pronouns (me, him, her, us, them, whom) serve as objects. Example: 'The director thanked HER and ME' — not 'she and I.'

Use WHO when the pronoun is the subject of a clause; use WHOM when it is the object. Test by substituting he/who or him/whom. Example: 'WHOM should I contact?' (I should contact HIM.)

Mentally complete the omitted clause to pick the correct case. Example: 'My brother scored higher than SHE (did)' — not 'than her,' since 'she' is the subject of the implied verb 'did.'

Keep verb tense consistent across a sentence or passage unless the meaning truly requires a time shift. Incorrect: 'He opens the laptop and typed the report.' Correct: 'He opened the laptop and typed the report.'

Irregular verbs form perfect tenses with a distinct past-participle form, not the simple past. Example: 'She has WRITTEN three drafts' (not 'has wrote'); 'They had GONE home' (not 'had went').

Adjectives modify nouns; adverbs modify verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs and often end in -ly. Example: 'He answered the question CONFIDENTLY' (adverb modifying 'answered'), not 'confident.'

Use -er/-est for most one- or two-syllable words (faster, fastest) and more/most for longer words (more effective, most effective) — never combine both. Incorrect: 'more faster.' Correct: 'faster' or 'more rapid.'

Capitalize proper nouns, titles used with a name, the first word of a sentence, and specific course or place names — but not seasons, general directions, or common nouns. Example: 'I am taking BIOLOGY 101 this fall,' not 'Fall.'

A fragment is an incomplete sentence missing a subject, a verb, or a complete thought — often a dependent clause standing alone. Fragment: 'Because the printer was broken.' Fix: 'Because the printer was broken, we mailed the report.'

A run-on joins two independent clauses with no punctuation or connecting word between them. Example: 'The meeting ran long everyone left exhausted.' Fix: split into two sentences or add a conjunction or semicolon.

A comma splice incorrectly joins two independent clauses with only a comma. Example: 'The report was late, the manager was upset.' Fix: use a period, semicolon, or comma plus coordinating conjunction.

(1) Split into two sentences with a period. (2) Join with a semicolon. (3) Add a comma + coordinating conjunction (FANBOYS). (4) Make one clause dependent with a subordinating conjunction (because, although, since).

An independent clause expresses a complete thought and can stand alone as a sentence. A dependent clause has a subject and verb but cannot stand alone — it starts with a word like 'although,' 'because,' or 'which.'

For, And, Nor, But, Or, Yet, So — join two independent clauses of equal importance, preceded by a comma. Example: 'The exam was difficult, but most students passed.'

Words like although, because, since, while, if, and unless attach a dependent clause to an independent clause to show a logical relationship. Example: 'ALTHOUGH the essay was short, it made a strong argument.'

A dangling modifier describes a word that isn't actually in the sentence, leaving the modifier unattached to a logical subject. Dangling: 'Walking to class, the rain soaked my backpack.' Fix: 'Walking to class, I got my backpack soaked by the rain.'

A misplaced modifier sits too far from the word it describes, creating confusion or an unintended meaning. Misplaced: 'She almost drove her kids to school every day.' Clear: 'She drove her kids to school almost every day.'

Items in a series or joined by correlative conjunctions (either/or, not only/but also) must share the same grammatical form. Example: 'The course teaches students to write, to revise, and to edit' — not 'to write, revising, and editing.'

Place a comma before a coordinating conjunction (FANBOYS) when it joins two independent clauses. Example: 'She proofread the essay, and then she submitted it.'

Use a comma after an introductory word, phrase, or clause that precedes the main clause. Example: 'After reviewing her notes, she felt confident about the exam.'

Use a pair of commas to set off NONESSENTIAL information that can be removed without changing the meaning: 'My essay, which I revised twice, earned a strong score.' Do NOT use commas around ESSENTIAL information needed to identify the noun: 'Students who skip the review session often struggle.'

Place a comma before the final conjunction in a list of three or more items to prevent ambiguity. Example: 'The essay covers grammar, punctuation, and organization.'

A semicolon can join two closely related independent clauses without a coordinating conjunction. Example: 'The test is untimed; most students finish within an hour.'

Use a semicolon before words like however, therefore, moreover, and consequently when they join two independent clauses, followed by a comma. Example: 'The draft was strong; however, it needed a stronger conclusion.'

A colon follows a complete independent clause and introduces a list, explanation, or emphatic point. Example: 'The subtest covers five areas: grammar, structure, punctuation, word choice, and rhetoric.'

Add 's to singular nouns ('the student's paper') and to plural nouns not ending in s ('the children's books'); add only an apostrophe after plural nouns ending in s ('the students' papers').

In American English, commas and periods go INSIDE closing quotation marks; colons and semicolons go OUTSIDE. Example: The author called the essay "persuasive," but critics disagreed.

Hyphenate two or more words that work together as a single adjective before a noun. Example: 'a well-written essay' (hyphenated before the noun) vs. 'the essay was well written' (no hyphen after the noun).

A topic sentence states the main idea of a paragraph, usually near the beginning, and every other sentence in the paragraph should support it.

A unified paragraph stays focused on one main idea — any sentence that drifts to an unrelated topic should be revised or removed. PERT questions that ask 'which sentence does not belong' test this skill.

Sentences within a paragraph should follow a clear sequence — chronological, spatial, or order of importance — so ideas build logically instead of jumping randomly between points.

A concluding sentence wraps up a paragraph by restating the main idea or signaling a transition to the next point, without introducing new, unrelated information.

Words like furthermore, in addition, moreover, and also signal that a new point supports or extends the previous idea.

Words like however, on the other hand, nevertheless, and in contrast signal that the new idea opposes or qualifies the previous point.

Words like therefore, as a result, thus, and consequently show that one idea is the outcome or consequence of the idea before it.

Effective revisions match tone, vocabulary, and level of detail to the intended audience and the writer's purpose (to inform, persuade, or narrate) — formal essays avoid slang and contractions.

AFFECT is usually a verb meaning 'to influence' ('Noise can AFFECT concentration'). EFFECT is usually a noun meaning 'a result' ('The noise had no EFFECT on her focus').

ITS (no apostrophe) is a possessive pronoun ('The company reached ITS goal'). IT'S (with apostrophe) is a contraction of 'it is' or 'it has' ('IT'S been a long exam').

THAN is used for comparisons ('The essay section is harder THAN the math section'). THEN refers to time or sequence ('Draft your thesis, THEN outline your evidence').

THEIR shows possession ('their answers'), THERE indicates place or introduces a clause ('there are three parts'), and THEY'RE is a contraction of 'they are' ('they're finishing the test').

Concise writing avoids repeating the same idea in different words. Wordy: 'each and every individual student.' Concise: 'each student' or 'every student.'

In active voice, the subject performs the action ('The committee reviewed the proposal'); in passive voice, the subject receives the action ('The proposal was reviewed by the committee'). Active voice is usually more direct and concise — preferred unless the actor is unknown or unimportant.

Rhetorically effective revisions replace wordy, indirect phrases with direct ones. Example: 'due to the fact that' becomes 'because'; 'in order to' becomes 'to'; 'at this point in time' becomes 'now.'