UNIVERSITY OF EL SALVADOR

WESTERN MULTIDISCIPLINARY CAMPUS

DEPARTMENT OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES

ENGLISH COMPOSITION I PRACTICE (15%)

Students Name: ________________________________________________ Date: _____________________
Responsible: Professor Darlene Mata
Grade: ____________________
Objective: To assess students ability to identify and correct fragments and commas splices in different contexts.
General directions: Read the exam completely and follow each direction in each of the parts. Use blue ink for all the answers
and red ink for underlining.
Part I. Read the following statements and write T for True and F False next to them. If it is False, please explain and
provide an example. (16 POINTS)
1. A fragment is a group of words that looks like a sentence, but it is not; however, it is considered a sentence. ________
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2. Fragments can be used in advertising for emphasis. ______
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3. Fragments are acceptable in informal situations, such as personal letters and notes. ________
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4. Fragments are present in the written form and they are acceptable. ________
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5. You can fix fragments in two ways. First, you can add the missing elements to the sentence. Second, you can attach
the fragment to a nearby sentence, but only if this makes sense. _________
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6. To be able to recognize the comma splice, it is necessary to understand what makes up a clause. ______
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7. One solution for comma splices is to use a semi-colon. A semi-colon can be used between two independent clauses
when they are not related to each other. ______
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8. Another way to avoid the comma splice is to use any coordinating conjunction (for, and, nor but, or, yet, so) between
the two clauses. ________
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Part II. Revising fragments
Read each statement below and identify if there is a fragment. If there is a fragment, please underline, revise and
identify it according to the type of fragment it is. Please check the fragment and write it in the REVISED space
indicating what was done with the fragment. If there is not a fragment, rewrite it in the REVISED space as well. (30
POINTS)
FRAGMENT
1.

REVISED

A few minutes later. A news bulletin interrupted the

show.
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2. It is wise to ignore her sarcasm. Or to make a quick exit.

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3. Many students were obviously victims of spring fever.

Which

affected

class

attendance.

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4. Sam was elected the major of Santa Ana and was made

a number of the National Honor Society.

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5. The little paperback almanac I found at the newsstand

has given me some fascinating information.

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6. Some teachers are discussing about the theory of

behaviorism. Becoming only lecturers of the
topic._______________________________________
7. My roommate keeps all her shoes, scuba gear, books,
and clothes in one closet. The worst disaster area in
campus. ______________________________________
8. The best area to visit in the city. It is the attraction of the
town. ____________________________________

9. All things being equal. The active voice tends to be

correct more often than the passive on standardized
tests. ____________________________

10. Because my father forgot to tell about the meeting, I

could not get the job. ___________________________

PART III. Find the fragments in the following paragraph. Revise each fragment by attaching it logically to an adjacent
sentence or by rewriting it so that it stands by itself. After revising them, write the correct version of the paragraph below.
The little paperback almanac I found at the newsstand has given me some fascinating information. Not just about the weather and
changes in the moon. There are also intriguing statistics. A tub bath, for example, requires more water than a shower. In all probability, ten
or twelve gallons more, depending on how dirty the bather is. And one of the Montezumas downed fifty jars of cocoa every day. Which
seems a bit exaggerated to me. To say at least. I also learned that an average beard has thirteen thousand whiskers. That in the course of
a lifetime, a man could shave off more than nine yards of whiskers, over twenty-seven feet. If many math is correct. Some other interesting
facts in the almanac. Suppose a person was born on Sunday, February 29, 1976. Another birthday not celebrated on Sunday until the year
2004. Because February 29 falls on weekdays till then twenty-eight birthdays later. As I laid the almanac aside, I remembered that line in
Slaughterhouse-Five: And so it goes.
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