Writing Skills & Essay Composition Flashcards

A student writes: 'The committee, along with its advisors, have decided to postpone the vote.' What is the grammatical issue, and how should it be corrected?

Answer: The verb should be 'has decided' because the subject 'committee' is singular and parenthetical phrases do not change subject-verb agreement.

Phrases introduced by 'along with,' 'as well as,' or 'together with' are parenthetical and do not alter the grammatical number of the subject. 'Committee' is a singular collective noun, so the verb must be the singular 'has decided.'

Which of the following best describes the rhetorical effect of ending a persuasive essay's body with a concession paragraph before the conclusion?

Answer: It enhances credibility by acknowledging opposing viewpoints, making the subsequent refutation and conclusion feel more authoritative.

Strategically placed concessions demonstrate that the writer has considered counterarguments fairly. Addressing and then refuting the strongest opposing point just before the conclusion reinforces the writer's ethos and leaves the reader with a sense of the argument's robustness rather than its weakness.

An essay contains the following transition: 'Furthermore, the policy failed economically. However, it succeeded socially.' What is the primary structural problem with this passage?

Answer: 'Furthermore' signals addition, but the sentence it introduces presents a contrasting or negative idea, creating a mismatch between the signal word and the content it precedes.

'Furthermore' is an additive transition that signals the writer is building on a previous point in the same direction. Using it before a point that is negative or contrasting ('the policy failed') contradicts its semantic function. A contrast signal such as 'Nevertheless' or 'In contrast' would be appropriate, while 'However' in the second sentence is correctly used.

In an argumentative essay, a writer states: 'Teenagers who play video games are clearly more violent, as evidenced by several school incidents covered in the news.' Which specific logical fallacy does this claim commit?

Answer: Hasty generalisation combined with anecdotal evidence — isolated news incidents are used to draw a universal causal conclusion about all teenage gamers.

The claim draws a sweeping causal generalisation ('clearly more violent') from a small, unrepresentative, and emotionally salient sample — news-covered school incidents. This is a hasty generalisation. Relying on such anecdotal cases rather than systematic evidence also constitutes the anecdotal evidence fallacy. News coverage is inherently selective and does not represent the broader population of teenage gamers.

A writer wants to vary sentence rhythm in an academic essay and chooses to use a periodic sentence. Which of the following is an example of a correctly constructed periodic sentence?

Answer: 'Despite the harsh criticism from economists, the sustained opposition from civil society groups, and the administration's own internal reservations, the minister signed the bill into law.'

A periodic sentence deliberately withholds the main clause until the end, building anticipation through a series of subordinate phrases or clauses. Option B stacks multiple subordinate phrases ('Despite… criticism,' 'the sustained opposition,' 'the administration's own… reservations') before finally delivering the main clause ('the minister signed the bill'). Options C and D either front-load the main idea or separate ideas into short sentences.

When revising an essay, a student notices the paragraph below lacks cohesion. Which revision strategy would MOST effectively improve it? 'Air pollution harms human health. Many cities have introduced congestion charges. Electric vehicles are becoming cheaper. Respiratory diseases are increasing in urban areas.'

Answer: Add a topic sentence at the beginning that identifies the paragraph's controlling idea, and use transitional phrases to show causal or logical relationships between sentences.

The paragraph presents four loosely related facts with no stated connection between them and no controlling idea to unify them. A clear topic sentence (e.g., 'Urban transport policy is central to tackling the health effects of air pollution') and linking transitions ('As a result,' 'In response,' 'Consequently') would establish the paragraph's argument and show how each sentence relates logically to the next, creating true cohesion — not merely proximity.