Appendix C
Problem words and phrases
The following are three 20-question quizzes based on the words in Appendix C of Writing for
the Mass Media. Students should select the appropriate word for the sentence.
Word precision quiz 01
1
He decided it was ___________ to go to the library.
2
The soldier stood rigidly ___________ in front of Buckingham Palace.
3
Which of the words below is used to refer to scripture, such as the Bible?
4
Laurie filled out the ____________ at the end of the experiment.
5
It never stopped raining that night; the rain pounded _________ on the tin roof.
6
His income was estimated to be ___________ $1 million a year.
over
7
Which of the words below is spelled correctly?
8
The boys are a ________ but happy lot, the old man thought.
9
Which of the words below refers to using a minimum amount of time?
10
The priest was accused of __________ activity.
11
His tenderness toward her showed him to be a _________ person.
12
Which of the words below means “selling”?
13
Is the sentence below correct or incorrect?
Temperatures are expected to warm up by the weekend.
14
Which word means “to prohibit”?
15
The secretary of labor said he did not know what ________ the strike would have on the economy.
16
The president said he doubted ________ commitment to the program.
17
Which of the words below means “every six months”?
18
Which of the words below means “to show sudden anger”?
19
Fred wondered _________ going with him.
20
When he was an alcoholic, he would drink to ___________.
Word precision quiz 02
1
Marcia finally ___________ the point, but she obviously did not agree with him.
2
Which of the words below means “someone who is openly hostile.”
3
Which word should be used in the sentence below?
They first went to a movie; __________, they stopped to get something to eat.
4
The priest approached the _________ slowly.
5
Which word or words should be used in the sentence?
The city is holding its ___________ bluegrass music festival this weekend.
6
The judge invited ___________ of the potential jurors to leave.
7
The secretary of labor asked him to _____________ the dispute and impose a solution on both sides.
8
Which of the words below describes a person who does not believe there is a God?
9
He _____________ the painting to see how much it might bring at an auction.
Apprise means to inform; appraise means to give or place a value on something.
10
The candidate criticized the effect that _________ voting was having on the election.
some forty dictionary definitions.
11
The protester showed up with his sign every morning in front of the _____________ building.
12
He paid her a _____________ of the highest order when he told her that she was a good speaker.
13
The defendant decided to consult with her _______ before entering a plea.
14
Is the sentence correct or incorrect?
The church was totally destroyed by the tornado.
15
She found that the second dress he bought her was quite ______________ the first one.
16
Joseph suffered a great deal of _______________ at the sight of his words in print.
comfort.
17
He began his __________ into alcoholism after his first wife left him.
18
His __________ wish was to see his son play professional baseball.
19
The tapping sounds engendered feelings in him of _____________ danger.
20
Sarah decided that she could come up with a more __________ solution to the dispute.
Word precision quiz 03
1
Tom had achieved an _____________ position among his peers.
2
Linda responded to the new headmistress by openly _____________ the rules.
3
Which word should be used in the sentence below?
The entire class attended her _______________.
4
He proved himself to be a ____________ by piling his plate high with food three times during the reception.
5
Which word or words should be used in the sentence?
The ship lowered its colors to ______________ in honor of the dead sailor.
6
_____________ our team will win its game on Saturday.
7
Which word should be used when referring to people?
8
I ____________ from what he said that he is against the proposal.
9
His ___________ manner marked him as someone we did not want to trust.
10
Harry told us that _______ time for us to go.
11
She came out of the store with __________ items than she intended to buy.
12
She acted __________ she were too good to speak to us.
13
His son always felt that he needed to assume the _________ of his famous father.
14
Her ___________ manner tended to drive people out of the office.
15
Jesse Smith was placed on _____________ after serving about half of his prison sentence.
16
The lawyer ____________ over the contract to find any loophole she could.
17
His rule was that those who misbehave should be sent to the ____________ office immediately.
18
Her ___________ came true sooner than expected.
19
Finding that it no longer serve any purpose, the developers decided to ___________ the building.
20
The onions ____________ throughout the kitchen.