English 102NAME______
PUNCTUATION TEST
All material is from chapter two (pages 41-91) in The MLA Handbook..
Directions. Write “C” for those sentences that are correct and “NC” for those sentences that are incorrect. Errors take the form of superfluous punctuation, missing punctuation, or incorrect punctuation; your answers are not affected by the presence or absence of “optional” punctuation Follow MLA mechanics guidelines for formal style.
COMMA
1.___A thousand mile journey begins with the first step and, the sooner it’s started the sooner it’s over.
2.___I have pulled down the blinds, turned off the water heater and put a hold on the mail.
3.___ My old truck looks forlorn, wet, and lonesome.
4.___Every Thursday night I eat a rich, chocolate, layer cake while I watch NBC television.
5.___He has however been a member of the Acme Auto Parts bowling team.
6.___Celebrated new-age guru, Deepak Chopra, will speak tonight at Kane Hall.
7.___Chopra’s book Happiness in Six Weeks is the subject of his talk.
8.___Chopra, who bowls a hot game of pins himself, promotes the sport.
9.___The bowling leagues, that play every Thursday night, are responsible for the lower Neilson ratings of Thursday night television.
10.___I myself go to bowl at reputable lanes, where the shoes smell new and fit well.
11.___Concerned about my obligations and opportunities during the upcoming holidays I bought a calendar and started a list.
12.___A few of my beloved but prickly family members will come to stay.
13.___The lady who lives in Trempealeau, Wisconsin and drives her three children to school in a rusty Suzuki, mails her Christmas gifts in August.
14.___Last January I finally wrote to my effervescent uncle, that I wanted a copy of his new book for my birthday.
15.___I heard that he’s over the hill and around the bend.
16.___I flunked math class in July 1985.
SEMI-COLON
17.___I’ve got to restrain myself; and I don’t know how.
18.___You should have read Lewis, a philologist; DeLillo, a philosopher; and Gibaldi, a pedant.
COLON
19.___The reading list includes: a novel about history, a play about manners, and a poem about love.
20.___Arnie’s life ambition is foolish: he want to read every book ever written.
21.___Andy elaborated on the function of cytosine in DNA, stating: “Without this simple stuff life would not exist as we know it.”
DASHES AND PARENTHESIS
22.___Ann Richards—the wittiest lady north of the Rio Grande—growls subtle censure of smug conservative talk show hosts.
23.___The meaning of life, a maddening, elusive, nebulous notion, is what you’ll discover tomorrow.
24.___Look in your MLA Guide before you hand in your final draft—be sure your citations are letter perfect and your works cited page is professional.
HYPHENS
25.___The least affected composer of the last century was an obscure Romanian.
26.___Janice is a happily-married woman.
27.___The fraternity brothers were knowledge-starved acolytes.
28.___ The second reason to study is to gain esteem.
29.___I have found curious paradoxes in domestic-religion advocates.
30.___She’s taking a masterful liberal-arts course at SCCC.
APOSTROPHES
31.___The eleven performers’ sideburns were applied with rubber cement.
32.___Why are there no womens’ studies courses in this college?
33.___Siskel and Ebert’s television show is jointly owned by them.
34.___Norman Lewis’s book has made him a millionaire.
35.___The FBI’s files were found in compromising places.
36.___How many psychologist’s does it take to change a lightbulb?
QUOTATION MARKS
37.___This punctuation exam is “fun.”
38.___This ridiculous punctuation exam is hardly “fun.”
39.___The Spanish verb hay que means ‘it is necessary.’
40.___Pat said, “Terri said, ‘Please choose me.’”
41.___I subscribe to the “Seattle Times.”
43.___“The Toxic Airborne Event” is a section in DeLillo’s book White Noise.
44.___Yesterday’s newspaper had an article entitled “Zairean President Fleeing Unpaid Soldiers.”
45.___My favorite TV show is “Star Trek Next Generation.”
46.___Have you read the epic poem “Odyssey”?
47.___Tune in to Golden Oldies 97.5 FM for Frankie Avalon’s great hit, “Big Girls Don’t Cry.”
48.___ Next quarter students will read Strunk and White’s little book “The Elements of Style.”
49.___“Playing With Fire” was a controversial article in the “New York Times Magazine.”
50.___I can’t decide whether to rent “Independence Day” or “Toy Story” at the video store this weekend.
BRACKETS
51.___Lincoln orated, “Four score and seven [eighty-seven] years ago” on 19 November 1863.
52.___At the battle of Peach Tree Creek (an engagement in Georgia (confederate state) about which little is known), my great-great-great uncle Levi lost his left arm.
ITALICS (UNDERLINING)
53.___You have too many uses of however in your paragraph.
54.___Dominique Duclaud drives us all to distraction with her love of the cliché.
55.___I have begun my daily reading of the Bible.
56.___Who knows what the nineteenth amendment to the Bill of Rights guarantees?
57.___Playing soon at the Seattle Repertory theater is Chekhov’s Uncle Vanya.
58.___This quarter we read Tim O’Brien’s moving short story How to Tell a True War Story.
59.___My attraction to Belize is the joie de vivre one encounters there.
60.___Save your money and drop your subscription to Time magazine.
NUMBERS
61.___47 students enrolled last quarter in dramatic arts classes.
62.___My son at birth weighed five lbs., seven ozs.
63.___This is page 4.
64.___The earth’s population has increased this century from two billion to nearly 5 billion.
65.___The Roman emperor Claudius begins his memoirs in the year 41 AD
66.___That’s the First Century.