Reviewing, revising, and editing   Conducting a peer review   In each pair, select the response from a peer reviewer that is more likely to help the writer revise his or her draft.     A student asked his peer reviewers to pay special attention to the flow of his first draft of a paper based on an interview with a Chesapeake Bay waterman. Which reviewer response would be more helpful to the writer?      

Writing paragraphs  Topic sentences   In each pair, select the sentence that would work well as the topic sentence of the paragraph described.     In a paper surveying scientific studies on weight loss, which version would work better as the topic sentence of a paragraph?      

Thesis statements   In each of the following pairs, which sentence might work well as a thesis for a short paper?     

Thesis statements   In each pair, select the passage that would work better as a thesis statement for a three-to-five-page college paper. Remember that a thesis should be a central idea that requires supporting evidence; it should be of adequate scope for a three-to-five-page paper; and it should be sharply focused.     Which passage would work better for a one-to-three-page persuasive letter to be published in the editorial section of a local newspaper?     

Topic sentences   Each of the following items contains a topic sentence for a paragraph, followed by possible supporting sentences. In each item, choose the sentence that does not support the topic sentence.     Not surprisingly, some of the most annoying breaches of manners these days are related to technology, particularly cell phones.             

Transitions   The sentences in this exercise are all taken from one paragraph in a student paper giving information and advice to readers about water conservation. For each numbered item, select the transition that makes sense in context. The following is the first sentence of the paragraph, with the transition in boldface:     Another way to conserve water is to replace your thirsty lawn with drought-resistant native plants, grasses, and shrubs. If you can’t bear to give up your lawn, (for instance / however / moreover), you can decide to water it early in the morning or late in the evening when the weather is cooler and water loss from evaporation is less likely.                    

Topic sentences   Each of the following items contains a topic sentence for a paragraph, followed by possible supporting sentences. In each item, choose the sentence that does not support the topic sentence.     The Latino tradition of quinceañera, the celebration of a fifteen-year-old girl’s rite of passage into adulthood, incorporates a number of long-standing traditions; however, some Latino girls today are modernizing these traditions.                

Thesis statements   In each of the following pairs, which sentence might work well as a thesis for a short paper?     

Thesis statements   In each pair, select the passage that would work better as a thesis statement for a three-to-five-page college paper. Remember that a thesis should be a central idea that requires supporting evidence; it should be of adequate scope for a three-to-five-page paper; and it should be sharply focused.     Which passage would work better for a five-to-ten-page research paper for an introductory marine biology course?      

Transitions   The sentences in this exercise are all taken from one paragraph in a student paper giving information and advice to readers about water conservation. For each numbered item, select the transition that makes sense in context. The following is the first sentence of the paragraph, with the transition in boldface:     Another way to conserve water is to replace your thirsty lawn with drought-resistant native plants, grasses, and shrubs. If you can’t bear to give up your lawn, (for instance / however / moreover), you can decide to water it early in the morning or late in the evening when the weather is cooler and water loss from evaporation is less likely.