Mock STAAR Writing Review

What is the best way to combine the two sentences below? --- Daniel didn't want to fail. Daniel turned in all his work on time.

• Even though he turned in all his work on time, Daniel didn't want to fail.

• Daniel didn't want to fail, and he turned in all his work on time.

• Daniel didn't want to fail, he turned in all his work on time.

• Daniel didn't want to fail, so he turned in all his work on time.

What change, if any, needs to be made to the sentence below? My teammates have become more then just teammates to me; they are my friends.

• Change "to me" to "too me."

• Change "have become" to "have became."

• Change "then" to "than."

• Make no change.

Which two sentences are written incorrectly? (Revising: Many times there are two choices that have a grammatic error. If you can find these, then you can better your chance at choosing the correct answer.)

• Houston is the best city in Texas: we have so much to do every weekend.

• Living in Houston can really be great since it seems like there is a festival, a show, or a trail you can go to every weekend.

• There is so much to do in Houston; so if you visit, you should be sure to plan for lots to do.

• There are many things you can do in Houston on the weekends: museums, festivals, parks, free shows, and shopping.

How would you fix the following sentence?

Whenever we go to the movies I always have to have popcorn.

• add a semicolon after movies

• add a comma after movies

• delete the second "have" before popcorn

• No change needed

What is the best way to correct the following sentence? Although the internet is truly amazing we've become spoiled; when it runs a little bit slow, we get so aggravated.

• Remove the comma after slow

• Change the semicolon after spoiled to a comma

• Add a comma after amazing

• No change needed

What is the purpose of expository writing?

• to explain or inform

• to tell a story

• to persuade

• all of the above

What is the best way to combine the two sentences below? --- The sun was setting. The sky turned orange.

• A) The sun was setting, and the sky turned orange.

• B) The sun was setting, so the sky turned orange.

• C) The sun was setting, because the sky turned orange.

• D) The sun was setting, but the sky turned orange.

Which sentence is grammatically correct?

• A) She don't like apples.

• B) He doesn't likes apples.

• C) They doesn't like apples.

• D) She doesn't like apples.

What change, if any, needs to be made to the sentence below? --- The book on the table belong to Sarah.

• A) Change 'belong' to 'belongs'.

• B) Change 'on' to 'in'.

• C) Change 'to' to 'too'.

• D) Make no change.

What is the synonym of the word 'happy'?

• A) Sad

• B) Joyful

• C) Angry

• D) Tired