Ask the Prof
Name and give an example of the R in PROF.
Run-on/teacher judges the example.
Redundant/Redundancy
Repeating an idea - for each answer choice, ask yourself, "Is this idea repeated?"
She worked long hour’s while also taking care of all her children, and eventually she cared for her grandchildren.
hour's should be hours (It's plural, not possessive.)
What should you do when answering an editing multiple choice question?
Write down the skill being tested for each answer choice.
Coral and Barnacles that could never grow on the sandy ocean floor were spread across the hard walls of the subway cars.
Change Barnacles to barnacles
Write a sentence that uses parenthesis correctly.
Teacher will judge the answer.
Semicolon
Punctuation that replaces a period to show that ideas are closely related. There will be an indepenent clause on each side of the ;.
At night she baked the breads and buns she had learned how to make when she was a little girl helping her parents in their Bakery in China.
Bakery (no cap)
Why can't you identify a comma splice error by whether or not it "sounds right"?
Using a comma instead of a period (comma splice) doesn't change the way something sounds.
Coral reefs form gradual and create a diverse ecosystem, providing shelter and food for a vast array of marine life.
Change gradual to gradually
What does the O stand for in PROF?
out of order words and phrases
Comma splice
She worked long hours while also taking care of all her children; and eventually she cared for her grandchildren.
Turn the semicolon into a comma.
When answering questions that ask you fo find a better way to combine or write sentences, how can groups of words that are exactly the same in different answer choices help you find incorrect answers?
Look at what is different about the sentences. That is where you find the mistakes.
In the past, some subway cars were sold to be preserved or reused. However, most was scrapped for their metal.
Change was to were
What is out of order in this sentence?
Local businesses, which in turn helped the overall economy, benefitted from the fishing opportunities.
which in turn helped the overall economy
Local businesses benefitted from the fishing opportunities, which in turn helped the overall economy.
Fused sentence
A type of run-on that replaces a period with no punctuation at all.
I had always been impressed. That I had so many aunts and uncles I realize now how hard my grandmother worked so everyone could have a comfortable life.
I had always been impressed that I had so many aunts and uncles. I realize now how hard my grandmother worked so everyone could have a comfortable life.
What do you do with an answer choice that includes the phrase, "Now I will tell you about....”
Eliminate it. STAAR answes will never be cringy and are rarely first person.
Coral and barnacles that could never grow on the sandy ocean floor is spread across the hard walls of the subway cars.
Change is to are
What are the six types of punctuation you will see on the STAAR?
commas, periods, semicolons, colons, dashes, parenthesis
Dash
It provides strong emphasis or creates an abrupt break to highlight extra information in a sentence--like this.
Parents, grandparents, and teachers often say the same thing to teenagers “Are you listening to me?”
A colon : is needed before the quote.
Why is this incorrect?:
The three girls--all good friends of mine, are coming to my birthday party.
If a phrase is set off by commas, dashes, or parenthesis, they will match. Use two commas, two dashes, or two parenthesis.
Leaving El Paso behind, my parents piled me and my sister into our car along with backpacks and snacks; we then will head east on the highway.
change will head to headed