WRITING AND LANGUAGE DRILL 2: ANSWERS AND
EXPLANATIONS
1. B The first change in the answer choices is the punctuation after the word safe. The idea Many
factory workers in the 19th century thought their jobs were safe is a complete idea. The idea
that follows, we know now that they were wrong, is also a complete idea. Two complete ideas
must be separated by STOP punctuation. Choice (A) uses no punctuation between the ideas;
eliminate (A). Choices (C) and (D) use STOP punctuation followed by the conjunction but,
which makes the second part of the sentence an incomplete idea. Choice (B) uses the
combination of a comma and the conjunction but, which together function as STOP punctuation.
Choice (B) is the correct answer.
2. D The first change in the answer choices is the removal of the apostrophe in the word today’s, so
the question is testing possession. To determine whether the word is possessive and requires an
apostrophe, consider the word that follows, world. Because the passage discusses the world of
today, today’s is possessive, and the form with the apostrophe is correct. Eliminate (B) and (C).
The next decision to be made is between there and their. Because the word refers to the jobs
belonging to the people, the possessive pronoun their is consistent with the meaning of the
sentence. Therefore, (D) is the correct answer.
3. C Notice that the placement of commas is changing in the answer choices. This indicates that the
question is testing comma rules. In the sentence, the word say has a meaning similar to “for
example.” This makes the word say unnecessary information. To make the commas consistent
with this meaning, commas before and after the word are necessary. Choice (C) is correct.
4. A The first change in the answer choices is between your and you’re. Your is a possessive
pronoun, while you’re is a contraction for the you are. The sentence requires the possessive
form of the word, not the contraction. Eliminate (C) and (D). The next change is the punctuation
after the close of the parentheses. Since parentheses indicate unnecessary information, you
should check the punctuation by reading the sentence without the parenthetical information. The
phrases These questions may seem overly pessimistic and However, some recent studies have
been truly remarkable are both complete ideas. STOP punctuation is necessary, so eliminate
(B). Choice (A) is the correct answer.
5. B Notice that the placement of commas is changing in the answer choices. Therefore, this question
is testing comma rules. The underlined portion is part of a list. The rule for comma use in a list
is to have a comma after every item in the list. The items in the list here are depression, PTSD,
and other mood disorders. Therefore, a comma is needed after depression and after PTSD, but
not after other or and. The correct answer is (B).
6. A The first change in the answer choices is the punctuation after person. The idea preceding the
punctuation is complete, and the idea that follows is also complete. The answer must have
punctuation that is consistent with two complete ideas. Choice (D) has no punctuation; eliminate
(D). A comma without one of the FANBOYS is not STOP punctuation; eliminate (B). Choice
