Virginia Standards of Learning End-of-Course Writing

1.A Richmond notebook contains the words "After the bell at a Richmond school." Why are those words not a complete sentence?

2.Join these notes without changing who traveled. The ferry left Norfolk at dawn. The ferry carried band students to Portsmouth.

3.A paragraph about a class visit to the Virginia State Capitol opens with the bus ride and closes with a vote the students watched. Which sentence belongs in the middle?

4.A Tangier Island log says, "The waterman did a thing with the crab pot." Which revision replaces the vague words with a precise action?

5.Which sentence uses commas correctly in a series from a Winchester orchard?

6.Which sentence agrees in a note about geese at Huntley Meadows in Fairfax?

7."Lena told Amira that she had left the sketch at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts." Which revision shows that Lena left the sketch?

8.A field note says, "The trail was steep the class kept climbing." Which revision fixes that run-on about Natural Bridge?

9.Which combination best joins these Charlottesville market notes? "The tomatoes were still warm. They came from a greenhouse in Albemarle County."

10.A paragraph explains how a Damascus class rode the Virginia Creeper Trail. Which sentence should open it?

11.A Roanoke news note says, "The river got big after the storm." Which revision makes the Roanoke River detail more precise?

12.Which sentence correctly places a comma after an introductory phrase about a Lexington morning?

13.Which sentence is correct for a rehearsal note at the Barter Theatre in Abingdon?

14."The ponies crossed the channel, which surprised the Chincoteague guides." Which revision makes the cause of the surprise clear?

15.Which choice completes the fragment "Because the fog hid Cape Henry" in a Virginia Beach log?

16.Combine these lines without repeating information. "The dome was repaired last spring. The dome is on the capitol in Richmond."

17.A paragraph describes echoes inside Luray Caverns. Which sentence should be removed?

18.Which revision removes the repeated wording in a Staunton history paper?

19.Which compound sentence about the Dismal Swamp canal is punctuated correctly?

20.Which sentence is correct in a Hampton band memo?

21."After the Norfolk crew passed the tug, it scraped the dock." Which revision shows that the skiff scraped the dock?

22.Which revision turns "Walking the High Bridge Trail near Farmville" into a complete sentence?

23.Which combination keeps the contrast in these Fredericksburg sentences? "The sun was bright. The river path was still icy."

24.A Manassas report has three sentences: (1) The class mapped the stone wall. (2) They marked the old roadbed. (3) They packed the maps. Where should this sentence go: "Before leaving, they checked each measurement twice"?

25.A respectful review of a play in Richmond should replace "weird" in "The quiet ending was weird." Which word fits?

26.Which sentence punctuates the place name correctly?

27.Which sentence is correct about crates on a Portsmouth pier?

28."In the Yorktown trench model, it showed the cannon placement." Which revision gives the idea a clear subject?

29.A vendor note from the Lynchburg market is fused: "The peppers sold out the peaches lasted all afternoon." Which revision fixes it?

30.Which combination uses an appositive for these Alexandria sentences? "Ada Holmes leads the library club. She is a senior at the high school."

31.A Blacksburg lab note says the first soil sample was dry. The next sentence says a second sample was soaked. Which word should open that second sentence?

32.Replace the vague wording in a Suffolk fair report: "People looked at the things in the barn." Which revision is most specific?

33.Which sentence correctly sets off extra information about a guide in Williamsburg?

34.Which sentence is correct when the Leesburg council acts as one group?

35.Which revision keeps the pronouns consistent in a Culpeper workshop note?

36.Which choice is a complete sentence about dawn on the Rappahannock?

37.Join these Newport News sentences to show cause. "The dry dock was empty. Workers could inspect the hull."

38.A Harrisonburg class lists bread steps out of order: mix the flour and water; score the loaves before baking; set the dough near the warm oven; shape the risen dough. Which step comes third?

39.A formal report on Great Falls should replace slang. Which sentence fits that report?

40.Which sentence punctuates the date of a Bristol concert correctly?

41.Which sentence agrees in a note from a Warrenton stable?

42."The lens cap sat beside the star chart, but it disappeared during the Reston observatory night." Which revision shows that the lens cap disappeared?

43.A Petersburg museum label reads, "Cannonballs, buttons, and a bent spoon." Why does that line fail as a sentence?

44.Which combination is clearest for these Front Royal sentences? "The class reached the overlook. The class photographed Signal Knob."

45.A paragraph on oyster cages in Cape Charles needs a closing sentence. Which choice closes it?

46."The view from Sharp Top was good." Which replacement gives a sharper picture of the peak near Bedford?

47.Which sentence correctly punctuates direct address in a Salem marching reminder?

48.Which sentence agrees in a Chesapeake planetarium script?

49.Which sentence makes the pronoun refer clearly to the ranger at Grayson Highlands?

50.A comma splice appears in a Hopewell lab note: "The sample cooled, the color changed." Which revision fixes it?

51.Combine these Smith Mountain Lake observations. "A sailboat crossed the cove. The cove was glassy at noon."

52.Which detail supports the topic sentence "Hungry Mother State Park gives Marion families several easy walks"?

53.Which sentence is the most precise review of a concert in Radford?

54.Which sentence correctly leaves out commas around words that are needed to identify the bridge?

55.Which sentence agrees in a Galax music write-up?

56."The scoreboard failed, and the anthem started late. This frustrated the Martinsville crowd." Which revision shows that the late anthem caused the frustration?

57.Which group of words is a complete sentence about a ferry at Jamestown?

58.Which combination avoids repeating "the mural" in these Richmond sentences? "The mural faces the canal. The mural shows rowers on the James."

59.Which time order is logical for a morning at First Landing State Park?

60.A Charlottesville concert note says, "The choir did the high note." Which verb is the most precise replacement for did?

61.Which sentence correctly punctuates a series of stops on a trip from Fairfax?

62.Which sentence is correct about a report posted in Tazewell?

63."Malik told Owen that his poster had fallen in the Ashburn hallway." Which revision shows that Owen's poster fell?

64.Which revision correctly uses a semicolon in a note from Belle Isle in Richmond?

65.Which combination shows that two actions happened together on the Eastern Shore?

66.A Mount Vernon garden paragraph says: "The garden includes boxwood and fruit trees. Brick walls enclose the lower garden. Visitors can see the mansion beyond the gate." Where does this sentence belong: "Those brick walls hold heat around the fruit trees"?

67.Which sentence gives the clearest picture of wind on the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel?

68.Which sentence correctly sets off an interrupting phrase in a Virginia Beach lifeguard log?

69.Which sentence agrees in a description of stalls along the Downtown Mall in Charlottesville?

70."Keisha waved to the soloist after her solo at the Harrisonburg recital." Which revision shows that the soloist had just performed?

71.Which revision repairs the fragment "And clapped for the goalkeeper in Loudoun"?

72.Which combination shows a result in these Floyd County sentences? "The kiln cooled slowly. The glaze did not crack."

73.Which sentence is the best topic sentence for a paragraph about student research at the Library of Virginia in Richmond?

74.A factual note about a close call on Skyline Drive should report what happened. Which sentence does that?

75.Which sentence correctly omits a comma in a compound predicate about a Staunton bakery?

76.Which sentence is correct about exhibits at the Science Museum of Virginia?

77."The workboats passed the buoy near Onancock, and they looked tired." Which revision shows that the crews looked tired?

78.Which choice fixes the fragment "If the ice closes the mountain road above Buena Vista"?

79.The writer wants to keep both facts: the museum room at Appomattox Court House is small, and the class stayed an hour. Which combination does that?

80.Which order best organizes a short report on a Danville mill tour?

81.Which sentence uses the most direct verb in a note about cleanup day on the Blackwater River in Franklin?

82.Which sentence correctly punctuates an introductory yes in a reply from a guide at Monticello?

83.Which sentence agrees in a count of osprey nests near Cape Charles?

84."The canoe hit a rock in the Shenandoah, which split." Which revision shows that the canoe split?

85.Which choice is a complete imperative sentence for a field stop at Great Falls?

86.Combine so that both painters remain the people who worked. "Elena sketched the dunes at False Cape. Chris sketched the dunes at False Cape."

87.A paragraph about Crabtree Falls first says the upper cascade is steep. Which next sentence contrasts a safer viewpoint?

88.A Kilmarnock harbor report says, "The crew put stuff in the hold to steady the boat." Which replacement is most precise?

89.Which sentence punctuates the quoted remark from a guide in Fredericksburg correctly?

90.Which sentence is correct about volunteers at a food pantry in Petersburg?

91."The mayor thanked the choir, and she handed them a key to the city of Bristol." Which revision makes clear that the mayor handed the key to the singers?

92.A Norton student wrote two fragments: "During the rain delay. While we waited under the gym awning." Which revision makes one complete sentence?

93.Which combination correctly links two related facts about the Mariners' Museum in Newport News?

94.Which sentence does not belong in a paragraph about repairing nets on Tangier Island?

95.The writer counted forty-eight sacks at a Suffolk warehouse. Which sentence states that count precisely?

96.Which sentence correctly punctuates the appositive about a student poet from Winchester?

97.Which sentence agrees in a schedule posted in Fauquier County?

98."The oystermen left baskets on the wharf in Onancock. Gulls circled. They were full of shells." Which revision shows that the baskets were full of shells?

99.Which revision completes "Measuring the span of Natural Bridge"?

100.Combine these notes from a clinic in Big Stone Gap. "Dr. Shah volunteers on Thursdays. Dr. Shah speaks with patients in the front room."

101.Which detail best supports "The Eastern Shore barrier islands change shape after strong storms"?

102.A letter to the Richmond city council should sound formal. Which sentence fits?

103.Which sentence correctly punctuates however between two clauses about a delay in Clifton Forge?

104.Which sentence is correct if pair is used as one unit in a Wytheville display label?

105."Jordan passed the baton to Sam, and he dropped it on the Roanoke track." Which revision shows that Sam dropped the baton?

106.Which revision fixes "Under the live oaks at First Landing"?

107.The writer wants contrast. "The path at Burke Lake was short. The path felt long in the heat." Which combination keeps that contrast?

108.Which sentence correctly punctuates the place inside a sentence about a letter to Norfolk?