Writing
Writing on the TASC Japanese
The Writing domain assesses your ability to produce clear, organized, and grammatically correct English. You will be asked to revise and edit sentences and paragraphs, and to write an extended response. Key concepts include sentence structure, grammar, usage, punctuation, capitalization, and organization.
Key concepts to master:
- Sentence structure: Recognize and correct fragments, run-ons, and comma splices. Understand simple, compound, and complex sentences.
- Grammar and usage: Ensure subject-verb agreement, pronoun-antecedent agreement, correct verb tense, and proper use of modifiers.
- Punctuation: Use commas, semicolons, colons, apostrophes, and quotation marks correctly.
- Capitalization: Capitalize proper nouns, the first word of a sentence, and titles appropriately.
- Organization: Arrange ideas logically, use transition words, and maintain paragraph unity and coherence.
- Style and clarity: Choose precise words, avoid redundancy, and maintain a consistent tone.
Common traps:
- Choosing an answer that sounds sophisticated but creates a grammatical error.
- Missing errors in subject-verb agreement when the subject and verb are separated by a phrase.
- Overlooking comma splices (two independent clauses joined only by a comma).
- Misplacing modifiers so that they modify the wrong word.
- Confusing possessive apostrophes with plural forms.
- Ignoring the need for parallel structure in lists.
Rule of thumb: Read the sentence aloud in your head. If you need to take a breath, you probably need punctuation. For subject-verb agreement, find the true subject and ignore interrupting phrases.
Worked example: Sentence: “The group of students, along with their teacher, were excited about the trip.” Question: Which is the best revision? Options: A) The group of students, along with their teacher, was excited about the trip. B) The group of students along with their teacher were excited about the trip. C) The group of students, along with their teacher, is excited about the trip. D) No change. Analysis: The subject is “group” (singular), so the verb should be “was.” Option A corrects the agreement while keeping the sentence clear. B removes necessary commas; C changes the tense unnecessarily; D repeats the error. Therefore, A is correct.