Writing
Writing is the second domain of the NES Essential Academic Skills exam. It tests standard written English conventions and your ability to revise and edit prose for clarity, organization, cohesion, tone, and conciseness. Expect items on grammar, usage, sentence structure, punctuation, capitalization, and spelling, plus revision questions that ask you to improve a sentence or paragraph.
Core rules and concepts
- Subject-verb agreement: ignore prepositional phrases between subject and verb ("The list of items is").
- Pronoun-antecedent agreement and clarity: every pronoun needs one unambiguous antecedent.
- Parallel structure: items in a list or comparison must share grammatical form.
- Modifier placement: place a modifier next to the word it describes.
- Comma rules: use commas for introductory elements, nonessential clauses, items in a series, and before a coordinating conjunction joining two independent clauses.
- A semicolon joins two independent clauses; a colon introduces a list, explanation, or example.
- Avoid comma splices, run-ons, and fragments; prefer active voice and concise wording when meaning is unchanged.
Worked example
Sentence: "Walking to the store, the rain soaked my jacket." Reasoning: The introductory participial phrase "Walking to the store" should describe the person walking, but it grammatically modifies "the rain." Revise: "Walking to the store, I was soaked by the rain." Or: "As I walked to the store, the rain soaked my jacket." The trap is correcting punctuation while leaving the dangling modifier. Another common item: "The committee approved the plan, however, it delayed funding." This is a comma splice; use a semicolon: "The committee approved the plan; however, it delayed funding."
Traps that cost marks
- Treating "however" as a conjunction.
- Adding commas between subject and verb.
- Changing passive to active when the actor is unknown and the passive is appropriate.
- Overlooking pronoun ambiguity.
- Choosing a wordy revision that is grammatical but less clear.