Written Expression
Written Expression measures whether you can produce clear, correct, and appropriately formal English. Questions typically ask you to choose the best version of a sentence, spot a grammatical error, select the right word, or pick the most concise phrasing for a report.
Concepts to master
- Agreement: subject-verb and pronoun-antecedent. Ignore interrupting phrases between subject and verb.
- Parallel structure: items in a list must share grammatical form.
- Modifier placement: a descriptive phrase must sit next to the noun it describes.
- Tense consistency: reports stay in one time frame unless the facts require a shift.
- Word choice: affect/effect, then/than, fewer/less, ensure/insure, principal/principle.
- Concision: official writing favors short, direct sentences over wordy ones.
Traps that appear
- The wordy option that is technically grammatical but bloated.
- The misplaced modifier that creates an unintended meaning.
- The pronoun with no clear referent - "he told him" with two possible "hims."
- The overcorrection - a sentence that is correct as written but you "fix" it anyway.
Worked example
Original: "The suspect fled on foot, and the officer pursued him, and he was apprehended."
Problem: three clauses chained with and, and "he" is ambiguous. Better: "The suspect fled on foot; the officer pursued and apprehended him." One clear actor, no ambiguity, no repetition.
Rule of thumb
Read the sentence aloud. If you stumble, something is wrong. Then ask: is it grammatical, is it clear, and is it the shortest version that keeps the full meaning? The answer must satisfy all three.