Exercises

1. Proofread the paragraph and correct any commonly confused words and misspelled words.

   Grunge, or the Seattle sound, is a type of rock music that became quiet popular in the late 1980s and early 1990s. It began in Seattle, Washington. Grunge musicians rejected the dramatic an expensive stage productions that were trendy at the time. There music was striped down with an emphasis on distorted electric guitars. Grunge musicians did not ware makeup or sport extravagent hairstyles like many of the day’s rock musicians and bands. Many grunge musicians would by they’re clothes from secondhand stores. The lyrics too grunge songs were also quit different compared two what was populer at the time. Grunge lyrics are charecterized by dark or socially conscience themes. Grunge music is still admired today buy music lovers of all ages.

2. Complete the following sentences by filling in the blank line with the correct homonym or frequently misspelled word.

   1. Kevin asked me a serious question and ________(then, than) interrupted me when I attempted to answer.
   2. A hot compress will ________(lessen, lesson) the pain of muscle cramps.
   3. Jason was not a graceful ________(looser, loser) because he knocked his chair over and stormed off the basketball court.
   4. Please consider the ________(effects, affects) of not getting enough green vegetables in your diet.
   5. ________(Except, Accept) for Ajay, we all had our tickets to the play.
   6. I am ________(threw, through) with this magazine, so you can read it if you like.
   7. I don’t care ________(whose, who’s) coming to the party and ________(whose, who’s) not.
   8. Crystal could ________(sea, see) the soaring hawk through her binoculars.
   9. The ________(principal, principle) gave the students a very long lecture about peer pressure.
   10. Dr. Frankl nearly lost his ________(patience, patients) with one of his ________(patience, patients).

3. Rewrite the following personal essay by replacing the slang, clichés, and overly general language with stronger, more precise language.

   My biggest regret happened in high school. I had always felt like a fish out of water, so during my sophomore year I was determined to fit in with the cool people. Man, was that an uphill battle. I don’t even know why I tried, but hindsight is 20/20 I guess. The first thing I did was change the way I dressed. I went from wearing clothes I was comfortable in to wearing stuff that was so not me. Then I started wearing a ton of makeup, and my brother was all like, “What happened to your face?” Not only did my looks change, my personality changed a lot too. I started to act all stuck up and bossy with my friends, and they didn’t know how to respond to this person that used to be me. Luckily, this phase didn’t last more than a couple of months. I decided it was more fun to be me than to try to be someone else. I guess you can’t fit a square peg in a round hole after all.

4. Write the correct synonym for each word.

   1. lenient ________(relaxed, callous)
   2. abandon ________(vacate, deceive)
   3. berate ________(criticize, encourage)
   4. experienced ________(callow, matured)
   5. spiteful ________(malevolent, mellow)
   6. tame ________(subdued, wild)
   7. tasty ________(savory, bland)
   8. banal ________(common, interesting)
   9. contradict ________(deny, revolt)
   10. vain ________(boastful, simple)