Texas Civil Service Exam Writing and Grammar 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which sentence uses a semicolon correctly?
- The report was late; because the data was missing.
- The officer filed the report; the sergeant reviewed it. (Correct answer)
- She completed the training; and received her certification.
- The budget was approved; however the funds were limited to specific uses.
Correct answer: The officer filed the report; the sergeant reviewed it.
A semicolon correctly joins two independent clauses without a conjunction.
Question 2: Choose the correctly punctuated sentence for a formal government report.
- The suspects vehicle was found abandoned near the river.
- The suspect's vehicle was found abandoned near the river. (Correct answer)
- The suspects' vehicle was found abandoned near the river.
- The suspect's vehicle, was found abandoned near the river.
Correct answer: The suspect's vehicle was found abandoned near the river.
The possessive of a singular noun is formed with an apostrophe followed by 's'.
Question 3: Which word is spelled correctly?
- Occurance
- Occurence
- Occurrence (Correct answer)
- Occurranse
Correct answer: Occurrence
'Occurrence' is spelled with double 'c' and double 'r' followed by '-ence'.
Question 4: A civil service memo states: 'Each of the officers are required to submit their report by Friday.' What is the error?
- Officers should be officer's
- Are should be is, because 'each' is singular (Correct answer)
- Their should be his or her
- Submit should be submits
Correct answer: Are should be is, because 'each' is singular
'Each' is an indefinite pronoun that takes a singular verb, so 'is' is correct.
Question 5: Which sentence best uses parallel structure?
- The job requires filing reports, to answer phones, and managing schedules.
- The job requires filing reports, answering phones, and managing schedules. (Correct answer)
- The job requires to file reports, answering phones, and schedule management.
- The job requires filing reports, you must answer phones, and managing schedules.
Correct answer: The job requires filing reports, answering phones, and managing schedules.
Parallel structure requires all items in a list to use the same grammatical form—here, gerunds (-ing words).
Question 6: In formal government writing, which is the preferred way to write a date?
- 8/6/26
- August 6th, 2026
- August 6, 2026 (Correct answer)
- Aug. 6, 2026
Correct answer: August 6, 2026
Formal government documents write dates with the full month name, day, and four-digit year without ordinal suffixes.
Question 7: Which sentence avoids redundancy?
- The final conclusion of the investigation was submitted.
- The consensus of opinion was unanimous.
- The investigation concluded with a submitted report. (Correct answer)
- The past history of the department was reviewed.
Correct answer: The investigation concluded with a submitted report.
'Final conclusion,' 'consensus of opinion,' and 'past history' are all redundant phrases.
