Vocabulary Test 1 (25 Points)

Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs)

SLO 7: Present sentence structure, tone, voice, and vocabulary appropriate for academic
writing

Due Date: Week 4

Assignment Format:
- 25 Randomized Questions
- Multiple choice/ Fill in the Blank/ Definition
Assignment Description:
For this assignment students will answer twenty-five questions about the parts of speech and
fifteen vocabulary words selected from their readings and class discussions. The questions will
come in different forms – multiple choice, fill in the blank, and definitions – and will be
randomly chosen from the vocabulary list and parts of speech listed in the Background
Information section of this handout. All of the definitions, parts of speech, and information about
the parts of speech on this handout can be found in the online Merriam – Webster Dictionary.
Vocabulary List:
Systematically (Adjective) – Relating to or consisting of a system; methodical in procedure or
plan.
Sugarcoated (Verb) – to make superficially attractive or palatable
Exuberantly (Adjective) – Joyously unrestrained and enthusiastic
Entranced (Verb) – to carry away with delight, wonder, or rapture
Enthusiasm (Noun) – strong excitement of feeling
Circumscribed (Verb) – to constrict the range or activity of definitely and clearly
Bequeath (Verb) – to give or leave by will; to hand down
Largesse (Noun) – liberal giving to or as if to an inferior; generosity
Postulates (Verb) – to demand, or claim; to assume or claim as true, existent, or necessary
Unsanitary (Adjective) – unclean enough to endanger health
Grossly (Adjective) – immediately obvious
Inadequate (Adjective) – not adequate, not enough or good enough; not capable
Sophisticates (Noun) – a sophisticated person
Unsympathetic (Adjective) – not given to, marked by, or arising from sympathy
Propaganda (Noun) – the spreading of ideas, information, or rumor for the purpose of helping
or injuring an institution, a cause, or a person

Background Information:
Noun: A word that refers to a person, place, or thing. There are common nouns and proper
nouns. A common noun refers to a person, place, or thing but is not the name of a particular
person, place, or thing. Examples are animal, sunlight, and happiness. A proper noun is the
name of a particular person, place, or thing; it usually begins with a capital letter: Abraham
Lincoln, Argentina, and World War I are all proper nouns. A collective noun is a noun that
names a group of people or things, such as flock or squad.
Pronoun: A word that is used instead of a noun or noun phrase. Pronouns refer to either a
noun that has already been mentioned or to a noun that does not need to be named specifically.
The most common pronouns are the personal pronouns, which refer to the person or people
speaking or writing (first person), the person or people being spoken to (second person), or other
people or things (third person). There are a number of other types of pronouns. The interrogative
pronouns—particularly what, which, who, whom, and whose—introduce questions for which a
noun is the answer. Possessive pronouns refer to things or people that belong to someone - mine,
yours, his, hers, its, ours, and theirs. The four demonstrative pronouns—this, that, these, and
those—distinguish the person or thing being referred to from other people or things. Relative
pronouns introduce a subordinate clause, a part of a sentence that includes a subject and verb but
does not form a sentence by itself - that, which, who, whom, what, and whose. Reflexive
pronouns refer back to the subject of a sentence or clause and are formed by adding -self or -
selves to a personal pronoun or possessive adjective - myself, herself, ourselves, and itself.
Indefinite pronouns - everybody, either, none, and something, do not refer to a specific person
or thing, and typically refer to an unidentified or unfamiliar person or thing.
Verb: Words that show an action, occurrence, or state of being. The basic form of a verb is
known as its infinitive - call, love, break, and go are all infinitives. Almost all verbs have two
other important forms called participles. Participles are forms that are used to create several verb
tenses. The present participle always ends in -ing: calling, loving, breaking, going. The past
participle usually ends in -ed, but many past participles have irregular endings: called, loved,
broken, gone. The verb's past tense usually has the same -ed form as the past participle. For
many verbs, however, the past tense is irregular - called, loved, broke, went. A transitive verb is
a verb that requires a direct object. An intransitive verb is not used with a direct object.
Adjective: A word that describes or modifies nouns and pronouns - huge, red, angry,
tremendous, unique, rare, etc. An adjective usually comes right before a noun: "a red dress,"
"fifteen people." When an adjective follows a linking verb such as be or seem, it is called a
predicate adjective: "That building is huge," "The workers seem happy." The four
demonstrative adjectives—this, that, these, and those—are used to distinguish the person or
thing being described from others of the same category or class. An indefinite adjective
describes a whole group or class of people or things, or a person or thing that is not identified
or familiar. The most common indefinite adjectives are: all, another, any, both, each, either,
enough, every, few, half, least, less, little, many, more, most, much, neither, other, several, some,
such, whole. The interrogative adjectives are used to begin questions. The possessive
adjectives—my, your, his, her, its, our, their—tell you who has, owns, or has experienced
something, as in "I admired her candor, "Our cat is 14 years old," and "They said their trip was
wonderful."
Adverb: Words that usually modify verbs. An adverb answers the questions when?, where?,
how?, how much?, how long?, or how often?. Most adverbs are formed by adding -ly to an
adjective. There are a few different kinds of adverbs. The words when, where, why, and how are
called interrogative adverbs when they begin a question. Relative adverbs—where, when, and
why - introduce subordinate clauses. When an adverb modifies a whole sentence or clause, it is
called a sentence adverb. Words such as fortunately, frankly, hopefully, and luckily are
generally used as sentence adverbs.