Mistakes in ESL Writing Quiz

Tests material covered on EnglishClub's page on Six Common Mistakes in ESL Writing. You can do this quiz online or print it on paper.

1. As a general rule, you should only change tense when the _______ you're writing about changes.

subject
location
time period
a) subject b) location c) time period

2. Many ESL learners make the mistake of writing paragraphs that are

too long
too wide
too short
a) too long b) too wide c) too short

3. A full A4 page of text with single-line spacing should include at least

one paragraph
two paragraphs
five paragraphs
a) one paragraph b) two paragraphs c) five paragraphs

4. When writing in English, choose _______ British _______ American spelling and use it from beginning to end.

neither, nor
either, or
both, and
a) neither, nor b) either, or c) both, and

5. When American journalists write for English newspapers, which spelling should they use?

British
American
mixed
a) British b) American c) mixed

6. Academic writing should normally be in the

first-person
second-person
third-person
a) first-person b) second-person c) third-person

7. For an essay written in academic English, which is best?

I would claim that...
You could claim that...
It can be claimed that...
a) I would claim that... b) You could claim that... c) It can be claimed that...

8. Which should be capitalized?

common nouns
compound nouns
proper nouns
a) common nouns b) compound nouns c) proper nouns

9. You can avoid a common mistake in ESL writing by never putting _______ before an uncountable noun like "milk".

a definite article
an indefinite article
any kind of article
a) a definite article b) an indefinite article c) any kind of article

10. Which includes an indefinite article used correctly?

Tatiana loves a milk.
Is the milk fresh?
She'll have a glass of milk.
a) Tatiana loves a milk. b) Is the milk fresh? c) She'll have a glass of milk.

Your score is:

Correct answers:

Matt Errey Contributor: Matt Errey. Matt is the author of several books including 1000 Phrasal Verbs in Context and Common English Idioms for learners, and Matt's ESL Games and Quizzes for teachers.