O-Level Editing 6: The Science Laboratory
Twelve numbered lines, laid out as the paper does it. Lines 1 and 12 are correct. Of the ten between them, eight carry one grammatical error and two are correct: write the corrected word for the eight, and a tick for the two.
The first five passages each leaned on a few types. This one mixes six, so nothing tells you what any line is hiding.
Spelling and punctuation are not tested. Change a word only when the grammar is wrong.
The passage
(1) Our science laboratory is on the top floor, at the end of a long corridor.
(2) Mr Tan had warned us twice about carrying our bags between the benches.
(3) Either the technician nor the teacher had to sign the register before we started.
(4) The stools along the back bench, together with the sink, was replaced in June.
(5) One of the beakers had fell off the shelf during the night.
(6) There was a strict limit on how much students the laboratory could hold at one time.
(7) Mr Tan insisted of writing the method down before we touched anything.
(8) Of the two methods on the board, the second was the most accurate.
(9) That limit of twenty was why the class always split into two groups.
(10) The list of safety rules above the sink were printed last term.
(11) We finished on time despite two of the taps did not work.
(12) I could still smell that laboratory long after the bell went that afternoon.
Check your answers
Line 2: reveal answer
Tick. This line is correct.
"Had warned" puts the warning before the rest of the lesson, and "carrying" is the right form after "about".
Line 3: reveal answer
nor → or (conjunction)
"Either" pairs with "or". "Neither" is the one that takes "nor". Changing "Either" to "Neither" also mends the grammar, but it reverses the meaning, which the instructions forbid.
Line 4: reveal answer
was → were (subject-verb agreement)
The subject is "The stools". "Together with" adds information without adding to the subject, so it cannot make a plural subject singular.
Line 5: reveal answer
fell → fallen (verb form)
"Had" needs the past participle, "fallen".
Line 6: reveal answer
much → many (quantifier)
Students can be counted, so the word is "many". "Much" asks about an amount, as in how much time.
Line 7: reveal answer
of → on (preposition)
The verb is "insist on". "Insist of" is not a pattern in English.
Line 8: reveal answer
most → more (comparative and superlative)
Two things take a comparative. "Of the two" is the signal, and it comes before the error.
Line 9: reveal answer
Tick. This line is correct.
Nothing here is wrong. "That limit" points back to the limit in line 6, "was why" is an ordinary way to give a reason, and both verbs are past, like the rest of the passage.
Line 10: reveal answer
were → was (subject-verb agreement)
The subject is "The list", which is singular. "Of safety rules above the sink" stands between it and the verb, and the plural "rules" inside it is the word your ear attaches the verb to.
Line 11: reveal answer
despite → although (conjunction)
"Despite" cannot introduce a clause with its own subject and verb. "Although" can, and so can "though", "even though" and "but".
Check the harder lines
Line 4 reads: 'The stools along the back bench, together with the sink, was replaced in June.' What does 'together with' do to the subject?
Show answer & explanation
Answer: (C) It leaves the subject unchanged
The correct answer is (C). 'Together with' adds a detail; it does not join two subjects the way 'and' does. The subject is still 'The stools', so the verb is 'were'. (A) and (B) both assume the phrase has power it does not have. (D) is the mistake the line is built on. 'As well as', 'along with' and 'in addition to' all behave this way, and 'and' is the only one that genuinely creates a plural subject.
Line 10 reads: 'The list of safety rules above the sink were printed last term.' What is the subject of the verb?
Show answer & explanation
Answer: (B) The list
The correct answer is (B). One list was printed, so the verb is 'was'. (A) is the plural inside the subject, and it is the reason the error sounds acceptable when you read the line at speed. (C) sits in a phrase saying where the list is. (D) says when it happened. Take out 'of safety rules above the sink' and 'The list was printed last term' is what remains.
Line 11 reads: 'We finished on time despite two of the taps did not work.' Why does 'despite' not work here?
Show answer & explanation
Answer: (B) 'despite' cannot be followed by a clause with its own subject and verb
The correct answer is (B). 'Despite' takes a noun or an -ing form, and turning this clause into one would take more than the single word a correction allows. What follows here is a full clause, so it needs 'although'. (A) is not a grammar point. (C) and (D) are invented rules. Note that 'but' also mends the line and is credited. The same goes for 'in spite of'.
What to take away
Nothing here told you what to look for, which is what the real paper is like. Try it in passes: once for subjects against their verbs, once for the words that come in pairs, and once reading each line in your head for something that is not there.
Lines 2 and 9 were correct. With no pattern to lean on, the clean lines are the hardest ones to leave alone.
Back to O-Level editing · Next: Practice 1: The School Canteen