1. Which of the following sentences does not contain a punctuation error?

Heavy rainfall this fall has helped to reduce the cost of power supplies because of more hydroelectric generation according to the manager of the municipal electric system.

Heavy rainfall this fall has helped to reduce the cost of power supplies because of more hydroelectric generation, according to the manager of the municipal electric system.

Baskin said the veterans organization even with its large membership, failed to raise enough money to build the planned monument for those who have died in the war in Iraq.

Baskin said the veterans organization, even with its large membership, failed to raise enough money to build the planned monument for those who have died in the war in Iraq.

Allen, who is in her first year as principal of the school, Monday night told school board members that primary classrooms needs more funding for art supplies, workbooks, and manipulatives.

Allen, who is in her first year as principal of the school, Monday night told school board members that primary classrooms needs more funding for art supplies, workbooks and manipulatives.

*City planners have decided not to push proposed design standards, the city attorney said, after a recent lawsuit in Shelbyville overturned that city’s less-stringent guidelines.

2. Which of these sentences does not contain any mechanical errors:

Deputy Assistant Undersecretary of State for Asian Affairs Gladys O’Neal announced Friday that North Korea may return to the six-party nuclear talks, but has released a new set of conditions for their participation.

Gladys O’Neal, deputy assistant undersecretary of state for Asian affairs, announced Friday that North Korea may return to the six-party nuclear talks, but has released a new set of conditions for their participation.

*Attorney General Eric Holder said Saturday that FBI officials will release the names of the espionage suspects at a press conference Monday.

United States participation in the Libya insurgency was instrumental in its success, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told the Senate panel Tuesday.

U.S. participation in the Libya insurgency was instrumental in its success, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told the Senate panel Tuesday.

A White House spokesman said this morning that the President plans to travel to Europe for the economic talks, but will stay in close contact with his aides to coordinate disaster relief in the Northeast.

A White House spokesman said this morning that the president plans to travel to Europe for the economic talks, but will stay in close contact with his aides to coordinate disaster relief in the Northeast.

3. Which of the following sentences does not contain passive voice?

Only complete application forms should be returned, Ellison said, and incomplete forms will go into his trash can.

Five suspects were arrested after the drug raid Saturday night, the police chief said.

*Council members approved the budget without any comments, but the city manager gave a lengthy explanation before presenting it to them.

Despite his success at the casinos, Jones was considered a poor poker player, Jacks said, and he failed to win a slot in the Las Vegas tournament.

4. Choose the best straight news lead:

Superintendent Jerome Kerns told reporters that a school bus became stuck in a ditch after it left the road Monday afternoon during a rainstorm, but he said the accident caused no injuries.

*A school bus slid off the road during a rainstorm Monday afternoon and became stuck in a ditch, but Superintendent Jerome Kerns said no injuries resulted from the accident.

“We are greatly relieved that no injuries resulted from the bus accident Monday afternoon,” Superintendent Jerome Kerns said after a school bus slid off the road during a rainstorm and became stuck in a ditch.

A wrecker worked for more than an hour to remove a school bus from a ditch after it slid off the road during a rainstorm Monday afternoon, Superintendent Jerome Kerns said.

5. Which of the following sentences does not contain any punctuation errors?

“All of the neighbors oppose the new road construction and I will work to take away its funding”, Henderson said Friday.

“All of the neighbors oppose the new road construction, and I will work to take away its funding,” Henderson said Friday.

“We believe in the value of education and we will do everything we can to win support for the new school,” Kinsey told the community meeting.

“We believe in the value of education, and we will do everything we can to win support for the new school,” Kinsey told the community meeting.

*“If the state approves the matching funds, we can move forward with all of the airport improvements,” the mayor said.

“I have been a two time winner for this council seat,” Mary Simmons said, “and I think the third time will be a charm.”

“I have been a two-time winner for this council seat,” Mary Simmons said, “and I think the third time will be a charm.”

6. Which of these is the most “puffy” quote?

*“We think the governor always has the values of his big heart and of his giving soul in play for the good of the state,” Olson said.

“Hollis is a hero because he went into the fire and rescued two children he did not know,” the fire chief said.

“This organization has exceeded its fundraising goals for the past three years,” the mayor said, “and the result has been the doubling of scholarships available to neighborhood students.”

“Mr. Hill suspected something was wrong with he found $1,000 in the envelope on the seat,” Kim said. “Mrs. Johnson was glad he turned it in.”

7. Choose the best feature lead:

Richard Atkinson, director of the Empathy Center, a sheltered work site at 121 Easy St., today thanked those who donated more than $100,000 to renovate the facility; a dedication and open house will be Saturday.

*Easy Street. Parents of county teens with developmental disabilities hope that renovations to the work center there will help provide a thoroughfare to better lives for their children.

A dedication and open house for the recently renovated Empathy Center, 121 Easy St., will be Saturday from noon until 2 p.m., Richard Atkinson, director of the center, said today.

Sheltered work sites provide opportunities for persons with disabilities to learn work skills, and the Empathy Center at 121 Easy St. has just undergone a $100,000 renovation to better provide those services in Murfreesboro and Rutherford County.

8. Which of these sentences does not contain any mechanical errors?

The election commission voted unanimously to set the referendum for Nov. 2^nd, so it would coincide with the presidential election.

The election commission voted unanimously to set the referendum for Nov. 2, so it would coincide with the presidential election.

*Recreation Director Sue Givens asked the city school principals not to schedule school activities at the city’s parks without first consulting her staff about possible conflicts with other events.

Dean Ellis said those competing for the honor include Allison Nivens, a sophomore, Jerry Nader, a freshman, and Arthur Pettus, a senior.

Dean Ellis said those competing for the honor include Allison Nivens, a sophomore; Jerry Nader, a freshman; and Arthur Pettus, a senior.

Effective training is the key to success in reducing costs, Jonas said, and our profit depends on reducing costs as much as possible.

Effective training is the key to success in reducing costs, Jonas said, and [our] profit depends on reducing costs as much as possible.

9. Which of the following is not a news value for determining what information to include in a lead:

proximity

impact

*cohesion

timeliness

10. Which of the following sentences does not contain an extraneous word?

*Investigators are close to arrests in numerous burglaries in the neighborhood, Perez said.

Nelson said that he wants all of the soldiers to have excellent medical care when they return from deployment.

The council candidate said the rally on Saturday will include a barbecue lunch, games for children and country music.

Estes said the mayor’s new proposal for economic growth is very similar to the plan that he presented two years ago.

11. Which of the following facts in a fact sheet would not need to go in the lead of a straight news article about a flood in Rutherford County:

--Stones River reached its crest Saturday night

--The sheriff’s department reported six injuries as result of the flooding of Stones River Saturday.

*--The National Flood Insurance Program provides policies to homeowners to help them recover from damage that results from high water.

--Damage to houses in the Stones River flood plain totaled more than $100,000, officials of the county emergency management officials estimated.

12. Choose the best feature lead:

“Andrew Wilson has shown that he can compete in the competitive world of fine art despite his late entry into the field,” said Georgia Allen, the curator of the Allen-Fein Gallery in Nashville, the site of the Tennessee Fine Arts Celebration sculpture competition this year.

Andrew Wilson, who did not begin sculpting until after his retirement two years ago, Saturday received the top prize in the annual Tennessee Fine Arts Celebration sculpture competition in Nashville.

*Andrew Wilson thinks his second act may be better than his first, and judges for a state sculpture competition apparently agree.

Andrew Wilson decided in 2011 that he was bored with retirement, so he began to take classes part-time at MTSU, and when he took his first art class, he knew that he was ready to begin a new career in art, probably sculpture.

13. Which of the following sentences does not contain any grammatical errors?

Mayor Jackson said the university is a good citizen of the city because they always support the United Way campaign with a generous donation.

Mayor Jackson said the university is a good citizen of the city because it always supports the United Way campaign with a generous donation.

* Carlisle said the three schools, which have a total of 600 students, are on the schedule for roof repairs this fiscal year.

Wilson said none of the eight suspects in the counterfeiting case are residents of Murfreesboro and only two are from Tennessee.

Wilson said none of the eight suspects in the counterfeiting case is a resident of Murfreesboro and only two are from Tennessee.

Many of the participants in the job-training program are now learning how to design websites and how to use photo-editing software.

Many of the participants in the job-training program are [now] learning how to design websites and how to use photo-editing software.

14. Which is the best straight news lead?

Murfreesboro voters went to the polls Tuesday and re-elected the incumbent mayor and three incumbent council members.

*Mayoral candidate Nelson Davis this morning formally requested a recount in Tuesday’s election that saw Mayor Winston Carmichael win a third term with only a 206-vote margin.

Mayor Winston Carmichael won election to a third term Tuesday with only a 206-vote margin over opponent Nelson Davis.

In the Murfreesboro election Tuesday, Mayor Winston Carmichael received 15,912 votes to 15,706 votes for Nelson Davis.

15. Which of the following sentences has the best-placed time element?

Members of the legislative committee will begin to hear the testimony of the budget director, who is in his first year in the post, Thursday afternoon.

Friday the police chief plans to meet with the sheriff to discuss better coordination of services after the recent escape of four prisoners required the use of all of city patrol units.

When opponents of the zoning for the new shopping center gathered at City Hall, they presented Monday their petitions to the planning director.

*Johnson agreed Thursday to the terms of the employment contract, but he will not begin work until the new fiscal year begins.

16. Which of the following does not contain a style error?

Although the Mayor agreed to meet the delegation from China, he asked the State Department to limit the numbers of visitors who would be coming.

Although the mayor agreed to meet the delegation from China, he asked the State Department to limit the numbers of visitors who would be coming.

The presidential candidate said his trip to Lexington, Kentucky, was the result of his interest in basketball, not his intention to seek votes.

The presidential candidate said his trip to Lexington, Ky., was the result of his interest in basketball, not his intention to seek votes.

More than thirty persons with outstanding warrants came to the fake lottery drawing, the sheriff said, and all now are in custody.

More than 30 persons with outstanding warrants came to the fake lottery drawing, the sheriff said, and all now are in custody.

*Wilson said the election Nov. 3 will include four races with candidates who have no opposition on the ballot.

17. Choose the sentence with the most appropriate form of attribution:

The school superintendent believes that the school board will approve the hiring of six new teachers.

The mayor offered that the increase in the property tax will provide the necessary revenue the park expansion.

*The police chief said the suspect will return from Kentucky Friday morning.

The governor feels that the new industrial prospect offers a great opportunity for reviving the state’s economic growth.

18. Which would be the best second paragraph for this straight news lead:

Fire destroyed a downtown warehouse Saturday morning in what the owner said was a $1 million loss, but firefighters prevented the blaze from spreading to nearby retail stores and any injuries.

Rutherford County and Franklin fire departments cooperated with Murfreesboro in providing fire protection to city residents Saturday because all of Murfreesboro’s fire units were on the Square to fight the blaze.

*Fire Chief Arnold Moore said Sunday that the cause of the fire still is under investigation and the state fire marshal’s office and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation are cooperating in the probe.

Rachel Washburn, the owner of the warehouse and two nearby retail stores, said Sunday that the warehouse has full insurance coverage and she is relieved that the fire did not spread to other parts of the downtown.

Fire losses for Murfreesboro for 2011 now total nearly $2 million, Fire Chief Arnold Moore said Sunday, and this is the highest total in the city’s history.

19. Choose the best straight news lead:

A Tennessee Valley Authority spokeswoman said Wednesday that the fuel-adjustment charge for November for residential customers will be less than the previous two months because of increased supplies of hydroelectric power.

The Tennessee Valley Authority has been able to increase the amount of power coming from hydroelectric sources, a utility spokeswoman said Wednesday, so the fuel-adjustment-charge increase for residential customers should average $1 in November.

The Tennessee Valley Authority receives an average of 25 percent of its electrical supplies from hydroelectric sources, a spokeswoman said Wednesday, but it has been able to maintain to a 30 percent use for the past six weeks, lowering fuel-adjustment charges for November.

*Tennessee Valley Authority residential customers can expect to see an increase of $1 on their bills in November because of fuel costs, a utility spokeswoman said Wednesday.

20. Which of these sentences does not have a mechanical error?

More than 40 volunteers came to the park to work Saturday, each volunteer also contributed $25 to help pay for the necessary supplies for the park improvements.

More than 40 volunteers came to the park to work Saturday; each volunteer also contributed $25 to help pay for the necessary supplies for the park improvements.

*Planning Director Anderson Ellis said the rezoning ordinance needs only one more positive vote from the council to become effective.

The police chief said Johnsons alibi was that he was in Nashville at the time of the crime, but the security footage showed Johnson in the bank’s parking lot only five minutes before the robbery.

The police chief said Johnson’s alibi was that he was in Nashville at the time of the crime, but the security footage showed Johnson in the bank’s parking lot only five minutes before the robbery.

Superintendent Rosie O’Keefe praised Mrs. Patterson for her 30 years of service to Murfreesboro City Schools.

Superintendent Rosie O’Keefe praised [Mrs.] Patterson for her 30 years of service to Murfreesboro City Schools.