English and Language Usage Study Guide for the TEAS

Using Language and Vocabulary in Writing

Having a wide variety of language to pull from when you write can make your writing more effective for your intended audience and purpose. Selecting more descriptive, vivid, accurate words brings specificity to writing that can help alleviate uncertainty and avoid misunderstandings. Adapting your writing based on audience and purpose means tailoring your word choice and structure accordingly. First, it’s good to have a framework in which to proceed, so let’s consider the entire writing process.

The Writing Process

Regardless of the topic or type of writing required, certain guidelines and procedures can ensure that the piece produced is the best it can be. Here are some things to know and remember when writing and when critiquing written work. You may encounter some questions about this process on the TEAS 7 English and Language Usage test.

Parts of the Process

Whenever you attempt a writing assignment, certain steps will help you produce a more effective text. In a writing test situation, you may not have time to fully implement each step, but try to go through the entire process, even if some parts may be done in an abbreviated fashion. Working through the following steps will help produce a clear and organized product.

Pre-Writing

The first step is planning, including identifying your writing purpose and the position you will take throughout the piece. This is called your thesis statement. Then, quickly list main points and supportive ideas related to that statement. The main points can become the topic sentences for paragraphs and the supportive ideas will be used to “flesh out” each idea in the text of its paragraph.

Some people prefer to use an outline for planning, but any sort of diagram with which you are comfortable will work. The point is to have a framework for reference as you write. This helps you stay on topic and on track. The planning portion will be limited in a testing situation due to time constrictions, and usually should not take more than five minutes.

Writing

This step will occupy the major portion of your writing time. Using the notes from your planning session, you will write the text required. Use the guidelines for organization you’ve seen in this study guide to guide you as you write. Be sure to refer to your planning notes often so that you do not veer off course.

Revising and Editing

Like planning, this step will be time-limited during a testing situation, but is still vitally important. You will be reviewing all aspects of your product for the purpose of identifying and fixing anything that diminishes clarity for the reader.

You’ll start by revising, which is looking at the written piece as a whole and asking questions about its organization, the flow of the words, and other “big picture” components. The manner in which information is presented, and in what order, can make all the difference in a passage’s effect on a reader. Consider the purpose of the piece and what it is trying to achieve. Each paragraph should contribute to that overall purpose and be organized in such a way that it makes sense to the reader. Are there sentences or whole paragraphs that need to be added or taken out? Perhaps just relocating a paragraph or sentence will make the writing stronger.

Then, when you are satisfied with the content of the entire piece, you’ll look for more minute details, like appropriate use of punctuation, grammar, word usage, and correct spelling. This is editing. Within sentences, there can be room for improvement, as well. Look for highly appropriate word usage and the order in which the words are written. Is there a better way to write the same thing that would make the message crystal clear, rather than a little “muddy”? Be careful that meaning is not changed when you make these adjustments. When you are asked to find the best way to improve a sentence, be sure to consider the purpose of the sentence.

Conferencing

In a testing situation, you will not have the opportunity to complete this step, but when doing other writing, conferencing can be very valuable. Sometimes, other people can offer suggestions for improvement that might escape you, as the author. We are often so involved in what we write that it is hard to spot areas that need improvement. Conferencing can be done anytime after the “writing” step.

Citations

While you probably won’t need to use the citation process during the TEAS 7, there may be a question or two about citation requirements. It is important to know what must be cited in written work and what things do not require a citation.

Basically, these things must have a citation, identifying the original author and the original publication in which it can be found:

Direct quotations from another person
Information that is not common knowledge

Things that are widely known (such as “The moon goes through various phases”) do not have to be cited. Conversely, data from a specific study of the moon would need a citation.

Word Meaning and Word Parts

The vocabulary questions on the TEAS 7 English and Language Usage test measure your knowledge of words that may be used in medical journals, news articles, and even novels. Reading for pleasure can be a great vocabulary builder, especially if you read on a variety of nonfiction subjects, as well as reading fictional titles. Read all TEAS 7 test study materials and pay close attention to the phrasing used in the given sentences. Brush up on basic vocabulary and synonyms, paying special attention to medical terms and commonly confused words.

Often, the meaning of a word can be found by simply breaking it into smaller parts. Then, you can recombine the parts to determine the entire word’s meaning.

Affixes

Many words are composed of shorter “root” or “base” words that might be more familiar to you than the longer version used. Try looking for prefixes and suffixes in the unknown word and removing them to see what word is left. Also, use those prefixes and suffixes to tell you how that root word has been changed by them. If you see the prefix un-, for example, you will know that the meaning of the new word is opposite the meaning of the root. For instance, uninvolved means not involved.

Prefixes

A prefix is an affix that is attached to the beginning of a root, stem, or base word. Prefixes change the word and its meaning. For example,

un- = “not”
able means “having the skill or means to do something”
unable means “not having the skill or means to do something”

anti- = “against”
septic means “infected with harmful microorganisms”
antiseptic means “substance that fights against harmful microorganisms”

Suffixes

While prefixes affix themselves to the beginning of a root or base word, suffixes attach themselves to the end of root, stem, or base words. They also change the word and its meaning. Here are some common suffixes:

-able = “can be done”
debate means “a formal discussion on a specific topic where disagreement may be introduced”
debatable means “can be formally discussed”

-less = “without”
fear means “a negative feeling or concern toward a perceived threat”
fearless means “without concern about a perceived threat”

Root or Base Words

Base words are words that can stand alone and which have no prefix or suffix attached. Prefixes and suffixes may be attached to a base word to form new words with different meanings. A root word is the Latin or Greek basis of a word, but it cannot usually stand alone as a complete word by itself; it generally needs a prefix and/or suffix attached to make meaning.

Base words include: do, person, place, friend, sun, cycle

Root words include: cede, ject, hypno, derm

We would make words like the following using prefixes and/or suffixes to attach to those root words:

recede
inject
hypnotic
dermatologist

Derivatives of Greek and Latin Words

Much of the English language is based on derivations of Greek and Latin words, especially their root words, prefixes, and suffixes. Many of these words are found in the medical field. Here are just a few:

abrasion—ab is a Latin root meaning away
arthritis—arthr is a Greek root meaning joint
bacteria—bac is the Latin root meaning rod-shaped
bronchitis—bronch is the Greek root meaning windpipe
carcinogen—carcin is a Latin root originally from a Greek root referring to disease
coagulate—co is a Latin root meaning with or together