RE: Need some grammar help

["Janoff, Steve" <sjanoff -at- illumina -dot- com>]

You're 100% correct, Anne.  At best, the way the question is worded it
is not clear what "using _____" is modifying so the instructor ought to
give credit for either answer, A or B.  But you're right in sensing that
"using _____" *does* seem to modify "for transport across the internet."

Your instructor should give you credit for answering the question
correctly.  And yes, if he'd wanted to ensure that you guessed TCP (A),
he should have set that clause off with commas.  (As Andrew indicated,
the instructor made it a restrictive clause by leaving off the commas,
when his intention was to make it a nonrestrictive clause.)

I share your frustration. :)

Steve

-----Original Message-----
From: techwr-l-bounces+sjanoff=illumina -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
[mailto:techwr-l-bounces+sjanoff=illumina -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com] On
Behalf Of A.B. Cornwell
Sent: Friday, November 12, 2010 8:49 PM
To: techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
Subject: Need some grammar help

Hello!

I am trying to explain to my instructor why I believe the following
question
is worded incorrectly, given the "correct" answer. This is from an
online
test.

Question:

Your picture will be divided into little packets of data for transport
across the internet using ___________.

Answers:

A. TCP

B. IP

C. Blah

D. Blahblah

I answered B. IP because there were no commas offsetting the phrase
"across
the internet" and I read the question as asking what is the protocol
that
does the transport of the little packets?

The "correct" answer is TCP.  I'm telling the instructor that if the
intent
had been to ask what is the protocol for dividing the picture into
little
packets of data, there should have been a comma before and a comma after
the
phrase "for transport across the internet" : "Your picture will be
divided
into little packets of data, for transport across the internet, using
___________."

This is no biggie, but, I am pretty sick of poorly written,
syntactically
deficient, and grammatically gory tests and handouts.  Plus, I drank a
lot
of coffee and will be up late, so I might as well nag.

I can't remember the correct name of the phrase represented by "for
transport across the internet".  I'd like to lay that on the instructor
as
well.  Anyone?

Thank you, carry on with your weekends!

Anne C.

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