Sentence Relationships – Exercises

Here is a sentence relationships exercise to prepare for the writing part of the College Placement Test.

You may be interested in our test practice materials.

To finish the exercises below, you will be asked asked to determine the relationship between the two sentences.




1. Driving a car is a skill that is easily acquired.

Many would-be motorists report that their driving lessons are arduous and exacting.

How are the two sentences related?

A. They present problems and solutions.

B. They contradict one another.

C. They give a cause and its effect.

D. They provide explanations for a contentious topic.

2. Certain well-publicized studies have indicated that prolonged cell phone use can lead to cancer in the brain.

Increasing numbers of people are purchasing and using cell phones every year, in spite of the potential health risks.

What does the second sentence do?

A. It exemplifies the first sentence.

B. It explains the reason for the result mentioned in the first sentence.

C. It gives unexpected information.

D. It draws a conclusion about what is stated in the first sentence.

3. International students require proficiency in the English language if they are to be successful at American colleges and universities.

In order to thrive academically, non-native speakers of English attending tertiary educational institutions in the United States need advanced English language skills.

What does the second sentence do?

A. It restates the claim made in first sentence.

B. It sums up the points raised in the first sentence.

C. It provides an example for what is stated in the first sentence.

D. It gives unexpected information.

Sentence relationships used to be the second part of the reading comprehension test and had ten questions. Each question contains two sentences.

Possible relationships included cause and effect, problem and solution, drawing conclusions, and stating contradictions.

Sentence Relationships – Answers:




1. The correct answer is B.

The phrase “easily acquired” mentioned in the first sentence opposes the idea of “arduous and exacting” (or difficult) mentioned in the second sentence. Therefore, the sentences contradict each other.

2. The correct answer is C.

The first sentence mentions the problems associated with cell phones, namely their association with brain cancer. The second sentence talks about the increasing numbers of people who use cell phones, in spite of the dangers. We would expect the amount of people using cell phones to decrease, but the opposite has happened. In other words, this is an unexpected result.

3. The correct answer is A.

“Thrive” means to be successful. “Proficiency” means advanced skills. In other words, the sentences repeat the same idea.




Exercises for the English Test

Sentence Skills

Sentence Completion

Reading Comprehension