maddyhelps

ELA 7

English Language Arts 7 · Worksheets

Nonfiction and media

Ten questions of mixed difficulty, covering Nonfiction and media. Print it, or work through it on screen — the answer key starts on its own page.

All worksheets

Nonfiction and media

English Language Arts 7 · maddyhelps.com

Name
Date
Score
/ 10

Circle the best answer for each question. Use the space to note the evidence or reasoning that decided it.

  1. A juice box says “Made with real fruit!” in big letters on the front. The small print on the side shows the drink is 10% fruit juice and 90% water and sugar. What is the front of the box doing?

    1. a) using a true statement to give a false impression
    2. b) giving an expert's opinion about the drink
    3. c) using bandwagon to make buyers feel left out
    4. d) telling a lie, since there is no fruit in the drink

  2. You are writing about how to treat a bee sting. Which source is most reliable?

    1. a) a popular video about bee stings with two million views
    2. b) a health information page from the provincial health service
    3. c) an ad for a sting cream that says it is “recommended by doctors”
    4. d) a classmate's memory of what her uncle did for a sting

  3. Which sentence uses loaded words to make readers feel strongly against the new lunch rule?

    1. a) The new rule shortens the lunch break by ten minutes.
    2. b) The new rule will begin on the first school day in March.
    3. c) Some students have questions about how the new lunch rule works.
    4. d) The ridiculous new rule robs students of their only free time.

  4. An ad says, “Everyone at school is already wearing these runners. Don't be the only one left out!” Which persuasive technique is this ad using?

    1. a) bandwagon
    2. b) expert opinion
    3. c) a rhetorical question
    4. d) statistics

  5. You want to know whether a certain Alberta lake is safe for swimming this summer. Which source is most reliable?

    1. a) a friend who swam there last summer and did not get sick
    2. b) an ad for a lakeside resort that promises “the cleanest water around”
    3. c) this week's list of lake advisories from the provincial health service
    4. d) a travel blog from 2015 that calls the lake “crystal clear”

  6. Read: “The new skatepark cost $400 000, and it is the best thing the town has ever built.” Which part of this sentence is a fact?

    1. a) neither part, since the writer might be wrong
    2. b) the whole sentence, since it is about a real park
    3. c) that the skatepark cost $400 000
    4. d) that it is the best thing the town has built

  7. Read: “Our town's only swimming pool closed last year because its roof was unsafe. Families had to drive forty minutes to go swimming. This spring, the town started a fundraiser to fix the roof, and local businesses promised to match every dollar raised.” How is this paragraph mainly organized?

    1. a) cause and effect
    2. b) problem and solution
    3. c) compare and contrast
    4. d) step-by-step instructions

  8. You want to find the pages about great horned owls in a thick book about Alberta's birds. Which part of the book will get you there fastest?

    1. a) the index at the back of the book
    2. b) the title and the cover of the book
    3. c) the captions under the photographs
    4. d) the glossary at the back of the book

  9. Read this section of a guide: “Pack at least two litres of water. Wear a hat and sunscreen. Tell someone where you are going and when you plan to be back.” Which heading fits this section best?

    1. a) Before You Hike: Staying Safe
    2. b) Why Hikers Love the Mountains
    3. c) The History of Hiking in Alberta
    4. d) Animals You Might See on the Trail

  10. A poster for a park cleanup asks, “Do you want your little brother or sister playing in broken glass?” The question is mainly meant to

    1. a) make readers picture a danger so they want to help
    2. b) find out how many readers have brothers or sisters
    3. c) give readers a fact about how dirty the park is
    4. d) ask readers for their opinion about the park

Answer key · Nonfiction and media

English Language Arts 7 · maddyhelps.com

  1. a) using a true statement to give a false impression — The drink really is made with some fruit, so the words are not a lie, but the big letters make buyers picture a drink that is mostly fruit. Calling it a lie is the tempting mistake; the trick is harder to spot because every word is true.
  2. b) a health information page from the provincial health service — A health service's page is written by medical experts and has nothing to sell. The ad mentions doctors, but it was written to sell the cream, and two million views show that a video is popular, not that it is right.
  3. d) The ridiculous new rule robs students of their only free time. — “Ridiculous” and “robs” are loaded words: they carry strong feelings and push the reader to take a side. The sentence about ten minutes may upset readers too, but it only states what the rule does and leaves the judging to them.
  4. a) bandwagon — Bandwagon tries to persuade by saying everyone else is already doing it, so you should too. The ad gives no numbers, quotes no expert and asks no question; its only argument is the fear of being left out.
  5. c) this week's list of lake advisories from the provincial health service — The advisory list is current, and it comes from experts whose job is to test the water. The blog and the friend's swim may have been right once, but a lake can change in a few weeks (blue-green algae can bloom in late summer), and the resort has a reason to make its water sound clean.
  6. c) that the skatepark cost $400 000 — The cost can be checked in the town's records, so it is a fact even if you think the price was too high. “The best thing the town has ever built” is a judgment. One sentence can hold a fact and an opinion, which is why each part has to be checked on its own.
  7. b) problem and solution — The paragraph names a problem (the pool closed, so families drive far) and then describes what is being done about it. The word “because” pulls readers toward cause and effect, but that is only one sentence; the paragraph as a whole moves from a problem to a solution.
  8. a) the index at the back of the book — An index lists the topics in a book in alphabetical order, with the page numbers where each one appears. A glossary is also at the back, which is why the two get mixed up, but it explains what words mean; it does not tell you where to find them.
  9. a) Before You Hike: Staying Safe — A heading tells the reader what a section is about, and every sentence here is a safety step to take before setting out. The other headings would suit a book about hiking, but not this section of it.
  10. a) make readers picture a danger so they want to help — This is a rhetorical question: nobody is expected to answer it, because the answer is obvious. Its job is to make readers imagine a child they love getting hurt, so they feel they should help. It gives no facts about the park, and it is not really asking what anyone thinks.