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ELA 8

English Language Arts 8 · Worksheets

Mixed review · Conventions, research and writing

Ten questions of mixed difficulty, covering Research, Sentences and conventions, Writing and revising. Print it, or work through it on screen — the answer key starts on its own page.

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Mixed review · Conventions, research and writing

English Language Arts 8 · maddyhelps.com

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

  1. Which sentence uses hyphens correctly?

    1. a) My cousin is a fourteen-year-old goalie.
    2. b) My cousin is a fourteen year-old goalie.
    3. c) My cousin is a fourteen-year old goalie.
    4. d) My cousin is fourteen-years-old.

  2. Put these sentences in the most coherent order: (1) By the third week, it was taking sunflower seeds from her hand. (2) At first, the chickadee flew off whenever Elena stepped outside. (3) So every morning, she sat perfectly still beside the feeder for ten minutes. (4) Taming a wild bird, Elena discovered, takes more patience than skill.

    1. a) 1, 2, 3, 4
    2. b) 4, 2, 3, 1
    3. c) 4, 3, 2, 1
    4. d) 2, 1, 3, 4

  3. Read: “Calgary and Edmonton are both Alberta cities of more than a million people. Calgary sits closer to the mountains and gets more chinooks. Edmonton is farther north, so its summer days are longer, and it is the provincial capital.” How is this paragraph organized?

    1. a) comparison
    2. b) cause and effect
    3. c) problem and solution
    4. d) chronology

  4. Which revision of “The dog went across the yard” uses the most precise verb?

    1. a) The dog bolted across the yard.
    2. b) The dog went very quickly across the yard.
    3. c) The dog moved across the yard.
    4. d) The dog was going across the yard.

  5. Source: “Some studies suggest that teenagers who read a paper book before bed may fall asleep faster.” Which is the fairest paraphrase?

    1. a) Some research hints that reading a printed book at bedtime might help teens fall asleep sooner.
    2. b) Studies prove that reading a paper book before bed makes teenagers fall asleep faster.
    3. c) Some studies suggest that teens who read a paper book before bed may fall asleep more quickly.
    4. d) Teenagers should read a paper book before bed so that they can fall asleep faster.

  6. Read: “We got to the lake at noon. We set up the tent. We went swimming. We cooked hot dogs. We watched the stars.” Which revision adds the most sentence variety while keeping every event?

    1. a) At the lake, we set up the tent. We went for a swim. We cooked hot dogs over the fire.
    2. b) We arrived at the lake at noon. We put up our tent. We went for a swim. We cooked hot dogs. We watched the stars.
    3. c) We got to the lake at noon. After setting up the tent, we went swimming, and later we cooked hot dogs and watched the stars.
    4. d) We got to the lake at noon, and then we set up the tent, and we went swimming, and we cooked hot dogs, and we watched the stars.

  7. Which sentence has a verb tense error?

    1. a) Tomorrow we will leave before the sun comes up.
    2. b) I have lived in Lethbridge since I was six.
    3. c) Yesterday Omar finishes his essay and handed it in.
    4. d) Ms. Tran told us that the Earth orbits the Sun.

  8. A student is writing about the last day of school. Which of these is a complex sentence?

    1. a) The students rushed to the doors at the sound of the bell.
    2. b) When the bell rang, the students rushed to the doors.
    3. c) The students heard the bell and rushed to the doors.
    4. d) The bell rang, and the students rushed to the doors.

  9. Half of Ravi's report on wildfires is long quotations from websites, joined by phrases like “Another source says.” What is the best advice for Ravi?

    1. a) Paraphrase most of it, and quote only the few words that must be exact.
    2. b) Keep all of the quotations, since quoting experts is always more reliable.
    3. c) Take out the quotation marks so that the report reads more smoothly.
    4. d) Add even more quotations, so every point has an expert behind it.

  10. Read: “The first plan for the class trip was cheaper. ___, it would have meant six hours on a bus each way.” Which transition fits best?

    1. a) As a result
    2. b) Similarly
    3. c) For example
    4. d) However

Answer key · Mixed review · Conventions, research and writing

English Language Arts 8 · maddyhelps.com

  1. a) My cousin is a fourteen-year-old goalie. — When a group of words works as one adjective before a noun, it is hyphenated all the way through: a fourteen-year-old goalie. After the verb, as in “My cousin is fourteen years old,” the words do not sit in front of a noun, so they take no hyphens.
  2. b) 4, 2, 3, 1 — The topic sentence (4) comes first, then the events in time order: “At first,” then “So every morning,” then “By the third week.” Putting sentence 3 before sentence 2 breaks the chain, because “So” only makes sense once the reader knows the bird kept flying away.
  3. a) comparison — The paragraph sets two cities side by side, first what they share and then how they differ, which is comparison. The word “so” marks one cause-and-effect link inside a sentence, but a paragraph's organization comes from how the whole thing is built, not from one linking word.
  4. a) The dog bolted across the yard. — “Bolted” shows speed, and even a hint of fear, in a single word. Adding “very quickly” to a vague verb gives the reader more words but a weaker picture than one precise verb.
  5. a) Some research hints that reading a printed book at bedtime might help teens fall asleep sooner. — A fair paraphrase changes the words but keeps the meaning, including how sure the source is: “some studies suggest” and “may” are careful, and “prove” and “makes” are not. The version that swaps only a word or two is still the writer's sentence, so it would need quotation marks.
  6. c) We got to the lake at noon. After setting up the tent, we went swimming, and later we cooked hot dogs and watched the stars. — The revision mixes a short sentence with a longer one and starts a sentence with “After,” so the rhythm changes while every event stays. Joining everything with “and” swaps five short, flat sentences for one long, flat one, and changing the words without changing the sentences adds no variety at all.
  7. c) Yesterday Omar finishes his essay and handed it in. — “Yesterday” puts the essay in the past, so “finishes” should be “finished” to match “handed.” The other sentences mix tenses correctly: a fact that is always true stays in the present, “have lived” reaches from the past up to now, and after “before” English uses the present to talk about the future.
  8. b) When the bell rang, the students rushed to the doors. — A complex sentence joins an independent clause to a dependent one, and “When the bell rang” cannot stand alone. The sentence with “and” joins two clauses that could each stand alone, so it is compound, and one subject with two verbs is still a simple sentence.
  9. a) Paraphrase most of it, and quote only the few words that must be exact. — A report should show your understanding, and a string of quotations shows only that you can copy; paraphrasing puts the ideas in your words, with credit. Taking out the quotation marks is the dangerous fix, because then copied words are passed off as your own.
  10. d) However — The second sentence gives a drawback of the first plan, so it turns against what came before, and “However” signals that turn. “As a result” would say the price caused the bus ride, which is not what the writer means.