maddyhelps

ELA 8

English Language Arts 8 · Worksheets

Point of view, media and argument

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

All worksheets

Point of view, media and argument

English Language Arts 8 · 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. Read: “Some people say a skatepark would bring noise and litter. But the park would sit beside the arena, far from any houses, and the skate club has promised weekly cleanups. A skatepark would give teenagers a safe place to go after school.” What is the purpose of the first sentence?

    1. a) It shows that the writer has changed position.
    2. b) It gives the writer's own main reason against the park.
    3. c) It states the other side so the writer can answer it.
    4. d) It proves that the skatepark will make too much noise.

  2. Read: “Energy drinks should be banned at our school because they are harmful. In a survey of 120 students, 64 said they drink at least one energy drink a week.” What is the main weakness in this argument?

    1. a) More than half the students drink them, so a ban would be unfair.
    2. b) The writer does not say which brands of energy drink students chose.
    3. c) The survey is too small, because it only asked 120 students.
    4. d) The survey shows how many students drink them, not that they are harmful.

  3. Read: “Hana smiled and told her brother the soup was delicious. She had no idea that he had dropped the salt shaker into the pot, and he had no intention of telling her.” What shows that the narrator can see into more than one character's mind?

    1. a) It tells what Hana does not know and what her brother plans.
    2. b) It reports what Hana tells her brother about the soup.
    3. c) It describes Hana smiling as she talks to her brother.
    4. d) It calls the characters “she” and “he” instead of “I.”

  4. Read: “I was not being rude. I only said that anyone could have painted Kyla's picture, which is true, because it's just a lake. I don't know why she packed up and left the art room so fast. Some people cannot take honest feedback.” What does the reader understand that the narrator does not?

    1. a) Kyla's painting really was too simple to be any good.
    2. b) The narrator is an expert whose advice should be trusted.
    3. c) Kyla left early because the art class had ended.
    4. d) The narrator's comment hurt Kyla, and that is why she left.

  5. Read: “The town should build a crosswalk on 12th Street. It would make the walk to school safer. In one week of counting, our class saw 214 students cross there at rush hour, with no light to stop traffic. Drivers would also know to watch for children.” Which part gives evidence for the claim?

    1. a) that the crosswalk would make the walk safer
    2. b) that the town should build a crosswalk there
    3. c) the class's count of 214 students in one week
    4. d) that drivers would know to watch for children

  6. Read: “I told myself I wasn't nervous. Then the principal called my name, and my legs forgot how to walk.” This passage is told in

    1. a) third person, by a narrator who knows everything
    2. b) first person, by a narrator inside the story
    3. c) second person, speaking straight to the reader
    4. d) third person, by a narrator outside the story

  7. A tourism ad for a lake shows a tight close-up of a family laughing on a small, clean beach. Just outside the frame are a crowded parking lot and a row of garbage bins. What does the tight framing allow the ad to do?

    1. a) show only what the ad's makers want viewers to see
    2. b) make the beach look bigger than it really is
    3. c) give viewers a fair picture of the entire lake
    4. d) prove that the whole lake is clean and quiet

  8. Version 1: “I dropped the tray, and the whole cafeteria went quiet. My face burned.” Version 2: “Sam dropped the tray, and the whole cafeteria went quiet. Across the room, his sister hoped nobody would remember they were related.” What can Version 2 include that Version 1, told by Sam, cannot?

    1. a) what another character is thinking
    2. b) the moment Sam drops the lunch tray
    3. c) the sound of the cafeteria going quiet
    4. d) how embarrassed Sam feels about it

  9. A video about a school basketball team films the captain from below, so the camera looks up at her as she holds the ball. This low camera angle most likely makes her seem

    1. a) small and unsure of herself
    2. b) strong and in charge
    3. c) shy and hard to get to know
    4. d) far away from the viewer

  10. A commercial for a new pickup truck shows it splashing through a mountain river while fast, pounding drums play. The music is mainly meant to make viewers feel

    1. a) informed about how the truck's engine works
    2. b) calm and relaxed about their family's safety
    3. c) excited, as if the truck promises adventure
    4. d) worried about what trucks do to rivers

Answer key · Point of view, media and argument

English Language Arts 8 · maddyhelps.com

  1. c) It states the other side so the writer can answer it. — “But” at the start of the next sentence signals a reply: the writer states the objection in order to answer it. Taking the first sentence as the writer's own view is the usual mistake, and it turns the whole argument upside down.
  2. d) The survey shows how many students drink them, not that they are harmful. — The claim is that energy drinks are harmful, but the only evidence is about how popular they are, so the claim is left unsupported. A survey of 120 students is a reasonable size, and even a survey of thousands would not show harm if all it counted was drinkers.
  3. a) It tells what Hana does not know and what her brother plans. — “She” and “he” show only that the narrator is outside the story, in the third person. Knowing what Hana does not know, and what her brother intends to do, means this narrator can see into both of their minds.
  4. d) The narrator's comment hurt Kyla, and that is why she left. — A first-person narrator can be wrong about what is happening. The narrator reports Kyla leaving right after the comment but never connects the two; the reader can. Agreeing that the painting was too simple means trusting a narrator whose own words show the bias.
  5. c) the class's count of 214 students in one week — Evidence is something the writer found or measured, and the class's count is a fact anyone could check. That the crosswalk would make the walk safer is a reason, a prediction the writer wants you to accept; the evidence is what makes that reason believable.
  6. b) first person, by a narrator inside the story — “I” and “my” show that the narrator is the character living through the moment. The principal appears only from the narrator's side, and a third-person narrator would call the nervous character “he” or “she.”
  7. a) show only what the ad's makers want viewers to see — Framing decides what is in the picture and what is left out, so a tight shot can hide the parking lot without showing anything false. The family and the beach are real, but a close-up cannot prove anything about the rest of the lake.
  8. a) what another character is thinking — A first-person narrator knows only his own thoughts, so Sam could see his sister look away but could not know what she hoped. The quiet cafeteria and the dropped tray are in both versions, and Sam's embarrassment is actually closer in Version 1, where the reader feels his face burn.
  9. b) strong and in charge — A camera looking up at someone makes them seem taller and more powerful, which suits a team captain. A camera looking down from above does the opposite and makes a person seem small; mixing up the two angles is the usual mistake.
  10. c) excited, as if the truck promises adventure — Music tells viewers how to feel about what they see, and fast, pounding drums build excitement. The music gives no information about the truck itself; its job is to tie the truck to a feeling of adventure.