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ELA 9

English Language Arts 9 · Worksheets

Mixed review · Both writing assignments

Ten questions of mixed difficulty, covering Business email, Narrative or essay. Print it, or work through it on screen — the answer key starts on its own page.

All worksheets

Mixed review · Both writing assignments

English Language Arts 9 · 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. The suggested time for the narrative or essay on the PAT is about 70 minutes. Which way of using that time is best?

    1. a) no planning, then all 70 minutes spent writing
    2. b) 35 minutes planning and 35 writing, with no revising
    3. c) about 10 minutes planning, 50 writing and 10 revising
    4. d) 60 minutes writing and 10 minutes choosing a title

  2. Which order of parts works best for a persuasive business email?

    1. a) purpose → sign-off → greeting → reasons and details → request and thanks
    2. b) greeting → purpose → reasons and details → request and thanks → sign-off
    3. c) greeting → request and thanks → sign-off → reasons and details → purpose
    4. d) greeting → reasons and details → sign-off → purpose → request and thanks

  3. You want healthier snacks in your school's vending machines. A company stocks the machines, but the principal decides which snacks the school allows. Who should receive your email?

    1. a) the local newspaper, because it could print your complaint
    2. b) the company's driver, because he fills the machines every week
    3. c) the principal, because she can change which snacks are allowed
    4. d) your classmates, because they are the ones who buy the snacks

  4. Read this draft email to the principal: “Dear Mr. Patel, I am a Grade 9 student at Westbrook School. The library is closed at lunch, and many students have nowhere quiet to do homework. Last Tuesday I counted 34 students sitting in the hallway with their books out. Thank you for your time. Sincerely, Amira Haddad” What is most clearly missing?

    1. a) a clear request for what Mr. Patel should do
    2. b) a specific detail that supports her point
    3. c) a sentence explaining who the writer is
    4. d) a polite greeting and a polite sign-off

  5. Which closing sentence is most likely to get the principal to act on a request to open the library at lunch?

    1. a) Thank you so much for taking the time to read this whole long email.
    2. b) Could we meet for ten minutes this week to plan a two-week lunchtime trial?
    3. c) Please do the right thing for all of the students at this school.
    4. d) I hope you will think carefully about everything I have said in this email.

  6. You are emailing the recreation centre manager to ask for longer public skating hours over winter break. Which subject line is best?

    1. a) Request: longer public skating hours over winter break
    2. b) Important: please read this as soon as you can
    3. c) Some thoughts about the rec centre and its skating
    4. d) A quick question from a student at Riverside School

  7. A student's email to the principal says, “Your decision to ban phones at lunch is ridiculous.” Which revision is most diplomatic while still making the student's position clear?

    1. a) I'd like to ask you to reconsider the lunchtime phone ban, and here is why.
    2. b) I'm sure the phone ban made sense to someone, but most of us find it ridiculous.
    3. c) Maybe the phone ban is fine, and I'm sorry for even bringing it up at all.
    4. d) The phone ban is ridiculous, but I mean that in the nicest way possible.

  8. You are asking a grocery store manager to donate unsold bread to your school's breakfast program. Which reason is most likely to persuade this reader?

    1. a) Donating unsold bread would cut the store's waste and earn it public thanks.
    2. b) The breakfast program has always been my favourite part of the school day.
    3. c) Every other store in town should already be donating its bread to schools.
    4. d) I have heard that grocery stores throw out a lot of food every single night.

  9. The topic is “a challenge you faced.” Which opening sentence most clearly establishes a focus and draws the reader in?

    1. a) In this story, I am going to tell you about a challenge.
    2. b) A challenge is defined as something that is hard to do.
    3. c) My knees shook the whole way up the ten-metre diving tower.
    4. d) There are many different kinds of challenges people face.

  10. The topic is “the courage to speak up.” Which supporting detail would best develop a piece on this topic?

    1. a) a list of famous athletes who came back from bad injuries
    2. b) the dictionary definitions of “courage” and “speak up”
    3. c) the day my friend told our coach the team's hazing had to stop
    4. d) the afternoon I finally learned to ride my bike without help

Answer key · Mixed review · Both writing assignments

English Language Arts 9 · maddyhelps.com

  1. c) about 10 minutes planning, 50 writing and 10 revising — A few minutes of planning gives the piece a focus, and time saved at the end lets you catch errors and fix weak sentences. Skipping the plan tends to produce writing that wanders, while planning for half the time leaves too little for the writing that gets marked.
  2. b) greeting → purpose → reasons and details → request and thanks → sign-off — The reader should learn early why you are writing, then see your reasons, then be asked clearly to act and thanked, before the sign-off. An order that puts the sign-off in the middle or saves the purpose for the end makes the reader hunt for the point.
  3. c) the principal, because she can change which snacks are allowed — A persuasive email goes to the person with the power to act on it. The driver only fills the machines, and classmates or a newspaper might support you but cannot make the change.
  4. a) a clear request for what Mr. Patel should do — Amira describes the problem and backs it up, but never asks for anything, so Mr. Patel is left to guess what she wants. Her count of 34 students is exactly the kind of specific detail a strong email needs.
  5. b) Could we meet for ten minutes this week to plan a two-week lunchtime trial? — The PAT email asks you to persuade the reader not just to consider your idea but to act on it. A small, concrete next step is easy to say yes to; “think carefully” is polite but asks for nothing, and “do the right thing” is vague and a little preachy.
  6. a) Request: longer public skating hours over winter break — A good subject line tells the reader what you want before they open the email. The others make the manager open it to find out, and calling an email important does not say what it is about.
  7. a) I'd like to ask you to reconsider the lunchtime phone ban, and here is why. — Diplomatic does not mean weak: the best revision drops the insult and keeps the request firm. Apologizing for raising the issue gives up the position, which is the usual mistake when students try to sound polite, and “in the nicest way” does not soften an insult.
  8. a) Donating unsold bread would cut the store's waste and earn it public thanks. — A person in authority acts when the request makes sense from where they sit, so the strongest reason shows what the store gains. Your own feelings, a lecture about other stores, or something you have only heard give the manager no reason to say yes.
  9. c) My knees shook the whole way up the ten-metre diving tower. — The diving tower drops the reader straight into one specific challenge, and the rest of the piece now has a clear focus. The others talk about challenges in general, announce the topic or define it: they give the piece a subject but not a focus.
  10. c) the day my friend told our coach the team's hazing had to stop — The detail has to fit both halves of the topic, courage and speaking up. Learning to ride a bike takes a kind of courage, but nobody speaks up, and a detail can be on the general subject and still miss the topic.