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ELA 9

English Language Arts 9 · Worksheets

The narrative or essay

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

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The narrative or essay

English Language Arts 9 · maddyhelps.com

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

  1. The writing topic is “a time when something small made a big difference.” Which plan stays closest to the topic?

    1. a) how a stranger's two-word comment changed the way you saw yourself
    2. b) why summer is a better season than winter in Alberta
    3. c) a list of the five biggest changes in your life so far
    4. d) the history of your town's hockey team over the past twenty years

  2. Read: “I opened the door. I saw the mess. I heard a whine. I knew what the dog had done.” Which revision of the third sentence best adds variety while staying correct?

    1. a) Whining, low and guilty, under the table.
    2. b) I heard a low, guilty whine from under the table.
    3. c) From under the table came a low, guilty whine.
    4. d) The dog whined under the table it sounded guilty.

  3. Read this paragraph: “Volunteering at the food bank changed how I think about hunger. I had always pictured hungry people as strangers far away. Then I packed a hamper for my old soccer coach. The food bank is open Tuesdays and Thursdays from nine to four. Hunger, I learned, can live on your own street.” Which sentence breaks the paragraph's focus and should be removed?

    1. a) the sentence giving the food bank's opening hours
    2. b) the sentence about hunger living on your own street
    3. c) the sentence about picturing hungry people as strangers
    4. d) the sentence about packing a hamper for the coach

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

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

  5. Which revision of “The food at the fair was really good” uses the most precise words?

    1. a) The mini doughnuts were hot, sugary and gone in a minute.
    2. b) The fair had many good foods that people really enjoyed.
    3. c) The fair's food was absolutely incredible and delicious.
    4. d) The food at the fair was excellent in every single way.

  6. The topic is “what it means to belong.” A student plans to write about her family's move from Manila to Fort McMurray. Which focus would best explore the topic?

    1. a) a description of the oil sands industry around Fort McMurray
    2. b) the moment she realized the new town had started to feel like hers
    3. c) a list of the differences between life in Manila and in Canada
    4. d) the flight from Manila, hour by hour, with every meal described

  7. 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 day my friend told our coach the team's hazing had to stop
    3. c) the afternoon I finally learned to ride my bike without help
    4. d) the dictionary definitions of “courage” and “speak up”

  8. Which sentence uses correct subject–verb agreement?

    1. a) The box of old hockey cards was on the top shelf.
    2. b) The players on the senior team was tired after practice.
    3. c) One of the tires on my bike were flat this morning.
    4. d) The list of chores for this week are on the fridge.

  9. Which revision corrects the comma splice in “The bus was late, we missed the first period”?

    1. a) The bus was late we missed the first period.
    2. b) The bus was late, we totally missed the first period.
    3. c) The bus, was late we missed the first period.
    4. d) The bus was late, so we missed the first period.

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

Answer key · The narrative or essay

English Language Arts 9 · maddyhelps.com

  1. a) how a stranger's two-word comment changed the way you saw yourself — The topic has two parts, something small and a big difference, and only the stranger's comment has both. The list of changes covers big differences but skips the small cause, and that kind of drift costs Content marks.
  2. c) From under the table came a low, guilty whine. — Every sentence starts with “I,” and the Sentence Structure category rewards varied beginnings; “From under the table” breaks the pattern and is still a complete sentence. “Whining, low and guilty” has no main verb, so it is a fragment, and the dog sentence runs two sentences together.
  3. a) the sentence giving the food bank's opening hours — Every other sentence traces how the writer's thinking changed, and the opening hours do nothing for that idea. The hamper sentence can look like a side story, but it is the turning point the whole paragraph depends on.
  4. d) 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.
  5. a) The mini doughnuts were hot, sugary and gone in a minute. — Precise words name something the reader can picture: mini doughnuts, hot, sugary. “Incredible” and “excellent” sound stronger than “good” but still name nothing, and the Vocabulary category rewards words that create vivid images, not just bigger ones.
  6. b) the moment she realized the new town had started to feel like hers — The move is the subject, but belonging is the topic, and only the moment the new town began to feel like home explores it. The flight and the list of differences stay on the move while saying nothing about belonging, which is how a well-written piece loses Content marks.
  7. b) 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.
  8. a) The box of old hockey cards was on the top shelf. — The verb agrees with its subject, not with the noun closest to it: the box was, the list is, one was, the players were. Phrases like “of chores” or “on the senior team” sit between subject and verb and pull you toward the wrong form.
  9. d) The bus was late, so we missed the first period. — A comma splice joins two complete sentences with only a comma. Adding “so” makes a correct compound sentence (a period or a semicolon would also work). Deleting the comma makes a run-on, which is the same error with less punctuation.
  10. b) 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.