Grade 7 · English Language Arts · Unit 15 of 18
Word Choice & Voice
Choose words and tone for your audience
What your child practises
Children practise choosing precise, descriptive and subject-specific words, and matching tone, sentence style and personal voice to the audience and purpose.
Nunavut Curriculum approved guide: NWT English Language Arts (2011), Production · descriptive and discipline-specific words, personal voice, and tone and sentence style that fit purpose and audience
Sample questions
A taste of this unit. In the app, questions change every time and get easier or harder to match your child.
Question 1
Which sentence has the strongest descriptive words?
- It was a nice morning.
- The sun came up over the lake.
- The morning was good.
- The golden sunrise spilled across the quiet lake.
The golden sunrise spilled across the quiet lake.
Hint: Specific, vivid words paint a clearer picture.
Question 2
A persuasive speech for a skate park should use…
- a bored tone
- a confident tone with strong reasons
- no reasons
- a joke in every sentence
a confident tone with strong reasons
Hint: Tone should fit the purpose.
Question 3
Which sentence sounds appropriate in a formal letter to the principal?
- Book fair now!!!
- OMG book fair
- Hey, can we do a book fair?
- I would like to request permission to hold a book fair.
I would like to request permission to hold a book fair.
Hint: Formal writing uses a polite, respectful tone.
Question 4
Voice in writing is…
- the font
- the spelling
- the writer’s own personality that shows in the words
- the volume when reading aloud
the writer’s own personality that shows in the words
Hint: Voice makes writing sound like a real person.
Question 5
Which choice best fits a story meant to entertain?
- a table of numbers
- a bibliography
- a list of rules
- lively action and dialogue
lively action and dialogue
Hint: Purpose guides the style.
Question 6
Which is the best way to find a more exact word?
- Use a thesaurus and check the meaning in a dictionary
- Choose the first word you see
- Use a rhyme
- Pick any long word
Use a thesaurus and check the meaning in a dictionary
Hint: Check the shades of meaning before swapping.