Grade 9 · English Language Arts · Unit 8 of 10
Forms & Features
Text patterns, visuals and media
What your child practises
Knowing what each text form does, how features such as an index, footnote or caption help readers, how signal words show a text's pattern, and how images, colour and design shape meaning.
Ontario Curriculum expectation: C1.2, C1.3, C1.4, A2.4 · text forms, patterns and features, and how visuals and design help create meaning
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 feature of a nonfiction book helps readers find a topic quickly?
- The cover blurb
- The copyright page
- The dedication
- The index
Show answer
The index
Hint: An index lists topics alphabetically with page numbers.
Question 2
Which text form is mainly written to persuade readers to agree with an opinion?
- An editorial
- A glossary
- A table of contents
- A weather report
Show answer
An editorial
Hint: An editorial argues for a position.
Question 3
Which statement about cultural text forms is accurate?
- Songs and art are never text forms
- Some communities share knowledge through spoken stories, songs and art, and these are valid texts
- Oral stories cannot be analysed
- Only printed books count as real texts
Show answer
Some communities share knowledge through spoken stories, songs and art, and these are valid texts
Hint: A text is anything that communicates meaning, including oral, visual and musical forms.
Question 4
Which feature is typical of an expository essay?
- Stage directions
- A thesis statement supported by evidence
- Dialogue between characters
- Rhyming couplets
Show answer
A thesis statement supported by evidence
Hint: Expository writing explains a main idea using facts and examples.
Question 5
A scene is told in letters between two characters. What is this text form called?
- a script
- an editorial
- an epistolary text
- an index
Show answer
an epistolary text
Hint: Epistolary means told through letters.
Question 6
Which pair of signal words shows a cause and effect pattern?
- first, next
- similarly, however
- because, as a result
- on the other hand, in contrast
Show answer
because, as a result
Hint: These words link a reason with what happened.