The pond was glassy and still, the air smelled of pine, and the dock felt cool and damp beneath our bare feet.
7th grade English Language Arts practice sheet
Maine Learning Results · from Gradelings · Name: ______________________
Question 1
Which literary device does this excerpt use?
- Flashback
- Imagery
- Foreshadowing
- Hyperbole
Imagery
Hint: The description appeals to sight, smell and touch. Language that paints a sensory picture is imagery.
Question 2
Which word best describes the writer's tone?
The movie's plot was predictable, the jokes fell flat, and the ending dragged on for twenty minutes too long.
- Admiring
- Nostalgic
- Critical
- Fearful
Critical
Hint: List what the writer says about the plot, jokes and ending. Is it praise or complaint?
Question 3
Which logical fallacy does this argument use?
We can either ban all snacks from the school or accept that students will never eat healthy food.
- Either-or (false dilemma)
- Hasty generalization
- Attacking the person (ad hominem)
- Bandwagon
Either-or (false dilemma)
Hint: Are those really the only two choices? Ignoring the middle options is a false dilemma.
Question 4
Which part of this sentence is the dependent clause?
If it snows tomorrow, the game will be canceled.
- If it snows tomorrow
- the game will be canceled
- tomorrow
If it snows tomorrow
Hint: A dependent clause has a subject and a verb but can't stand alone. It usually starts with a word like because, when, if, although or that.
Question 5
Which sentence has a dangling modifier?
- As we walked into the gym, the noise was deafening.
- The noise was deafening as we walked into the gym.
- Walking into the gym, we heard deafening noise.
- Walking into the gym, the noise was deafening.
Walking into the gym, the noise was deafening.
Hint: A dangling modifier has nobody in the sentence to describe. Who is “walking into the gym”? Not the noise!
Question 6
Which word correctly completes the sentence?
Zoe is the student _____ painting won first prize.
- who's
- whose
whose
Hint: Who's = who is (or who has). Whose asks or tells who owns something.
Question 7
Which two lines rhyme with each other?
Pete
There once was a puppy named Pete
Who snatched every sock off your feet.
He'd tiptoe and creep
While you were asleep,
Then nap on the pile, looking sweet.
- Lines 3 and 4
- Lines 1 and 4
- Lines 2 and 4
- Lines 1 and 3
Lines 3 and 4
Hint: Read the last word of each line in the pair out loud. Do they sound alike?
Question 8
Which sentence uses a dash to add emphasis?
- She had one wish—to win.
- She had one wish to—win.
- She—had one wish to win.
She had one wish—to win.
Hint: A dash can set off a final, emphasized idea.
Question 9
Which sentence is written in third person?
- You stared at the door.
- I stared at the door.
- Ravi stared at the door.
Ravi stared at the door.
Hint: Look for a name or he/she/they.
Question 10
The prefix inter- means “between”. International means…
- against a nation
- between nations
- without a nation
- inside one nation
between nations
Hint: Inter- (between) + national.
Answer key
- 1. Imagery (Literary Devices)
- 2. Critical (Tone & Mood)
- 3. Either-or (false dilemma) (Persuasive Power)
- 4. If it snows tomorrow (Clauses & Sentences)
- 5. Walking into the gym, the noise was deafening. (Modifiers & Parallelism)
- 6. whose (Word Mix-Ups)
- 7. Lines 3 and 4 (Poetry Lab)
- 8. She had one wish—to win. (Punctuation Power)
- 9. Ravi stared at the door. (Whose Story?)
- 10. between nations (Roots & Word Parts)
Want more than 10 questions?
In Gradelings the questions change every time and adjust to your child, with hints and kind feedback. See all English language arts units.