Unnecessary words
Authored by Rachel Alderson
English
8th - 9th Grade
CCSS covered
Used 188+ times
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About
This quiz focuses on identifying and eliminating redundant words in English sentences, targeting concise writing skills appropriate for grades 8-9. Students must recognize when words create unnecessary repetition or when phrases contain redundant elements that weaken sentence clarity. The questions assess understanding of common redundancy patterns such as phrasal verbs with unnecessary prepositions ("followed after" instead of "followed"), redundant modifiers ("free toppings" when the context already implies no cost), and doubled meanings ("return back" instead of "return"). Students need strong vocabulary knowledge to identify when words serve the same function, analytical skills to parse sentence structure, and editing judgment to recognize that effective writing eliminates wordiness without losing meaning. Created by Rachel Alderson, an English teacher in Thailand who teaches grades 8-9. This quiz serves as an excellent tool for developing students' editing and revision skills, essential components of the writing process. Teachers can implement this as a warm-up activity to sharpen students' attention to word choice before writing assignments, use it as targeted practice for students struggling with concise expression, or assign it as homework to reinforce lessons on eliminating wordiness. The quiz works effectively as formative assessment to gauge students' understanding of redundancy before major writing projects. This assessment aligns with Common Core standards L.8.3 and L.9-10.3, which require students to use knowledge of language and its conventions when writing by choosing words and phrases for effect and maintaining consistency in style and tone.
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5 questions
Show all answers
1.
MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTION
30 sec • 1 pt
Remove the unnecessary word from the sentence.
"The students followed after the teacher to the classroom."
after
followed
to
the
2.
MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTION
30 sec • 1 pt
Remove the unnecessary word from the sentence.
"I received two free toppings with my ice cream."
with
toppings
free
received
Tags
CCSS.L.1.5A
CCSS.L.1.5B
CCSS.L.K.5A
3.
MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTION
30 sec • 1 pt
Remove the unnecessary word from the sentence.
"Make sure you return back the plate."
sure
you
plate
back
4.
MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTION
30 sec • 1 pt
Remove the unnecessary word from the sentence.
"The students wrote down the answers in their books."
wrote
down
in
their
Tags
CCSS.L.1.1I
CCSS.L.K.1E
5.
MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTION
30 sec • 1 pt
Remove the unnecessary word from the sentence.
"Many new films have been released this year."
new
many
films
this
Tags
CCSS.L.3.1A
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