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Unnecessary words

Authored by Rachel Alderson

English

8th - 9th Grade

CCSS covered

Used 185+ times

Unnecessary words
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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

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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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