Grammar/Writing Practice

Place the following sentences in order to create a logical paragraph sequence.

• Here stood a beautiful figure, resembling Venus in beauty.

• The gods were delighted with his work and decided each to bestow upon the woman some excellent gift.

• Vulcan was always trying his skill, and he made many wonderful and beautiful things.

• One day he invited the gods to see his latest creation.

Answer explanation

1. This sentence introduces what the topic will be about -- one of Vulcan's creations.

2. "One day" connects to the previous sentence by disconnecting us from "always."

3. "Here" puts the reader in the present.

4. The gods' reaction must come after introducing the creation.

Tags

CCSS.W.9-10.3

CCSS.W.9-10.3C

Vulcan was always trying his skill, and he made many wonderful and beautiful things. One day he invited the gods to see his latest creation. Here stood a beautiful figure, resembling Venus in beauty. The gods were delighted with his work, and decided each to bestow upon the woman some excellent gift.

Which use of diction should be replaced with a stronger term?

• resembling --> appearing

• delighted --> happy

• bestow --> give

• always --> constantly

Tags

CCSS.L.2.1E

CCSS.L.3.1A

CCSS.L.3.1G

Vulcan was always trying his skill, and he made many wonderful and beautiful things. One day he invited the gods to see his latest creation. Here stood a beautiful figure, resembling Venus in beauty. The gods were delighted with his work, and decided each to bestow upon the woman some excellent gift.

Which sentence is correctly edited?

• The gods were delighted with his work and decided each to bestow upon the woman some excellent gift.

• Here stood a beautiful figure, which resembling Venus in beauty.

• One day, he invited the gods, to see his latest creation.

• Vulcan was always trying his skill and he made many wonderful and beautiful things.

Answer explanation

1. The subject is shared, so the comma should not be used.

2. "Which resembling" should be "which resembles"

3. The first comma may be used, but the second comma is incorrectly used and creates a fragment.

4. "And" needs a comma since there are two subjects with the coordinating conjunction.

Tags

CCSS.L.4.1F

Place the following sentences in order to create a logical paragraph sequence.

• Poor Pandora!

• The figures upon it seemed to smile upon her.

• The moment she lifted the cover, all the sorrow and sickness and sin which had been shut up in this wonderful box, flew out and winged their way all over the earth.

• Slowly she approached the box.

• She thought she would open it just a little and peep in.

Answer explanation

1. The box is what the paragraph is about, so this will be the topic sentence.

2. "It" refers to the box, so it must follow the object.

3. To open the box, she must first see it, so opening the box occurs after seeing the box.

4. "Poor Pandora" foreshadows the concluding paragraph sentence.

Tags

CCSS.RL.9-10.5

CCSS.SL.9-10.4

Slowly she approached the box. The figures upon it seemed to smile upon her. She thought she would open it just a little and peep in. Poor Pandora! The moment she lifted the cover, all the sorrow and sickness and sin which had been shut up in this wonderful box, flew out and winged their way all over the earth.

Which option replaces weak diction with strong diction?

• approached --> neared

• a little --> some

• lifted --> raised

• shut up --> contained

Answer explanation

Besides the last answer choice, all answer choices provide an equal replacement rather than a stronger replacement.

Tags

CCSS.L.2.1E

CCSS.L.3.1A

CCSS.L.3.1G

Slowly she approached the box. The figures upon it seemed to smile upon her. She thought she would open it just a little and peep in. Poor Pandora! The moment she lifted the cover, all the sorrow and sickness and sin which had been shut up in this wonderful box, flew out and winged their way all over the earth.

Which sentence is correctly edited?

• Slowly. She approached the box.

• The figures upon it literally smiled at her.

• She thought she would open it just a little, and peep in.

• Poor Pandora.

• None of the previous.

Tags

CCSS.L.1.2B

CCSS.L.5.2

Describing the distinctive nature or features of a person = ​ ​ (a)  

• characterization
• juxtaposition
• irony
• personification
• contradiction

Tags

CCSS.RL.9-10.3

Match the following:

• juxtaposition

• The bright sunrays cooled my temper as I deeply breathed in the fresh air.

• irony

• "Our food is freshly made."

  "We only freeze our burger patties to preserve them."

• contradiction

• Doreen saves every penny she earns, and Mark often shares his. When we came to a stop light and saw a homeless man, Doreen gave him $20 dollars without hesitation.

• personification

• The alarm yelled over the chaos and continued to warn us of our danger.

• characterization

• Jack is selfless since he sacrifices his free time to volunteer.

Tags

CCSS.L.3.1A

Nature's first green is gold,

Her hardest hue to hold.

Her early leaf's a flower;

But only so an hour.

Then leaf subsides to leaf.

So Eden sank to grief,

So dawn goes down to day.

Nothing gold can stay. -Robert Frost

The ​ (a)   above shifts and becomes ​​ (b)  

• tone
• cynical
• theme
• irony
• nostalgic
• hopeful
• paradox

Tags

CCSS.L.3.1G

Nature's first green is gold,

Her hardest hue to hold.

Her early leaf's a flower;

But only so an hour.

Then leaf subsides to leaf.

So Eden sank to grief,

So dawn goes down to day.

Nothing gold can stay. - Robert Frost

Choose the line containing juxtaposition/paradox. Choose all that apply.

• Nature's first green is gold.

• Her early leaf's a flower

• So Eden sank to grief

• Nothing gold can stay

Answer explanation

(contrasting ideas that actually reveal a truth)

1. Green & Gold: Green is green, not gold, but nature's green is seen as gold

2. Leaf & Fower: A leaf is a separate part of a flower, but the flower grows a the leaf

4. Nothing Gold Lasts: Gold lasts forever, but many true life treasures do not last forever

Tags

CCSS.L.9-10.5

CCSS.RL.9-10.4