The transition from the second paragraph to the third paragraph is weak. Which sentence could best replace sentence 8 and improve the transition between these two paragraphs?

1) With my dad out of work and three kids at home, times were tough. 2) They tried to hide how bad things were, but I was too old to be fooled. 3) I knew there were days when they didn't know how they were going to buy groceries. 4) Then one afternoon I opened the mailbox and saw a stack of green bills sitting there. 5) Attached was a note that simply read "Pay it forward." 6) When I brought the money inside, my whole family just sat in shock for a few minutes. 7) Then we gave thanks for the generosity of a stranger.

8) Next we talked. 9) Before long, we were thinking of all sorts of things we could do to help others. 10) Each family member decided to pay it forward in a different way. 11) My younger sister gathered books to donate to an after-school program, and my brother mowed an elderly neighbor's lawn. 12) Dad and I fixed another neighbor's fence, and Mom offered to babysit for a sing mother who had gone back to school to get a degree.

• Suddenly it was bovious that we all had a lot that we needed to talk about.

• This stranger had given us cash, something our family had been without for a very long time.

• Soon we began talking about what the note had instructed us to do: pay it forward.

• We wanted to think of some unusual ways to help others.

8) Next we talked. 9) Before long, we were thinking of all sorts of things we could do to help others. 10) Each family member decided to pay it forward in a different way. 11) My younger sister gathered books to donate to an after-school program, and my brother mowed an elderly neighbor's lawn. 12) Dad and I fixed another neighbor's fence, and Mom offered to babysit for a sing mother who had gone back to school to get a degree.

Which answer provides the best concluding sentence to add to the paragraph above?

• With each act of kindness, we told the story of how we had been helped, and we challenged the recipients to help someone new.

• You don't have to be rich to be a part of something that really matters.

• Within a matter of days, we started to hear stories of others who had benefited form a spark of kindness.

• And the single mom joined some fellow students who were spearheading a winter coat drive for the homeless.

16) Within a matter of days, we started to hear stories of others who had benefited form a spark of kindness. 17) The man whose fence was fixed told us how he helped another friend clean out her garage. 18) The kids in the after-school program for the residents of a retirement center made cards. 19) And the elderly neighbor made cookies for a community bake sale.

20) It really did take just a spark to get a fire going. 21) I'll probably never know who first lit that flame, but I do know that I'll never be the same. 22) I've learned two important lessons that will affect the rest of my life. 23) First, a spark of kindness can spread very quickly. 24) And second, you don't have to be rich to be a part of something that really matters.

Ben wants to add a closing sentence to reinforce the controlling idea of his paper. Which of the following ideas could best follow sentence 23 and help accomplish this goal?

• You just have to be willing to pay it forward.

• You don't have to start the fire; you just have to be a spark.

• It doesn't take money to be a highly effective person.

• Hard work always pays off in the end.

The author needs to use a more appropriate word than tweaks in the sentence. Which of these words would be the best replacement for tweaks?

The surgeon looks into a magnified video screen and tweaks the controls.

• corrects

• manipulates

• does

• changes

Which changes, if any, should be made to the following sentence?

I've learned two important lessons that will affect the rest of my life.

• Change two to too

• Change I've to I had

• Change affect to effect

• Make no changes

Place the elements of the plot diagram in their corresponding position within the chart.

c

d

e

b

a

Falling Action

Climax

Exposition

Resolution

Rising Action

Match the following

• Jane ate the last slice of pizza, drank my milk, and stole the remote, she is disrespectful.

• Fragment

• The track workout was difficult yet we completed it.

• Run-On

• Ran inside the haunted house.

• Run-On Compound Sentence

• Stores ran out of toilet paper because people incorrectly prioritize necessities.

• Complete Compound Sentence

• Recess was longer than normal, so the children were tired.

• Complete Complex Sentence

And the single mom joined some fellow students who were spearheading a winter coat drive for the homeless.

Which word within the sentence alludes to the meaning of spearheading?

Connect the following sentences:

She outran him. He bragged about his speed all week.

What is the prompt asking you to do? Choose two.

Read the story "The Lottery." Explain the author's use of foreshadowing and how it impacted the tone.

• Read the selection

• Identify the foreshadowing event(s).

• Show how the event(s) shifted the tone.

• Argue the positive tone shift.