8th Grade Final Review

What revision needs to be made in paragraph 1?

(1) I wasn't so sure what would happen when I knocked on the door. (2) If I was being honest, my grandmothers neighbor made me nervous. (3) I was waiting a few seconds and was about to bolt when the door scraped opened.

• Change wasn’t to was’nt.

• Change grandmothers to grandmother’s.

• Change neighbor made me nervous to neighbor makes me nervous.

• Change scraped to scrapped.

Answer explanation

The S in grandmother is missing an apostrophe

Which revision corrects the error in sentence 6?

(4) “Ah, you're here,” said a voice as a shaky old hand holding a pair of worn slippers opened the door. (5) The hand and the slippers belonged to Mr. Jenkins, the most ancient person I knew. (6) He lived in one of the neighborhood's most equally ancient houses and were one of the neighborhood's oldest residents.

• Change lived to live.

• Change lived to living.

• Change were to am.

• Change were to was.

Which revision corrects the error in pronoun-antecedent agreement in the first part of sentence 10?

” (10) As we walked over to the garden shed, Mr. Jenkins proceeded to explain your various ailments to me, as I took in the overgrown yard with its many bushes and plantings. (11) That day, it was just mowing the lawn, but next time I would work on the flowers and bushes. (12) I didn't hesitate to get started and was finished within an hour.

• As we walked over to the garden shed, Mr. Jenkins proceeded to explain her various ailments to me

• As we walked over to the garden shed, Mr. Jenkins proceeded to explain his various ailments to me

• As we walked over to the garden shed, Mr. Jenkins proceeded to explain those various ailments to me

• As we walked over to the garden shed, Mr. Jenkins proceeded to explain that various ailments to me

Answer explanation

Pronoun-antecedent agreement means choosing a pronoun that matches its antecedent (the earlier noun or noun phrase it refers to) in terms of number, person, and gender.

Mr. Jenkins is the noun, his is the pronoun

 What is the best way to combine sentences 14 and 15?

(14) He ambled out onto the porch and surveyed the lawn. (15) He thanked me and then told me that he would see me on Wednesday.

• He ambled out onto the porch and surveyed the lawn and thanked me and he told me he would see me on Wednesday.

• He ambled out onto the porch and surveyed the lawn; and thanked me, and told me he would see me on Wednesday.

• He ambled out onto the porch and surveyed the lawn, and then he thanked me and told me he would see me on Wednesday.

• He ambled out onto the porch. He surveyed the lawn. He thanked me. Then he told me he would see me on Wednesday.

Answer explanation

using and then a comma (,) demonstrates the best way to complete a compound sentence

 What change should Roberto make in sentence 16?

(16) When Wednesday morning finally came, I strolled down Pecan street and dutifully showed up at the appointed time.

• Change Wednesday to wednesday.

• Change morning to Morning.

• Change Pecan to pecan.

• Change street to Street.

Answer explanation

Pecan street is a name so the s in Pecan Street should be capitalized

6) What revision(s) should be made in sentence 19?

Just as I was getting started, I heard Mr. Jenkins say “that magnolia      is an old one—my grandfather planted it when the neighborhood construction was just underway.”

• . . . Mr. Jenkins say, “That magnolia . . . “

• . . . getting started I heard . . .

• delete quotation marks

• . . . old one–My Grandfather planted it . . .

How should sentence 22 be revised so the syntax flows better?

• As he was carefully in his lap opening a photo album I watched.

• Carefully opening it, I saw in his lap that he was holding a photograph album.

• I watched as he was opening carefully a photo album that he had in his lap.

• I saw that he was holding a photograph album in his lap and watched as he opened it carefully.

 What change needs to be made in sentence 26?

• Change threw to through.

• Change in to into.

• Change knew to new.

• Change slipped to slipping.

 Jasmine would like to revise sentences 1 and 2 to convey her controlling idea more clearly. Which of the following BEST accomplishes this goal?

• Most Americans enjoy listening to jazz, but people from all over the world are jazz fans, too.

• The sounds of jazz music may seem like an American original, but really jazz was nothing new.

• Bebop, or bop, was played in double time and was much more challenging for musicians to play.

• Musicians were playing bebop, or bop, in double time, and it was found to be much more challenging to play.

 Jasmine would like to revise sentences 1 and 2 to convey her controlling idea more clearly. Which of the following BEST accomplishes this goal?

• Most Americans enjoy listening to jazz, but people from all over the world are jazz fans, too

• The sounds of jazz music may seem like an American original, but really jazz was nothing new.

• Jazz music may be America's music, but its roots can be found deep in other traditions and cultures.

• There are many interesting things about jazz, including where it was created and what other styles influenced it.