Sentence Variety & Suspense Quiz

Which of the following is a short sentence?

• The door creaked slowly as the wind pushed against it.

• He froze.

• When he heard the noise, he ran for the door.

• Shadows covered the room like a blanket.

Tags

CCSS.RL.4.4

CCSS.RL.5.4

CCSS.RL.6.4

CCSS.RL.7.4

CCSS.RL.8.4

What does a short sentence usually do in a suspense story?

• Speeds up the action or adds shock

• Describes every detail

• Makes the story boring

• Slows the story down

Tags

CCSS.RL.4.4

CCSS.RL.5.4

CCSS.RL.6.4

CCSS.RL.7.4

CCSS.RL.8.4

What does a long sentence usually do in suspense writing?

• Builds tension and detail before the action

• Ends the story

• Makes readers confused

• Repeats short ideas

Tags

CCSS.L.4.1F

Select all the reasons writers use sentence variety.

• To keep readers interested

• To control pacing and rhythm

• To build suspense or emotion

• To make every sentence the same length

Tags

CCSS.RF.3.3B

CCSS.RF.3.3C

CCSS.RF.3.3D

CCSS.RF.4.3A

CCSS.RF.5.3A

Match each sentence to its type.

• Short

• He froze as the whisper slid closer.

• Mixed

• He froze.

• Long

• He froze. The whisper slid closer.

Tags

CCSS.L.1.1J

CCSS.L.2.1F

CCSS.L.3.1I

CCSS.L.7.1B

Which version of the paragraph below shows better sentence variety?

• He opened the door. He saw a shadow. He screamed.

• He opened the door and saw a shadow. He screamed.

• He opened the door. A shadow moved. He screamed before the darkness swallowed his voice.

• He opened the door because he wanted to see what made the noise that scared him.

Tags

CCSS.RI.6.10

CCSS.RI.7.10

CCSS.RL.5.6

CCSS.RL.6.10

CCSS.RL.7.10

Rewrite the sentence below to improve sentence variety and suspense:

He walked down the hallway and heard a noise.

Tags

CCSS.RL.9-10.5

When a writer combines two short sentences into one longer sentence, what usually happens to the pacing?

• It slows down.

• It speeds up.

• It stays the same.

• It becomes confusing.

Tags

CCSS.L.2.1F

CCSS.L.3.1H

CCSS.L.3.1I

CCSS.L.5.1E

CCSS.L.7.1B

Which sentence has mixed sentence structure (a short sentence and a longer one together)?

• He waited. The lights flickered.

• The lights flickered down the long hallway.

• He waited and counted the seconds.

• He waited for the lights to flicker again.

Tags

CCSS.L.1.1J

CCSS.L.2.1F

CCSS.L.3.1I

CCSS.L.7.1B

Read the sentences below:

1. The door creaked open.

2. The door creaked open, and a thin beam of light spilled across the dusty floor.

Which best explains how sentence 2 changes the tone?

• It makes the moment more descriptive and tense.

• It makes the writing boring.

• It makes the pacing faster.

• It makes no difference.

Tags

CCSS.RL.4.4

CCSS.RL.5.4

CCSS.RL.6.4

CCSS.RL.7.4

CCSS.RL.8.4