All Common Core: 8th Grade English Language Arts Resources
Example Questions
Example Question #1 : Capitalization, Punctuation, And Spelling: Ccss.Ela Literacy.L.8.2
Determine which choice best completes the underlined portion of the sentence below. In doing so consider grammar, punctuation, capitalization, and meaning.
Kasey is a star backstroker on the swim __________ brother Kenny is scared of the water.
team, her
team; her
team her
team. her
team; her
Answer: "team; her". A semicolon is used to separate two independent clauses (independent clauses are two thoughts that could each be their own sentence). You cannot simply use a comma to perform this task, so “team, her” is incorrect. If you use a period you must capitalize the next word, so “team. her” is incorrect. And without any punctuation the reader cannot easily tell where one thought ends and the next begins, so “team her” leads to a run-on sentence and is incorrect.
Example Question #1 : Use Punctuation To Indicate Pauses: Ccss.Ela Literacy.L.8.2.A
Determine which choice best completes the underlined portion of the sentence below. In doing so consider grammar, punctuation, capitalization, and meaning.
Many people dislike running long _________ seems to really enjoy it.
distances, but: Shannon
distances but Shannon
distances, but Shannon
distances, but...Shannon
distances, but Shannon
Answer: “distances, but Shannon” One way to separate independent clauses is with a comma plus a coordinating conjunction (for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so - you can use the acronym FANBOYS to remember them). Here you have two complete thoughts: “many people dislike running long distances” and “Shannon seems to really enjoy it.” And every answer choice includes the coordinating conjunction “but.” This calls for the comma + but construction, so “Many people dislike running long distances, but Shannon seems to really enjoy it” is correct.
Example Question #3 : Use Punctuation To Indicate Pauses: Ccss.Ela Literacy.L.8.2.A
For the following sentence, choose the answer that best expresses the underlined portion; if the original sentence is best, select “NO CHANGE.”
Angelica has a large and busy family: her father is a United States senator and former Army general; her sister, Eliza, is a New York City socialite who runs an orphanage; and her sister Peggy is married to the founder of a university.
NO CHANGE
general and her sister, Eliza, is a New York City socialite who runs an orphanage and
general, and her sister, Eliza, is a New York City socialite who runs an orphanage; and
general her sister Eliza is a New York City socialite who runs an orphanage and
NO CHANGE
Answer: NO CHANGE. When a list contains several long elements, as this list does, it is appropriate to use semicolons to separate those elements. Here note that the second element (“her sister, Eliza, is a New York City socialite…”) even includes its own commas around the word “Eliza” (used to modify “her sister”) - this helps to demonstrate the case for using semicolons so that commas within the long phrases in each element don’t get confused as new elements in the list. Among the incorrect answer choices, one uses no punctuation at all and creates a very long, very hard to read sentence. Similarly, another places the word “and” between the elements, but that’s incorrect (you wouldn’t say “I play basketball and soccer and baseball” - you’d separate the sports with punctuation and use “and” before the last one). And one choice mixes commas between elements (“, and her sister Eliza”) and a semicolon between others (“; and her sister Peggy”). When separating items in a long list you can choose to separate the items with commas or with semicolons, but you cannot use one of each. Plus that sentence also repeats the multiple “and” problem.
Example Question #2 : Capitalization, Punctuation, And Spelling: Ccss.Ela Literacy.L.8.2
Which of the following sentences is punctuated properly?
Most people thought that the performance was a disaster, but Allysin was proud of her solo at the end of Act One.
Most people thought, that the performance was a disaster but Allysin was proud of her solo at the end of Act One.
Most people thought that the performance was a disaster, but, Allysin was proud of her solo: at the end of Act One.
Most people thought that the performance was a disaster but Allysin was proud of her solo at the end of Act One.
Most people thought that the performance was a disaster, but Allysin was proud of her solo at the end of Act One.
Answer: "Most people thought that the performance was a disaster, but Allysin was proud of her solo at the end of Act One." The correct answer uses a single comma between “disaster, but” to indicate that there are two independent clauses (essentially complete sentences) going on: 1) most people thought that the performance was a disaster, and 2) Allysin was proud of her own performance. The comma creates a pause between those thoughts to help the reader know that they’re separate, and the coordinating conjunction “but” highlights that the two thoughts oppose each other (people thought it was bad, but she thought it was good).
Example Question #1 : Capitalization, Punctuation, And Spelling: Ccss.Ela Literacy.L.8.2
Determine which choice best completes the underlined portion of the sentence below. In doing so consider grammar, punctuation, capitalization, and meaning.
Kasey is a star backstroker on the swim __________ brother Kenny is scared of the water.
team her
team. her
team; her
team, her
team; her
A semicolon is used to separate two independent clauses (independent clauses are two thoughts that could each be their own sentence). You cannot simply use a comma to perform this task, so “team, her” is incorrect. If you use a period you must capitalize the next word, so “team. her” is incorrect. And without any punctuation the reader cannot easily tell where one thought ends and the next begins, so “team her” leads to a run-on sentence and is incorrect.
Example Question #1 : Capitalization, Punctuation, And Spelling: Ccss.Ela Literacy.L.8.2
Which of the following properly uses commas to structure the sentence?
Dev who had always disliked math has become an expert at algebra thanks to his teacher Mrs. Robinson.
Dev who had always disliked math, has become an expert at algebra, thanks to his teacher Mrs. Robinson.
Dev who had always disliked math, has become an expert at algebra thanks to his teacher, Mrs. Robinson.
Dev, who had always disliked math, has become an expert at algebra thanks to his teacher, Mrs. Robinson.
Dev, who had always disliked math has become an expert at algebra thanks to his teacher Mrs. Robinson.
Dev, who had always disliked math, has become an expert at algebra thanks to his teacher, Mrs. Robinson.
Notice that the main point of this sentence is that “Dev has become an expert at algebra thanks to his teacher.” When properly punctuated, the sentence uses “who had always disliked math” as an extra modifying phrase to tell us more about Dev, and “Mrs. Robinson” as an extra description of his teacher. Modifiers/descriptions are often set apart by commas to tell the reader that that information is additional - the reader doesn’t really need to know that information so they can omit it if they’re reading quickly, but if they do want to read it it will help them even-better understand the sentence.
Example Question #7 : Use Punctuation To Indicate Pauses: Ccss.Ela Literacy.L.8.2.A
Which of the following properly uses commas to structure the sentence?
While competing in a triathlon, Ian had to swim a mile, bike 50 miles and then run, 10 miles.
While competing in a triathlon, Ian had to swim a mile and bike 50 miles then run 10 miles.
While competing in a triathlon Ian had to swim, a mile, bike, 50 miles, and then run 10 miles.
While competing in a triathlon, Ian, had to swim a mile, bike 50 miles, then run 10 miles.
While competing in a triathlon, Ian had to swim a mile, bike 50 miles, and then run 10 miles.
While competing in a triathlon, Ian had to swim a mile, bike 50 miles, and then run 10 miles.
When a sentence features a list, the items in the list should be separated by commas so that the reader can pause between items and so that it is clear which items are in the list. Here there are three items in the list: swim a mile, bike 50 miles, and then run 10 miles. So those items should have commas between them. Note that if you were to use commas around the number of miles, it treats the distance as separate items in the list, and that is not correct. It is also important here to separate the phrase “while competing in a triathlon” as a modifying phrase describing when these actions took place for Ian. The comma after “triathlon” and before “Ian” lets the reader know that the first few words of the sentence are a descriptive phrase.
Example Question #4 : Capitalization, Punctuation, And Spelling: Ccss.Ela Literacy.L.8.2
Kaitlyn, a star gymnast, made the national team as a sophomore, but she decided not to join until the summer so that she could finish the school year with her friends.
NO CHANGE
Kaitlyn a star gymnast, made the national team as a sophomore but she
Kaitlyn a star gymnast made the national team as a sophomore but she
Kaitlyn: a star gymnast made the national team as a sophomore, but she
NO CHANGE
Whenever you see two nouns (or noun phases) directly next to each other, like “Kaitlyn” and “a star gymnast,” there’s a good chance that one of them is being used to describe the other (called an appositive modifier). This type of modifier should be separated by a comma so that the reader can tell the roles of each noun. Here that means that “a star gymnast,” a description to tell us more about Kaitlyn, should be separated by commas. Another important use of commas is to (along with coordinating conjunctions like “but” or “and”) separate independent clauses, which we have here. Two sentences could stand alone: “Kaitlyn made the national team as a sophomore” and “she decided not to join until the summer,” so separating them with a comma plus the coordinating conjunction “but” makes it clear to the reader that there are two separate but related clauses.
Example Question #5 : Capitalization, Punctuation, And Spelling: Ccss.Ela Literacy.L.8.2
Which of the following sentences is NOT punctuated properly?
Jeremy loves anchovies on pizza; his sister, however, cannot stand them.
Jeremy loves anchovies on pizza, but his sister cannot stand them.
All are punctuated properly.
Jeremy loves anchovies on pizza, his sister however cannot stand them.
Jeremy loves anchovies on pizza, his sister however cannot stand them.
When a sentence features two independent clauses - two phrases that could each stand alone as complete sentences with a subject and verb - the two most common and correct ways to separate them are:
-
With a comma plus a coordinating conjunction (such as “or,” “and,” or “but”)
-
With a semicolon
You cannot, however, simply put a comma between them without a coordinating conjunction. Therefore, the sentence that includes the comma but not a conjunction is the improperly crafted sentence.
Example Question #6 : Capitalization, Punctuation, And Spelling: Ccss.Ela Literacy.L.8.2
Emily’s birthday party included a scavenger hunt, a three-legged race, and a sleepover.
included -- a scavenger hunt, a three-legged race, and a sleepover
NO CHANGE
included: a scavenger hunt a three-legged race, and a sleepover
included a scavenger hunt a three-legged race and a sleepover
NO CHANGE
Answer: NO CHANGE When a sentence features a list, the items should be separated by commas to help the reader keep the items organized. This means that the list should read “a scavenger hunt, a three-legged race, and a sleepover” It is also important to note that with colons and dashes, when they set up a list they need to be used at the end of a complete clause. Here “Emiliy’s birthday party included” is not a complete clause, so you cannot use a colon or dash after “included” to set up the list. You could, however, use a colon or dash after “Emily’s birthday party included three exciting elements,” for example, as that would be a complete clause.
All Common Core: 8th Grade English Language Arts Resources
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