English Language Arts 8 (Grade 8) Midterm — Full-Course Review

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ELA Grade 8 30 multiple choice + 2 written

Free printable English Language Arts 8 midterm (Grade 8): 30 multiple-choice questions plus 2 written responses covering Literary Analysis, Argument & Rhetoric, Vocabulary & Word Origins, Grammar: Verbals, Voice & Mood, Research & Citations, Poetry & Drama. Answer key included — customize it in the Midterm Maker.

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Directions: Read each question carefully and choose the best answer. Answer the written response in complete sentences.

Covers: Literary Analysis · Argument & Rhetoric · Vocabulary & Word Origins · Grammar: Verbals, Voice & Mood · Research & Citations · Poetry & Drama

Part 1: Multiple Choice

A character who changes in an important way during a story is called a
1. A. minor character
2. B. dynamic character
3. C. flat character
4. D. static character
A story is told by a narrator who is a character in it and uses the words "I" and "me." What point of view is this?
1. A. Second person
2. B. Third-person limited
3. C. First person
4. D. Third-person omniscient
Read the passage: "Mara had practiced her speech for weeks. When she stepped onto the stage, her hands shook, but her voice came out steady and clear. By the final line, the room was silent, and then the applause rolled in." Which is the best statement of the theme?
1. A. Preparation can help people push through their fears.
2. B. Public speaking is only enjoyable for a few people.
3. C. Applause matters more than the message of a speech.
4. D. Practice rarely helps people who feel nervous.
Read the sentence: "Leo slammed his locker, shoved his books into his bag, and stomped down the hall without a word to anyone." What do Leo's actions suggest about him?
1. A. He is excited and cheerful.
2. B. He is calm and relaxed.
3. C. He is curious and talkative.
4. D. He is angry or frustrated.
Which situation is an example of internal conflict?
1. A. A town protests against an unfair new law.
2. B. Two rival teams compete for the league championship.
3. C. A girl struggles to decide whether to admit she broke a vase.
4. D. A hiker is trapped on a mountain by a sudden snowstorm.
Read the sentence: "As a nurse for twenty years, I have seen how hand-washing prevents illness." Which appeal does this sentence mainly use?
1. A. Logos, an appeal to statistics
2. B. Ethos, an appeal to credibility
3. C. Bandwagon, an appeal to popularity
4. D. Pathos, an appeal to emotion
Read the sentence: "Either we ban phones in every class, or students will never learn anything." Which faulty reasoning does it show?
1. A. False dilemma
2. B. Bandwagon
3. C. Ad hominem
4. D. Hasty generalization
Read the sentence: "Everyone at school already has the new phone, so you should get one too." Which faulty reasoning does it show?
1. A. Personal attack
2. B. Bandwagon
3. C. Slippery slope
4. D. Straw man
Read the sentence: "Our school's recycling program cut cafeteria waste by 40 percent in one year." Which appeal does this sentence mainly use?
1. A. Pathos, an appeal to emotion
2. B. Bandwagon, an appeal to popularity
3. C. Logos, an appeal to logic and facts
4. D. Ethos, an appeal to credibility
Read the sentence: "Imagine a puppy shivering alone in the cold, waiting for someone to give it a home." Which appeal does this sentence mainly use?
1. A. Logos, an appeal to logic and facts
2. B. Ethos, an appeal to credibility
3. C. Bandwagon, an appeal to popularity
4. D. Pathos, an appeal to emotion
The Greek root graph, as in autograph and paragraph, means
1. A. to hear
2. B. earth
3. C. light
4. D. to write
The root spect, as in spectator and inspect, means
1. A. to carry
2. B. to write
3. C. to break
4. D. to look or see
Which word has the most negative connotation?
1. A. slender
2. B. lean
3. C. slim
4. D. scrawny
The word telephone comes from two Greek roots. What do they mean?
1. A. far + sound
2. B. write + light
3. C. near + voice
4. D. time + speak
The prefix mal-, as in malfunction and malnourished, means
1. A. large
2. B. many
3. C. bad or badly
4. D. again
Which sentence uses the subjunctive mood correctly?
1. A. If she is the coach last year, she would change the lineup.
2. B. If she be the coach, she changes the lineup.
3. C. If she were being the coach, she changes the lineup.
4. D. If she were the coach, she would change the lineup.
In the sentence "Swimming is my favorite sport," the word Swimming is a
1. A. infinitive
2. B. gerund
3. C. participle
4. D. linking verb
Which sentence is written in the active voice?
1. A. The windows were cleaned yesterday.
2. B. The meal was prepared by the chef.
3. C. The chef prepared the meal.
4. D. The game was won by our team.
Which sentence has an unnecessary shift in voice?
1. A. Maya painted both the fence and the gate.
2. B. Maya painted the fence, and then the gate was painted by her.
3. C. After Maya painted the fence, she painted the gate.
4. D. Maya painted the fence, and then she painted the gate.
Which sentence contains a dangling modifier?
1. A. While I walked to school, rain soaked my backpack.
2. B. Walking to school, I got my backpack soaked.
3. C. The rain soaked my backpack as I walked to school.
4. D. Walking to school, the rain soaked my backpack.
Which source is most credible for a report on volcanoes?
1. A. An online forum where anyone can post answers
2. B. A social media post with no author listed
3. C. A website from a national geological survey agency
4. D. A personal blog by someone who visited a volcano once
What does it mean to paraphrase?
1. A. Copy a writer's exact words inside quotation marks
2. B. Restate an idea in your own words while keeping its meaning
3. C. Shorten a whole book into one sentence
4. D. List a source at the end of a paper
Which search terms would work best to find how bees pollinate crops?
1. A. history of farming in Europe
2. B. why do things happen in nature
3. C. bees pollination crops
4. D. bugs
Which is the best definition of plagiarism?
1. A. Using others' words or ideas without giving credit
2. B. Summarizing a source and then citing it
3. C. Reading many sources before you write
4. D. Quoting a source and citing it correctly
Which is a correctly formatted MLA in-text citation for a quotation from page 42 of a book by Ana Garcia?
1. A. (Garcia 42)
2. B. (Garcia, 2015, p. 42)
3. C. [Garcia: 42]
4. D. (page 42, Garcia)
In a poem, what is a stanza?
1. A. A group of lines, like a paragraph in prose
2. B. The person who speaks in the poem
3. C. The pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables
4. D. The title and author of the poem
Read the line: "The moon kept watch over the sleeping town." Which figurative language does it use?
1. A. Onomatopoeia
2. B. Hyperbole
3. C. Simile
4. D. Personification
Read the stanza: "The morning sun climbs slow and bright, / It chases off the last of night; / The sparrows sing from every tree, / And call the waking world to see." What is the rhyme scheme?
1. A. ABAB
2. B. AABB
3. C. ABBA
4. D. ABCB
In a play, what is a scene?
1. A. A section within an act, often marking a change of place
2. B. The list of characters printed at the start of a script
3. C. A large section of the play made up of several acts
4. D. A long speech given directly to the audience by one actor
What is free verse?
1. A. Poetry that tells a story in rhyming stanzas
2. B. Poetry without a regular rhyme scheme or meter
3. C. Poetry with exactly fourteen lines
4. D. Poetry with three lines of 5, 7, and 5 syllables

Part 2: Written Response

Pick two of these roots: chron, spect, graph, dict. For each, explain its meaning, list two words that use it, and write a sentence using one word correctly.
Compare reading a scene from a play with reading a poem. Explain how stage directions and dialogue work differently from stanzas and figurative language, using one example of each.

Answer Key — English Language Arts 8 (Grade 8) Midterm — Full-Course Review

B — dynamic character Dynamic characters change; static characters stay the same.
C — First person A narrator inside the story using I and me is first-person point of view.
A — Preparation can help people push through their fears. Mara's weeks of practice let her speak steadily despite shaking hands.
D — He is angry or frustrated. Slamming, shoving, and stomping are indirect characterization showing anger.
C — A girl struggles to decide whether to admit she broke a vase. Internal conflict is a struggle inside a character's own mind.
B — Ethos, an appeal to credibility The speaker's experience as a nurse builds trust and credibility.
A — False dilemma It pretends only two extreme choices exist.
B — Bandwagon It argues something is right simply because many people do it.
C — Logos, an appeal to logic and facts A measurable statistic appeals to logic and reason.
D — Pathos, an appeal to emotion The image of a shivering puppy is meant to stir sympathy.
D — to write Graph comes from Greek graphein, to write.
D — to look or see Spect comes from Latin meaning to look.
D — scrawny All mean thin, but scrawny suggests weak or unhealthy.
A — far + sound Tele means far and phone means sound.
C — bad or badly Mal- comes from Latin meaning bad or badly.
D — If she were the coach, she would change the lineup. Contrary-to-fact conditions use were plus would.
B — gerund An -ing verb acting as a noun (here the subject) is a gerund.
C — The chef prepared the meal. In active voice, the subject performs the action.
B — Maya painted the fence, and then the gate was painted by her. It shifts from active voice to passive voice without reason.
D — Walking to school, the rain soaked my backpack. The rain was not walking to school, so the modifier dangles.
C — A website from a national geological survey agency Government science agencies have expert authors and checked information.
B — Restate an idea in your own words while keeping its meaning Paraphrasing puts the source's ideas into your own words.
C — bees pollination crops Specific key words matching the topic give the most useful results.
A — Using others' words or ideas without giving credit Plagiarism is presenting others' work as your own.
A — (Garcia 42) MLA uses the author's last name and page number, with no comma.
A — A group of lines, like a paragraph in prose Stanzas are groups of lines separated by spaces.
D — Personification The moon is given the human action of keeping watch.
B — AABB Bright/night rhyme (AA) and tree/see rhyme (BB).
A — A section within an act, often marking a change of place Acts are divided into scenes.
B — Poetry without a regular rhyme scheme or meter Free verse follows natural speech rather than set patterns.

Written Response — Look-Fors

Accurate root meanings; two correct example words per root; sentences that show the word's meaning in context.
Accurate explanation of stage directions and dialogue; accurate stanza and figurative language examples; clear comparison.

English Language Arts 8 (Grade 8) Midterm — Full-Course Review

Part 1: Multiple Choice

Part 2: Written Response

Written Response — Look-Fors

More English Language Arts 8 midterms