English Language Arts 8 (Grade 8) Midterm — Semester 2, Form B

Part 1: Multiple Choice

1. 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.
2. In the sentence "The barking dog woke the neighbors," the word barking is a
   1. A. infinitive
   2. B. gerund
   3. C. participle
   4. D. adverb
3. The sentence "Close the door quietly" is in which mood?
   1. A. Indicative
   2. B. Interrogative
   3. C. Subjunctive
   4. D. Imperative
4. In the sentence "If I were taller, I would try out for basketball," the verb were shows which mood?
   1. A. Indicative
   2. B. Imperative
   3. C. Subjunctive
   4. D. Interrogative
5. 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.
6. 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
7. What is the purpose of a Works Cited page?
   1. A. To summarize the main argument of the paper
   2. B. To give full details for each source cited in a paper
   3. C. To list the writer's own opinions on the topic
   4. D. To thank the people who helped with the paper
8. 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
9. 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
10. 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)
11. 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
12. 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
13. In a play script, what are stage directions?
    1. A. The lines that characters say to each other
    2. B. The reviews written after opening night
    3. C. The list of actors who perform each role
    4. D. Notes on actions, setting, or how lines are spoken
14. What is a soliloquy?
    1. A. A speech one character gives to others on stage
    2. B. A speech a character gives alone on stage, revealing inner thoughts
    3. C. A brief remark to the audience that others on stage cannot hear
    4. D. A conversation between two or more characters
15. Read the line: "Silly Sally slid down the slippery slope." Which sound device does it use?
    1. A. Onomatopoeia
    2. B. Hyperbole
    3. C. Alliteration
    4. D. Simile

Part 2: Written Response

16. Explain how you would find and evaluate two sources for a report on a topic of your choice. Describe what makes each source credible, and show one correct MLA in-text citation.