PARCC Grade 8 ELA 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: An author writes, "The old bridge groaned under the weight of the morning traffic." What literary device is used?
- Personification (Correct answer)
- Hyperbole
- Simile
- Onomatopoeia
Correct answer: Personification
Giving the bridge the human ability to groan is personification.
Question 2: Which sentence uses a participial phrase correctly?
- Exhausted from the hike, Maria collapsed onto the couch. (Correct answer)
- Maria was exhausted she collapsed onto the couch.
- Maria, and exhausted, collapsed onto the couch.
- Collapsing the couch exhausted Maria from the hike.
Correct answer: Exhausted from the hike, Maria collapsed onto the couch.
'Exhausted from the hike' is a participial phrase modifying Maria.
Question 3: In an argumentative essay, what is the primary purpose of a counterclaim?
- To acknowledge and address opposing views (Correct answer)
- To summarize the introduction
- To list the author's sources
- To restate the thesis word for word
Correct answer: To acknowledge and address opposing views
A counterclaim presents an opposing view so the writer can refute it and strengthen the argument.
Question 4: What is the meaning of the prefix 'mal-' in the word 'malfunction'?
- Bad or wrong (Correct answer)
- Many
- Before
- Around
Correct answer: Bad or wrong
'Mal-' means bad or wrong, so a malfunction is a bad or faulty operation.
Question 5: Which transition word best signals a cause-and-effect relationship?
- Consequently (Correct answer)
- Meanwhile
- Similarly
- However
Correct answer: Consequently
'Consequently' shows that one event is the result of another.
Question 6: A reader determines the central theme of a story by examining what?
- The lesson revealed through characters' choices and conflicts (Correct answer)
- The number of pages in the chapter
- The author's birthplace
- The title font and cover art
Correct answer: The lesson revealed through characters' choices and conflicts
Theme emerges from how characters respond to conflict and what the story ultimately teaches.
Question 7: Which revision corrects the dangling modifier: "Walking to school, the rain soaked my backpack"?
- Walking to school, I felt the rain soak my backpack. (Correct answer)
- The rain soaked my backpack walking to school.
- Walking to school, my backpack the rain soaked.
- Soaking my backpack, walking to school the rain came.
Correct answer: Walking to school, I felt the rain soak my backpack.
The modifier 'walking to school' must describe a person, so 'I' should follow it.
PARCC Grade 8 ELA 2
An author writes, "The old bridge groaned under the weight of the morning traffic." What literary device is used?