WVGSA English Language Arts 5 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A student reads two articles about school lunch programs — one written by a nutritionist and one written by a fast food company. Which source is MORE likely to be BIASED?
- The nutritionist's article
- The fast food company's article (Correct answer)
- Both are equally biased
- Neither source can be biased
Correct answer: The fast food company's article
The fast food company has a financial interest in the topic, making its article more susceptible to bias.
Question 2: Which sentence BEST uses domain-specific vocabulary appropriate for a science report?
- The plant stuff turned into food using sunlight.
- The plant used sunlight to make its own food in a cool way.
- Chlorophyll in plant cells absorbs sunlight to facilitate photosynthesis. (Correct answer)
- The green parts of the plant help it to grow by using light from the sun.
Correct answer: Chlorophyll in plant cells absorbs sunlight to facilitate photosynthesis.
Domain-specific vocabulary like 'chlorophyll,' 'absorbs,' and 'photosynthesis' is appropriate and precise for a science report.
Question 3: In the sentence 'Running through the park, the flowers caught Maria's eye,' what is the grammatical error?
- Comma splice
- Subject-verb disagreement
- Dangling modifier (Correct answer)
- Incorrect verb tense
Correct answer: Dangling modifier
The participial phrase 'Running through the park' dangles because it modifies 'flowers' rather than Maria.
Question 4: An author ends a novel with the main character standing at a crossroads, staring at two different paths. This is MOST likely an example of:
- Flashback
- Symbolism (Correct answer)
- Foreshadowing only
- Irony
Correct answer: Symbolism
The literal crossroads symbolically represents a significant life choice the character faces.
Question 5: Which citation format correctly integrates a quote from a source in an MLA-style paper?
- According to Smith 'reading improves vocabulary' (45).
- According to Smith, 'reading improves vocabulary' (45). (Correct answer)
- According to Smith, 'reading improves vocabulary.' (45)
- According to Smith (45) 'reading improves vocabulary.'
Correct answer: According to Smith, 'reading improves vocabulary' (45).
In MLA format, a comma follows the signal phrase, the quote is in quotation marks, and the page number in parentheses follows the closing quotation mark.
Question 6: A text feature such as a graph or chart in an informational article PRIMARILY helps readers by:
- Replacing the need to read the written text
- Presenting data visually to clarify or support the text's ideas (Correct answer)
- Making the article appear longer and more professional
- Providing the author's personal opinion in a different format
Correct answer: Presenting data visually to clarify or support the text's ideas
Graphs and charts present numerical or comparative data visually, helping readers understand and contextualize information from the text.
Question 7: When an author uses the word 'crimson' instead of 'red,' the author is MOST likely trying to:
- Make the text more difficult to read
- Create a more vivid and precise image for the reader (Correct answer)
- Avoid repeating a word used earlier in the text
- Signal that the information is scientifically accurate
Correct answer: Create a more vivid and precise image for the reader
More specific and evocative word choices like 'crimson' create a richer, more precise mental image than generic terms.
WVGSA English Language Arts 5
A student reads two articles about school lunch programs — one written by a nutritionist and one written by a fast food company.
Which source is MORE likely to be BIASED?