Orangeburg Consolidated School District 5
7th Grade Common Assessment: Writing
Name______________________________________Date________________
Read the passage below and answer the question that follows.
1. (1) Take two pieces of bread out of the bag and place them on a plate.
(2) Open the jelly, and grab a knife. (3) Put the two pieces of bread
together, and your sandwich is finished. (4) Spread it on one of the pieces
of bread. (5) Open the peanut butter. (6) Now use the knife to spread the
peanut butter on the other piece of bread.
Where should sentence 3 be moved?
A. after sentence 6
B. after sentence 1
C. before sentence 5
D. Correct as is.
2. Which sentence uses descriptive words the best?
A. He lost his things on the bus, too.
B. We skipped class so we could do stuff together, sometimes.
C. I love to read nice long mystery books with colorful characters.
D. The magazine was okay, I guess.
3. Which of the sentences below is written correctly?
A. If I didn't have to come; to school every day, I would be an airplane
fighter pilot, I don't have to go to school for that and it would be so cool?
B. In english class we are reading Oliver Twist; the story about the little
boy in an orphanage is so sad and he had to sweep chimenies, too.
C. Do you remember that scene from Beauty and the Beast when Belle is
in the library, I love that song she sings?
D. I go to school all day, and then I come home and do my homework;
after that, I go to my room and play video games until dinner's ready.
4. What would be the correct pronoun to fill in the blank in this sentence?
The group finished ___ paper two weeks before the deadline.
A. our
B. their
C. its
D. his/her
Read the passage below and then answer the question that follows?
Volunteer work doesn’t have to be a drag. You can lend your time to things
that you already enjoy doing. Like to read books? Your local library could
probably use some help. Prefer to play card games? The local senior center
is always looking for someone to spend time with the elderly. They like
cards, too, and could probably teach you some games you’ve never played
before. If you’re passionate about the environment, you could help by simply
picking up litter you see on your street? You could have a positive effect on
the kids in your neighborhood. When they see you volunteering. They will
find ways to be of service to others, too. Don’t try to cross the street alone,
though.
5. Which of these is a sentence fragment?
A. "Don't try to cross the street alone, though."
B. "Prefer to play card games?"
C. "When they see you volunteering."
D. "They will find ways to be of service to others, too."
6. Which sentence uses quotation marks correctly?
A. My favorite line from Romeo and Juliet is when Romeo says, "Did my
heart love till now? Forswear it, sight! For I ne'er saw true beauty till this
night."
B. I never thought I'd say this, but I really did miss you when you were
away at camp, little bro, "Tom said as he ruffled Timmy's hair." "I missed
you, too, big bro," Timmy replied. "I missed you too."
C. "Miss Lewis, the loud speaker roared." "Jennifer Lewis, please report to
the principal's office immediately!"
D. "This is how the cheer goes, girls," Maria said as she began clapping
her hands and stomping her feet. 'You jump up and say "Go team! Go!" '
7. What part of speech is um?
"The answer is . . . um . . . What is Austin, Texas?" the boy replied.
A. adverb
B. subject
C. noun
D. interjection
Read the passage below and answer the question that follows.
(1) Greg Evans’ comic strip Luann is about a 16-year-old girl named Luann
and all the challenges she faces growing up. (2) It also features her mom,
dad, and older brother. (3) Luann’s best friends are Bernice and Delta.
(4)Tiffany is her arch enemy, a girl who is just as dumb as she is beautiful.
(5) Gunther is a nerdy boy who has the biggest crush on Luann. (6) She
only has eyes for the most popular boy in school—Aaron Hill.
(7) One of Luann’s best friends, Delta, has a kind of cancer called Hodgkin’s
Lymphoma. (8) Another topic discussed in the strip was the sometimes
deadly consequences of underage drinking. (9) Luann and her friends start
a school chapter of Students Against Drunk Driving (SADD) as a result.
(10) In the more than 20 years since it was first published, Luann has
picked up a loyal following of readers in more than 300 newspapers
nationwide.
8. Where should the following sentence be inserted?
In one of the strip's milestone moments, Aaron moves to Hawaii with his
family and Luann has to say goodbye.
A. after sentence 6
B. before sentence 5
C. before sentence 9
D. after sentence 10
9. Which sentence below contains a coordinating conjunction?
A. "In most cases, the last time you see someone, you do not know it will
be the last time," he said.
B. I wish you sweet dreams from now until we meet again in the other
countries we plan to visit.
C. The fortune cookie said, "A dream you have will come true," but Sara
didn't believe in fortunes.
D. The bright sun blinded her as she rolled her huge suitcase through the
almost empty parking lot.
10. Which sentence is punctuated correctly?
A. "We drove more than 100 miles to be here," she said?
B. Why do you think that happened tonight of all nights?
C. When do you want to go to dinner, tonight.
D. Do you think we should go back to the hotel!
11. Which underlined word in this sentence is spelled incorrectly?
I ocasionally enjoy a trip to the local art museum with my principal and
other people from school.
A. principal
B. ocasionally
C. people
D. museum
Read the passage below and answer the question that follows.
Volunteer work doesn’t have to be a drag. You can lend your time to things
that you already enjoy doing. Like to read books? Your local library could
probably use some help. Prefer to play card games? The local senior center
is always looking for someone to spend time with the elderly. They like
cards, too, and could probably teach you some games you’ve never played
before. If you’re passionate about the environment, you could help by simply
picking up litter you see on your street? You could have a positive effect on
the kids in your neighborhood. When they see you volunteering. They will
find ways to be of service to others, too. Don’t try to cross the street alone,
though.
12. Read this sentence from the passage.
"If you're passionate about the environment, you could help by simply
picking up litter you see on your street?"
What is wrong with the punctuation in this sentence?
A. The sentence is correct as is.
B. The sentence should end with period instead of a question mark.
C. The sentence should have a comma after the words "picking up."
D. The sentence needs quotation marks around "If you're passionate."
13. Choose the correct verb tense for the sentence below.
After waiting an hour for her mom, Lauren ____ home from school and had
a snack.
A. walked
B. will walk
C. has walks
D. walking
14. Which sentence below demonstrates correct subject-verb agreement?
A. Needless to say, I hasn't been able to walk through a crowd of birds
peacefully since then.
B. Ever since I saw Alfred Hitchcock's movie The Birds, I have been
uneasy around birds.
C. In the film, a huge flock of birds descend upon this small town and
begin attacking people.
D. The main reason I hate going downtown is because there is so many
pigeons everywhere.
15. Choose the best adverb to complete the sentence.
The car moved so _____ on the highway that all the others were forced to
go around it.
A. careless
B. happily
C. slowly
D. slow
Read the passage below and answer the question that follows.
(1) Greg Evans’ comic strip Luann is about a 16-year-old girl named Luann
and all the challenges she faces growing up. (2) It also features her mom,
dad, and older brother. (3) Luann’s best friends are Bernice and Delta.
(4)Tiffany is her arch enemy, a girl who is just as dumb as she is beautiful.
(5) Gunther is a nerdy boy who has the biggest crush on Luann. (6) She
only has eyes for the most popular boy in school—Aaron Hill.
(7) One of Luann’s best friends, Delta, has a kind of cancer called Hodgkin’s
Lymphoma. (8) Another topic discussed in the strip was the sometimes
deadly consequences of underage drinking. (9) Luann and her friends start
a school chapter of Students Against Drunk Driving (SADD) as a result.
(10) In the more than 20 years since it was first published, Luann has
picked up a loyal following of readers in more than 300 newspapers
nationwide.
16. What, if anything, is wrong with the capitalization in sentence 9?
A. "chapter" should be capitalized
B. It is correct as is.
C. "against" should not be capitalized
D. "students" should not be capitalized
17. Which of the following sentences is capitalized incorrectly?
A. I keep the book Legends: women who have changed The World on my
desk for inspiration.
B. After we finished shopping at MacArthur Center, we went for a cruise
on the Spirit of Norfolk.
C. When you go to New York, make sure you visit the Metropolitan
Museum of Art.
D. Kim loves Winnie the Pooh; he's her favorite Disney character in the
whole wide world.
18. Which of the sentences below is written correctly?
A. After Tony got caught cheating on the test, he was sent to the
principal's office, and his mom came to get him from school.
B. After Tony got caught cheating on the test he was sent to the
Principals' Office, and his mom came to get him from School.
C. After Tony got catched cheating on the test he got sent to the
Principles' office and his mom came to got him from School.
D. After Tony got caught cheating on the test, he got sent to the
principles' office, and his mom came to got him from school.
19. Which sentence is capitalized correctly?
A. I'm jealous because my Brother and Sister are going on vacation to
hawaii without us this year.
B. When Mom and Dad came to visit me at school, they gave me money
for lunch.
C. My Housekeeper is tired of washing all of the clothes my Dad messes
up while he's at work.
D. Make sure you take these Permission Forms home to your mom and
dad, boys and girls.
20. What is the best way to combine two sentences from the passage?
A. Another topic discussed in the strip was the sometimes deadly
consequences of underage drinking, however, Luann and her friends start
a school chapter of Students Against Drunk Driving (SADD) as a result.
B. One of Luann's best friends, Delta, has a kind of cancer called
Hodgkins Lymphoma and another topic discussed was the consequences
of underage drinking.
C. It also features her mom, dad, and older brother, her best friends are
Bernice and Delta.
D. Gunther is a nerdy boy who has the biggest crush on Luann, but she
only has eyes for the most popular boy in school—Aaron Hill.
Read the passage below and answer the question that follows.
Volunteer work doesn’t have to be a drag. You can lend your time to things
that you already enjoy doing. Like to read books? Your local library could
probably use some help. Prefer to play card games? The local senior center
is always looking for someone to spend time with the elderly. They like
cards, too, and could probably teach you some games you’ve never played
before. If you’re passionate about the environment, you could help by simply
picking up litter you see on your street? You could have a positive effect on
the kids in your neighborhood. When they see you volunteering. They will
find ways to be of service to others, too. Don’t try to cross the street alone,
though.
21. Which of these is the best way to combine sentences from the passage?
A. Your local library could probably use some help; prefer to play card
games?
B. Like to read books, your local library could probably use some help.
C. Volunteer work doesn't have to be a drag; but, you can lend your time
to things that you already enjoy doing.
D. You could have a positive effect on the kids in your neighborhood when
they see you volunteering.
22. Choose the correct verb for the sentence below.
Neither Candace nor Tammy _____.
A. drives
B. swim
C. walk
D. bike
23. Which one of these sentences uses commas correctly?
A. To make the pasta, you will need, boiling water, and a pinch of salt.
B. Don't forget to bring your medicine, and your two favorite pillows.
C. Stella's favorite line from the movie is "Here's looking, at you kid."
D. Her favorite colors are pink, red, blue, and various shades of yellow.
24. What is the correct spelling of the underlined word?
Spell check indicates which words you have mispelled by underlining them in
red.
A. misspelleed
B. misspeled
C. It is correct as is.
D. misspelled
25. What kind of sentence is this?
When Roxie was lost, Ally was sad and couldn't sleep a wink.
A. compound/complex
B. simple sentence
C. complex
D. compound
7th Grade Writing Common Assessment Answer Key
Item #
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
Answer
A
C
D
C
C
A
D
A
C
B
B
B
A
B
C
B
A
A
B
D
D
A
D
D
C
Indicator
4.5
4.5
4.6
4.4
4.2
4.6
4.6
4.5
4.4
4.6
4.7
4.6
4.4
4.4
4.4
4.6
4.6
4.2
4.6
4.5
4.5
4.4
4.6
4.7
4.2