Year 8 ENGLISH

Examination - Semester 2, 2017

EXAM Booklet

TIME ALLOWED FOR THIS PAPER:

Working time for this paper: 1 hour & 50 minutes

MATERIAL REQUIRED / RECOMMENDED FOR THIS PAPER:

To be provided by the supervisor
- Exam booklet

To be provided by the candidate

- Pens, pencils, eraser and/or correction fluid

IMPORTANT NOTE TO CANDIDATES

No other items may be taken into the examination room.
It is your responsibility to ensure that you do not have any unauthorised notes or other items of a
non-personal nature in the examination room. If you have any unauthorised material with you, hand
it to the supervisor BEFORE reading any further. All iPads and mobile phones must be turned off and
in your bag along with any other devices and notes. Bags are to be closed and placed under the desk.

INSTRUCTION TO CANDIDATES
1. Read through the paper to familiarise yourself with all of the questions.
2. Use a blue or black ballpoint/ink pen. Do not answer in pencil.

AT THE END OF THE EXAMINATION

- Any planning sheets or other pieces of paper MUST be handed in with this booklet.
- At the end of the examination make sure that your name is on your booklet and any other
pieces of paper used.

STRUCTURE OF THIS PAPER

Number of Number of Suggested
Marks STUDENTS
Section questions questions to be working time
available MARK
available attempted (minutes)
Section one:
1 1 40 60
Writing
Section Two:
Language 40 40 40 40
Conventions
Section Three:
20 20 30 20
Reading
Total Marks 120
 SECTION ONE: WRITING

Allow 40 mins for this section (60 marks)

Choose one of the following statements to write a persuasive essay:

1. Humans are the main causes of climate change.

2. In modern classrooms, exams do not match a student’s ability.

3. Commercial testing on animals should be banned

Or

You may write a narrative:

4. As I walked along the beach…

5. As began to think about last night I…

Narrative writing
Marking criterion Description of narrative writing marking criterion
Audience The writer’s capacity to orient, engage and affect the reader
Text structure The organisation of narrative features including orientation, complication and resolution
into an appropriate
and effective text structure
Ideas The creation, selection and crafting of ideas for a narrative
Character and setting Character: The portrayal and development of character
Setting: The development of a sense of place, time and atmosphere
Vocabulary The range and precision of contextually appropriate language choices
Cohesion The control of multiple threads and relationships across the text, achieved through the
use of grammatical elements
(referring words, text connectives, conjunctions) and lexical elements
(substitutions, repetitions, word associations)
Paragraphing The segmenting of text into paragraphs that assists the reader to negotiate the narrative
Sentence structure The production of grammatically correct, structurally sound and meaningful sentences
Punctuation The use of correct and appropriate punctuation to aid the reading of the text
Spelling The accuracy of spelling and the difficulty of the words used

Persuasive writing
Marking criterion Description of persuasive writing marking criterion
Audience The writer’s capacity to orient, engage and persuade the reader
Text structure The organisation of the structural components of a persuasive text
(introduction, body and conclusion) into an appropriate and effective text structure
Ideas The selection, relevance and elaboration of ideas for a persuasive argument
Persuasive devices The use of a range of persuasive devices to enhance the writer’s position and
persuade the reader
Vocabulary The range and precision of contextually appropriate language choices
Cohesion The control of multiple threads and relationships across the text, achieved
through the use of
grammatical elements (referring words, text connectives, conjunctions)
Marking criterion Description of persuasive writing marking criterion
and lexical elements (substitutions, repetitions, word associations)
Paragraphing The segmenting of text into paragraphs that assists the reader to follow
the line of argument
Sentence structure The production of grammatically correct, structurally sound and meaningful sentences
Punctuation The use of correct and appropriate punctuation to aid the reading of the text
Spelling The accuracy of spelling and the difficulty of the words used

Planning space:

Brainstorm ideas here.

SECTION ONE: WRITING

Question # you are answering:

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SECTION TWO: LANGUAGE CONVENTIONS

Allow 40 mins for this section (40 marks)

The spelling mistakes in these sentences have been underlined. Write the correct spelling for each
underlined word.

1 We examined various types of cells under a micrascope.

2 I was a spectater at the football match.

3 He stirred the soup in a sorcepan.

 4 The shop sold toys, games and other noveltys.

5 We thought it was prefrable to walk in the morning.

6 His invention promises to be extremley useful.

7 Running a marathon requires a lot of disipline.

Henry made a disastrous investmint in a new computer

8
company.

Read the following sentences, identify the word which is spelt incorrectly and write the correct spelling
in the space provided.

Prices are high because the supply company has a

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monapoly in that area.

To everyone’s surprise, the victim refused to coaperate

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with the police in their investigation.

The police caught the criminal because of his susspicous

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behaviour.

Tom navigated the dangerous rapids carefully in his

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kiyak.

It appears that stars move in a haphazared way across

13 the sky, but astronomers have proved they move in an
orderly way.

The detective movie included elements of intreeg and

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danger.

The flickering of the flourescent lights distracted the

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audience from the principal’s speech.
 The draw was full of miscillaneous paperwork such as old
16 invoices and receipts, and even some unwritten souvenir
postcards.

The elevated flat surface of the mountain was described

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as a platto.

The paramedic successfully resuscetated the patient

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using the new device in the ambulance.

For questions 19-40, circle a, b, c or d to show your answer.

19) Which word completes this sentence correctly?

He could not play today because he to bring his boots.

a. forget
b. forgot
c. forgotten
d. forgetting

20) Which sentence is punctuated correctly?

a. When we arrived he was already there?

b. When I was last there it rained?
c. When are we going?
d. When I say go, run?

21) Which word completes this sentence correctly?

Check your facts again, and remember to cite the sources for .

a. it
b. ones
c. book
d. them
22) Which sentence is punctuated correctly?

a. Jane who is usually our reserve is playing, the whole game, on Saturday.
b. Jane, who is usually our reserve, is playing, the whole game, on Saturday.
c. Jane, who is usually our reserve, is playing the whole game on Saturday.
d. Jane who is usually our reserve is playing the whole game, on Saturday.

23) Which of the following is a correct sentence?

a. The town is close and we’re driving to that.

b. The boy’s house who has the basketball court.
c. The shoes they needed for their dance class were lost.
d. The pencil is in the holder on the desk you will write with.

24) Which sentence is punctuated correctly?

a. What an amazing goal!

b. The captain is the leader of the team!
c. Are you enjoying the football game!
d. We will have a good view, won’t we!

25) Which of the following correctly connects these two sentences?

The ice-cream shop is a family-owned business. , it has been in the family for three
generations.

a. For example
b. Moreover
c. Meanwhile
d. Otherwise

26) Which words complete this sentence correctly?

The runner said that he to be able to run a marathon distance but felt he no
longer do so.

a. used could
b. used can
c. use could
d. use can
27) Which sentence below does not belong when they are combined into a paragraph?

a. She walked into the garden and could not believe her eyes.
b. Dandelions can be used to make food, medicine and dye.
c. Spread out before her was an array of roses, tulips and orchids.
d. The sun seemed to make the flowers she even more brilliantly.

28) In which sentence is the colon used incorrectly?

a. I want to try three things this year: surfing, rock climbing and hiking.
b. We were so excited when we heard the news: about winning the election!
c. Please bring the following items on the camping trip: sleeping bag, backpack and water bottle.
d. Mushrooms, pepperoni, onions and peppers: these ingredients comprised the toppings for
our pizza.
For the following four questions, tick one box in each row to correctly label the bolded clause in
each sentence?
main subordinate
clause clause

29 Since the rain started, the dams have nearly filled.

30 After tidying my desk, I could not find anything.

31 The horse that is standing by the fence belongs to my sister.

We should be there by noon if there are no more problems

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that delay us.

33) Which sentence is punctuated correctly?

a. The novel Animal Farm (George Orwell, 1945) is an allegorical story.

b. The novel (Animal Farm) George Orwell, 1945, is an allegorical story.
c. The novel, Animal Farm, George Orwell (1945) is an allegorical story.
d. The novel (Animal Farm) George Orwell (1945) is an allegorical story.

34) Which sentence is a compound sentence?

a. I made Mum a cup of tea with milk and sugar.

b. We went into town for the free concert in the park.
c. I go my fishing gear ready and packed my lunch.
d. The coach checks the weather forecast before each game.
35) Which of the following sentences uses apostrophes correctly?

a. With many of the river’s bridges damaged by the storm’s fury, our journey’s taking longer
than we expected.
b. With many of the rivers’ bridges damaged by the storms’ fury, our journeys taking longer than
we expected.
c. With many of the river’s bridges damaged by the storm’s fury, our journeys taking longer than
we expected.
d. With many of the rivers’ bridge’s damaged by the storm’s fury, our journey’s taking longer
than we expected.
36) Which sentence correctly combines these three sentences into one?

Martin got to the cinema early. He bought the tickets and ice-creams. Jenny arrived just before the
movie started.

a. Jenny had arrived just before the movie started but Martin arrived early and bought the
tickets and ice-creams.
b. Martin got to the cinema early and bought the tickets and ice-creams and Jenny had arrived
just before the movie started.
c. Martin bought the tickets and ice-creams when Jenny arrived just before the movie started
and Martin had got there early.
d. Jenny arrived at the cinema just before the movie started but Martin had arrived early and
bought the tickets and ice-cream.

37) Which of the following correctly describes the errors in this sentence?

In an interview about his latest book Just a chat with Nonna?, Antonio Vella maintains that: “from his
first-hand experience and research, being proficient in more than one language has life-long
benefits”.

In this sentence there is an error in the use of .

a. A colon and a capital letter

b. A capital letter and a comma
c. A hyphen and a capital letter
d. A colon and a quotation marks
e. A hyphen and quotation marks.
38) Which of the following correctly changes the sentence to the passive voice?

The scientist carried out experiments in her laboratory to test the hypothesis.

a. To test the hypothesis, the scientist carried out experiments in her laboratory.
b. The scientist, testing the hypothesis, carried out experiments in her laboratory.
c. Experiments to test the hypothesis were carried out by the scientist in her laboratory.
d. Carrying out experiments in her laboratory to test the hypothesis is what the scientist was
doing.

39) Which word in this sentence is a preposition?

The gardener decided to weed the garden bed before digging it over and covering it with mulch.

a. to
b. before
c. over
d. with

For the following question circle 2 letters to correctly answer the question.
40) Which two clauses could complete this sentence correctly?

The teacher is coming to visit me next week.

a. whose red-striped shirt

b. whom I had when I was eight
c. after my family moved away
d. who taught me all I know about music
e. which also worked at the animal shelter
SECTION THREE: READING

Allow 30 mins for this section (20 marks)

Read Triathlon and answer questions 1-5.

1) Which sport is a triathlon?

a. climbing
b. skiing
c. surfing
d. running

2) Why should you wear a brightly-coloured swimming cap?

a. to help see you better

b. to help you go faster in the water
c. to make it easier to see you in the water
d. to stop dirt getting in your eyes

3) The meanings of tri and athlon are given in the text. These meanings tell the reader a triathlon is

a. a contest with three sports.

b. a competition that happens every three years.
c. a race between three teams.
d. a game for three players.

4) The section, Going the distance,

a. shows readers how to get involved in an Olympic Triathlon.

b. suggests which triathlon to try depending on your fitness.
c. warns everyone of the dangers of an Ironman Triathlon.
d. tells you the Olympic Triathlon is more popular that the other two.

5) In an Olympic triathlon you would need to swim

a. 750m
b. 1.5km
c. 3.8km
d. 5km
Read Sport bridges nations and answer questions 6-10.
6) The key message in this text is that sport

a. helps people celebrate their differences.

b. brings out the best in people.
c. connects people with one another.
d. encourages people to be active.

7) The writer argues that television coverage of sport helps bridge nations because

a. governments unite to ensure their citizens have coverage.

b. viewers applaud players at the top of their game regardless of nationality.
c. children in developing countries can see their compatriots play at a world-class level.
d. people all around the world are able to view international sporting events as one.

8) The writers uses the example of the Australian Open Tennis Championships to highlight the
point that

a. Australia does not produce very good tennis players.

b. Australians enjoy sport even when their own country isn’t winning.
c. some sports are more popular with Australians than others.
d. international athletes enjoy playing in front of Australian supporters.

9) Which of these statements best supports the write’s position?

a. Sport is an international language.

b. Sport is the birthplace of heroes.
c. Sport is the lifeblood of nations.
d. Sport is character building.

10) The style of this article is best described as

a. forthright.
b. factual.
c. dramatic.
d. restrained.
Read Should students have a job while they are studying? and answer questions 11-15.
11) When Jemma refers to the insular environment of school, what is she suggesting?

a. School provides unique opportunities.

b. School can offer limited experiences.
c. School experiences centre of friendships.
d. School is a familiar and reassuring place.

12) The use of an example by Jemma in paragraph 3 is an effective technique because it

a. moves the argument beyond the theoretical.

b. gives prominence to the main argument.
c. provides a definition to support the argument.
d. supplies expert evidence to develop the argument.

13) In summary, Jemma’s perspective is that work is

a. essential to having a better lifestyle.

b. crucial to building relationships.
c. significant to finding a future career
d. important to growing up.

14) I’m not suggesting …

This shows that Mark is aware of

a. how extreme his opinion is.

b. what his children might be feeling.
c. what the reader may be thinking.
d. the flaw in his argument.

15) The point of Mark’s argument in paragraph 4 is that young people

a. can learn skills in other places.

b. need opportunities in the community.
c. are already too busy for work.
d. need parents to teach them work skills.
Read The sword of Damocles and answer questions 16-20.
16) ‘Do you truly think that trappings make a man happy, and that my life is filled with boundless
pleasure?’ (paragraph 3)

In this statement to word trappings refers to

a. the beautiful palace gardens.

b. the luxuries of the royal household.
c. the praises heaped on the king by courtiers.
d. the ships and warriors under the king’s command.

17) When Damocles returns the crown and robes to the king, Damocles is showing

a. appreciation of the king’s burden.

b. resignation to the king’s punishment.
c. appreciation for the king’s property.
d. opposition to the king’s opinions.

18) Near the end of the story, the king compares his power to a spider’s web to show

a. how frightening he can be.

b. how trapped he is in his role.
c. how fragile his position is.
d. how threatened he is by others.

19) When the king agrees to Damocles’ proposal with a shrewd smile, the king is demonstrating his

a. humility.
b. concern.
c. generosity.
d. foresight.

20) Which three lessons are best shown in the text?

Circle three.

a. All glory is fleeting.

b. Privilege has its drawbacks.
c. Pride blinds us to the truth.
d. We learn best by doing a task.
e. Our perceptions are often faulty.
f. Prosperity brings great happiness.
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