PSSA Prep Flashcards
Read the paragraph.
(1) Students at Creekview Middle School must have one year of a foreign language class before they go on to attend high school. (2) Many students take more than one year of foreign language because you enjoy the experience of learning a different language. (3) A student last year said that her favorite part of being in a foreign language class was the end-of-year field trip to the annual Festival of Languages. (4) All students agreed that their trip to the festival was a memorable event.
Which change should be made to the paragraph to correct the inappropriate shift in pronoun person?
A. Change they to you in sentence 1.
B. Change you to they in sentence 2.
C. Change her to your in sentence 3.
D. Change their to our in sentence 4.
B - you to they in sent. 2
Read the paragraph.
(1) Big Ben is one of the most famous clock towers in the world, and it is also one of the largest. (2) In fact, it is the third largest clock tower in the world. (3) The name “Big Ben” refers to the bell, which was named after Sir Benjamin Hall, who ordered it. (4) As for the bell itself, it weighs an astonishing thirteen tons.
Which sentence should end with an exclamation point to most effectively show excitement?
A. sentence 1
B. sentence 2
C. sentence 3
D. sentence 4
D - sent. 4
Read the paragraph.
(1) The kiwi is a flightless bird that lives in the grasslands of New Zealand. (2) This interesting bird has an excellent sense of smell. (3) Which it uses to find bugs and seeds on the ground. (4) The kiwi is the only bird that has nostrils at the tip of its beak.
Which sentence should be revised to correct the inappropriate sentence fragment?
A. sentence 1
B. sentence 2
C. sentence 3
D. sentence 4
C - sent. 3
Read the paragraph.
(1) This year, the spelling bee finalists were my friend Jason and I. (2) The two of us advanced to the final round. (3) Jason seemed calmer than me. (4) In the end, though, Jason and I both won because the officials declared a tie.
Which underlined pronoun should be replaced?
A. I in sentence 1
B. us in sentence 2
C. me in sentence 3
D. I in sentence 4
C - me in sent. 3
Read the paragraph.
(1) Everyone filed into Philadelphia’s City Hall except Sarah and me. (2) Us two classmates wanted to look at the building for a while longer. (3) She and me gazed at
the amazing structure. (4) The giant statue of William Penn gazed back at Sarah and I, reminding us of the history of our state.
Which underlined pronoun is used correctly?
A. me in sentence 1
B. Us in sentence 2
C. me in sentence 3
D. I in sentence 4
A - me in sent. 1
Read the paragraph.
(1) The science museum itself was holding an exhibition of students’ science work. (2) The opportunity to attend for free was granted to science teachers themselves. (3) Before the teachers attended the exhibition, the school secretary herself arranged for some refreshments to be served. (4) Myself was planning to attend.
Which change should be made to correct the error in the paragraph?
A. Change itself to it in sentence 1.
B. Change themselves to ourselves in sentence 2.
C. Change herself to she in sentence 3.
D. Change Myself to I in sentence 4.
D - myself to I in sent. 4
Read the sentences.
(1) Last year the art club participated in workshops, hosted exhibits, and visited local art galleries. (2) This made being in art club enjoyable and rewarding.
Which revision best corrects the vague or unclear pronoun in sentence 2?
A. These activities made being in art club enjoyable and rewarding.
B. Which is why being in art club was enjoyable and rewarding.
C. It was what made being in art club enjoyable and rewarding.
D. That made being in art club enjoyable and rewarding.
A
Read the paragraph.
(1) Everybody (this includes sixth, seventh, and eighth graders) is going to hear Professor McGregor speak about his research. (2) Facts about Science for Non-Scientists is the book that he wrote. (3) Neither the science teachers nor their students have read the book yet. (4) By next week, someone from each of the three grades have to be prepared to ask an interesting question about the topic.
Which change would correct the mistake in the paragraph?
A. Change is to are in sentence 1.
B. Change is to are in sentence 2.
C. Change have to has in sentence 3.
D. Change have to has in sentence 4.
D - have to has in sent. 4
Which sentence is the most descriptive?
A. Waiting backstage, John was nervous about having to perform a solo in front of so many people at the annual music night at his school.
B. He had practiced for days on end, trying to play the music as perfectly as he could.
C. In fact, he had memorized his solo weeks before the night of his performance because he had thought that doing so would help.
D. Feeling jittery, John stepped unsteadily onto the stage and into the glaring lights to brave a sea of faces in the audience.
D
Read the paragraph. (1) As the head of postal services, Benjamin Franklin established a profitable mail delivery system in colonial America. (2) The adventurous Franklin traveled some 1,600 miles between postal offices to mark all possible direct routes. (3) He had riders transport mail day and night for faster more productive delivery. (4) He also created a simpler and more standard rating system so postmasters could consistently calculate the price of postage. Where should a comma be added? A. after profitable in sentence 1 B. after possible in sentence 2 C. after faster in sentence 3 D. after simpler in sentence 4
C - after faster in sent. 3
Read the sentence.
The International Space Station a large satellite in outer space, orbits Earth at speeds of about 17,500 miles per hour.
Which revision should be made to the sentence?
A. Add a comma after Station.
B. Add a dash before orbits.
C. Add a comma after speeds.
D. Add parentheses around miles per hour.
A - comma after station
Read the paragraph.
(1) Along the old pioneer trails in the West, you will find a huge rock that looks like the back of a turtle’s shell. (2) During the 1800s, pioneers—many from eastern states like Pennsylvania—would anxiously await the day they would arrive at this special landmark. (3) They knew that if they arrived there by Independence Day, then they would likely be able to make it to California and Oregon before the winter storms began to arrive.
(4) Independence Day is the Fourth of July. (5) Because of this, the landmark was named Independence Rock.
Which revision that combines sentences 3 and 4 into one sentence best improves the logical relationship between the two sentences?
A. The Fourth of July, Independence Day, was when they arrived in California and Oregon before the winter storms began to arrive.
B. Independence Day, to California and Oregon, is where the pioneers wanted to be by the Fourth of July so they could avoid the winter storms.
C. Arriving by Independence Day, they knew that they would be able to make it to California and Oregon before the winter storms began to arrive on the Fourth of July.
D. They knew that if they arrived there by Independence Day, the Fourth of July, then they would likely be able to make it to California and Oregon before the winter storms began to arrive
D
Read the sentence.
After the apartment manager received many complaints from tenants, a builder was hired by her to design a new entrance to the apartment complex. Without changing the meaning of the sentence, which is the best way to rewrite the sentence using only active voice?
A. After many complaints from tenants were received by the manager of the apartment complex, she hired a builder to design a new entrance to the apartment complex.
B. After the manager of the apartment complex received many complaints from tenants, she was hired by a builder to design a new entrance to the apartment complex.
C. After the apartment manager received many complaints from tenants, she hired a builder to design a new entrance to the apartment complex.
D. After many complaints from the manager were received by tenants, a builder was hired to design a new entrance to the apartment complex.
C
Which literary device is used in the phrase “our mutual mind”? A. simile B. metaphor C. alliteration D. hyperbole
C - alliteration
Based on the suffix “‑ment,” what does the word “enchantment” mean? A. the state of being enchanted B. not being enchanted C. inclined to enchant D. one who enchants
A
