Active vs Passive Voice
Identify whether the sentence is active or passive: "The scientist conducted the experiment."
Active Voice
Which of these is most likely a reliable source for a school report:
(a) a personal blog with no author listed
(b) a government education website
(c) a random social media post?
B. a government education website
What is the purpose of a parenthetical citation in a sentence when you quote a source?
To show where the information came from and give credit to the original author.
Fix the subject-verb agreement: "The dog and the cat _____ (to be) sleeping on the couch." Fill in the correct verb.
"are"
This planet is known as the “Red Planet.”
Mars
Change this passive sentence to active voice: "The cookies were baked by Mia."
Passive Voice
Name two indicators that a website is likely reliable (give short examples).
Reputable Author
Recent Publishing date
Show a basic parenthetical citation for this quoted sentence from a book by Julie Carter, page 45: "Global gardens help city wildlife survive."
(Carter 45)
Correct this sentence for grammar and punctuation: "every student in the class have a pencil"
"Every student in the class has a pencil."
This animal is the largest mammal on Earth.
The Blue Whale
Explain why active voice is often clearer than passive voice in student writing.
It is often shorter and gets to the point quicker (or something along those lines)
Read this short description and decide if the source seems reliable. Explain one clue that supports your decision: "An article on a popular science website summarizes a new study and links to the original research published in a university journal."
Possibly reliable because it links to the original article.
Write a short works cited entry (author, title, and where it was published) for this imaginary source: Author: Marco Lee; Title: Exploring Local Rivers; Publisher: River Town Press; Year: 2020.
You can use your chart.
Example works cited: Lee, Marco. Exploring Local Rivers. River Town Press, 2020.
Identify and correct the subject-verb agreement error: "Each of the players are excited for the game."
"Each of the players is excited for the game."
What U.S. holiday is celebrated on the fourth Thursday in November?
Thanksgiving
Revise the sentence for active voice and correct subject-verb agreement if needed: "A group of students were chosen to present the project."
The chosen group of students presented the project.
What are two red flags that suggest a source might be unreliable?
Lots of ads
Not done by a reputable person
Etc.
Rewrite this sentence to include a parenthetical citation after the quote: The author writes, "Recycling saves energy" (from a book by Ana Ruiz).
If needed add page or paragraph number when available: (Ruiz 12) — but basic parenthetical can be (Ruiz)
Combine and correct these two short sentences into one correct sentence with proper subject-verb agreement and clarity: "The teacher explained the test. The students listens carefully."
Combined and corrected: "The teacher explained the test, and the students listened carefully." (Or "The teacher explained the test; the students listened carefully.")
This famous wizard has a lightning-shaped scar on his forehead.
Harry Potter
Rewrite the paragraph below in active voice.
Paragraph: "A report was written by the team. The data were collected by them every day. The final summary was presented to the class."
The team wrote the report. They collected data every day. The team presented the final summary.
You find two sources with differing facts about the same topic. List three steps you would take to decide which source to trust.
Steps: (1) Check the authors and credentials; (2) Look for citations or original sources; (3) Compare information across several reliable sources.
You paraphrase a paragraph from an online article with author name Sam Patel and no page numbers. Write the sentence with a correct basic parenthetical citation and then write the matching works cited entry (author, title, site, year).
Example sentence with parenthetical: According to one article, recycling programs increase community participation (Patel). Works cited entry: Patel, Sam. "Title of the Article." Website Name, 2021. URL.
Edit the paragraph for subject-verb agreement and standard English conventions (capitalization, punctuation).
Paragraph: "last week, my friend and me goes to the library. We finds three books and reads them quickly. it was fun."
Corrected paragraph: "Last week, my friend and I went to the library. We found three books and read them quickly. It was fun."
What simple machine uses a wheel and a rope to lift heavy objects?
A Pulley