Unpacking Author's Craft
This worksheet helps 7th-grade students analyze author's craft, including word choice, figurative language, and point of view, to deepen their reading comprehension.
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Unpacking Author's Craft
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Read each question carefully and provide thoughtful answers. Pay close attention to how authors use language and structure to convey their message.
Read the following passage and answer the questions that follow:
The old house stood on a hill, a sentinel watching over the sleeping town. Its windows, like vacant eyes, stared out at the sprawling fields, reflecting the bruised purple of the twilight sky. A single, gnarled oak tree, its branches twisted into arthritic fingers, clawed at the fading light, casting long, dancing shadows that seemed to whisper forgotten tales. Inside, dust motes danced in the slivers of moonlight, performing a silent ballet on the decaying floorboards. The air hung heavy with the scent of forgotten memories and the faint, sweet decay of time.
1. What type of figurative language is primarily used in the first sentence of the passage: "The old house stood on a hill, a sentinel watching over the sleeping town"?
Simile
Metaphor
Personification
Hyperbole
2. The phrase "bruised purple of the twilight sky" is an example of:
Alliteration
Imagery
Onomatopoeia
Pun
3. Identify two examples of personification in the passage and explain what effect they have on the reader.
4. The author's choice of words like "vacant eyes" and "gnarled oak tree" contributes to a and slightly eerie mood.
5. The phrase "silent ballet" creates a sense of within the stillness of the house.
6. The author uses a third-person omniscient point of view in the passage.
True
False
7. How does the author's use of sensory details (sight, sound, smell) contribute to the overall atmosphere of the passage?