Grade 8 ELA: Revising Sentences
This worksheet helps 8th-grade students practice revising sentences for clarity, conciseness, and impact.
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Revising Sentences
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Read each question carefully and follow the instructions to revise the given sentences. Focus on improving clarity, conciseness, and impact.
1. Which revision makes the following sentence more concise?
Original: Due to the fact that she was feeling ill, Sarah decided to stay home from school.
Because she was feeling ill, Sarah decided to stay home from school.
Sarah, who was feeling ill, decided to stay home from school.
Sarah stayed home from school because she was ill.
Feeling ill, Sarah stayed home from school.
Rewrite the sentences below, replacing the underlined words with more precise and descriptive vocabulary.
2. The old house looked (pretty bad) after the storm.
3. She walked (very fast) to catch the bus.
4. The music was (really loud) at the concert.
5. Combine the following short, choppy sentences into one clear and grammatically correct sentence.
Original: The dog barked loudly. It chased the squirrel. The squirrel ran up a tree.
Determine whether the following sentences are in active or passive voice. If the sentence is passive, indicate if it should be revised to active voice for better impact.
6. The ball was thrown by the boy.
Active
Passive
7. The student completed the assignment.
Active
Passive
8. Read the paragraph below. Then, rewrite it in the space provided, making revisions to improve clarity, conciseness, and overall impact. Pay attention to word choice, sentence structure, and active/passive voice.
Original Paragraph: There are many different kinds of things that can be done to make a piece of writing better. One of the things that is important is to get rid of words that are not really needed. Another thing that should be kept in mind is to try to use words that are more specific and more vivid. The sentences should also be changed so that they flow together in a more smooth way. It is a good idea to read your writing out loud to yourself to find places where improvements can be made.