Name: _____________________________________Date: ___________________ Class: _______________
Student Preparation Guide for the 7th Grade ELA Benchmark Exam-2nd Nine Weeks
Note: The intention of this guide is for students to learn the formatting and wording of the test, as well as the skills they will be
asked to perform.
Questions 1-34 are multiple choice: (A, B, C, D). The last portion of the test will include a performance task and an argumentative
written response.
1. Students will be given a sentence with a portion underlined. The question will state, “Choose the MOST clear and precise words
with which to re-write the underlined section of the sentence.”
2. Students will be given a sentence. The question will ask students “Which is the BEST revision of the wordy sentence?”
3. Students will be given a sentence. The question will ask, “Which answer choice revises this sentence into its most concisely
written form?”
4. Another question regarding the same sentence will ask, “Which is the most PRECISE term?”
5 and 6. Students will be given a sentence. The question will ask, “Which answer provides the most specific detail for the sentence?”
7 and 8. Students will be given a sentence. The question will ask, “Which word provides the most vivid description?”
Students will then read a four-paragraph passage by Jon Reese, “W.E.B. Du Bois” which includes a reference to Booker T.
Washington.
Questions 9-12 will ask students to identify why Washington probably disagreed with Du Bois, what the student can infer about Du
Bois from the passage, to make an inference about the common perception of women during the time, and what was meant about
the women’s suffrage movement.
Students will then read a ten-paragraph passage entitled, “Fight or Flight: The Evolution of Stress.”
www.stressstop.com. Questions 13-25 will ask students to:
 Identify the BEST organizational method used in the passage
 Contrast two different time periods in the passage
 Describe the purpose of a paragraph in the passage
Students will then read a five-paragraph passage entitled, “Plugged In, but Tuned Out: The Evil Influence of the MP3 Player,” by
Darrell Thomas.
Questions 16-27 will ask students to:
 Describe a flaw of LOGIC in a paragraph and in individual sentences
 Discuss the author’s use of rhetorical questions
 Explain word choices of the author
 Decide what the author “could do to demonstrate more concretely that he does not _______________.”
 Diagnose sentences to identify weak argument(s)
 Describe all aspects of how the author could strengthen his argument
 Identify a more moderate conclusion than that of the author
 Identify/eliminate irrelevant details
Students will then read a seven-paragraph article about DuBois entitled, “W.E.B. DuBois: A Biography,” by Ellen Yu.
Questions 28-29 ask students to answer comprehension questions about the life of DuBois.
Students will then read a seven-paragraph article “The Ultimate Fighting Championship,” by Mary O’Dell.
Questions 30-34 will ask students to:
 Select the rebuttal statement that BEST refutes the viewpoint in each of the sections (five questions)