Grade 10 Reading & writing practice

What is on the worksheet

1. A relationship in the data A town reported that library visits and bicycle journeys both rose over three years. A headline claimed that visiting the library caused people to cycle more. The report itself did not track individual choices. During the same period, the town opened new cycle paths and expanded library hours. Identify two possible alternative influences in the passage.

2. Writing and argument: which term fits this description? Acknowledging a reasonable point made by another side.

   1. Concession
   2. Reasoning
   3. Formal register
   4. Counterargument

3. Writing and argument: which term fits this description? The people for whom a text is intended.

   1. Plagiarism
   2. Audience
   3. Editing
   4. Citation

4. The lighting comparison For one week, a science class measured electricity use in two rooms with different lighting systems. The room with newer lights used less electricity. However, that room also had larger windows and was empty for two afternoons. The class revised its conclusion: the observations suggested a difference, but the test did not isolate the effect of the lights. Name one factor other than the lighting system that differed.

5. Summarize this original fictional notice: “The library will close at four on Friday for shelf repairs. Saturday hours will stay the same.”

6. The unreliable clock “I was never late,” the narrator insisted, though the kitchen clock had stopped the previous winter. When the station bell rang, the narrator described it as unusually early. At the end of the passage, an unopened letter on the table was dated a week before the day the narrator believed it to be. How does the insistence in the opening sentence function?

7. Which summary preserves uncertainty?

   1. The result settles every debate.
   2. The method is guaranteed to work.
   3. No further research can matter.
   4. The small trial suggests a possible benefit.

8. The empty folder A local archive contained detailed records from the town's large workshops but almost none from people who worked at home. A student initially wrote that home-based work had been rare. The archivist explained that workshops often had offices that stored documents, while private papers were more easily scattered or discarded. The empty folder showed a gap in preserved evidence, not a reliable count of workers. The student looked for indirect traces in household accounts and advertisements, keeping a note of what each source could and could not reveal. What mistaken conclusion did the student first draw?

   1. More sources might help.
   2. The archive had gaps.
   3. Home-based work had been rare.
   4. Workshop records existed.

9. Rewrite “Every learner benefits from this exact method” as a more cautious claim without inventing evidence.

10. Public memory A town considered replacing a monument’s short inscription with a longer panel. The original inscription celebrated an expedition but did not mention people already living in the region. Some residents wanted no changes; others wanted removal. A committee proposed retaining the object while adding evidence about its creation, the expedition and the communities affected. What kinds of sources should inform the longer panel?

11. A score without a guarantee A school trial used software to flag possible missing steps in worked solutions. The tool correctly flagged several incomplete examples but also flagged a concise valid method it had not been designed to recognize. The teacher kept the software as a prompt for review rather than an automatic marking authority. Pupils could explain their reasoning, and final decisions considered the actual mathematics. In the report, the team separated the number of flags from the number of confirmed errors. A warning was useful evidence to inspect, not proof of a mistake. What role did the teacher retain?

    1. hiding valid alternatives
    2. final judgement based on the actual reasoning
    3. accepting every flag unchanged
    4. only counting software messages

12. The translator's note A class compared two translations of a short historical speech. One used the word duty, while the other used obligation. The surrounding sentences were similar, but the class noticed different tones. Their teacher explained that a word in the original language could cover meanings that did not map neatly onto a single modern English term. Instead of deciding that one translator must be careless, the pupils examined context and read the translators' notes. Their analysis described how the choices shaped interpretation and identified points that remained uncertain without deeper knowledge of the original. What additional material did the class consult?

    1. only a popularity poll
    2. an unrelated advertisement
    3. a weather chart
    4. the translators' notes

13. Writing and argument: which term fits this description? Information used to support a claim.

    1. Quotation
    2. Evidence
    3. Thesis
    4. Purpose

14. Why might a poet repeat a short line at the end of several stanzas?

15. Why does one example not generally establish a universal claim?

16. Reading and literary analysis: which term fits this description? A reference to another work, event or cultural material without fully explaining it.

    1. Protagonist
    2. Irony
    3. Theme
    4. Allusion

17. Writing and argument: which term fits this description? Rethinking content, structure and meaning to improve a draft.

    1. Concession
    2. Rebuttal
    3. Revision
    4. Counterargument

18. Reading and literary analysis: which term fits this description? A central character whose actions or experiences organize a story.

    1. Irony
    2. Alliteration
    3. Tone
    4. Protagonist

19. Which is a reasonable counterargument to longer opening hours?

    1. The claim has a title.
    2. Extra staffing would cost money.
    3. Only foolish people disagree.
    4. Books are rectangular.

20. The unreliable clock “I was never late,” the narrator insisted, though the kitchen clock had stopped the previous winter. When the station bell rang, the narrator described it as unusually early. At the end of the passage, an unopened letter on the table was dated a week before the day the narrator believed it to be. Identify two clues that invite the reader to question the narrator.