Red Oak Academy

    English

    Diagnostic Test (ENG 700)

    Copyright © 2002 Red Oak Academy

    Instructions to the Parents:
    This test covers materials typically presented through the end of the seventh grade.  It is recommended that you print a copy of this test. Then read each item to your child. Record their responses on paper then submit the student responses when the test is completed.   This is not a timed test. 

     

    SECTION 1          _______________________________________

    Decide if each of the following items is a complete sentence. Write "T" for your answer if it is a complete sentence. Write "F" is is not.

    1. Despite being very beautiful , the farmers new truck.

    2. Always carries an umbrella.
    3. Chubby babies are not always happy.
    4. The word not belonging in this group.
    5. Moving to the meat section, the shopper found her choice.
    6. An appropriate word to add to this.
    7. The huge tan cat.
    8. The crowd in the subway.
    9. I ate hot oatmeal.
    10. To make the word legal mean not legal.

    SECTION 2          _______________________________________

    Decide if any of the following sentences is a sentence fragment, a run-on sentence or a correct sentence . Write "F" for your answer if it is a sentence fragmet. Write "R" for your answer if it is a run-on sentence. Write "C" if it is a correct sentence.

    1. The plane had trouble landing, the pilot couldn't see the runway.

    2. My Aunt Mary came for a visit she was very tired from the trip.
    3. Chased the cat from the back yard to the front.
    4. The students finished their test and were given a break.
    5. In the event you can not find a policeman.
    6. Each of the freshmen in the dormitory.
    7. Leave this place!
    8. Martha typed all night, but was unable to finish.
    9. I hate hot oatmeal.
    10. The water pump was leaking!

    SECTION 3          _______________________________________

    Decide if any of the following sentences is a simple sentence, a compound sentence or a complex sentence . Write "S" for your answer if it is a simple sentence. Write "CD" for your answer if it is a compound sentence. Write "CX" if it is a complex sentence.

    1. Although she was not be able to drive a nail, the bird house appeared to be well-made.

    2. My sister Sue went shopping and picked up the baby.
    3. My sister Sue went shopping, and she picked up the baby.
    4. After my sister Sue went shopping, she picked up the baby.
    5. The teacher did not notice the little boy standing in the corner, and soon he was crying uncontrollably.
    6. Although it looked like rain, it never really did.
    7. Bring me your dog!
    8. The parrot was most talkative when the moon was full.
    9. Jerry told the police he had been robbed, but they never came.
    10. The boys on the west side of the lake and the girls on the east side never had a chance to meet.

    SECTION 4          _______________________________________

    Make the sentences below more interesting and vivid. Fill in the blanks with adjectives, adverbs and prepositional phrases as indicated.

    1. The _______ (adj.) student was __________ (adv.) late turning in his bookreport ________ (prep. phrase).

    2. The ________(adj.) store advertised a sale on __________(adj.) pies.
    3. All of the kids ______________(prep.phrase) were late getting into the pool.
    4. The _______(adj.) oysters made him ________ (adv.) sick.
    5. Without her ________(adj.) makeup, my sister looked __________(adv.) plain.
    Replace each of the unerlined words with a word that creates a more vivid image.
    6. The puppy walked  across the carpet.
    7. The new girl was very nice!
    8. The fresh pies smelled good!
    9. "Don't ever do that again!" said Mary.
    10. Dave would have had a better time at the dance, but he was sleepy.

    SECTION 5          _______________________________________

    There is a writing error in each of the following sentences.  The error is in noun verb agreement or in pronoun usage.  Find the error and write the correction only.

    1. CD's is on sale at the discount store.

    2. I sent Sue me address.
    3. One of the tires have a flat.
    4. After my sister Sue went shopping, her picked up the baby.
    5. You always was my best friend!
    6. The books were left on the train, it would be hard to find.
    7. Can you give this message to him girlfriend?
    8. Jim and me are going fishing.
    9. Will you pass the butter to Jim and me?.
    10. Tell my how to fix my computer.

    SECTION 6          _______________________________________
    Read the following paragraphs and answer the questions at the end.
    A.
    A stone had smashed into Jimmie's mouth.  Blood was bubbling
    over his chin and down upon his ragged shirt.  Tears made furrows
    on his dirt-stained cheeks.  His thin legs had begun to tremble and
    turn weak, causing his small body to reel.  His roaring curses of
    the first part of the fight had changed to a blasphemous chatter.
    B.
    On the east edge of the Land of Oz, in the Munchkin Country, is a
    big, tall hill called Mount Munch.  One one side, the bottom of this
    hill just touches the Deadly Sandy Desert that separates the
    Fairyland of Oz from all the rest of the world, but on the other
    side, the hill touches the beautiful, fertile Country of the Munchkins.
    C.
    It would appear as though October is the correct month for John Paul's
    birth date as all reliable documents mention it. The year 1912 which
    appears on John Paul's first marriage certificate and on his delayed birth
    certificate, however, cannot be substantiated because the birth record for John Paul in Paducah, Kentucky (his place of birth), was compiled three decades later. Moreover, Twitchell's eating habits left much to be desired.  Nevertheless, these two documents do summarily indicate that the "1922" birth date was a fabrication made years later by Paul, presumably to convince his young wife, Gail, that he was not too much older than herself.

    1.  What is the topic sentence of paragraph A?
    2.  What is the topic sentence of paragraph B?
    3.  What is the topic sentence of paragraph C?
    4.  What is the sentence that does not belong in paragraph C?
    5.  What is the concluding idea of paragraph A?