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8th Grade Writing Essential Skills Study Guide
Multiple Choice Component
The multiple choice component of the SOL Writing Test is composed of items that require students to correct errors
embedded in selections that are intended to model rough drafts of student writing. Some of the items are multiple-choice
with students selecting the correct revision to the text from the answer choices provided. For example, students might be
asked to select the sentence that does not belong in the rough draft from a list of options. Other items are “technology
enhanced” and allow the student to indicate the revision to the text in some other way. For example, a technologyenhanced item might allow a student to correct punctuation errors by dragging commas into a sentence.
Commas
1.
Combine two independent clauses with a coordinating conjunction (FANBOYS) – I,cI
Example – School is still in session for another six weeks, so you had better try to learn all you can.
2. Separate items in a series.
Example: We are going waterskiing, swimming, and snorkeling.
3. Set off introductory words or phrases.
Example: In conclusion, the 2016 Olympics should be held in Chicago.
Example: Yes, I am going to school tomorrow.
4. Coordinate Adjectives - Separate two or more adjectives that modify the same noun.
Example: She is a beautiful, intelligent girl.
5. Separate two clauses if a dependent clause is used to start the sentence. – D,I
Example: If you want to get good grades, you need to do your homework.
6. Set off one or more words that interrupt the flow of thought in a sentence.
Example: Justin, who lives down the street from me, is going to the party also.
Example: My son, the policeman, will be visiting us next week.
7. Set of direct quotes.
Example: Kevin said, “I didn’t do my homework last night.”
Example: “I didn’t do my homework last night,” said Kevin.
Example: “My grandparents are coming for dinner,” explained James, “so I want to hurry home.”
8. Set off years in full dates.
Example: On March 22, 2017, students are scheduled to take the SOL Writing Test.
9. Separate the city and state.
Example: Tazewell Middle School is located in Tazewell, Virginia.
10. Set off names in a direct address.
Example: Would you please be quiet, Thomas?
Quotations
Quotation marks are used to show someone’s exact words.
1.
When an introductory expression precedes a direct quotation, place a comma after the introductory expression, and
write the quotation as a full sentence.
Example: Conner thought, “I wonder how long the hike will take and how far we will go.”
2. When a concluding expression follows a direct quotation, write the quotation as a full sentence ending with a comma,
a question mark, or exclamation mark inside the quotation mark. Then, write the concluding expression. Be sure to
use punctuation to close the sentence.
Example: “I heard Mom tell you that the laundry is now your job,” said Melissa.
Example: “What activities does your camp offer?” asked Brooke.
Example: “She yelled for us to look out!” exclaimed Dylan.
3. When the direct quotation of one sentence is interrupted, end the first part of the direct quotation with a comma and
a quotation mark. Place a comma after the interrupting expression, and then use a new set of quotation marks to
enclose the rest of the quotation.
Example: “These caves,” said Gavin, “were once inhabited by ancient people.”
Using Quotation Marks for Dialogue
When you are writing dialogue, indent to begin a new paragraph with each change of speaker. Also, be sure to add
quotation marks around a speaker’s words. When a new speaker is quoted, be sure to indicate the change to your reader
by adding information that identifies the new speaker.
Apostrophes
1. Regular nouns are nouns that form their plurals by adding either the letter s or es. Examples: guy, guys; letter,
letters; actress, actresses; etc. Do not use an apostrophe + s to make a regular noun plural.
2. Use an apostrophe to show possession. With a singular noun, add an apostrophe plus the letter s.
Examples: a woman's hat, the boss's wife, Mrs. Chang's house
3. To show plural possession, put an apostrophe after the s. Examples: the dogs' leashes, the students’ grades, the
workers’ wages
Subject/Verb Agreement
1. In the present tense, singular verbs end in the suffix s; plural verbs do not.
2. Two [or more] singular nouns joined by and make a plural subject.
3. When each or every precedes two [or more] singular nouns joined by and, you have a singular subject.
4. When a compound subject is made up of one singular and one plural subject joined by either/or, neither/nor or not
only/but also, the verb agrees with the subject closer to it.
5. These indefinite pronouns are always singular [even when they seem plural].
 each, either, neither
 anyone, anybody, anything
 everyone, everybody, everything
 no one, nobody, nothing
 someone, somebody, something
6. Beware of interrupting phrases.
 as well as
 along with
 together with
 including
 in addition to
 especially
7. A prepositional phrase that comes between a subject and a verb does not affect the subject-verb agreement. Cross
through prepositional phrases to find the real subject!
8. Beware of inverted word order.
 here or there is NEVER the subject.
Pronouns
A pronoun is a word that takes the place of a noun. The noun that the pronoun refers back to is known as the
antecedent. There are three types of pronouns: subject, object, and possessive.
1. Subject pronouns are used when the pronoun is the subject of the sentence. The subject pronouns are I, he, she,
we, they, who, and whoever.
2. There are also object pronouns, known more specifically as direct object, indirect object, and object of a preposition.
Object pronouns include me, him, herself, us, them, and themselves.
3. The possessive pronouns yours, his, hers, its, ours, theirs, and whose NEVER need apostrophes. Avoid mistakes like
her's and your's.
4. Since a pronoun replaces a noun, it has to agree in number. Singular nouns require singular pronouns (I, he, she, it,
me, myself, you, yourself, himself, herself, itself, etc.) and plural nouns require plural pronouns (we, us, ourselves,
yourselves, they, them, themselves, etc.)
5. Indefinite pronouns are pronouns that do not refer to any person, amount, or thing in particular.
Singular: anybody, anyone, anything, each, either, everybody, everyone, everything, neither, nobody, no one,
nothing, one, somebody, someone, something
Plural: both, few, many, several
Singular or plural: all, any, most, none, some
Comparative and Superlative Adjectives
One-syllable adjectives.
Form the comparative and superlative forms of a one-syllable adjective by adding –er for the comparative form and –
est for the superlative.
One-Syllable Adjective
tall
old
Comparative Form
taller
older
Superlative Form
tallest
oldest
One-Syllable Adjective with Final -e
large
Comparative Form
larger
Superlative Form
largest
Two-Syllable Adjective Ending with -y
happy
angry
Comparative Form
happier
angrier
Superlative Form
happiest
angriest
Adjectives with three or more syllables.
For adjectives with three syllables or more, you form the comparative with more and the superlative with most.
Adjective with Three or More Syllables
Comparative Form
Superlative Form
generous
more generous
most generous
important
more important
most important
Irregular Adjectives
Irregular Adjective
good
bad
far
little
many
Comparative Form
better
worse
farther
less
more
Superlative Form
best
worst
farthest
least
most
Comparative and Superlative Adverbs
With adverbs ending in -ly, you must use more to form the comparative, and most to form the superlative.
Adverb
quietly
slowly
Comparative Form
more quietly
more slowly
Superlative Form
most quietly
most slowly
With short adverbs that do not end in -ly comparative and superlative forms are identical to adjectives: add -er to form
the comparative and -est to form the superlative.
Irregular Adverbs
Adverb
badly
far
little
well
Comparative Form
worse
farther/further
less
better
Superlative Form
worst
farthest/furthest
least
best
Double Negatives
In standard English, each subject-predicate construction should only have one negative form. A double negative is a
non-standard sentence construction that uses two negative forms.
Examples:
He’s going nowhere. (correct)
He’s not going nowhere. (incorrect)
I cannot go anywhere tonight. (correct)
I cannot go nowhere tonight. (incorrect)
I will not bake a cake. (correct)
I will not bake no cake. (incorrect)
I don’t have any friends. (correct)
I don’t got no friends. (incorrect)
Verb Tense
Writers should choose and maintain tense (present, past, future) throughout an entire paragraph.
Composition Component
In the composition component of the SOL Test, students are asked to write a short paper in response to an expository or
persuasive prompt. Prompts present a context for writing in the form of a question, an issue, or a hypothetical situation.
Each student’s response to the writing prompt receives a score in each of two domains: 1) composing/written expression
and 2) usage/mechanics.
Each domain is scored independently, using the following scale:
4 = The writer demonstrates consistent, though not necessarily perfect, control of almost all the domain’s features.
3 = The writer demonstrates reasonable, but not consistent, control of most of the domain’s features indicating some
weakness in the domain.
2 = The writer demonstrates enough inconsistent control of several of the domain’s features indicating some weakness in
the domain.
1 = The writer demonstrates little or no control of most of the domain’s features.
Writing prompts have clues or signal words regarding the expected structure of the response: expository or persuasive.
These signal words determine the structure of the prompt response. When brainstorming possible responses to the
prompt, students should consider what they know. Students need to select a topic response for which they have
adequate background knowledge and understanding. It is vital that students form a response that they have enough
background knowledge to state ideas with supporting details. They should be able to write the desired length without
being repetitive.
Thesis Statement – SOL 8.7c
Students must create a thesis statement that focuses the essay, expresses the writer’s position in an argument, or
explains the purpose of the essay. A thesis statement has two basic components – a topic and a comment. For example,
you want to write an essay saying that reading is a very important part of your life and detailing just how reading has
helped you in life. Your thesis statement cannot be simply that you enjoy reading. On the contrary, it must also make a
comment that is going to be proven by the details in your essay. For this topic, a possible, good thesis statement is:
Reading is an enjoyable part of my life that has provided me with the opportunity to develop my
vocabulary, improve my knowledge of the world, and hone my reasoning skills.
The following outline should be used when answering the prompt in the composition component:
I. INTRODUCTION: Use at least four sentences in every paragraph.
A. Attention Getter
B. Specific Topic Sentence-Thesis
C. Clincher Sentence.
II. Detail # 1 – You must use a transition word or phrase to begin your paragraph followed by a lead off
sentence which introduces the first detail about the topic sentence.
A. Follow up sentence #1 – A follow up sentence provides more information about the detail.
B. Follow up sentence # 2
C. Follow up sentence # 3
III. Detail # 2 – You must use a transition word or phrase to begin your paragraph followed by a lead off
sentence which introduces the second detail about your topic sentence.
A. Follow up sentence # 1
B. Follow up sentence # 2
C. Follow up sentence # 3
IV. Detail # 3 - You must use a transition word or phrase to begin your paragraph followed by a lead off
sentence which introduces the third detail about your topic sentence.
A. Follow up sentence # 1
B. Follow up sentence # 2
C. Follow up sentence # 3
V. CONCLUSION: Restate or reword the introduction. You must include a concluding transition word or
phrase.
Editing and Revising the Essay
1. Make sure that words do not have capital letters in the wrong places and that all appropriate words are
capitalized, including the first word of each sentence, all proper nouns, and the pronoun “I.”
2. Ensure that all punctuation is used correctly, including at the end of a sentence, commas where needed, and
quotation marks for dialogue.
3. Check to see that sentence beginnings vary. Every sentence shouldn’t begin the same way.
4. If the essay has a lot of short, choppy sentences, think of ways to combine ideas or join two sentences to
make a compound sentence (I,cI or I;I) or complex sentence (D,I or ID).
5. The essay should flow smoothly from one idea to another and from one paragraph to another and should
include transitional words or phrases. Appropriate and varied transitions create cohesion and clarify the
relationships among ideas and concepts.
6. Verify that all words are spelling correctly.
7. Make sure that you have chosen language that expresses ideas precisely and concisely, recognizing and
eliminating wordiness and redundancy.
8. Make sure your writing is interesting to read by including descriptive words and phrases that show, not just
tell, what the writing is about. You need to use specific nouns, strong verbs, and vivid adjectives.
Example of dull nouns: The man next door likes to eat beef for meals.
Example of specific nouns: Mr. Johnson likes to eat sirloin steak for dinner.
Example of weak verb: cry
Examples of strong verbs: weep, sob, blubber, snivel, boohoo, mourn, whimper, wail, howl, and bawl
Example of dull adjective: slow
Example of vivid adjectives: sluggish, unhurried, measured, deliberate, leisurely, and dawdling
Some information obtained from the following sources:
Source: Virginia Department of Education
http://www.doe.virginia.gov/testing/sol/standards_docs/english/index.shtml
Virginia Tech Training and Technical Assistance Center
https://ttaconline.org/
Writing Coach: Writing and Grammar for the 21st Century
Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education