BCG / C-LS / gr8e1.

4w14-21

Name: _________________________________________
Grade 8
2021-22 2022-23
Roll No.: _____ Div.: ____ Date ____ /____ / _______
ENGLISH
2023-24 2024-25 Topic: Analysing a writer’s use of Sentence
structure for effect
14
2025-26
Wkst No.

Read the extract that describes an elderly man on page 20 in the textbook to answer
question 1A.

1. A a) What do you learn about the narrator from this description?

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b) What do you learn about his situation from this description?

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c) What do you learn about his feelings from this description?

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B. Read the excerpt from the novel The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency by
Alexander McCall Smith to answer the following questions.

Everybody called her Mma Ramotswe, although if people had wanted

to be formal, they would have addressed her as Mme Mma Ramotswe.
This is the right thing for a person of stature, but which she had never
used of herself. So it was always Mma Ramotswe, rather than Precious
Ramotswe, a name which very few people employed.
 She was a good detective, and a good woman. A good woman in a
good country, one might say. She loved her country, Botswana, which
is a place of peace, and she loved Africa, for all its trials. I am not
ashamed to be called an African patriot, said Mma Ramotswe. I love
all the people whom God made, but I especially know how to love
the people who live in this place. They are my people, my brothers
and sisters. It is my duty to help them to solve the mysteries in their
lives. That is what I am called to do.

In idle moments, when there were no pressing matters to be dealt with,

and when everybody seemed to be sleepy from the heat, she would
sit under her acacia tree. It was a dusty place to sit, and the chickens
would occasionally come and peck about her feet, but it was a place
which seemed to encourage thought. It was here that Mma Ramotswe
would contemplate some of the issues which, in everyday life, may so
easily be pushed to one side.

a) What do you learn about the character from this description?

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b) What do you learn about his setting from this description?

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c) What do you learn about his feelings from this description?

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 BCG / C-LS / gr8e1.4w14-21

Name: _________________________________________
Grade 8
2021-22 2022-23
Roll No.: _____ Div.: ____ Date ____ /____ / _______
ENGLISH
2023-24 2024-25 Topic: Analysing a writer’s use of Sentence
structure for effect
15
2025-26
Wkst No.

2. a) Match the type of sentence to their definition by drawing a line.

Type of sentences Definition

A sentence made of two or more independent
simple
clauses, usually joined by a conjunction.
An incomplete sentence that still makes sense
without all the necessary information, also
complex
known as fragments, are a kind of sentence
that is often missing a main verb or a subject.
A sentence that contains an independent
clause and one or more dependent clauses.
compound An independent clause can stand alone as a
sentence, but a dependent clause even though it
has a subject and a verb cannot stand alone.
Sentence containing one independent clause,
minor
with a subject and a predicate.

b) Identify whether the following sentences are simple (S), complex (CX)
compound (C)

i) Although he is very bright, he sometimes makes silly mistakes.______

ii) Many people are scared of snakes. ______

iii) Every morning I go out for a walk or I exercise in the gym. ______

iv) When I returned home, I found the house ransacked. ______

v) I believe in his innocence. I love travelling and I never miss

an opportunity to travel. ______

vi) As soon as he calls me up, I will get in touch with you. ______

vii) My grandmother is old yet she is quite agile. ______
c) Convert these compound sentences into simple sentences.
1) I passed the fence and noticed a rabbit sitting by it.

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2) As Ravi needed to drop his sister at her dance class, he took a shortcut.

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3) Neil could not come today because his mother needed help to clean
the house.

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4) Ashok was invited to the party but did not turn up.

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5) There was no milk in the refrigerator so Sara went to the shop.

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d) Convert these complex sentences into simple sentences.

Example: * He confessed his crime. (Simple sentence)

* He confessed that he was guilty. OR He confessed that he
had committed a crime.

1) Everyone knows that Goa has beautiful beaches.

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2) The statue that was made of marble was brought from Rome.

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 BCG / C-LS / gr8e1.4w14-21

Name: _________________________________________
Grade 8
2021-22 2022-23
Roll No.: _____ Div.: ____ Date ____ /____ / _______
ENGLISH
2023-24 2024-25 Topic: Analysing a writer’s use of Sentence
structure for effect
16
2025-26
Wkst No.

3) Rajesh worked hard so that he would pass the exam.

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4) That ground is where the book fair used to be held every year.

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5) Tourists flocked to the city in order to see the frozen lake.

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e) Find an example of each of the four main types of sentences in the extract
and write in the space provided.

a) simple sentence : _________________________________________

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b) complex sentence : _________________________________________

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c) compound sentence: ________________________________________

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d) minor sentence : _________________________________________

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Read the extract that describes an elderly man on page20 in the textbook to
answer question 3.
 The writer has used a range of sentence structures for effect, to convey
the narrator’s thoughts and feelings, and to describe his actions.

3. a) The third paragraph contains the simple sentence ‘Gradually the

coughing sub sided.’ Why do you think that Forna chose to use this
simple sentence structure at this point in the paragraph? What effect does
it have?

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b) A compound sentence is used in the first paragraph: ‘I rested my hands on the

edge of the porcelain, steadied myself on my feet and stared into the mirror.’
What type of conjunction is used and why might Forna have chosen to use
this type of sentence here? What does the sequence of connected clauses add
to our understanding of the narrator?

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c) Paragraph 3 opens with a complex sentence. What is the main idea or clause?
What other details have been added to this clause? What does this make you
think about the man and his situation?

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 BCG / C-LS / gr8e1.4w14-21

Name: _________________________________________
Grade 8
2021-22 2022-23
Roll No.: _____ Div.: ____ Date ____ /____ / _______
ENGLISH
2023-24 2024-25 Topic: Analysing a writer’s use of Sentence
structure for effect
17
2025-26
Wkst No.

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d) Find an example of a minor sentence in paragraph

i) What does it draw your attention to?

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ii) What does the sentence structure suggest about the narrator?

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4. Which of these explanations best describes the effect on the reader of

the way the sentence is structured?
a) It makes the sentence jerky like the old man’s movements.

b) It creates a sense of Babagaleh’s slow, laboured actions.

c) It gives detail which helps us to imagine the scene.

When you write about sentence structure, you do not need to list which
structures you have found, or mechanically explain how each sentence is
structured. The point is to look for places where the sentence structure
adds something extra to your understanding.
5. a) Read the paragraph and identify the types of sentences

TextA

Every night, at exactly eight minutes past nine, it roars through the
village. I can see it coming several miles away, its powerful headlight
fingering rails and telegraph wires with a shimmer of light. Silently and
slowly it seems to draw nearer, then suddenly, it is almost above me.(1) A
wild roar of steam and driving wheels, the wail of its hoarse whistle at the
crossing, and then, looming black against the night sky, it smashes past,
and in the swing of drivers and connecting rods I think of a greyhound,
or a racehorse thundering the final stretch. (2)High in the cab window,
a motionless figure peers ahead into the night, suddenly he is blackly
silhouetted by the glare of the opened fire-door, and in the orange light
I can see the fireman swing back and forth as he feeds his fire. The light
burns against the flying steam and smoke above; then blackness- and now
the white windows of the carriages flicker past, and through the swirl of
dust and smoke I watch the two red lights sink down the track.

From America at Work by Joseph Hand

i) Identify the type of sentence for 1 and 2 marked in the passage.

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ii) Why do you think the author chose this type of sentence?

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iii) What effect does it have on the reader?

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 BCG / C-LS / gr8e1.4w14-21

Name: _________________________________________
Grade 8
2021-22 2022-23
Roll No.: _____ Div.: ____ Date ____ /____ / _______
ENGLISH
2023-24 2024-25 Topic: Analysing a writer’s use of Sentence
structure for effect
18
2025-26
Wkst No.

b) Read Text B to answer the questions given below.

Text B

“I want you to have your own business,” he said to her on his deathbed. “You’ll
get a good price for the cattle now. Sell them and buy a business. A butchery
maybe. A bottle store. Whatever you like.”
She held her father’s hand and looked into the eyes of the man she loved beyond
all others, her Daddy, her wise Daddy, whose lungs had been filled with dust in
those mines and who had scrimped and saved to make life good for her.
It was difficult to talk through her tears, but she managed to say: “I’m going to
set up a detective agency. Down in Gaborone. It will be the best one in Botswana.
The No. 1 Agency.”
For a moment her father’s eyes opened wide and it seemed as if he was struggling
to speak.
“But . . . but . . .”
But he died before he could say anything more, and Mma Ramotswe fell on his
chest and wept for all the dignity, love and suffering that died with him.
She had a sign painted in bright colours, which was then set up just off the Lobatse
Road, on the edge of town, pointing to the small building she had purchased:
The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency. for all confidential matters and enquiries.
satisfaction guaranteed for all parties. under personal management.

i) Identify the type of sentence in Text B.

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 ii) Choose any one type of sentence and explain why you think the author
chose this type of sentence?

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iii) Why did the author choose one sentence paragraphs?

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iv) What effect does it have on the reader?

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6. Re-read the extract on page 20 and underline any sentences where you
feel that the sentence structure adds to the meaning, write the sentences
and use the PEA structure.

i) Write a PEA paragraph about a simple sentence from Forna’s description.

Sentences: ___________________________________________________

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 BCG / C-LS / gr8e1.4w14-21

Name: _________________________________________
Grade 8
2021-22 2022-23
Roll No.: _____ Div.: ____ Date ____ /____ / _______
ENGLISH
2023-24 2024-25 Topic: Analysing a writer’s use of Sentence
structure for effect
19
2025-26
Wkst No.

P: ___________________________________________________________

E: ___________________________________________________________

A: ___________________________________________________________

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ii) `Write a PEA paragraph about a compound sentence sentence.

Sentences: ____________________________________________________

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P: ___________________________________________________________

E: ___________________________________________________________

A: ___________________________________________________________

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7. Read the extract on page 23 in which the paragraph is numbered.
Read the sentences below. They are both analysis parts of PEA para-
graphs. Match them to the correct sentences in the text by writing the
numbers in the space provided.

A This minor sentence adds layers of information about the people he sees,
and seems unending - so long that it suggests the sense of time passing for
these people.

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B These three minor sentences sound definite and firm, especially compared to
the compound sentence that follows them, with its description of someone
not maintaining these standards.

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8. Read the passage given below. Underline the different sentence types
using different colours.

As I left the room I caught a glimpse of my own reflection in the dresser

mirror. A straw man in the half-light. The shirt and trousers billowed out
above and below my belt. Every week I pulled the belt a notch tighter. A
smear of blood on the collar of the shirt. What to do? I could not go through
the effort of changing my clothes again. I expected no visitors.

a) What is the effect of each of the sentence structures on the reader?

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9. How do the sentence structures used in this paragraph help to show

the narrator’s situation and feelings? Write a PEA paragraph to explain
your answer, focusing on the effects of the sentence structures.

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 BCG / C-LS / gr8e1.4w14-21

Name: _________________________________________
Grade 8
2021-22 2022-23
Roll No.: _____ Div.: ____ Date ____ /____ / _______
ENGLISH
2023-24 2024-25 Topic: Analysing a writer’s use of Sentence
structure for effect
20
2025-26
Wkst No.

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Here’s a piece of writing that lacks variety:

I woke up. The sun was beaming through the window and warmed my face.
I turned towards it, closing my eyes to enjoy the moment. I stayed there for
a moment, and then got out of bed. I padded across to the window. I opened
it to hear the birds outside. It looked like it was going to be a good day.
Notice how sentence variety changes the feel of the piece:
I opened my eyes to the warmth of the sun that was beaming through the
window. Turning towards it, I closed my eyes and enjoyed the moment.
Moments later I got out of bed and padded across to the window. I opened
it. I heard the birds outside. I knew it was going to be a good day.

10. Convert the simple sentences below into complex sentences to show
variety and change the feel of the place,refer to the above example.
[ Add figurative language ]

Playground loud and active.Cafeteria talk with friends and find out the
latest news. Corridor the place to be as long as possible. School is a pretty
good place to be.Washroom speak to friends and find out the latest news.
Classroom Activity and learning.

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11. Read the text below to answer the questions a-g.

From an early age, I spent most of my free time in the veld (largely unforested
grassland in Southern Africa] playing and fighting with the other boys of
the village. A boy who remained at home tied to his mother’s apron strings
was regarded as a sissy. At night, I shared my food and blanket with these
same boys. I was no more than five when I became a herd-boy looking after
sheep and calves in the fields. I discovered the almost mystical attachment
that the Xhosa have for cattle, not only as a source of food and wealth, but
as a blessing from God and as a source of happiness. It was in the fields that
I learned how to knock birds out of the sky with a slingshot, to gather wild
honey and fruits and edible roots, to drink warm, sweet milk straight from
the udder of a cow, to swim in the clear, cold streams, and to catch fish with
twine and sharpened bits of wire I learned to stick-fight essential knowledge
to any rural African boy- and become adept at its various techniques,
parrying blows, feinting in one direction and striking in another, breaking
away from an opponent with quick footwork From these days I date my
love of the veld, of open spaces, the simple beauties of nature, the clean line
of the horizon.

As boys, we were mostly left to our own devices. We played with toys we
made ourselves. We moulded animals and birds out of clay. We made ox-
drawn sledges out of tree branches. Nature was our playground. The hills
above Qunu were dotted with large smooth rocks which we transformed
into our own roller coaster. We sat on flat stones and slid down the face
of the large rocks. We did this until our backsides were so sore we could
hardly sit down. I learned to ride by sitting atop weaned calves - after being
thrown to the ground several times, one got the hang of it

- Nelson Mandela

 BCG / C-LS / gr8e1.4w14-21

Name: _________________________________________
Grade 8
2021-22 2022-23
Roll No.: _____ Div.: ____ Date ____ /____ / _______
ENGLISH
2023-24 2024-25 Topic: Analysing a writer’s use of Sentence
structure for effect
21
2025-26
Wkst No.

a) What do you learn about the character from this description?

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b) What do you learn about his setting from this description?

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c) What do you learn about his feelings from this description?

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d) Identify the type of sentence.

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e) Why do you think the author chose simple sentences to start the second
paragraph? What effect does it have on the reader?

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f) Give three skills that Nelson Mandela learnt during this period of his
childhood.

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g) Give three things that he particularly enjoyed about these childhood

experiences.

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**********