Name _____________________ ID. __________________ Section _______ No.
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Instructions: Read the following narrative paragraphs and answer the questions
Practice 1
My Department Store Nightmare
I will never forget the first time I got lost in New York City. In 2000, I was traveling
with my parents during summer vacation. We were in an incredibly large department store,
and I was so excited to see such a huge place. Suddenly, I turned around to ask my mom
something, but she was gone! I began crying and screaming at the top of my lungs. A
salesclerk came up to me and asked if I was OK. Then she got on the public address system
and notified the customers that a little boy with blue jeans and a red cap was lost. Two
minutes later, my mom and dad came running toward me. We all cried and hugged each
other. This story took place over twenty years ago, but every time that I see a department
store, I am reminded of that terrified little boy.
Adapted from Oshima, A., & Hogue, A. (2014). Longman Academic Writing Series, Level 3: Essays. Pearson.
1. What is the topic sentence of the paragraph?
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2. Where did the story take place?
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3. What are time linkers or/and sentence adverbs the writer used in this paragraph?
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4. What is the concluding paragraph?
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5. What is the outcome of the story?
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Practice 2
Instructions: Read the following narrative paragraphs and answer the questions
The Trick That Failed
My twin brother, Freddie, and I often played tricks at school, but one day our trick
failed. On that day, we decided to try to cheat on a French exam. Freddie was very good at
learning languages and was always the best student in both Spanish and French. I, however,
excelled in mathematics. I was not interested in languages at all. When I discovered that I had
to take a standardized exam in French, I asked Freddie for help. On the day of the test, we
met in the boy’s restroom during lunch and switched clothes. Freddie went to my French
class and took the test for me. Meanwhile, I followed Freddie's schedule. After school, we
laughed about that trick and headed home. As we entered the house, our mother called us into
the kitchen. She was furious! She had received a phone call from the school principal, and
she knew what happened. Unfortunately, the French teacher had found out about the trick.
While the French teacher was grading the tests, he noticed that the check marks on the tests
were made by a left-handed person. Everyone at school knew that Freddy was left-handed,
and I was right-handed. Freddie and I got into a lot of trouble that day, but we learned a
valuable lesson. We never cheated again.
Adapted from Oshima, A., & Hogue, A. (2014). Longman Academic Writing Series, Level 3: Essays. Pearson.
1. What is the topic sentence of the paragraph?
___________________________________________________________________________
2. Why did the trick fail?
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3. What are time linkers or/and sentence adverbs the writer used in this paragraph?
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4. What is the concluding paragraph?
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5. What is the outcome of the story?
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Page 2 of 3
Practice 3
Instructions: Read the sentences below and re-arrange them into a coherent narrative
paragraph
Earthquake
1. My sister also yelled at my little brother to get under his desk.
2. Suddenly, our apartment started shaking.
3. I was at home with my older sister and younger brother.
4. At first, none of us realized what was happening.
5. An unforgettable experience in my life was a magnitude 6.9 earthquake.
6. We felt very lucky, for nothing was broken except a few dishes.
7. Meanwhile, my sister was in the kitchen holding her arms over her head to protect it
from falling dishes.
8. At last, the shaking stopped. For a minute or two, we were too scared to move.
9. Then we tried to call our parents at work, but even our cell phones didn’t work. Next,
we checked the apartment damage.
10. However, our first earthquake was an experience that none of us will ever forget.
11. The earthquake lasted less than a minute, but it seemed like a year to us.
12. Then my sister yelled, “Earthquake! Get under something!”
13. I half rolled and half crawled across the room to get under the dining table.
Answer:
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