Write the way the subject expects
Grade 11 Reading Worksheet - Challenge Me

Circle the best answer.
Read this first
Finding
In a trial of 120 adults, the new inhaler reduced night-time wheezing episodes from a mean of 4.1 to 2.6 per week over 8 weeks (p = 0.03); there was no placebo group.
Reader 1: a medical journal, Results section. Reader 2: a leaflet for patients at the clinic.
Esme writes one finding for two readers. Which pair fits both readers?
- Journal: Night-time wheezing fell by about a third over 8 weeks in 120 adults, and the result was statistically significant. Leaflet: In a study of 120 adults, night-time wheezing fell from about four times a week to between two and three, but with no comparison group we cannot be sure the inhaler caused the change.
- Journal: Night-time wheezing episodes fell from a mean of 4.1 to 2.6 per week over 8 weeks (n = 120, p = 0.03); the trial had no placebo group. Leaflet: In a study of 120 adults, night-time wheezing fell from about four times a week to between two and three, but with no comparison group we cannot be sure the inhaler caused the change.
- Journal: Night-time wheezing episodes fell from a mean of 4.1 to 2.6 per week over 8 weeks (n = 120, p = 0.03); the trial had no placebo group. Leaflet: Mean weekly wheezing episodes fell from 4.1 to 2.6 (p = 0.03, n = 120), but the trial had no placebo group.
- Journal: Night-time wheezing episodes fell from a mean of 4.1 to 2.6 per week over 8 weeks (n = 120, p = 0.03); the trial had no placebo group. Leaflet: In a study of 120 adults, the new inhaler cut wheezing at night in half compared with a dummy inhaler.
Finding
The court held that a landlord must return a tenant's deposit within 30 days of move-out, but may deduct rent owed if the landlord sends an itemized list of the deductions.
Reader 1: a memo to a supervising lawyer. Reader 2: a letter to the tenant, who is not a lawyer.
Tala writes one finding for two readers. Which pair fits both readers?
- Memo: The court held that the landlord must return the deposit within 30 days of move-out, and may deduct rent owed if it sends an itemized list of the deductions. Letter: Under the holding, a lessor's obligation to refund the security deposit is subject to offset for arrears, provided the deductions are itemized.
- Memo: The court ruled that landlords must return deposits promptly and may deduct unpaid rent. Letter: Your landlord has to give back your deposit within 30 days after you move out; if you owe rent, the landlord can subtract it but must send you a list showing each deduction.
- Memo: The court held that the landlord must return the deposit within 30 days of move-out, and may deduct rent owed if it sends an itemized list of the deductions. Letter: Your landlord has to give back your deposit within 30 days after you move out; if you owe rent, the landlord can subtract it but must send you a list showing each deduction.
- Memo: The court held that the landlord must return the deposit within 30 days of move-out, and may deduct rent owed if it sends an itemized list of the deductions. Letter: Your landlord has to give back your deposit within 30 days after you move out, and may keep any part of it for unpaid rent.
Finding
An 1893 town ledger (invented) records that 14 of 45 households paid the school tax; the clerk's margin note says ‘most could not.’
Reader 1: a footnote in a scholarly article. Reader 2: a label in a local museum for families.
Zee writes one finding for two readers. Which pair fits both readers?
- Article: Many households paid the school tax late or did not pay in 1893, according to the town records. Label: In 1893, 14 of the 45 households here paid the school tax, and the town clerk wrote that most of the rest simply could not.
- Article: The 1893 ledger records that 14 of 45 households paid the school tax; the clerk adds in the margin that most could not. Label: Ledger evidence for 1893 indicates a collection rate of 31 percent, with the clerk's marginal gloss attributing nonpayment to inability.
- Article: The 1893 ledger records that 14 of 45 households paid the school tax; the clerk adds in the margin that most could not. Label: In 1893, 14 of the 45 households here paid the school tax, and the town clerk wrote that most of the rest simply could not.
- Article: The 1893 ledger records that 14 of 45 households paid the school tax; the clerk adds in the margin that most could not. Label: In 1893, 14 of the 45 households here paid the school tax, and the town clerk wrote that the rest refused to.
Finding
An inspection found that 3 of a bridge's 12 bearings were corroded beyond the allowed limit; the other 9 were within it.
Reader 1: the inspection report to the state. Reader 2: a briefing for the city council, who are not engineers.
Bo writes one finding for two readers. Which pair fits both readers?
- Report: Three of the 12 bearings were corroded beyond the allowed limit; the other nine were within it. Briefing: A 25 percent nonconformance rate was recorded for the bearing population against the allowable corrosion limit.
- Report: Three of the 12 bearings were corroded beyond the allowed limit; the other nine were within it. Briefing: Three of the bridge's twelve supports are worn past the allowed limit; the other nine are within it.
- Report: Three of the 12 bearings were corroded beyond the allowed limit; the other nine were within it. Briefing: A quarter of the bridge is worn past the allowed limit; the rest of it is within the limit.
- Report: Several bearings showed significant corrosion, and the remainder were generally acceptable. Briefing: Three of the bridge's twelve supports are worn past the allowed limit; the other nine are within it.
Use this
Final sentence of a science fair abstract.
Findings: after 4 weeks, tomato plants given diluted seaweed extract averaged 31 cm and unfed plants 24 cm; 8 plants per group.
Draft: “Seaweed extract is a miracle fertilizer that every gardener needs, as our experiment proved beyond any doubt.”
Pia revises the draft for a science fair abstract that allows no more than 35 words for it. Which revision stays honest and within the limit?
- Tomato plants given diluted seaweed extract averaged 31 cm after four weeks and unfed plants 24 cm, which suggests the extract aids growth, although each group had just 8 plants, the plants shared one bench, and other nutrients were not controlled.
- Tomato plants given diluted seaweed extract averaged 31 cm after four weeks and unfed plants 24 cm, which suggests the extract aids growth; with 8 plants per group, the effect needs repeating.
- Tomato plants given diluted seaweed extract averaged 31 cm after four weeks and unfed plants 24 cm, which establishes that the extract is an effective fertilizer for tomatoes.
- Tomato plants given diluted seaweed extract averaged 31 cm after four weeks and unfed plants 24 cm, which suggests that the extract aids growth in tomato plants.
Use this
One-sentence notice posted at an apartment building.
Facts: the parking lot behind 12 Mill Road will close from May 6 through May 9 for resurfacing; vehicles left there after 6 a.m. on May 6 will be towed at the owner's expense.
Draft: “Heads up, the lot might close sometime next week for work, and cars could get towed, so please move them.”
Ren revises the draft for a notice posted on a door, with room for 35 words. Which revision gives the required facts within the limit?
- The parking lot behind 12 Mill Road will close from May 6 through May 9; vehicles left there after 6 a.m. on May 6 will be towed at the owner's expense.
- The parking lot behind 12 Mill Road will close from May 6 through May 9; vehicles left there after 6 a.m. on May 6 will be towed at the owner's expense and fined $200.
- The parking lot behind 12 Mill Road will close from May 6 through May 9 for resurfacing, and residents are asked to move their vehicles before work begins.
- The parking lot behind 12 Mill Road will close from May 6 through May 9 for resurfacing, and residents who use it should note that vehicles left there after 6 a.m. on May 6 will be towed at the owner's expense.
Use this
One sentence of a lab report Methods section.
Facts: 250 mL of water in each of three trays; 5 g of salt in tray two, 10 g in tray three and none in tray one; a wax disc in each tray timed with a stopwatch until it sank.
Draft: “We put some water in the trays, added different salt amounts, and watched how long the wax took to sink or something.”
Noah revises the draft as one Methods sentence of at most 32 words. Which revision keeps the details a reader needs to repeat the test?
- We poured exactly 250 mL of water into each of three trays, added 0, 5 or 10 g of salt to trays one, two and three, and timed each wax disc with a stopwatch until it sank.
- We poured 250 mL of water into each of three trays, added 0, 5 or 10 g of salt, and timed each wax disc with a stopwatch until it sank.
- We poured 250 mL of water into each of three trays, added 0, 5 or 10 g of salt, and timed each wax disc with a stopwatch, proving that salt slows sinking.
- We poured water into three trays, added a different amount of salt to each, and timed how long a wax disc in each tray took to sink.
Use this
Discussion section of a science paper.
Draft: “The data prove that the drug works.”
Revision: “The data are consistent with the drug's working; a larger trial is needed.”
Jun annotates the revision. Which margin note names the change, the norm and the discipline?
- Weakened a causal claim and added a limit; a science paper uses the passive voice to keep the writer out of it.
- Weakened a causal claim and added a limit; a legal brief hedges to avoid liability for the client.
- Cut a number and kept a measurement; a science paper reports what was observed, with a measure.
- Weakened a causal claim and added a limit; a science paper claims no more than its data support.
Use this
Paragraph in a history essay.
Draft: “The king was a cruel tyrant who ruined the country.”
Revision: “Chroniclers writing after his fall call the king cruel; the tax rolls show the burden rising in his last decade.”
Kira annotates the revision. Which margin note names the change, the norm and the discipline?
- Replaced a verdict with attributed claims and a record; a historian writes in the present tense about the past.
- Added a hedge to a verdict; a historian softens a claim to show modesty.
- Replaced a verdict with attributed claims and a record; a historian says who claims what and tests it against evidence.
- Replaced a verdict with attributed claims and a record; a lawyer cites the party who made each assertion.
Use this
Paragraph in a literature essay on Shakespeare's Sonnet 73.
Draft: “In this poem the speaker was sad about winter.”
Revision: “In the poem, the speaker lingers on ‘bare ruined choirs,’ so winter becomes an image of loss.”
Ari annotates the revision. Which margin note names the change, the norm and the discipline?
- Replaced a plain claim with quoted evidence and an interpretation in the present tense; literary analysis argues from the text.
- Replaced a plain claim with quoted evidence and an interpretation; literary analysis avoids figures of speech.
- Cut a feeling and kept a measurement; literary analysis reports what the speaker observed.
- Replaced a plain claim with quoted evidence and an interpretation; a history essay tests a claim against records.