Worksheet

Reporting the Final: Voice and Mood

Edit a girls’ soccer final report using active and passive voice, conditional statements, and subjunctive mood for precise effects.

Grade 8ELAInteractive · Printable

Aligned toL.8.3.a

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1 Common Core standard
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14 questions
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Format: Interactive · Printable
Grade: Grade 8
Subject: ELA
Question types: Multiple choice, Circle the answer, Short answer

About this worksheet

What students practice

Students choose active or passive voice to emphasize an actor, action, or result.
Students use conditional and subjunctive forms to distinguish possibilities from situations contrary to fact.
Students explain how voice and mood choices affect the accuracy and emphasis of a sports report.

How to use

Read the report, then have students complete the editing tasks independently. Discuss how grammatical choices separate verified events from speculation.

Curriculum

Common Core standard covered

L.8.3.a

Use active or passive voice and conditional or subjunctive mood for effect, such as stressing the actor or a situation contrary to fact.

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Name Date

Reporting the Final: Voice and Mood

Choose language that distinguishes match facts from imagined outcomes.

Read the Match Report

Read the report and its editor’s note. Consider how the language presents actions, results, and imagined alternatives.

A Narrow Win, a Wider Story

1Westhaven’s girls won the district soccer final against Brookfield, 2–1, on Saturday. The winning goal came late, but the match had turned several times before then. For the student news team, the challenge was not finding dramatic moments. It was reporting those moments without making a close contest sound like an easy victory.

2Brookfield controlled the opening minutes. Its midfielders moved the ball quickly between the sidelines. Westhaven goalkeeper Yara blocked two shots before halftime. Those saves kept Westhaven level while its players struggled to hold possession. From the press table, reporter Selin marked both saves in her notebook rather than recording only the goals.

3After halftime, Brookfield scored first. Westhaven captain Nessa answered with a low shot into the corner. With four minutes remaining, defender Imani sent a long pass toward the penalty area, and forward Laleh redirected it into the net. Laleh celebrated beside the corner flag, then pointed toward Imani. Their teammates ran over together.

4The trophy was presented to Westhaven after the final whistle. Both teams gathered near the center circle for the ceremony. A match official placed the trophy on a small table before the presentation. Brookfield’s players applauded as Nessa lifted it. Selin began her closing paragraph with the trophy because the award, rather than the person handing it over, connected the ceremony to the result.

5Afterward, Yara resisted the suggestion that the outcome had been certain. “If that last Brookfield shot had gone in, we would have needed extra time,” she said. The shot had passed outside the post. Coach Dalia added, “I wish the score were a better measure of how evenly the teams played.” She praised Westhaven’s recovery but also described Brookfield’s patient passing.

6Before publication, Selin’s editor asked that the headline reflect the narrow margin. The editor also removed a draft sentence claiming that Brookfield would have won with a different formation; no evidence established that outcome. A note about next season remained conditional: “If both teams qualify, they may meet in the final again.” The report ended with the result readers could verify, not a prediction dressed as a fact.

What distinction does the editing in paragraph 6 help readers make?

A. The difference between an early mistake and a late recovery.
B. The difference between a captain’s duties and a goalkeeper’s duties.
C. The difference between a coach’s interview and a player’s interview.
D. The difference between a supported result and an unsupported alternative.

Underline the sentence from paragraph 6 that explicitly identifies an imagined match outcome removed because it lacked evidence.

Before publication, Selin’s editor asked that the headline reflect the narrow margin.The editor also removed a draft sentence claiming that Brookfield would have won with a different formation; no evidence established that outcome.A note about next season remained conditional: “If both teams qualify, they may meet in the final again.”The report ended with the result readers could verify, not a prediction dressed as a fact.

Compare “Yara blocked two shots” with “Two shots were blocked by Yara.” What effect does the report’s active version create?

A. It makes the blocks seem possible rather than completed.
B. It places Yara first and directly credits her defensive action.
C. It suggests another player helped Yara block each shot.
D. It places the shots first and leaves their outcome uncertain.

An editor argues that “The trophy was presented to Westhaven after the final whistle” must be changed because passive voice makes it ungrammatical. Which response is most accurate?

A. Keep it because the grammatical sentence appropriately foregrounds the award.
B. Keep it because the trophy performs the action of presenting.
C. Change it because a passive sentence must name the actor.
D. Change it because a passive sentence must describe a future event.

In paragraph 5, what does Yara’s sentence beginning “If that last Brookfield shot had gone in” communicate?

A. Extra time may occur when the teams play next season.
B. Extra time occurred after Brookfield scored with its final shot.
C. Extra time depended on a past event that did not happen.
D. Extra time was required despite Brookfield’s missed final shot.

What does Coach Dalia’s wording “I wish the score were a better measure” add to the report?

A. A completed change in how the match result was calculated.
B. A request that officials replace the recorded final score.
C. A desired situation unlike her view of the actual score.
D. A prediction that next season’s final will be more even.

Make Editorial Choices

Apply voice and mood choices to additional copy for the same sports report. Preserve the stated facts and intended emphasis.

A photo editor drafts these captions. Underline both sentences that use passive voice to place the person or thing receiving the action first.

Imani sends the pass toward the penalty area.The winning shot is redirected by Laleh.The trophy is raised by Nessa.Brookfield’s players applaud the presentation.Yara stands beside her teammates.

The reporter wants to connect Imani’s pass to Laleh’s finish while shifting the grammatical subject from Imani to the ball. Which version best accomplishes that purpose?

A. Imani sent the ball forward, and Laleh redirected it into the net.
B. Imani sent the ball forward. It was redirected into the net by Laleh.
C. Laleh redirected Imani’s forward pass into the net to score.
D. Imani’s teammate Laleh redirected the forward pass into the net.

A follow-up article must make clear that a rematch is possible, not guaranteed, even if both teams qualify. Which sentence best preserves that meaning?

A. If both teams qualify, they might meet in another final.
B. When both teams qualify, they will meet in another final.
C. Because both teams qualified, they met in another final.
D. If both teams had qualified, they would have met in another final.

10.

The editor writes, “I recommend that the report include Brookfield’s strongest sequence.” Which revision changes the recommendation into a statement that the report already contains that material?

A. The report should include Brookfield’s strongest sequence.
B. The report includes Brookfield’s strongest sequence.
C. The editor requests that the report include Brookfield’s strongest sequence.
D. The editor proposes that the report include Brookfield’s strongest sequence.

11.

A draft says, “If Brookfield had scored again, the teams will play extra time.” The writer is imagining a different ending to the completed match. Which revision makes the condition and result consistent?

A. If Brookfield scores again, the teams would have played extra time.
B. If Brookfield had scored again, the teams play extra time.
C. If Brookfield had scored again, the teams are playing extra time.
D. If Brookfield had scored again, the teams would have played extra time.

12.

Which editorial note correctly distinguishes passive voice from subjunctive mood?

A. “The trophy was presented” foregrounds what receives an action; “I wish the score were different” expresses an unreal wish.
B. “The trophy was presented” predicts a ceremony; “I wish the score were different” confirms a changed result.
C. “The trophy was presented” records a recommendation; “I wish the score were different” leaves the actor unnamed.
D. “The trophy was presented” imagines an unreal event; “I wish the score were different” emphasizes an actor.

13.

Create two original sentences for a sidebar about Brookfield’s players applauding Westhaven. Use active voice in one and passive voice in the other, preserving the same event and past time. Explain which version you would choose to emphasize Brookfield’s sportsmanship and why.

14.

For an analysis sidebar, imagine that the final had ended in a tie, although Westhaven actually won. Write one sentence using “If” and “had” to establish that contrary-to-fact past condition, with “would have” in the result. Explain why your wording belongs in analysis rather than a factual account of what happened. Do not reuse Yara’s extra-time example.