Worksheet

Robotics Newsroom: Edit Voice and Mood

Edit a school robotics report to recognize and correct inappropriate shifts in verb voice and mood.

Grade 8ELAInteractive · Printable

Aligned toL.8.1.d

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

About this worksheet

What students practice

Students recognize inappropriate shifts in verb voice and mood in a school news report.
Students revise inconsistent verbs while preserving meaning and purposeful shifts.

How to use

Read the draft report, then complete the editing tasks. Discuss why some shifts need repair while others serve a clear purpose.

Curriculum

Common Core standard covered

L.8.1.d

Recognize and fix shifts in verb voice and mood that do not fit.

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Robotics Newsroom: Edit Voice and Mood

Keep a competition report clear without removing useful changes in voice or mood.

Read the newsroom draft

This draft contains deliberate editing problems. Notice who performs each action and whether a verb states, asks, commands, or imagines.

A Reset Before the Final Round

1At Saturday’s district robotics competition, students from Crestview School entered a machine designed to move foam blocks into scoring zones. Their robot completed the opening route but stopped beside the final platform. From the viewing area, the pause looked like a mechanical failure. At the team table, however, students were already checking the program that controlled the last turn.

2During the repair break, each student had a separate task and a limited amount of time. Saira checked the wheel alignment while a diagnostic screen displayed the motor readings. Beck adjusted the sensor after the team traced the stop to a loose connection. The student reporter’s notes were meant to identify who completed each repair. Those notes read, “Saira tightened the bracket while the cable was secured by Beck.”

3Across the aisle, the announcer called the next group toward the practice area. The student reporter kept writing beside the team table. A volunteer raised a hand toward students approaching the marked boundary. “Keep the entrance clear,” the volunteer called as another team rolled its equipment toward the inspection table. The students moved their tool cases and continued working. No points were deducted during the repair break.

4Crestview’s adviser asked that every driver test the emergency stop before returning to the arena. The reporter copied that request into the draft: “The adviser asked that each driver test the stop switch and checks the battery.” The team’s written safety card also needed an edit. It read, “Place the robot behind the line, and are your hands clear?” Both parts were intended as direct instructions for drivers preparing to begin.

5The repaired robot completed the course in the final round. The results were posted near the exit, and the certificates were handed to the team captains. The draft’s results section was meant to keep the awards themselves in focus. Its next sentence read, “The teamwork award was presented by the judges, who then praised Crestview’s repair plan.” Several students photographed the results before packing their equipment.

6Afterward, the students discussed what they would change before another competition. Beck offered a hypothetical plan: “If our robot were lighter, it will turn more quickly.” Saira suggested a shorter route between scoring zones. Their adviser recorded both ideas for the next meeting. The team left with a working robot, a page of test notes, and several decisions still to make.

In paragraph 3, the report changes from statements to a quoted command. Why should that change in mood remain?

A. It makes the surrounding report sound like directions for readers.
B. It makes the volunteer’s instruction into an imagined possibility.
C. It accurately reports an instruction given during the event.
D. It shows that the reporter is uncertain about what happened.

Underline the sentence from paragraph 3 that directly records the volunteer giving the instruction.

Across the aisle, the announcer called the next group toward the practice area.The student reporter kept writing beside the team table.A volunteer raised a hand toward students approaching the marked boundary.“Keep the entrance clear,” the volunteer called as another team rolled its equipment toward the inspection table.The students moved their tool cases and continued working.No points were deducted during the repair break.

In paragraph 2, the notes are meant to identify each student’s repair work: “Saira tightened the bracket while the cable was secured by Beck.” Which diagnosis best explains what needs editing?

A. The two actions use different tenses for the same repair.
B. The second action shifts to passive, weakening the focus on Beck.
C. The first action is passive, so Saira’s role is unclear.
D. The second action becomes a command instead of a statement.

Consider this sentence from paragraph 4: “The adviser asked that each driver test the stop switch and checks the battery.” Which replacement for “checks” keeps both verbs in the form used for the adviser’s request?

A. will check
B. is checking
C. check
D. checked

The safety card in paragraph 4 reads, “Place the robot behind the line, and are your hands clear?” An editor changes it to “Is the robot behind the line, and are your hands clear?” How should the revision be evaluated?

A. It makes two questions but loses the intended direct instructions.
B. It keeps the first command but changes the second to a statement.
C. It creates a passive construction without changing either mood.
D. It keeps two direct instructions and removes a voice shift.

In paragraph 6, Beck says, “If our robot were lighter, it will turn more quickly.” Which revision consistently presents the result as part of that hypothetical situation?

A. If our robot were lighter, did it turn more quickly?
B. If our robot were lighter, it turns more quickly.
C. If our robot were lighter, make it turn more quickly.
D. If our robot were lighter, it would turn more quickly.

Make the editing decisions

Use the report’s context and each stated editing goal. Preserve who did what and keep purposeful shifts.

The results section in paragraph 5 should keep the things presented and praised, not the judges, as the subjects. Which revision of “The teamwork award was presented by the judges, who then praised Crestview’s repair plan” meets that goal without changing the actions?

A. The teamwork award presented the judges, and Crestview’s repair plan received praise.
B. The judges presented the teamwork award and then praised Crestview’s repair plan.
C. Crestview’s repair plan was presented by the judges, who received the teamwork award.
D. The teamwork award was presented and Crestview’s repair plan was then praised by the judges.

Sort these proposed additions by whether the voice or mood shift fits the stated purpose.

Purpose: give two commands. “Check the connection, and the cover should be closed.”Purpose: report an action, then quote a question. “Beck faced the adviser and asked, ‘May we test again?’”Purpose: keep students as the actors. “The drivers reviewed the route, and the controls were tested by them.”Purpose: keep two requests in the same form. “The adviser requested that Beck arrive early and brings the tools.”Purpose: move from the judges’ action to the result sheet. “The judges checked the scores. The final sheet was posted beside the door.”

Shift fits the purpose	Shift needs repair

A reporter writes, “Would the driver check the cable and tightens the connector?” Which revision keeps both actions within the same question?

A. Would the driver check the cable and tightened the connector?
B. Would the driver check the cable and tighten the connector?
C. Would the driver check the cable, and do tighten the connector.
D. Would the driver check the cable, and the connector is tight?

10.

A caption draft says, “The robot was ready, and the drivers entered the arena.” An editor marks “was ready” as passive voice. Which response is accurate?

A. The mark is correct because the robot receives the action of entering.
B. The mark is incorrect because “ready” describes the robot’s condition.
C. The mark is correct because every form of “be” creates passive voice.
D. The mark is incorrect because both clauses are direct commands.

11.

A deadline note reads, “Submit the final captions, and the editor checks the names.” The note should state two newsroom routines, not give commands. Which revision meets that goal?

A. Reporters submit the final captions, and the editor checks the names.
B. If reporters submitted the final captions, the editor would check the names.
C. Submit the final captions, and check the names with the editor.
D. Reporters submit the final captions, and will the editor check the names?

12.

Which proposed sentence keeps both a hypothetical condition and its result consistent, without introducing a command?

A. If the practice period were longer, the team could complete another trial.
B. If the practice period were longer, complete another trial.
C. If the practice period were longer, the team will complete another trial.
D. If the practice period were longer, the team completes another trial.

13.

Edit this proposed closing sentence so both actions are statements in active voice: “Beck explained the repair, and let the testing process be described by Saira.” Preserve who does each action. Then explain how your revision fixes both the voice shift and the mood shift.