What is conflicting evidence?

A fact or a view that seems to argue against the author. Strong writers bring it up and answer it rather than hiding it. Eighth grade questions ask how the author handles it: grants it, argues back with better evidence, or makes it seem smaller.

Why do the answer choices say more than "to persuade"?

At this level that label fits half the passages and tells a reader very little. The options name what the author wants and how the passage goes after it, so the wrong ones are close and the reading has to be too.

8th grade author's purpose

8th grade author's purpose worksheets

Eighth grade questions follow what an author does with evidence that points the other way: a study, a survey or a critic's objection. Students decide whether the author admits it, answers it or brushes it aside, and what that choice does to the argument.

Free printable PDF worksheet, aligned to Common Core RI.8.6.

Each click picks one of the 15 passages written for this grade. Every sheet comes with its answer key. You don't need to sign up.

The kind of passages you'll get

Read the passage, then circle the letter of the best answer. The questions ask what the author thinks and how the writing shows it.

The Corner of Delmar and Tenth

Good evening. My name is Sam Okafor, and I am in eighth grade at Garfield Middle School. I am here with twenty-two classmates, who are the people standing in the back holding the poster. We are here about the corner of Delmar Avenue and Tenth…

What is the main purpose of this speech? to convince the council to fund a crosswalk with a flashing beacon · to report the findings of the city's traffic study · to thank the council for a crosswalk it already built · to argue for a full traffic light at the corner of Delmar Avenue and Tenth Street
Answer: to convince the council to fund a crosswalk with a flashing beacon
How does the speaker deal with the city study that says a crosswalk is not needed? accepts its count but shows it was taken when school was out · claims the city made up the numbers in the study · sets the study aside and talks only about last spring's accident instead · agrees with the study and asks the council for a crossing guard instead

Each print picks one of the 15 passages written for this grade, and its questions come with it. With 15 to pick from, a second print can land on one you've used, so check the title before you hand it out.

What's on an 8th grade sheet

8th grade sheets draw from 15 passages, 394 to 428 words long. 6th to 8th grade print from the same 15 passages. What changes is the standard (RI.8.6 here) and the teaching notes below.

Some of the titles: Seven Broken Fountains, Fixing a Flat Without Losing Your Mind, The Group Project: A Field Guide, How to Keep a Tent Dry, Middle Schoolers Need Recess Too, A Muffin at the Front Door.

Reading passage. Read the passage, then circle the letter of the best answer. The questions ask what the author thinks and how the writing shows it. One passage per sheet, with its own question set.

Every version prints on US Letter or A4, with its answer key on the last page.

How to teach this

Look for the "yes, but." When a passage brings up a fact that hurts its own case, stop and ask what the author does next: grant it, answer it with better evidence, or shrink it. Then ask whether the answer works. Eighth graders are asked to judge the move as well as spot it.

Watch for: When an author mentions evidence against the argument, students often decide the author has changed sides. Usually the author is setting the evidence up to answer it. Admitting a fact is not the same as agreeing with the conclusion people draw from it. Look for what comes after the 'yes'.

Common questions about 8th grade author's purpose

What is conflicting evidence?: A fact or a view that seems to argue against the author. Strong writers bring it up and answer it rather than hiding it. Eighth grade questions ask how the author handles it: grants it, argues back with better evidence, or makes it seem smaller.
Why do the answer choices say more than "to persuade"?: At this level that label fits half the passages and tells a reader very little. The options name what the author wants and how the passage goes after it, so the wrong ones are close and the reading has to be too.

Related worksheets

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Want a different passage? Print again. Each print picks one of the 15.

Aligned to Common Core RI.8.6. Reviewed by the One more sheet team. Content version 241, updated October 2026.

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