What We Know and What We Think We Know About Your
End of Course Test for English II
I KNOW there will be LONG passages again. This means you can’t be sleepy or lazy or slack off. YOU HAVE TO READ EVERY WORD ON THE PAGE. MAYBE TWICE OR MORE.
I THINK there will be more multiple choice questions than opened ended/writing questions, but the writing questions are difficult. You have to THINK before you write. No auto-correct.
The following are the most common types of questions on the two released practice tests. You must know this stuff.
1. Use details from the text to support your answer. This isn’t a question, but it is a part of ALL of the writing questions. It is also the thing you all fail to do. You either provide NO detail from the passage, or just randomly copy lines down with no indication of why you are quoting them, or fail to follow up on HOW the passage supports what you are trying to say.
EXAMPLE: Mary had a little lamb. Its fleece was white as snow. Everywhere that Mary went, the lamb was sure to go.
Question: How do you know that Mary’s lamb was devoted to her?
Answer: The passage clearly stated that the lamb followed Mary everywhere she went. There is no indication from the passage that the lamb was following her in a malicious or stalking way, so this mention of following Mary around would imply it was devoted to Mary.
Wrong Answer: The lamb belonged to Mary and it was white. Therefore it was devoted to Mary.
Also Wrong: The passage said, “Everywhere that Mary went, the lamb was sure to go.” That’s how I know it was devoted to her.
2. Context Clues- You will see a lot of questions asking what word or phrase could be substituted for words used in the passage AND questions that ask which words or phrases helped you know what another word or phrase meant. Regardless of how it is phrased, these are simple context clues questions. YOU CAN GET 100% OF THESE RIGHT IF YOU TAKE THE TIME. You will have to look back at the passage, and do a little thinking. It won’t hurt.
EXAMPLE: My grandma pulled the ball out, unwrapped it, and held it out for us to see. The ball was scarred almost beyond recognition. It had dog bite marks, dirt scuffs, and fraying seams. Right in the middle was a big signature in black ink.
Question: Write two phrases from the paragraph that help you understand the meaning of scarred.
Answer: dog bite marks, dirt scuffs, fraying seams…
3. “Write a paragraph arguing why your position is more reasonable than the opposing position.” Again, this is typical of the writing based questions. You will be asked to make an argument. You have done this in my class often. Do not base your arguments on emotion, but on facts and information FROM THE SELECTION. This is the key to getting credit for your written answers. Try not to be in the middle. If the question says “pick a side”, then you need to pick one side or the other, even if you really do fall somewhere in the middle. They want to see you can make an argument, not how you actually feel about an issue.
4. What the selection said. These are basic point and shoot questions. You can find the answer by looking back at the selection and putting your finger on the words. DO NOT EVER MISS THESE. Make sure you know what the question is asking, and that you actually look back at the passage to find that answer!
EXAMPLE: Johnny didn’t like to ride the bus. People picked on Johnny and he was smaller than all the other kids. To make matters worse, the bus ride took 45 minutes!
Question: How do you know Johnny didn’t like to ride the bus?
Answer: People picked on him, he was small, and the ride was long.
Wrong Answer: Everyone hates to ride the bus. Johnny likes to ride with his mom to school.
5. Main Idea- You have to know how to define main idea in order to answer a main idea question. Some with be straight forward (“What was the main idea of the selection?”), some will be more difficult (“What line from the poem communicates the theme?”), but if you don’t know what main idea is, you can’t answer either type.
6. Metaphors- You will probably see these referenced in questions that ask what the effect of the use of metaphors had on a selection. Again, you will have to actually know what a metaphor is, in order to then analyze its use. What’s the difference?
EXAMPLE: The tree, with its twisted roots and gnarled limbs, was a beacon for those poor, lost souls in the desert.
QUESTION: What is the metaphor in the above selection? (no analysis, just identifying)
ANSWER: the tree was a beacon
QUESTION: What effect did the metaphor in the above lines have on the passage? (identify AND analyze)
ANSWER: The metaphor allows the reader to understand how important an inanimate object can be to humans in times of stress or panic. (I had to first know what a metaphor was so I could find it, then figure out [analyze] how that metaphor effected the passage it appeared in.)
7. How does the author structure the text? This can be “hard” because you have to look back and see how the information is presented. It will be easier in a multiple choice question since you can try each answer out on the actual text to see if its structure matches. This type of question requires you to look at the piece as a WHOLE. The harder type will be a writing question on structure. In general these questions will ask what effect the structure had on the piece or why you think the author structured it as he did. These are all questions about the choices an author made (author’s craft). Other types of Questions that apply to author’s craft (the choices he made in writing) will be ones that ask how the author connected ideas (this is still structure) and how did the author achieve his purpose? This last one reflects both author’s craft and author’s purpose. (How did the author achieve WHY he was writing. Wrap your head around THAT.)
8. Theme- Key here is not to confuse Main Idea and Theme. Main Idea is closer to summary- what was this mostly about?- whereas Theme is a universal truth revealed through the selection. The theme will rarely be stated directly in the text. You will have to infer the theme from the selection as a whole. Look for general statements as opposed to story details. The hardest theme questions tend to be with poetry selections. The questions will usually ask you to pick a line or lines from the poem that best represent the theme. Before you read the answer choices, remind yourself of the definition of theme, then think about the selection as a whole and what that might be for this selection, and THEN read the answer choices. See which one, if any best matches up to what you already had in your head.
Other types of poetry questions you will see are ones that ask what the effect of a rhyme scheme was, who the speaker in a poem is (NOT THE AUTHOR!), and even what the speaker’s point of view was.
9. Personification- know what it is. Be able to identify it within a selection.
10. Similes- see #6
11. What is implied in the sentence? First, you need to know what it means to imply something and what an implication is. Take the information given to you in the passage and go just one slight step beyond that.
EXAMPLE: Her temper was as fiery as her bright red hair. Everyone walked on egg shells around her.
QUESTION: What is implied in the passage?
ANSWER: That she had a very bad temper, so people tried not to set her off.
12. Questions about character and characterization. These questions will ask why a character behaved a certain way or what certain things revealed about a character. These are easier in multiple choice format, but shouldn’t be too hard in writing form either.
EXAMPLE: Once Kiran finally arrived back in the class after his grandfather’s death, she wouldn’t talk to him or even look in his direction. She just wasn’t going to listen to a bunch of blubbering from him.
QUESTION: What does Kiran’s reaction to the arrival of the young boy reveal about her character?
ANSWER: She was uncomfortable around emotion or she was just a really selfish person who didn’t have time for anyone’s emotions but her own.
13. Conflict- the only difficult thing here would be to make sure you have identified the MAIN conflict. Don’t be distracted by side-conflicts or secondary conflicts. You may see questions that ask what details further the conflict or indicate that there IS a conflict. This will require you to look back at the passage.
14. First and Third Person Point of View- Know the difference. First will be a person in the story telling the story, using I, me, my, etc. Third is an outside observer telling the story using he, she, they, etc. Questions about Point of View will vary from simply identifying the POV, to explaining how POV effects a selection. Be logical. 1st person is, by definition, more personal, but can also be more biased toward the person telling the story. 3rd is more removed, but gives a broader perspective of events, again, by definition.
15. Objective Summary- tell what happened without injecting any emotion. This will be a writing question.
16. Writer’s choices affecting the piece (structure, word choice, point of view, etc), Author’s Craft- there will be tons of these questions! They require you to look at whatever “choice” the question is referring to and you will have to look back at what was achieved through that device. This isn’t necessarily hard, but it DOES require analysis, so you can’t get the right answer and be lazy about it. Guessing will fail you here and isn’t necessary, so don’t mess up on these! You’ll see these often with poetry selections, but others as well.
17. Inferences- this is taking the information you are provided and logically guessing something just beyond that information.
EXAMPLE: The tall, dark stranger walked into the café. He shook out his umbrella as he was wiping his wet boots on the mat. His hair was mussed, but it worked on him.
QUESTION: What can you infer from the selection?
ANSWER: Well, lots of things, but the most obvious is that it is raining outside.
QUESTION: What information leads you to that inference?
ANSWER: He had an umbrella, which he was shaking off, and his boots were wet. Also his hair was mussed, but it doesn’t say it was wet, but together with the wet umbrella and boots, it is safe to say it was raining.
18. Significance of use of words and phrases and literary devices- There will be lots of these questions. They will be in reference to all types of selections. Here’s a hint: If the question asks what the significance is, IT IS SIGNIFICANT! If it didn’t stand out to you when you read it the first time, you will have to look back at whatever the question is referencing and see how it links to the piece as a whole. Is it descriptive language, or does it foreshadow something? Is this the turning point or climax of the piece?
19. Author’s Purpose- Pretty simple, but you will see it a lot. Also, they will try to make them harder by muddying the questions. Instead of just asking what the purpose was, they will ask you to identify a line that shows this was the author’s purpose, or ask what a secondary purpose was. The 3 basic purposes are entertain, inform, and persuade. If it is a short story, play or part of a novel, entertaining is usually the purpose, however the question may phrase “entertain”. If it is an editorial or letter, USUALLY, but not always, the purpose will be to persuade. If it is an essay, it will usually be to inform, but could also be persuade. Reviews can be entertainment or persuasive.
20. How does the author use of language/literary device to advance her point of view? Use evidence from the selection to support your answer. Obviously this is a writing question. You want to focus on 3 things in these questions: identify what the language/literary device is, how does the author use that here, and evidence or parts of the selection to prove what your answer is. Those parts of the selection should not be the language or literary device already identified by the question. The evidence should be other parts of the selection which were affected by that device.
21. Assumptions- see Inferences #17
22. Figurative Language- usually poetry related. See #18 and #20
23. Oxymoron- know what it is (figure of speech using 2 contradictory terms). Usually used to show comparison or exaggeration, therefore questions will usually focus on those things.
24. Rhetorical Question- figure of speech in the form of a question that is asked in order to make a point, not to get an answer. A carefully crafted question can persuade an audience to believe in the position(s) of the speaker/author.
EXAMPLE: "Can't you do anything right?"
This isn’t asked to get an answer, but to make one think about one’s mistakes and possibly learn to be more careful or precise in the future.
25. Run on Sentences- you will be asked to identify and possibly correct Run On sentences. Know what they are and the 3 ways to correct.
26. Apostrophes- contractions, possessives. These are tiny and picky and test makes love to put these on tests in the hope you won’t be paying close attention to detail. DON’T MISS THESE!
EXAMPLE: know the difference between the “its”
“It’s” is the contraction of “it is”
“Its” is the possessive form, as in the dog ate its food.
Easy way to never miss this- always read either form as “it is”. If it makes sense, then you need the apostrophe. If not, no apostrophe.