Don’t freak out! You know this stuff!!!
Freshman EOCT
· Tips before the test:
o Sleep the night before
o Eat breakfast (it’s hard to focus when your stomach is growling)
o Dress comfortably
o Be on time (rushing causes extra stress)
· Tips during the test:
o FOCUS (try to ignore distractions)
o Know how much time you have to a lot to each question
o Write in your test booklet (summarize/ annotate as you read <take notes>)
o Read the ENTIRE question
o Answer the question BEFORE reading the choices, then see if your answer is there
o If it doesn’t SOUND right, it often isn’t right
o Be prepared to decide on the MOST right answer
o REVIEW answers if you have time
o Don’t give up! (even if you don’t know a particular answer)
· Prepare for nonfiction passages (informational passages) and fiction passages (literary passages)
· Things to know:
o Convey, omit, establish, communicate, revise, interpretation, demonstrate, coherent, technical writing (business letters, proposals, memoranda, advertisements, warranties, web pages), formal v. informal, precise, inconsistent
o Foreshadowing
o Flashback
o Diction
o Figurative language- personification, metaphor, simile, hyperbole
o Imagery
o Symbolism
o Plot
o Exposition, complications (conflict), climax, falling action, denouement, & resolution
o Character development/ characterization
o Setting
o Mood/ tone
o Irony
o Point of View- 1st person, 2nd person, 3rd person limited, & 3rd person omniscient
o Theme
o Thesis/ main idea
o Topic sentence & supporting/ subordinate details- anecdotes, facts, opinions, statistics
o Chronological order/ sequential
o Transition
o Compare/ contrast
o Target audience- mass media
o Purpose (of a writing passage)
o Persuasion
§ Argument by authority- I know what’s right, so listen to me.
§ Argument by emotion- Appeal to the audiences’ feelings.
§ Argument by logic- Make it make sense.
o Allusions/ references
o Idioms- sayings that are understood by native speakers (“break a leg”, “cat got your tongue”)
o Cognates- (think about conjugating in foreign language classes) words with the same root/ meaning
o Prefixes/ suffixes
o Synonyms/ antonyms/ homophones
o Denotation (Dictionary Definition) v. Connotation (Common sense meaning)- word choice *remember “hot” v. “beautiful”
o Context clues
o Dictionary v. encyclopedia v. thesaurus- when would you use each?
o Bibliography- when is it needed?
o Nonfiction- biography, autobiography, memoir
o Poetry- alliteration, figurative language, rhyme scheme, types (fixed form <with rhyme scheme>, sonnet <14 lines>, free form <no guidelines>, narrative <story>, & lyric <expresses thoughts and emotion>)
o Drama- tragedy v. comedy- parts of plot, monologue, soliloquy, aside, dramatic irony, stage directions
o Fiction- plot, protagonist, antagonist, main idea v. theme, historical period/era- when it was written (romanticism, neoclassicism, rationalism), historical setting- when it takes place (you will need to know what was going on in history)
o Research- topic selection, primary v. secondary sources, paraphrasing, documentation (bibliography v. works cited--- bib: works that are actually referenced in your paper/ wc: works that are used in the research process, regardless of whether or not they are mentioned), editing/ proof reading/ revising/ evaluating
o Grammar- subject/ verb agreement, verb tense, punctuation, capitalization, plural, word choice, & spelling, homonyms, double negatives, pronouns, confused words, modifiers, parallelism
***I have compressed the 87 page document into 2 pages, but I suggest you visit the website for more information. Go to www.doe.k12.ga.us , click on “end of course tests” on the left hand side under “testing”, and click on “ninth grade literature and composition revised (gps)” on the right hand side under “student guides”.