State Test Prep English II

State Test Prep – English II

First and foremost, you got this. I’m proud of you, and I know you are going to do great. Take a deep breath and just look over the guide and examples.

Terms

·  Subjective - opinions

·  Objective – facts

·  Paraphrase – write in your own words

·  Synopsis – summary

·  Infer – read in between the lines; take what you read and come up with a logical theory that could hypothetically be supported by the text

·  Formulate – make a plan

·  Summary – restate exactly what the text is about but in a shorter version

·  Analyze – break down to its simplest form; what is the author trying to convey; you MUST be able to read in between the lines

·  Symbolize – represents

·  Illustrate – demonstrates/shows

·  Imply - suggest

·  Synthesize – take what you learned, take what you know; then develop a new project/idea

Writing

Tips for Persuasive and Analytical

·  Only write in 3rd person – no me, my, you, I, we; 3rd is considered formal writing

·  If you can cut out words, do so; you don’t want to be redundant or boring

·  Longer words aren’t necessarily always the best; if you aren’t sure what a word means, don’t use it.

·  Explain thoroughly – this is probably the most important part; don’t skimp out. Show them what you are made of…in writing.

·  Use a variety of sentence types

·  PLAN, PLAN, PLAN your writing - spend five minutes devising a plan; I suggest you go ahead and write your thesis and choose the evidence you want to use

·  ALWAYS use an author’s last name; you are not on first name basis with the author…especially if he’s dead

·  Underline BIG works: books, albums, magazines, etc.

·  Put small works in “quotation marks”: articles, chapter in books, songs, etc.

·  Citing: direct quote or paraphrase

o  Direct quote – use quotations and include line, page, or paragraph number at the end: “The patrols did not matter, however. Only the Thought Police mattered” (6).

o  Paraphrase – write in your own words; you MUST include the line, paragraph, or page number at the end of the sentence: In George Orwell’s 1984, Winston is more concerned about Thought Police than the patrols (6).

·  Tips for conclusions

o  Include a brief summary of the paper's main points

o  Ask a provocative question

o  Use a quotation

o  Evoke a vivid image

o  Call for some sort of action

o  End with a warning

o  Universalize (compare to other situations)

o  Suggest results or consequences

Persuasive Writing – Arguing for or against a question or statement; picking a side (subjective)

·  Introduction with thesis (4-5 sentences)

o  Be sure to start with a lead-in sentence and a few other sentences. End with thesis which is where you can restate the prompt and your reasons

·  Body (6-7 sentences for EACH paragraph)

o  Restate reason

o  Transition/introduce evidence

o  Use evidence from text – quote directly or paraphrase; REMEMBER to include page, line, or paragraph number

o  Explain – HOW does the evidence connect back to your reason?

·  ******Counterclaim (1-3 Sentences)

o  Most likely the evaluators WILL be looking for a counterclaim since it’s a 10th grade standard

o  Insert a counterclaim that acknowledges the other side of the issue; you MUST refute the statement to reinforce your original claim.

·  Conclusion (3-4 sentences)

o  In a somewhat new way, restate your originally thesis; don’t be redundant

o  Leave the reader with a final thought. Remember you want your essay to stand out and be remembered.

Analytical/Information/Explanatory Writing – breaking down the text and reading between the lines: inferring (do NOT use anything that cannot be supported; you can’t make up facts; you are NOT picking a side

·  Introduction with thesis (4-5 sentences)

o  Be sure to start with a lead-in sentence and a few other sentences. End with thesis which is where you can restate the prompt and your reasons

·  Body (6-7 sentences)

o  Restate reason

o  Transition/introduce evidence

o  Use evidence from text – quote directly or paraphrase; REMEMBER to include page, line, or paragraph number

o  Explain – HOW does the evidence connect back to your reason?

·  Conclusion (3-4 sentences)

o  In a somewhat new way, restate your originally thesis; don’t be redundant

o  Leave the reader with a final thought. Remember you want your essay to stand out and be remembered.

Narrative – tells a story

Tips for a narrative

·  There are a few ways to begin a narrative:

o  At the beginning of the story

o  In the middle of the story – drop it right in the action

o  At the end where you use a flashback: start with present; go to past

·  Use imagery/descriptive language/sensory details

·  Use dialogue

·  Use a variety of sentence types

·  1st and 3rd CAN be used

·  Be SURE to use transitions! Otherwise, the reader will not be able to follow your thoughts

·  Instead of writing for a longer period of time, just write about an event that happened in a short times span like ten minutes. By focusing on a shorter time span, you stay focused, and it’s easier to write about.

Skills

·  Making Inferences

·  Author’s Purpose

·  Point of view: 1st, 2nd, 3rd (objective, limited, and omniscient)

·  Tone

·  Mood

·  Selecting evidence to support claims

·  Vocabulary – determining words in context

·  Characterization – indirect and direct

·  Theme

·  Main/Central ideas

·  Reading rigorous/complex/college-level texts: narrative, informational

·  Comparing/Contrast different types of mediums: play vs. story, image vs. story, etc.

·  Parallelism

Þ  Sample from Questar: https://ms-practice.nextera.questarai.com/student/Webclient/wwwroot/Mississippi/documents/printedTest/MS1604_EngII_Sampler.pdf

Þ  Or you can Google MS State Test English II Questar

Þ  Examples for citing and quoting: https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/03/

Þ  Sample essays; scroll down until you see English II: http://www.mde.k12.ms.us/docs/student-assessment/ms_writing_teacher_guide.pdf?sfvrsn=2