Don’t let unusual reading passages bother you. Except for their different format, these passages are just like fiction and nonfiction passages.
Take control of the test. Work through the questions in whatever order makes you most comfortable. If you do answer the questions out of sequence, make sure you remember to fill in the proper ovals. Try focusing first on the passages that have the most questions.
Some types of multiple-choice questions:
· Word meaning – These test your vocabulary knowledge; figure out what the word means by the words and sentences around it.
· Supporting idea – These focus on small facts within a reading passage; they require you to go back to the passage to find the answer
· Summarization – These ask the main idea; you will need to decide on the topic of the passage after reading, then, match your guess to the closest choice given.
· Inference and Generalization – These ask you to draw a conclusion based on information you have read; the answer will not be obvious from the passage, but look for clues in the wording of the question to help you find the answer.
You will be expected to draw conclusions and explain relationships about the story you have heard. To do this well, good notes are essential. One good way to take notes is to:
· Draw two columns on the note-taking page.
· In the first column, record the main characters and basic messages of the story.
· In the second column, list important details that complete the story.
Sometimes the listening passage will be accompanied by some words and definitions that you’ll need to know as you listen. Be sure you look over these words so that you can get a sense of what they mean before the passage is read.
On open-ended questions, there is no set right or wrong answer. If you can support your answer with examples from the story, then it’s correct.
You will read two related passages and write open-ended answers. The purpose is to see how well you are able to analyze information and come up with a conclusion. Therefore, the extended response question in this section will ask you to do two main things:
· Use information from both reading passages.
· Draw some conclusions and support them with details.
·
Supporting details for your main idea are the most important thing in your writing.
Use language and tone which are appropriate for your audience.
Be sure information is organized in a clear, logical way. After you have brainstormed for ideas, think about how to order, develop, and connect each one.
Act – larger division of a play
Ad Lib – improvisation or making up lines as you go along
Allegory – a story in which characters represent ideas or qualities
Alliteration – the repetition of consonant sounds at the beginning of words
Allusion – reference to a piece of literature or a real person, place or event that the author expects the reader to recognize
Anecdote – a brief narrative of an interesting, unusual or biographical event often used to illustrate a point
Antagonist – the character against the main character (protagonist)
Anticlimax – smaller, less important crisis leading to the main climax
Antonym – a word opposite in meaning to another word
Assonance – the repetition of similar vowel sounds in several words that are close together
Brainstorming – a prewriting technique in which a writer jots down all ideas that come to mind on a topic to expand the range of available ideas, to solve a problem, or clarify a concept
Cause and Effect – an organizational structure in which there is a description of events and their causes or consequences
Characterization – the method an author uses to create the appearance and personality of imaginary characters; can by done by describing physical appearance, through the character’s speech, thoughts, feelings, or actions, through another character’s reactions to him, or by the narrator’s comments
Chronological Order – arrangement of events according to their occurrence in time; sometimes called sequence
Coherence – the quality of a piece of writing in which the ideas are clearly arranged so a reader can follow the progression from one idea to the next
Comparison and Contrast – an organizational structure of text in which a description of similarities and differences among two or more things occurs
Conflict – the problem or struggle of the main character (either internal or external)
Connotation – the attitudes and feelings associated with a word as opposed to the word’s actual meaning
Consonance – the repetition of similar consonant sounds in several words that are close together
Context Clues – information a reader may obtain from a text that helps confirm the meaning of a word
Conventions – the accepted rules of written and spoken language
Credibility – the quality of offering reasonable grounds for being believed
Declarative Sentence – a sentence that makes a statement
Denotation – the literal or “dictionary” meaning of a word
Dialect – a form of language spoken in a particular geographic area or by a particular social or ethnic group
Dialogue – conversation between characters
Editing – a step in preparing a written work for publication that focuses on clarity and correctness
Exclamatory Sentence – a sentence that makes a strong statement or conveys strong or sudden emotion
Expository – a spoken or written composition which explains something
Fable – a story intended to teach a lesson, especially one in which animals speak and act like humans
Figurative Language – language enriched by word images and figures of speech
First Person Narration – narration in which the point of view is that of the main character
Flashback – the technique of stopping the chronological action in a story and shifting to an earlier period to introduce additional information
Fluency – the act of reading easily, smoothly and automatically
Focus – the center of interest or attention
Foreshadowing – the technique of giving clues to coming events in a narrative
Genre - an established class or category of literature
Graphic Organizer – a method of organization of information which incorporates diagrams or other pictorial devices
Hyperbole – exaggeration for the sake of emphasis
Idiom – a combination of words that is not strictly in accordance with grammatical rules and often possesses a meaning other than its grammatical or logical one
Imagery – words and phrases that create vivid sensory experience for the reader
Inference – a general conclusion drawn from information that is given
Interrogative Sentence – a sentence that asks a question
Irony – when what happens is the opposite of what is expected
Irregular – an exception to a rule in the English language
Limited Point of View – the point of view, in which the narrator tells the story in the third person but confines himself to what is experienced, thought and felt by a single or limited number of characters
Literary Element – a component of a piece of literature
Main Idea - the chief topic of a piece
Metaphor – a comparison not using “like” or “as”
Meter – rhythm pattern in a poem
Monologue – an extended speech that is presented by one character
Mood – the feeling or atmosphere the author creates for the reader
Narrative – a story
Omniscient Point of View – point of view in which a narrator is removed from the story and knows everything that needs to be known
Onomatopoeia – words whose sound imitates their suggested meaning
Open-Ended Question – a type of question intended to produce a free response
Oxymoron – opposite words are used in the same phrase
Paraphrase – rewriting a piece of literature in simple prose to clarify its meaning
Parody – a work in which the style of another author is imitated for comic effect
Parallel Structure – the phrasing of language to balance ideas of equal importance
Persona – a voice or character representing a speaker or narrator of a work
Personification – human qualities are given to animals or nonliving things
Persuasive – writing that moves the reader by argument to a belief or position
Plagiarism – to steal and pass off the ideas of another as one’s own without crediting the source
Plot – the sequence of events in a story (exposition, rising action, climax, falling action and resolution)
Point of View – the perspective of a narrator of a piece of literature
Prefix – letters added before the base of a word
Prewriting – the first creative stage of writing in which a writer formulates ideas, gathers information, and plans organization
Primary Source – firsthand knowledge, such as an eyewitness account
Props – articles used by actors in a play
Protagonist – the main character in a work
Pun – the usually humorous use of a word in such a way as to suggest two or more of its meanings
Refrain – repeated words or lines in a poem
Resolution – the point in a literary work in which the problem is solved and the outcome is clear
Revision – the stage of writing in which one improves the meaning and structure of a draft
Rhyme Scheme – pattern of rhyme in a poem
Rhythm – the beat of poetry; its musical quality
Rubric – a set of rules which can be used as a means of evaluation
Satire – a technique in which something is ridiculed for the purpose of improving society
Scene – smaller division of a play
Scenery – background setting for a play
Secondary Source – a source that is reporting information from another source
Setting – the time and place of a literary work
Simile – a comparison using “like” or “as”
Six Writing Traits – ideas, organization, voice, word choice, sentence fluency, conventions
Soliloquy - a speech, given alone on the stage, in which a character speaks his thoughts aloud
Stereotyping – a standardized mental picture that represents an oversimplified opinion or attitude
Style – an author’s distinct manner of expression
Subplot – the secondary action of a story, usually involving minor characters
Suffix – letters added to the end of the base of a word
Symbol – a concrete thing that suggests something more abstract
Synecdoche – referring to a whole thing by mentioning only part of it
Synonym – a word which has a meaning similar to another word
Theme – the lesson or main idea of a work of literature
Thesis – the basic argument proposed by the speaker who then tries to prove it
Third Person Narration – narration in which the point of view is that of someone outside the story who refers to the characters as “he,” “she,” etc.
Tone – the author’s attitude toward his or her subject
Topic Sentence –a sentence intended to express the main idea in a passage
Transitions – words and phrases that help explain relationships between sentences and allow a reader to move from one idea to another
Venn Diagram – a mapping technique often used in a compare-contrast essay
Word Origin – the history or etymology of a word