Transcript Language Arts Test - Haralson County Schools

Language Arts Test
Domains
 Reading Comprehension- 48%
 Literary Analysis - 38%
 Conventions and Writing - 14%
Reading Comprehension
 These items test your ability to read
and understand the meaning and
main ideas in fiction, nonfiction, and
poetry.
Reading Comprehension
 Also tested is your ability to identify an
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author’s use of literary elements including:
language and style
character development
point of view
irony
sound
form
structure
Literary Analysis
 Analysis of how authors use language for
particular purposes in fiction, nonfiction,
and poetry.
 Recognition of theme and underlying
meaning as well as an understanding of
the history of American literature.
 Identification and analysis of techniques
used by authors to produce particular
effects on the reader.
Conventions and
Writing
 Knowledge of vocabulary, writing for
specific audiences, proper English usage
 Formulating clear research questions
 Revision of writing to address different
audiences and to improve the coherence
of the organization
Specific Skills
Identifying Main Ideas
 The main idea can often be
found in one or more of these
places:
 The title
 The thesis statement
 The conclusion
Main Ideas
 The subordinate, or supporting,
ideas of a passage can often be
found in one or more of these
places:
 The topic sentence of each
paragraph
 The body paragraphs
Main Ideas
 In a well-written passage, you’ll find
evidence to support main and
subordinate ideas in the body
paragraphs. This evidence might
include:
 Anecdotes
 Descriptions
 Facts
 Statistics
Finding the Main Idea
 When the main idea is not directly
stated, look at the supporting
ideas and think what they all have
in common.
Author’s Purpose
 Inform- objective, factual
statements are used
 Persuade – opinions are
expressed; propaganda
techniques are used
Author’s Purpose
 Entertain – speaker is usually
telling a story
 Describe – strong adjective
that tell what something is like;
often uses figurative language
Nonfiction and Fact vs. Opinion
 Nonfiction works such as speeches and
essays often combine fact and opinion,
particularly if they are meant to be
persuasive.
Nonfiction and Fact vs. Opinion
 Determining between fact and opinion
takes logical reasoning
 A fact is a statement that can be
proven.
 An opinion is a statement that cannot
be proven because it states a writer’s
belief or judgment about something.
Nonfiction and Fact vs. Opinion
 These questions are not trick
questions: just because you do not
know if the statement is true or false,
does NOT mean it is an opinion.
Nonfiction and Fact vs. Opinion
 Think: even though I don’t know if
“Abraham Lincoln is the sixteenth
president,” it could be proven; whereas, as
statement such as “The country would not
have reunited if not for Abraham Lincoln”
cannot be proven.
Identifying Tone
 Tone reflects the author’s attitude
 Think is the TONE positive or negative and
then choose your answer accordingly.
 Ex. - If the tone comes across as
negative, you want to choose an answer
with negative connotation such as bitter or
malicious.
Basic Literary Elements
 Authors use literary elements to
influence and involve their
readers.
 Being familiar with the basic
elements can make readers more
aware of the effects authors are
trying to create.
Basic Literary Elements:
Language
 Diction refers to the word choices a writer
makes
 Figurative language, or figures of speech, to
convey meaning other than the literal meaning
of the word
 Metaphors and similes are examples of figures of
speech.
 Imagery, or description intended to elicit a
sensory experience, allows an author to show a
reader something, rather than to tell a reader.
Basic Literary Elements:
Language
 Symbolism is another way in which
writers use language to express
something more than the literal meaning of
the words.
 A symbol is something that stands for
something else.
Basic Literary Elements:
Plot
 Exposition - introduces the
characters, establishes the
setting, and reveals the problem
or conflict.
 Rising action -a series of
complications in which tension
builds; incidents either help or
hinder the protagonist in finding a
solution
Basic Literary Elements:
Plot
 Climax - the peak or turning point of
the action.
 Denouement or falling action - after
the climax; gives any necessary
explanation and ends with
resolution, the sense that the story is
complete.
Literary Movements
 You will probably not be asked specific
dates about these movement, but you may
need to know characteristics of a particular
movement.
 Also, knowing to what time
period/movement a piece of literature
belongs could help with identification of
theme and tone.
Literary Movements
Details are in handout.
 Native American
 Colonial
 Revolutionary/
Naturalisim
 Romanticism/
Transcendentalism
 Realism
 Naturalism
 Modern
 Postmodern
Conventions and Writing
 Identify and correct the grammatical
errors in a passage in the following
areas:
 Main and subordinate clauses
 Punctuation marks (e.g., end
punctuation, commas, colons,
semicolons, quotation marks, ellipses,
and hyphens)
Conventions and Writing
 Verb tense consistency and
agreement
 Proper placement of modifiers
 Precise word choice
 Spelling
 Parallel structure
FINALLY
 Read everything carefully
 Think the answers through
 If you have no clue, try to eliminate at least
1 answer, and make your best guess.
 Get plenty of sleep the night before
 Eat breakfast
 GOOD LUCK