Poetry
Short Answer Responses
Essays
Reading Comp/Vocab
Test Strategies
100
An expression of an author’s attitude toward a subject and contributes to the mood.
What is tone?
100
This strategy is used to help the writer construct both a single and paired short answer response.
What is the BRACE/BRACCE strategy?
100
This is the controlling idea of the essay (and the only thing you really need in your introductory paragraph).
What is thesis statement?
100
This is what you do when you take what the author gives you (from the text), combine it with your prior knowledge (what you already know) and draw a conclusion.
What is an inference?
100
The act of writing notes in the margins of the text to assist with reading comprehension.
What is annotation?
200
The words and phrases used specifically to help the reader to imagine each of the senses: smell, touch, sight, hearing, and taste.
What is imagery?
200
This is what you do to start your answer for a short answer response.
What is restating the question?
200
This is what helps prove your thesis statement; it includes your examples, explanations, and commentary.
What is supporting evidence?
200
This is what you do when you do not know the meaning of a word and CONTINUE to do when you come across another unfamiliar term (even if it is in the definition of the word you looked up first).
What is use a dictionary?
200
These are the things you should consider when reading poetry. Hint: To Simply Sing Cool
What is title, speaker, synopsis, and connotation?
300
A message the author wants the reader to understand which can often be summed up in a single word (e.g. love, death, betrayal).
What is theme?
300
This is the next step you do in order to prove your answer after you've restated the prompt.
What is citing textual evidence (direct quotation)?
300
To persuade; to entertain; to inform
What is author's purpose?
300
This is what you're looking for when you are summarizing parts of the passage and looking for the repetition of ideas.
What is main idea?
300
The HIGHLY RECOMMENDED order for completing the English II STAAR exam.
What is essays first, then SARs, next reading multiple choice, and editing/revising multiple choice last?
400
The person the reader is supposed to imagine is talking -- the voice in the poem (NOT NECESSARILY THE POET/AUTHOR).
Who is the speaker of the poem?
400
This is what you do differently for a paired SAR that you would not do for a single SAR.
What is cite evidence from both texts?
400
Historical references; literary references; television/film references; contemporary/real-world/current events (not yo hypothetical bf/gf situations)
What is relevant and concrete evidence?
400
From "Caged Bird" by Maya Angelou The free bird thinks of another breeze and the trade winds soft through the sighing trees and the fat worms waiting on a dawn bright lawn and he names the sky his own But a caged bird stands on the grave of dreams his shadow shouts on a nightmare scream his wings are clipped and his feet are tied so he opens his throat to sing. THE ANSWER IS NOT "WHAT IS POETRY?"
What is metaphor/extended metaphor?
400
This is the total time you have to take the test including the breakdown of each section.
What is 5 hours: 2 hours for essays; 2 hours for reading MC and SARs; 1 hour for editing and revising MC?
500
A change in the mood, tone, or subject matter.
What is shift?
500
This is the final step of the short answer response process.
What is explain/extend/end your answer?
500
This is what you call the readers of your essay. They may not know who 2 Chainz is; they may not know what "thirsty" means; they may not understand the slang you use with your friends and family. THIS IS WHAT WE CALL THE PEOPLE THAT NEED YOU TO USE ACADEMIC LANGUAGE.
What is audience?
500
This is the shade of meaning or feeling associated with a word. It goes beyond the literal meaning, and it can be either positive or negative.
What is connotation?
500
This is what you do when you are planning your essay. If you do not do this, you are more than likely going to FAIL because you will likely present an essay that lacks focus, coherence, and relevant supporting evidence. You will experience writer's block and not know what else to say, and eventually complain about not knowing why you failed the essay portion. EVEN PROFESSIONAL WRITERS PRACTICE THIS!
What is pre-writing?
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