Text Evidence & Central Idea
This is the definition of 'central idea'.
A central idea of a text is a main point that an author makes about a topic. A central idea answers the question, What is it all about?
What is the 'theme' of a story?
The message the author is trying to send.
An author’s purpose is the author’s reason for writing. Authors typically write for one or more of the following purposes: to entertain, to persuade, or to explain something to readers.
What are literary elements?
All elements of literature. For instance,
characters, plot, point of view, theme, setting, etc.
When you come across an unfamiliar word in your text, what should you do?
Use context clues to decipher the words meaning.
One way to interpret implicit meanings is to make ________, using clues from the text and your own experiences to make logical conclusions about the text. Referencing textual evidence correctly and making __________ are part of reading and comprehending texts proficiently.
What are inferences?
What is the difference between the topic of a story and the theme of a story?
The topic is what the story is about in one word. The theme is the message of the story written in a complete sentence.
What is the author's perspective?
The author’s perspective is the author’s attitude toward his or her subject, or the way the author thinks and feels about the subject.
What is the difference between mood and tone?
The mood is the emotional atmosphere of the text. For instance, an author or a poet might use imagery to describe a dark, stormy night to create a suspenseful mood. In fiction, tone refers to the narrator’s attitude toward events and other characters. Tone can be conveyed through word choice. For example, a writer may use words such as dangerous and frightening to convey a fearful tone.
Paris, November 13, 1787
The British ministry have so long hired their gazetteers to repeat, and model into every form, lies about our being in anarchy, that the world has at length believed them, the English nation has believed them, the ministers themselves have come to believe them, and what is more wonderful, we have believed them ourselves.
Which word or phrase best matches the meaning of wonderful as it is used in the first paragraph of the letter?
A. incredible
B. admirable
C. having magic
D. lacking any flaw
A. incredible
Turn to page 2, The Refusal lines 18-43 of paragraph 5
Which of the following statements from the text provides the best evidence for the inference the soldiers are seen as beast-like and inhuman?
A. "Thus, wherever the soldiers appear, our lively people grow silent."
B. "This is revolting, one loses the desire to talk, customers start leaving the shop"
C. "A solider for example listens to the conversations"
D. "They are small, not agile people, the most striking thing about them is the prominence of their teeth which almost overcrowds their mouth."
D
What is the theme of "I am Offering this Poem"?
Answers vary.
Should relate to the idea of love, gratitude, and the power of poetry as a means of expressing deep and meaningful emotions.
Of the modes of persuasion furnished by the spoken word, there are three kinds. What are they and what do they do?
1.
2.
3.
ethos- appeals to credibility
pathos- appeals to emotion
logos- appeals to logic
Look back at paragraph 5 of The Refusal. (page 1)
The narrator's characterization of the colonel during the reception leads the reader to conclude that-
A. the colonel is considered to be an ordinary citizen
B. the colonel is openly disrespected by the townspeople
C. the colonel worries about losing his position as tax-collector
D. the colonel inspires great fear among the townspeople
D. the colonel inspires great fear among the townspeople
Though the people know "what to expect", the sight of the colonel causes the people to "rake fright all over again".
Drought conditions affect the river from the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau to the North China Plain. Drought is caused by weather patterns, but is worsened by human activities. For example, when people need more land for planting, they remove trees and grasses to use every available space, even on steep mountainsides. This causes severe erosion. As a result, when it rains hard, the water, soil, and crops surge down the mountainside and into the river, causing flooding. Once the floodwaters subside, the drought continues. In a healthy ecosystem, established, deep-rooted trees and grasses hold the soil, while decomposing vegetation helps to keep in moisture. This means that the water does not wash away immediately. instead, it slowly sinks deep into the land, replenishing essential groundwater.
In the sentence, what does the word subside most nearly mean?
A. abate
B. elevate
C. merge
D. recur
A. abate
What does abate mean? Look at the other answer choices. Do any of them fit?
(become less intense)
“You deplore the demonstrations taking place in Birmingham. But your statement, I am sorry to say, fails to express a similar concern for the conditions that brought about the demonstrations. I am sure that none of you would want to rest content with the superficial kind of social analysis that deals merely with effects and does not grapple with underlying causes.”
What is the central idea of this paragraph?
Society should be more upset about the unjust conditions people are protesting than they are about the protests themselves.
Reread paragraph 6 of Things Fall Apart. (page 46)
This passage conveys the universal theme that...
A. children tend to be stronger and more successful than their parents.
B. we are often labeled with the reputation that our parents had
C. family relationships have a strong effect on our worldview.
D. children of failures are less likely to work hard or save money.
C. family relationships have a strong effect on our worldview.
Which appeal goes with each of the following quotes?
(all quotes are excerpts from Martin Luther King JR's Letter from Birmingham Jail)
1. "So I, along with several members of my staff, am here because I was invited here I am here because I have organization ties here."
2. "An unjust law is a code that a numerical or power majority group compels a minority group to obey but does not make binding on itself. This is difference made legal."
3. "when you have to concoct an answer for a five year old son who is asking: 'Daddy, why do why do people treat colored people so mean?"
1. ethos
2. logos
3. pathos
View paragraph 5 of The Refusal. (page 1)
Which statement best suggest the narrative point of view and its effect on the story's tone?
A. The narrator is separate from others in the town and this gives the story a comical tone.
B. The narrator is separate from others in the town, and this gives the story a menacing, or dangerous, tone.
C. The narrator is deeply connected to the events, and his comments give the story a patient but hopeless tone.
D. The narrator is very much part of the town, but his tone lacks hope in that he does not speak of anything to look forward to.
C. The narrator is deeply connected to the events, and his comments give the story a patient but hopeless tone.
The narrator speaks in the first person, both plural and singular, showing his connection to the events. His tone lacks hope in that he does not speak of the future.
Drought conditions affect the river from the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau to the North China Plain. Drought is caused by weather patterns, but is worsened by human activities. For example, when people need more land for planting, they remove trees and grasses to use every available space, even on steep mountainsides. This causes severe erosion. As a result, when it rains hard, the water, soil, and crops surge down the mountainside and into the river, causing flooding. Once the floodwaters subside, the drought continues. In a healthy ecosystem, established, deep-rooted trees and grasses hold the soil, while decomposing vegetation helps to keep in moisture. This means that the water does not wash away immediately. instead, it slowly sinks deep into the land, replenishing essential groundwater.
Which detail from the passage best supports the idea that subside means to become less intense?
A. . . .overused and severely polluted
B. . . .water levels decrease. . .
C. . . .a long-term solution. . .
D. . . .causes severe erosion.
B. . . .water levels decrease. . .
What is most closely the central idea of the passage below (paragraph 14)?(Letter From Birmingham)
The unthinkable treatment of African Americans had made them impatient for change.
Reread paragraph 6 of Things Fall Apart. (page 46)
What idea from paragraph 6 best explains the idea that Okonkwo defines himself in contrast to his father?
A. Okonkwo grew up eager to follow in his father's footsteps.
B. Okonkwo felt ashamed of his father's lifestyle
C. Okonkwo vowed to repay his father's many debts.
D. Okonkwo was thin and weak from lack of food.
B. Okonkwo felt ashamed of his father's lifestyle
What is the fourth rhetorical appeal and what is its purpose?
Kairos- why does your argument matter now
View paragraph 5 of The Refusal. (page 1)
Which quotation best supports the idea that the narrator is deeply connected to the events, and his comments give the story a patient but hopeless tone?
A. "Behind him is nothingness, one imagines hearing voices whispering in the background, but this is probably delusion; after all, he represents the end of all things, at least for us."
B. ". . .citizens arrived to ask him for a government subsidy because the poorest quarter of the town had been burned to the ground . . ."
C. As on all solemn occasions the colonel stood upright, holding in front of him two poles of bamboo in his outstretched hands"
D. ". . .he was already standing opposite the colonel when his courage failed him and, muttering a few excuses. . ."
A. "Behind him is nothingness, one imagines hearing voices whispering in the background, but this is probably delusion; after all, he represents the end of all things, at least for us."
This was not to be believed. It was merely a gesture. Montag saw the flirt of a great metal fist over the far city and he knew the scream of the jets that would follow, would say, after the deed, disintegrate, leave no stone on another, perish. Die.
(excerpt of Fahrenheit 451)
What is the meaning of the word disintegrate? What context clues support your thinking?
break up into small parts, typically as the result of impact or decay
Context clues- leave no stone on another, perish, die