Central Idea
What is a central idea?
The point an author is trying to make.
What is a summary?
A brief restatement of a larger set of details (paragraph/book/article).
Define an inference.
A reasonable guess based on evidence/personal understanding.
Define an analogy in general (NO SPECIFIC TYPES)
Comparing two unconnected things to explain an idea.
What does the "multi-" in "multi-paragraph response" mean?
Many, several, more than one
What is used to strengthen a central idea?
Supporting details/Evidence
What does it mean for a summary to be objective?
Focused on facts and free of personal opinions or beliefs.
Describe a citation
Details pulled from the text to support an idea.
What three items need to be understood in an analogy?
1. The main item
2. The thing it is being compared to
3. The meaning or effect of this comparison
What would be the most reasonable number of paragraphs to write in a long answer test response?
HINT: This isn't just a number.
One paragraph per question being asked.
What is the simple place to USUALLY find central ideas?
The very beginning--the topic sentence or introductory paragraph.
What should NEVER be present in a summary?
Quotations/Sentences pulled straight from the text.
When does a citation need to have quotation marks?
The words used are pulled DIRECTLY from the sentences in the text.
"A degree is your ticket to desirable jobs."
Explain all three parts of this analogy.
The main item is a degree, which is being compared to a ticket. This is being done to show that, like a ticket is needed to ride something, degrees are needed to access certain careers.
What should the first sentence of any paragraph be doing?
Introducing the topic/Providing the central idea
If a central idea isn't clearly written, what has to be done to find it?
Find the common connection between supporting details.
What TWO pieces of a source need to be understood in order to summarize effectively?
Central idea and supporting details
Describe in two steps how you should come up with a good, reliable inference.
1. Gather resources from the text (central ideas and supporting details).
2. Compare this information to what you personally know to be true (pre-existing knowledge).
Give me an example of an analogy about the weather.
Answers vary
What should the final sentence of any paragraph be doing?
Restating (NOT repeating) the central idea of the completed paragraph.
What is the central idea in the following paragraph in your own words?
Humans' sense of sight allows us to spot both danger and useful resources. Smell and taste warns us of rotten and poisonous foods while encouraging us to follow sweeter sensations. Our sense of touch lets us handle things with care, and pain forces us to react negatively to damaging situations. All of these tools together have made us into excellent survivors.
Humans have adapted senses to survive efficiently.
Summarize the following:
There are times when the night sky glows with bands of color. The bands may begin as cloud shapes and then spread into a great arc across the entire sky. They may fall in folds like a curtain drawn across the heavens. The lights usually grow brighter, then suddenly dim. During this time the sky glows with pale yellow, pink, green, violet, blue, and red. These lights are called the Aurora Borealis. Some people call them the Northern Lights. Scientists have been watching them for hundreds of years. They are not quite sure what causes them. In ancient times people were afraid of the Lights. They imagined that they saw fiery dragons in the sky. Some even concluded that the heavens were on fire.
The Aurora Borealis, or Northern Lights, are bands of color in the night sky. Ancient people thought that these lights were dragon on fire, and even modern scientists are not sure what they are.
What inference can you make about the following? Give an inference and explain it.:
You walk up to your neighbor's door.
1. You can't hear anything on the other side of the door.
2. The lights are all off.
3. You try knocking twice, but nothing happens.
4. It is the middle of the day.
5. The neighbor's car is not in the driveway.
The neighbor is at work.
Give me an example of an analogy about ants. Aside from the first part, which has been given to you, clearly explain the other two parts of the analogy.
Answers vary
List and describe all steps of ACE.
Answer: Restate and respond to the question WITHOUT DETAIL (central idea).
Cite: Provide evidence from the text that supports your answer.
Explain: Use YOUR OWN WORDS to prove that your citation makes sense to the answer being given.