English 1
What is revising?
From the test: "Zendaya has written this essay for a class assignment. Read Zendaya’s essay and look for any revisions she needs to make."
When you change what is written to make it better.
From the test: "According to the Corporation for National and Community Service’s research report Volunteer Growth in America, volunteerism is on the rise. For people over age 65, the rate has increased 64 percent since 1974. Perhaps even more surprisingly, the rate for adults aged 45–64 has increased almost 30 percent."
What does "on the rise" mean?
It's going up.
From the test: "This page is intentionally left blank."
What does intentionally mean?
On purpose
From the test: "Editing: Read Jazmin’s essay and look for any corrections that she needs to make. "
What word in context helps you understand the meaning of editing?
Read Jazmin’s essay and look for any corrections that she needs to make.
Editing means making corrections.
What is extraneous?
From the test: "Which sentence in the third paragraph is extraneous and should be deleted from the essay?"
Not needed. Think of the word "extra." If it can be deleted from the essay, it is not needed.
From the test: A study described how volunteering makes people happier and even live longer. "If this study is to be believed, altruism truly is its own reward."
I might say, "Working hard in speech is its own reward because you'll communicate better and get to stop coming to speech!"
What does "is its own reward" mean?
The action is the reward - you don't need money or another reward to make it worthwhile.
From the test: "Make sure that you write your composition on the lined page in the answer document."
Which dictionary definition applies to this meaning?
A. A piece of music that someone has written
B. The way that people or things are arranged in a photograph
C. A short piece of writing about a particular subject, done by a student
C.
The context you are using here is you. You know you are not writing music or taking pictures during your test, but you are writing essays.
From the test: "Which response best summarizes the passage?" The word summarize means:
A. To tell the main idea
B. To tell the main idea and a few details
C. To tell the lesson or moral of the passage
B. To tell the main idea and a few details.
Find the word in context that means almost the same as the underlined word:
From the test: "Zendaya would like to add another detail in the fifth paragraph. Where is the best place to insert this sentence?"
Zendaya would like to add another detail in the fifth paragraph. Where is the best place to insert this sentence?
From the test: "Marcovaldo pulled himself out of bed with the sensation there was something strange in the air."
I might say suspiciously, "Everyone got to speech on time today. There's something strange in the air."
What does "something strange in the air" mean?
Something is different than normal, and I can feel it but I don't know what it is yet.
From the test: "Be sure you have recorded all of your answers on the answer document."
Choose the correct dictionary definition that applies here:
A. Stored sounds or electronic equipment to be heard later
B. Kept information by writing it down or storing it in a computer
C. The facts known about a person or a company
B. You want to make sure that all of your answers are in the computer so that you can get credit for them.
From the test: "Which response provides evidence for Zendaya's conclusion?" Evidence is:
A. Information taken from the text to support an idea
B. Information inferred from the text by the reader
C. Information from the text that is not necessary to include
A. Information taken from the text to support an idea
Fun fact: Evidence is also used in other subject areas to talk about facts that support a conclusion
Which word helps you figure out the meaning of redundant?
From the test: "Luka has included a redundant idea in the third paragraph. Which sentence should be deleted from the paragraph?"
Deleted tells us that redundant describes something we can get rid of. Redundant means that it's something that's repeated and not needed.
From the test: A character wakes up to find his town covered in snow. "Streets and avenues stretched out, endless and deserted, like blanched chasms between mountainous cliffs. There was no telling whether the city hidden under that mantle was still the same or whether, in the night, another had taken its place."
Why does the character say he can't tell if it's still the same city?
It's covered in snow, so even though he knows it's the same, it looks very different.
"STAAR Algebra 1 Reference Materials" shows a list of equations. What are reference materials used for?
To help you answer questions when you don't remember the equation.
From the test: "The boy loved hearing anecdotes about his mother’s childhood in a small town. What was the author's purpose when using this term?"
Anecdotes could mean:
A. facts
B. questions
C. short stories
C. short stories
To answer the question, we would then think about why the author used this word instead of just saying "short stories." Anecdotes are short, often funny, stories about something that someone has done. This word is more specific than "short stories."
From the test: "Read this excerpt from lines 37 and 38 from the poem.
I don’t ask for a ticket and he doesn’t offer one.
What can the reader infer about the speaker based on the excerpt from these lines?"
What is an excerpt?
A short part taken from a longer work, such as a sentence taken from a poem.
From the test: "When men were all asleep the snow came flying, In large white flakes falling on the city brown, Stealthily and perpetually settling and loosely lying, Hushing the latest traffic of the drowsy town; Deadening, muffling, stifling its murmurs failing; Lazily and incessantly floating down and down: Silently sifting and veiling road, roof and railing; Hiding difference, making unevenness even, Into angles and crevices softly drifting and sailing. "
What is happening?
The town is getting covered with snow, which is making it quiet and making everything look the same.
From the written portion of the test: "Support your answer with evidence from the excerpt."
Which one should you do?
a. Use mostly information you already know in your response
b. Use information from the text but in your own words
c. Copy information from the text
B. "Evidence from the excerpt" means that they want you to use information from the text, but put it into your own words. You can use short quotes if you put them in quotation marks.
From the test: "What can you infer about Zendaya's personality based on this passage?"
Are you:
A. Making a guess based on what you know about her
B. Looking for the answer in the passage
A. An inference is a smart guess based on what you already know plus what you read. Instead of saying someone is brave, it might tell you several things they did that take bravery.