Assessment Strategies for Reading

Kleinman, Liza. Assessment Strategies for Reading. Portland, Maine: Walch Publishing, 2003.

Reading Comprehension

• Reading comprehension questions test how well you understand what you read. They generally consist of a passage followed by multiple-choice or short answer question. The subject matter of the passage can vary widely.

Some passages are likely to include:

• Fiction

• Poetry

• An excerpt from a book or article

• A nonfiction essay

• Passages that include a graphic of some sort, such as a map, chart, or graph

TIP!!!!

• Don’t get caught up trying to memorize details. Instead, read for the main ideas. If you understand how the passage is organized, you’ll be able to go back for the details.

Main Idea Questions

Main Idea Questions

• Main Idea Questions come in many different forms, but they all ask the same thing: What’s the big idea? Here are some of the ways main idea questions might be phrased:

• Which of the following would be the best title for this passage?• What is the main idea of this selection?• Which best sums up the meaning of the poem?

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• The main idea of a nonfiction passage is usually stated in the first paragraph. The main idea is often stated again in the conclusion paragraph.

Details Questions

Details Questions

• Details questions ask you about a supporting idea or detail in the passage. These are the questions that require you to go back into the passage and do a little research. Details questions are straightforward--they don’t require you to interpret the information. All you need to do is figure out where in the passage to find the information, and read that part of the passage closely.

Here are some examples of detail questions:

• What examples does the author give to support his theory?

• Which of the following supports the main idea of the essay?

• Which is one of the reasons given by the author to describe why she loves to paint?

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• When you come across a detail question, refer to your mental map of the passage. Your mental map should give you a pretty good idea of what section of the passage you need to re-read in order to answer the question!

Inference Questions

Inference Questions

• Sometimes in order to fully understand a passage, you need to understand not only what it says, but what it implies. In other words, while some facts and ideas are stated outright, others are less obvious. You have to infer them from the text. To infer, or to make an inference, is to draw a conclusion based on information you’ve been given.

Here are some examples:

• Based on the description of life in the American colonies, you can infer which of the following?

• What conclusion can you draw based on the speaker’s description of her hometown?

• According to the information in the passage, you can tell that which of the following is true?

Eliminate obviously wrong answer choices, including these:

• The going-too-far answer choice-- This is an answer that choice that stretches a little too far from the actual information in the passage--remember that while the correct answer won’t be stated outright, it will be a short leap away.

• The familiar-but-wrong answer choice-- This is an answer choice that sounds like it could be right, but doesn’t actually have anything to do with the passage.

TIP!!!!!

• Like detail questions, inference questions are generally point you toward the part of the passage you need to look back at. Unlike detail questions, though, they require you to read back carefully and think about the implied meaning!

Fact or Opinion

Fact or Opinion

• In order to understand what you read, you need to distinguish between statements that are facts and statements that are somebody’s opinions. Remember that while a fact is something that nobody would reasonably argue about, an opinion is based on somebody’s personal beliefs. A reading comprehension question might ask you to determine whether an individual statement is a fact or an opinion.

These statements that are:

• FACTS• Dogs, zebras, and

dolphins are all animals.• The capital of Illinois is

Springfield.• Lake Huron is the

second largest of the Great Lakes.

• OPINIONS• Mint Chocolate chip

is the tastiest ice cream flavor.

• Lilacs smell better than roses.

• Orange is the best color to paint a house.

• You also might be asked to determine whether the entire passage is intended as a factual passage (one that consists entirely of facts), or an opinion passage (one that may contain some facts, but exists to put forth a particular opinion).

Here are some examples of factual passages and opinion passages:

• FACTUAL PASSAGES• An encyclopedia entry

about the spotted owl• A summary of the

history of the modern telephone

• A guide to identifying plants of the southwestern United States.

• OPINION PASSAGES• A newspaper column

urging people to vote against the construction of a new road

• A letter to a magazine editor disagreeing with an article the magazine printed

• A review of a new short story book

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• To determine whether something is a fact or an opinion, ask yourself the following:

• Can this be proven? (If the answer is yes, it’s a fact.)

• Could somebody reasonably argue with this statement? (If the answer is yes, it’s an opinion).

Author’s Tone

Author’s Tone

• A writer’s tone is the feeling or attitude with which the author writes. Here are some examples of different tones that writers might have:

• Instrumental• Argumentative• Skeptical• Detached

Author’s Purpose

Author’s Purpose

• The author’s purpose is his or her reason for writing the passage. Somebody writing an election campaign speech, for example, has a different reason than somebody writing an essay about the habits of pandas. The campaign speechwriter wants to persuade voters, while the essay writer wants to inform the reader about pandas.

Here are some examples:

• To entertain

• To inform

• To persuade

• To argue

• To illustrate a point

Remember….

• When you read a passage, ask yourself who the author is addressing (Potential voters? Readers of a particular newspaper? A general audience?) and what the passage is aiming to accomplish. It may be helpful to ask yourself whether the passage seems to be mostly made of facts, or mostly of opinions. If it is primarily factual, its purpose is probably to inform. If it contains opinions, and/or ideas that are arguable, and/or a particular point of view about an issue, its purpose is probably to persuade as well as inform.

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• Usually, the first paragraph of the passage will inform you of the author’s purpose. Look for clue words and phrases, such as “in my opinion” and “in contrast to what most people think.”

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• An authors tone question asks you to take a broad look at the passage--the way a main idea question does. In addition to the questions that ask about the author’s tone, you may see questions that ask you about the tone of a particular passage or a question that would require you to take a narrower look, focusing on a particular character. Remember that the author’s tone might be different from an individual character’s tone.

• Often (but not always) you can eliminate the answer choice that is the most extreme. It is far more likely that the author’s tone will be “mildly argumentative” than “incredibly hateful”

Literary Terms

• Reading Comprehension doesn’t mean simply understanding the page. It also means being able to understand and discuss the choice that an author makes, using the terminology of literature. Questions might require you to do any of the following:

1. Identify different types of literature2. Identify and understand the literary devices that

an author employs3. Discuss the nuts and bolts of writing

The best strategy for approaching questions using literary terms is to be familiar

with the terms. Here is a reference of some commonly

used literary terms:

Types of Writing• Fable- a story that has a moral• Free verse- poetry that does not use a regular pattern

of meter or rhyme• Fiction- writing that is not intended to be factual (for

example, a story or novel)• Nonfiction- writing that is intended to be factual (for

example, a textbook)• Poetry- an expressive form of writing that can be

written in meter or free verse• Biography- an account of a person’s life• Autobiography- a person’s self-written biography

Literary Devices• Imagery- vivid description that creates a picture in the reader’s

mind• Metaphor- a comparison between two unlike things • Simile- a comparison between two unlike things that uses “like”

or “as”• Onomatopoeia- words whose sounds imitate their meaning

(BLING, BLING!!)• Alliteration- the repetition of the first sound in a word (The pink

pig played prettily)• Hyperbole- exaggeration• Personification- giving human traits or actions to nonhuman

things (talking animals)• Irony- the opposite of what is expected (the most foolish

character turns out to be the smartest) or (“I just love when you blast your music at 3 A.M.”

Terms that describe the nuts and bolts of writing

• Meter- the rhythm of a poem• Plot- the action of a story• Setting- where and when the story took place• Main Character- the person (or animal, or object) who is the focus of a

story• Narrator- the person who is telling the story• Speaker- another word for narrator• Stanza- a section of a poem (similar to a paragraph division)• Dialogue- conversation among characters• Point of View- the perspective from which the story is told

• Satire- a type of humor that pokes fun at or ridicules something

OAT Verbs

• Adapt: To fit; to adjust; to suit• Analyze: Separate or distinguish the elements of• Apply: bring a thing into contact with something else• Assess: estimate the value of property or income for taxation• Chart: an outline map showing special conditions or facts• Clarify: Make clearer• Classify: arrange in classes or groups• Communicate: give by speaking, writing, ECT.• Compare: point out or find alike and differences• Compile: collect and bring together in one list or account• Compose: make up; constitute• Conclude: bring to an end; finish• Connect: join; link• Construct: put together; build• Contrast: a great difference• Create: cause to be; make

OAT Verbs Continued

• Critique: a critical essay or review• Define: make clear the meaning of• Demonstrate: show clearly• Describe: tell or write about• Design: a drawing, plan or sketch made to serve as a pattern from

which to work • Determine: make up one’s mind very firmly• Develop: come into being or activity; grow• Differentiate: make different; cause to have differences• Distinguish: recognize as different• Draw: cause to move by the use of force or effort• Estimate: judgment or opinion of the approximate size, worth or amount• Evaluate: find out the value or amount of• Examine: look at closely or carefully• Explain: make plain or clear

OAT Verbs Continued

• Find: come upon by chance• Formulate: state definitely or systematically• Generalization: act or process of generalizing• Graph: a symbolic diagram• Identify: recognize as being• Include: have within itself; contain• Infer: find out by a process of reasoning from

something known or assumed

• Interpret: explain the meaning of• Observe: see and note; notice; perceive• Order: the way one thing follows another• Organize: put into working order• Predict: announce or tell beforehand• Present: at hand; not absent

OAT Verbs Continued• Prove: establish as true; make certain• Provide: supply; furnish• Recognize: be aware of someone or something as already known• Relate: give an account; tell; narrate• Represent: stand for; be a sign or symbol for• Select: picked as best; chosen especially• Show: let be seen; display• Solve: find the answer to• Sort: group of things having common or similar

characteristics• Summarize: make a summary of; give only the main points• Support: keep from falling; hold up• Synthesize: combine into a complex whole• Trace: a mark left by anything; track• Understand: to comprehend; to see through• Use: put into action or service; utilize• Verify: to prove to be true; to confirm

DO NOT FORGET…

• Get a good night’s sleep!• Eat a good breakfast• Wear your favorite outfit• Relax, Stay Calm, Try Your Best!• Read the entire question before you

answer• Write neatly, restate and stay in the

box• Move on if you get stuck, do not

forget to come back and answer it• 2 point questions need 2 answers, 4

needs 3 or 4!!!!!• Mark the bubbles completely• CHECK ALL YOUR WORK,

REMEMBER… NO BLANKS!!!!