How to Effectively Address the Open-ended Question on the

PSSA Reading Exam

Scan all of the questions at the end of each passage before you begin to read the passage. This way you will know what information to look for as you read through the passage.

Have a Reading Strategy

Pay particular attention to any open-ended(essay) question.

For example, this is the open-ended question from the last 4Sight test:

Give at least two examples from the passage that help portray Loki as mischievous. Explain how this portrayal is important to the passage.

Read the open ended question very carefully so that you clearly understand what you are being asked to do. Underline key points in the prompt that explain what you are being asked to do in your essay. Remember – You may make notes, underline, and highlight in the test booklet, but you may not do so on the answer sheet.

Give at least two examples from the passage that help portray Loki as mischievous. Explain how this portrayal is important to the passage.

In this open-ended question, you are being asked to give three things in your essay response : two examples showing that Loki is mischievous and an explanation as to why this portrayal is important to the passage.

Give at least two examples from the passage that help portray Loki as mischievous. Explain how this portrayal is important to the passage.

Check for any words with which you are not familiar.

Give at least two examples from the passage that help portray Loki as mischievous. Explain how this portrayal is important to the passage.

For example, in this question you may not know the definition of the word

mischievous.

Give at least two examples from the passage that help portray Loki as mischievous. Explain how this portrayal is important to the passage.

Read for meaning:In order for you to effectively address this question, you first have to ascertain the meaning of the word mischievous. Therefore, as you read through the passage, you want to look for context clues that will give you an idea of the meaning for the word mischievous.

Remember to underline important information that you find in the passage because this will be the data you will use to construct your essay.

When we read the very first page of the passage, we find that there are two paragraphs that specifically give us an idea of the definition of mischievous, so we underline that information so we can easily find it later.

In the first paragraph, we see that Loki is described as “sneaky” and is referred to as “the trickster”.

In the 4th paragraph we see the line “Ever keen to cause more trouble..” referring again to Loki.

Use the context clues to infer the meaning of “mischievous”.

We can infer that mischievous means someone who is a “trickster” and likes to cause trouble.

Read with purpose:

Once you establish the meaning of the definition of mischievous, then look for examples of Loki being mischievous.

In the very first paragraph, we have one example of Loki causing trouble when he cuts off all of Sif’s beautiful hair. This is an good example to cite in our essay.

In the 1st and 2nd paragraph on the 2nd page, we see a second example of Loki being mischievous, when he turns himself into a fly to cause trouble for Sindri and Brokkr.

As you draft your essay, REMEMBER the following about the open-ended essay on the PSSA Reading Test:

1. This is not a 5 paragraph essay like is required on the PSSA Writing Test.2. The essay on the reading test should be brief, consisting of several

sentences, and be to the point. 3. The essay on the reading test will only take a few minutes to complete. 4. You need to address all of the points the prompt asks for in order to get

the full credit of three points for your essay. 5. You can return to the passage and underline or highlight information

within the test book in order to properly answer the prompt. 6. When addressing the prompt, restate the task or question in the prompt

in a declarative sentence.7. Support your answer with examples from the passage. 8. Make sure the information you use from the text is both accurate and

clear.

Essays on the PSSA Reading Test on graded on the basis of 0-3 points:

3 points = Advanced2 points = Proficient1 point = Basic0 points = Below Basic

This is an example of an essay that scored a 3. Notice that this essay is only four sentences long, but that the student addressed all the task points: citing two examples from the text correctly and clearly, and also explaining why this portrayal is important.

The student also restates the tasks in the prompt as declarative statements: “There are a couple different examples…” and “…all the examples are important to this portrayal of Loki…”

This essay scored a 2. While it is longer than the essay that scored a 3, it only gives the two examples of Loki being mischievous. It fails to explain why this portrayal is important.

This is an example of an essay that scored a 1. This essay only gives one clear example from the text of Loki being mischievous. The second example is not clear, and there is no explanation as to why this portrayal is important.

This is an example of an essay that scored a 0. The examples that the student provides from the text do not clearly show Loki as being mischievous. Also, the student does not provide a clear explanation as to why this portrayal is important.

In conclusion:

Now that you are familiar with the strategies to construct a successful response to the open-ended question on the PSSA Reading Test, and you have seen examples of essays ranging from a 3 to a 0, you can see that writing a good essay is not a difficult task!