General Academic Literacy Skills Test (ALST) Information

General Test-Taking Strategies

Reading Comprehension for Practice and for the Test

Constructing Responses: Document-Based Questions

Focused Responses: Document-Based Writing

Extended Response: Augmentative Essay

Vocabulary

Reading for Structure and Content

Reading for Multiple-Choice Questions

Strategies for Answering Multiple-Choice Questions

Sections are labeled with numbers to correspond with the PowerPoint slides.

1. General ALST Information

Lee: Hi, my name is Lee, and I am a graduate student at The College of Saint Rose and a tutor in the Writing Center. Amber: Hi, my name is Amber, and I am also a graduate student and tutor at Saint Rose. Together, we created this series to help you to prepare for the Academic Literacy Skills Test, or ALST. In these videos, we outline study strategies, test-taking strategies, and ways to support you in doing your best on the ALST. Please feel free to pause these videos at any point or to re-watch any parts. Lee: So, here are the basics. The ALST is 210 minutes or 3.5 hours. It consists of a writing section and a reading section. The writing, called Constructed-Response Questions, is weighted 60%. There are two Focused-Response Questions, which count for 15% of the total and one Extended Response which is 30% of the total. We suggest that you take about 100 minutes to complete this part, which comes out to about 20 minutes for each Focused Response and 60 minutes for the Extended Response. These numbers are kind of fluid, though, since you will also have to read two passages and a graph before you begin writing.Amber: The reading section, called Selected-Response Questions, is weighted 40% and consists of 5 reading passages and 40 multiple choice questions. We suggest that you take about 110 minutes for this section, which is about 22 minutes per reading, each of which usually has 8 questions. 3. We suggest that you do the writing section first because it is worth more and you can’t guess the answers, as you can, if necessary, on the reading section. It doesn’t matter if the answer for a multiple choice question is blank or wrong, because you’re scored on percent correct so it’s best to guess, if necessary. For example, if there are five blank questions and thirty seconds left, you have a twenty-five percent chance of getting it right if you guess, so why not? However, if you feel more comfortable with reading first, then do that instead. There is no right or wrong way.Lee: 4. The whiteboard function in the test should be used for note-taking during readings. At the time of this presentation, it is not possible to underline or highlight text, so when you practice, practice noting rather than underlining or highlighting. Amber: Pay attention to the tutorial before the exam so you know how to use these functions. 5. If you don’t know the answer, flag it and skip it. Spend time on other questions, and then go back. Use the whiteboard to note answers you were sure were wrong

or the two you’re stuck between that you think are right. This will save you time by not having to go through every answer again.Lee: 6. We strongly suggest taking the small sample test on this website to best follow along with these videos. Be familiar with it, because then you’ll better understand what we’re discussing and some examples we’ll be using. We also strongly recommend that you buy the Barron’s Book for the NYSTCE, which has several practice exams. Not only should you take the practice exams and time yourself, but carefully read the reasoning provided for the right answers, whether you got the question right or wrong, because reading the rational will help you to understand the logic behind the questions and answers and this kind of analysis.We would like to explain this really is not a test to be taken lightly. It is challenging and will take a lot of practice beforehand: not days or weeks, but months. These videos are overviews and introductions to the skills you will need to be successful on the ALST.

1. General Test-Taking Strategies

2. Tests do not always measure your knowledge or ability as an educator.

They sometimes measure your ability to make logical inferences (to read between the lines) based on information in a text, and they sometimes measure your use of test-taking strategies.

3. You’ve heard it all before, but get a good night’s sleep, dress comfortably, eat a good breakfast (but not too much). You want the blood flowing through your brain and not your stomach. Get there early, bring picture ID and admission information. You want to eliminate as much stress as you can on testing day.

4. For the week preceding the test, get up at the same time you will get up on the test day, take a practice test at the scheduled test time, prepare food and drink (to have immediately before or after the test, not during), don’t rely on cramming at the last minute, make sure your transportation is set: directions, gas, etc.

Get in the routine of getting up and taking the test. Prepare your mind and body for taking the test.

-These tips seem silly but they’re the little details that help.

5. The College of Saint Rose Writing Center website has a wide range of documents which could help you prepare for the test from writing an argumentative essay to transition words. Also, writing centers themselves are a great resource to study with a tutor. All Saint Rose students are welcome to come to the writing center to prepare for the test. As writing center tutors at the College of Saint Rose, Lee and I are well able to help Saint Rose students, having taken practice tests and prepared these videos. Here, as well, is a link to the actually test’s site to take a practice exam and be informed about the test. Also, they have resources like the grading rubric for the essays that might be useful to review.

1. Reading Comprehension for Practice and for the Test.

2. Note that the texts in the reading section are likely to be from the 1960’s or before, possibly because the test makers are using texts with expired copyrights. When you practice for this test, read material from the 1960’s or earlier, to get used to the language, subject matter, writing style, and so on of the texts written before the present time. The more you practice, the more familiar you will be with this type and variety of texts. Most of the time, when doing research for our own papers, we’re encouraged to use up-to-date material, which is what most of the people taking this test will be used to, so just be prepared. The readings for the writing responses will likely be more contemporary.

3.Write as you read. Every text is a conversation on the page. The author is addressing you, trying to tell you and convince you of something. Therefore, when you take notes, you are interacting with the text, and this is helpful when trying to comprehend the content. When reading, practice taking notes in the margin and not underlining or highlighting, since you can’t underline or highlight on the test. Write down the reason you were going to mark that section or sentence instead.

Note keywords in the passage and in the questions.

It could be helpful to practice writing a “what is says” statement, summarizing a paragraph’s content, and then writing a “what it does” statement, in which you describe the purpose of the paragraph. Practicing this will get you in this mindset of reading a text for the main ideas and structure before going into the test.

Locate in the paragraph and passage where the claims are and where the evidence is, which will likewise allow you to differentiate between the main point and the evidence. You have to pick out the main point, potentially, from numerous secondary points and details, and this can be difficult. Summarizing is one way to draw a conclusion about the main point of a paragraph or overall passage. Practice summarizing before going into the test to develop this skill. However, it is extremely important to remember that summarizing is not the end of your interaction with the text. Summary is a step toward analysis, which is the main point of this test.

4. This first sentence is the claim of the paragraph. “If there was a single moment when she felt a sense of the harmony between her instincts and her environment most clearly, it might have been on a Paris street in the sixth arrondissement one night shortly after the start of World War I.” This is the evidence that backs up the claim; it’s an actual example of an event. Feel free to pause the video here.

5. A double-entry journal is two columns: one consisting of the reader’s observation about the text and the other consisting of the reader’s response or reaction. It is one way to practice taking notes while reading, since you will have to read and draw conclusions from the evidence. For the writing section, you will need to use the evidence to prove your own point. Writing in a double-entry journal, while reading, will help you to practice deciphering evidence and analyzing how you’ll use the evidence later.

6. Asking questions while you read will help you to see the text as conversation, which will help you to read the text analytically. This can support you to see what the author is doing to convince or inform you about a topic from her/his perspective. Reading for inquiry also makes reading more active, which fosters critical thinking. Here are questions to think about while you read.

7. The author’s text is not inherent truth, just an opinion, and knowing this will allow you to see the author’s point of view, ideas, language, the structure, and so on.

The language an author uses reveals intent, biases, level of formality, etc. Imagine if the famous line “Here’s lookin’ at you, kid” was “Here’s watching you, child.” The meaning of this sentence completely changes. Not only is it more formal, but it is also creepy, instead of romantic.

“Mrs. And Mrs. Dursley, of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much.” The actually meaning of the sentence does not change if “thank you very much” is taken out. However, with this addition, tone is built. This addition is characterizing, in that it implies that the Dursleys are a defensive family and that normalcy is a goal in their lives, though maybe something they are incapable and insecure about achieving. This characterization, established through the tone, shows the author’s bias towards the family.

Purpose and audience: every author is trying to influence your opinion.

The authors make stylistic choices, such as repetition, to get their points across. This sentence is emphasizing that Gertrude Stein’s life was predictable, which likewise emphasizes her rejection of this life.

8. You may have heard the terms “ethos, pathos, and logos,” and they’re simply ethics, emotions, and logic. In the reading section, all of these will appear, but the writing section focuses on reasoning: the logic in the passages and in your own response. Here are some examples.

9. Value literary evidence over personal assumption. Even if your personal knowledge contradicts what is in the passage, it is important to respond to what is in the passage. You are drawing conclusions and inferring from the evidence that is in the language of the passage. So, when reading the Gertrude Stein piece, especially this sentence, I instantly disagreed. Hemmingway and Fitzgerald are two of my favorite writers, and I know they did not get along. They were friends with Stein, but individually. Likewise, my understanding of all of these writers and artists puts Gertrude Stein as more of a follower than a collector of friends. I’d imagine Hemmingway and Picasso collected friends like Stein and not the other way around. When reading this and answering the questions, I had to be extra aware of my bias and background knowledge of these writers.

Often, readers transform author’s ideas into ideas they are comfortable with. It would have been easy for me to reject this sentence. However, if I did, I could have answered a question incorrectly. It is difficult to remove our biases as readers, but it benefits us to critically analyze the passage.

1. Constructing Responses.

Note: This presentation is useful for the writing section of the ALST. However, the reading strategies are directly applicable to writing and vice versa. The ideas and language in one explain the other.

2. Document-based

Two Focused Responses100-200 words (suggested 150 minimum)Evaluating and comparing sources

One Extended Response400-600 words (suggested 525 minimum)Argumentative essay150 words is about a half page, double-spaced, and 525 words is roughly a

page and a half, double-spaced.

Keep in mind that you should keep track of the word count as you write, because it is easy to go over for the Focused Response questions, and going back to cut words is time-consuming. In contrast, it is easy to be under your word count goal for the Extended Response, so keep track of that as well.

3. Here is an example of one approach to the writing section. Before you start any writing, we suggest that you read the Extended Response question first. Skim the texts for main points. Read the Focused Response questions. Read both entire passages carefully.

The reason we suggest skimming first is that it gives you the context of the topic that you need to answer questions. This gives you a view of the passage as a whole and how paragraphs relate to the passage as a whole.

4. We suggest reading the questions first, so you have an idea of what to look for while you read the three passages you’ll use for your writing responses.

Be clear: in the rubric, the word “clearly” appears six times, along with the words “coherence” and “clarity,” so be sure to be blunt and straightforward. It will also save time.

Content counts more than grammar, so don’t get stuck on grammar; focus on your points and backing up your points with evidence. Leave time to do just a quick skim of your essay for grammar, after writing. Make sure to hit all of the bullet points in the task.

5. Here are some examples of how to go about starting your sentences. Starting is often the hardest part of writing an essay, so if you have some of these blueprints in mind, it will help you to save time and energy.

6. Being clear begins with language…no flowers! Here is an example of an introduction to an argumentative essay. Notice how blunt the language is, as well as the clear structure. “In this essay” is a clear thesis and is at the end of the paragraph. There is no flowery language that would have taken time to construct and could have potentially obscured your point or evidence.

7. Citations: when citing on this test, you will need the year and the author’s first and last name the first time s/he is mentioned. After that, cite using the last name only. Use the author’s name when paraphrasing or summarizing. You will also need quotations in your essays. They are required.

Say, Mean, Matter. “Say” is what the author states or claims. “Mean” is what you’ve interpreted that the author meant. “Matter” is why this matters? Why/how is this information proving your argument? These three aspects should be present when you quote, summarize, or paraphrase.

8. Here is a set of examples of sentence structures designed to discuss sources. Again, having these structures in mind will help you to save time. Feel free to pause the video here.

9. Here is a set of examples of sentence structures to help discuss the opposing argument. Again, feel free to pause the video and take a closer look.

10. One of the main aspects you’ll be graded on, explicitly found in the rubric, is clarity. Also, the word count is limited. Here, we have some suggestions about how to stay concise, remain clear, and not go over the word count.

11. Since the audience you’re told to address is educated adults, your language needs to be appropriate for that audience. It needs to be sophisticated and formal, no slang, etc. For example, “kid” is less formal and can even be a nickname, while “child” is formal and has a more academic tone.

Be objective, and try to remove your personal biases. It’s better to argue the most convincing claim than the side you believe in, so present the logic of the stronger argument.

Be assertive. Not only do we advise against using the first person in your responses (“I,” “my,” and “we” are first person), but sentences without “I” often read as more assertive. The graders understand that these essays are your opinion. Using “I think” undercuts the authority of your writing.

Likewise, the passive voice is not as assertive as the active voice, so we suggest sticking with the active voice. For example, “The chef prepared the meal” is much more active than “the meal was prepared by the chef.”

1. Focused Response.

2. The first focus response is asking you to compare and contrast two sources. State their claims and how the authors support them, concluding that one argument sis stronger than the other. Start your writing with the weaker argument.Do not go over the word limit.Cover every element of the task that is bulleted in the instructions. Again, keep track of how many words you have as you write, because going back to eliminate words is time-consuming.

3. You will read two passages on a particular topic–one pro and one con. Here’s what the graders are looking for in the first focused response:Evaluate both authors’ claims, deciding which is more compelling Identify the thesis (stance/ contention/position) Outline the claims made to support both positionsDetermine the validity and sufficiency of the evidence presentedReach a conclusion about which position is more compelling.

4. It may be helpful to outline before beginning your response in the writing section of the test. If you are the type of writer who needs to outline your ideas, make a quick outline to stay aligned with your usual writing process. If you are going to do an outline, it should be short and not take too much time. Here is an example of an outline for the first Focused Response.

5. Here are some sentence structures in which to present your claims and evidence. Again, we want to stress that this is not the typical academic paper you’re used to writing. The language and structure will be more straightforward.

6. Here is an example of your second paragraph.

7. Here are some words and phrases that will be helpful to keep in mind when going into the test. These words and phrases signal a negative or positive position, so they will be helpful in making your claims, summaries, and the structure of your response clear.

8. Here is what’s required for the second Focused Response. For this task, you are expected to integrate the data in the graphic (table, map, graph, chart, etc.) with one of the two authors’ arguments. The task requires you to:

Explain how the specific information presented in the graphic either supports or counters the authors’ claims, reasoning, and/or evidence.Include examples from the passage and the graphic to support your explanation.

9. For the second Focused Response, here is a suggested sentence structure to follow.

10. What we mean by visuals is the chart, graph or table provided. You’ll need general graphic reading skills, such as knowing where the X and Y axis are. Pay attention to the x and y axis, labels, and units of measure, since they provide crucial information for interpreting the data in the visual. Ask yourself these questions when reading the visual.

11. Here is an example of a graphic; this particular example is a bar graph. One thing to be aware of, when analyzing this graph, is the title, which helps you to determine the purpose of the graph and the type of information being presented. “Homeschool Parents’ Highest Educational Level, National Household Educational Survey, 2011” explains this graph is providing the level of education of homeschooling parents and that the data came from a national survey. Be aware of the axes and how they’re labeled. Here, the Y axis is a percentage, so, in theory, all the bars should add up to one hundred percent, and they do. The X axis is not labeled, but it does provide the level of education of the homeschooling parents who were surveyed. From this graph, you can determine that most homeschooling parents do not have a college degree, because only 25% have a bachelor’s degree and 14% have a graduate degree. While 30 % have “some college,” this means that they did not complete their degrees and, therefore, it can be assumed that only a total of 39% of homeschooling parents have an academic degree. We can assume that this is a much smaller percentage than the percentage of college degrees among teachers.

12. Here is another example of a graphic. This pie chart shows the same information as the previous bar graph. Notice how the title is the same. All sections add up to one hundred percent, as do the bars. Each section is color coded, making it easier to read.

13. Here is a brief outline for writing the second focused response.

1. Extended Response: Argumentative Essay.

2. Take a “yes” or “no” stance. This essay section is designed to be argued in either direction. There isn’t necessarily a correct side; just be sure to make a solid argument, with a clear claim and sufficient interpretation of the data and evidence to back up your claim. Identifying the stronger argument and siding with that argument is usually an effective strategy, regardless of your personal beliefs. And it’s not what you argue; it’s how you argue it.

State problem AND position. An example is: Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches are in danger of being eliminated from NYS lunch programs, which is unfair to those who see them as a healthy, vegan alternative. Also, it is not enough to simply quote the evidence the passages presents. You have to use what the evidence suggests, providing an interpretation and explanation, as well as how the interpreted information relates to and confirms your claim.

3. This is a basic structure for your argumentative essay. You have an introduction, which includes your thesis. There will be several claims supported by evidence in the passage, each requiring its own paragraph. You then have to give a nod to the counter argument, and then refute it. Your conclusion should explain why your claim matters. Ask “so what?” about this claim. This will lead you to summarize your main points, restate your position, and express why this position and these points matter.

4. There are three elements to structuring an argument-claims: what you want people to believereasons: the “because” behind the claimevidence: proof of the claims.

There are different types of evidence, which include expert testimony, reliable data, observations, and stories or case studies.

5. Here is an example of an argument in a couple of sentences. Notice the claim, “Peanut butter is a healthy non-meat alternative,” and how this is a clear statement about peanut butter. Notice the reason, signaled by the words “because of,” “its high ratio of unsaturated fats and health benefits.” Note the evidence that follows: “Studies prove that people who regularly consume peanut butter are less likely to develop heart disease,” which is a fact.

6. In this essay, you will primarily use logic (i.e., evidence) to support your claims, but you may also want to use some emotional language to persuade. In

this example, “The effects of such a decision on food prices, however, could be nothing short of disastrous,” the language here is drawing on the emotion of the reader and is, perhaps, not even true but an exaggeration to tug the reader’s heart strings. However, the rest of the essay is logic and evidence. Inter-mixing the two can create an effective argumentative structure and tone.

7. This is one way of forming your paragraphs in the argumentative essay. This print is small, but we’re going to break this down one-by-one.

We’re going to start with comprehension, which is the fourth and not at the bottom. Application is something that is done throughout, so it is not treated a separate category. You will be continuously applying your evaluations, analyses, etc.

8. Comprehension is what you understand from the passage. Summarize what you understand and demonstrate the argument that is based on your understanding.

9. Knowledge is your presentation of the author’s argument, recalling specific details and supporting evidence.

10. Analysis and synthesis. Take the knowledge you’ve gained from these passages and apply the evidence to your claim. Combine and analyze the evidence in both passages.

11. Evaluate the possible shortcomings of both sides of the argument. You have to be able to acknowledge the other point of view, but most importantly, you have to be able to refute that point of view to make yours stronger.

12. It may be helpful to outline before beginning your response in the writing section of the test. If you are the type of writer who needs to outline your ideas, make a quick outline to stay aligned with your usual writing process. If you are going to do an outline, it should be short and not take too much time. Here is an example of an Extended Response outline.

1. Vocabulary

2. If you don’t know the meaning of a word, the context of the sentence or passage can often define the word for you. This is also helpful when answering vocabulary questions for the multiple-choice section. See if the context of a word helps you to figure out a synonym or the word’s general meaning. So, in the example, “The woman’s mind wandered as her two friends prated on,” we understand that the two friends are doing something, but it’s unclear exactly what. In the following two sentences, we can see that this is an elaboration on the first sentence and, therefore, we can conclude that babbled and prated mean the same thing.

So, we know the wind did something today and that this was different from what it was doing yesterday. Since we know the wind picked up near the end of the day yesterday, then we know the opposite happened. Therefore, we can conclude that “abate” means “lessen” or “slow down” since it’s the opposite of “picked up.”

3. Root words will help you to make an educated guess as to the meaning of a word. For example, if you know that “bio” is the root word meaning “life,” and “ology” means “the study of,” the “biology” is the study of life. You can pause the video here to spend time on individual examples.

4. Prefixes will also help you to determine a word’s meaning. Prefixes are a series of letters at the beginning of a word, modifying the word’s meaning. “Anti” means” against,” so when it is put in front of “war,” it means “against war.”

5. Transition words and phrases, as we’ve previously stated, will help you to gather meaning from a passage by identifying parts of the passage, such as where the argument, counter-argument and conclusion are. Likewise, using transition words will help to clarify your own writing and develop a clear structure for your response.

6. Here are a couple of websites to help you work on vocabulary. Merriam-Webster has a short practice quiz to help you improve your vocabulary, and this website, freerice.com, is specifically designed to quiz you on vocabulary in a less tedious way. Also, freerice.com says it will donate ten grains of rice to a third-world country for every vocabulary word you get correct.

1. Reading for Structure and Context.

2. Hierarchy of the structure of a text. Identifying thesis and topic sentences. Again, knowing the structure of a passage helps you to understand the content. Start with the thesis of the whole piece, and then move along to the topic sentences. This way, you form a brief reverse outline.

3. Here is an example of a paragraph we’ve looked at before, from the sample questions provide on the NYSTCE website. If you look closely, you’ll see that the first sentence is the claim, and the remainder of the paragraph is evidence, in this brief outline.

4. Billboards: academic writers announce in a text what they are going to do. The author may even say, “This essay will____.”

Hedges: most academic writing is the authors’ own interpretations of the information they are presenting. They signal their interpretation by using words such as “appears to be,” “tends to be,” “suggests,” “seems.”

Signposts: scholarly writing offers direction about where the text is going and the text’s structure. For example, the word “however” signals a turn in an argument. The word “because” may signal the presentation of a reason, while “for example” signals a presentation of evidence.

Questions: identifying the question or the problem that an academic text proposes to address is key to understanding what the text is about.

5. Introductory phrases are a lead-in to the actual sentence and can often reveal the subject of the sentence as well as the author’s tone. Transition words and phrases signify changes, such as subject or viewpoint. Recognizing transitions is helpful in comprehending the passage’s structure and argument, and using transitions in your own writing can clarify your argument and structure. Inserted information, when removed, does not technically change the overall meaning of the sentence. However, when the additional information is provided, the meaning of the sentence is enhanced.

“The fact of the matter” is an introductory phrase that leads us into the sentence, but, in this instance, it also reveals that the sentence is going to be a conclusion and that the author is summarizing what s/he sees to be the truth in the situation. The transition word “however” marks a turn in the argument and signals that

this sentence is refuting a point established in the previous sentence. The inserted information “despite their reputation and tastiness” reveals the author’s bias towards peanut butter and jelly sandwiches as well as restating the author’s reason why these sandwiches deserve their place on high school lunch menus.

1. Reading for Multiple Choice Questions

2. Most of your questions are going to boil down to context in one way or another, whether the question is asking about the context of a word in a sentence, the context of a sentence in a paragraph, or the context of a paragraph in a text.

3. The meaning of words can change, depending on the context. There’s a dictionary definition and an implied definition, which is when the meaning of words are altered because of the context. For example, there are many different meanings for the word “shot.” A shot could refer to a photo, a gun, alcohol, a medical injection, or it could be a metaphor like when Bon Jovi sings, “shot through the heart.”

4. The shot developed nicely, even though it was sunny when the photo was taken.All of his shots were within an inch of the bull's-eye.They drank shots of whiskey long into the night.The baby cried when he had his first round of shots.“Shot through the heart, and you’re to blame.”

5. For this example, C can be eliminated, because Europe wasn’t abandoning anything. D can be eliminated because this is referring to WWII, and WWII was not sudden but occurred over a period of time. The dictionary definition of “cataclysmically” is a “violent upheaval.” However, there is no implication of violence in this sentence, so you can eliminate that option and infer “furious” instead. The answer is A.

6. Purpose of a sentence. Reading inside and outside of a sentence.

7. Here is an example of how reading in and outside of a sentence can be helpful. The sentence given in the question is not the full sentence in the passage. What is missing is, “a collision between old and new,” which is the answer. What best reflects a collision between old and new is option A. This is also an example of a claim followed by the evidence. The sentence in the question is the claim, and the correct answer is the evidence of that and, thus,

the purpose of the sentence. Reading in and outside of the sentence can help you to locate the claim and the evidence to best answer the question.

8. Often, the questions will ask about how a paragraph fits or contributes to the main idea of the passage. You’ll want to note the main point and structure of the paragraph, and then relate them to the main point of the passage.

9. Here is an excerpt of a paragraph. You can pause the video to read this in full.

10. This is an example of a question that is asking how a paragraph relates to an entire passage. This paragraph discusses a struggle between old and new, how new technology is causing change. A can be eliminated because the “destruction of an era” is too narrow; the passage is not just about destruction but about the change that arose from it. C can be eliminated because we are not talking about the war in connection to the “conduct of war.” Conduct doesn’t appear in the passage at all. D can be eliminated because nowhere in the passage does it talk about “political elites” or imply their “ignorance” and “belligerence.” The answer is B, since it actually talks about the passage’s main idea of old versus new.

Strategies for Answering Multiple-Choice Questions (Lee): 2. Focus on what is in the text. It is usually beneficial to set aside any previous knowledge you may have about the subject. Personal assumptions may blind the reader to the author’s claim and/or point of view, so try to gather conclusions only from what is actually written in the passage, what the writing (language or style) implies. Go beyond explicit information to what is inferred. An inference is what you’ve gathered from reading between the lines of the passage, and an assumption is an inference combined with your personal bias. Also, sometimes outside information is helpful, but it could be hindering. The answer is based on the passage and the passage alone. Get the gist of the document; make note of the thesis and themes. Be aware of the word choices the author makes. The words the authors use reveal their points of view on topics. Here is an example of a sentence in the introduction of the sample document for the passages for the Focused and Extended Responses on the NYSTCE website. Ask yourself why the author wrote this. What is s/he getting at? Once you know the purpose of the essay, for example, if the author is trying to change your opinion on global warming, then you can better infer meaning from the language used and the structure of the essay. So, if this sentence is at the beginning of the essay, then you can conclude that this author is going to try to convince you that the effects of corn fuel are negative. Knowing who a text is written for can also help you to infer meaning.

For example, if you know the text is a book report about polar bears, the audience would likely be a teacher. However, an article about polar bears printed in National Geographic would have a much different intended audience. This can help you to determine which aspects of the content were included or left out, as well as why. If you can identify the structure of the essay, you can identify where arguments/examples are and what is being addressed.

3. Our suggestion is to skim, get a gist of the passage’s main ideas, read the questions, and then go back carefully, reading in and outside the parts of the passage that the question is addressing. Really, it’s a waste of your limited time to carefully analyze every sentence in the whole passage, since the questions are about the gist of the passage and specific parts.

4. Main purpose/idea questions ask you to identify the topic or the reason the author wrote the passage or section. What was the author getting at? Why did s/he write this? Another question you might be asked is to summarize the author’s attitude or point of view in one word. This type of question is asking you to infer the author’s point of view from the language and structure of the passage. Unless

being directed specifically to a part of the passage, assume the question refers to the passage as a whole.

Vocabulary questions will ask you the meaning of a word or phrase.

An organization question might be, “Which option best describes the way this passage is organized?” and this type of question is asking for you to summarize the passage’s structure.

Supporting detail questions often list answers that are statements from the passage and are asking what the function of that particular part is. A wording for a question that might focus on a missing detail would be, “Which of the following is not found in the passage?” Questions also may give answers that are true but not in the passage, so eliminate those. This is the type of question where outside information may be hindering and not helpful.

5. Here is an example of a detail question that has facts as answers, and, though true, not all of these facts are in the passage. Though option A, “the color of the screen,” is true and referring to a physical description, this answer was not in the passage. Since the question asks about physical detail, the only answer can be the size of the calculator, since it is the only physical description in the passage.

6. The title will often hint to the main theme or themes of the passage, so pay particular attention to the title.

Look for keywords in the question, such as, “least,” “not,” etc. Here is an example: “Which of the following passages best shows an opposing view to a prior statement?” We’re looking for the “best” option, which means that all the options may be true, but it will be the most accurate answer. “Opposing” signifies that we are looking for the opposite of something else. Also, “prior” is a clue that you need to look at what was stated before each provided answer.

These signpost words will help you to determine exactly what the question is asking. In the following example, repetition gives you a clue that you have to look at what each mention of the phrase means and then what the repetition of the phrase signifies.

Anything in italics or bold is differentiated for a reason, so pay attention to these words.

7. You already have a twenty-five percent chance of getting an answer right, when you eliminate one wrong answer, you have a 33% chance. Eliminating two wrong answers gives you a 50% chance. We suggest this process of elimination to help find the correct answer. If you really don’t know, make an educated guess.

8. Sometimes the questions will provide answers that are correct but not relevant to the question.

9. For example, the answer to this question is B. “Class structures,” “war,” “artists and writers,” and even “political alignment” are all too narrow; the broad answer is “cultural values,” because all of the others fall under culture.

10. Here is an example where some answers are too broad to be the correct answer. A and C are irrelevant, because we are not talking about “casualties” at all here or “aesthetics.” Option B is incorrect since the passage only discusses Hemmingway and not all “expatriates.” The answer is then D. Once you’ve eliminated the irrelevant answers, then looking at the scope will help you to differentiate between the other two options. Clearly, choice A is too broad.

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