UNDERSTANDING YOUR FINAL EXAM IN ENGLISH

January 2013

Breakdown of English I Common Exam

Standards Multiple Choice Constructed Response (33 to 37 items) (3 to 4 items)

Language (L4, L5) 11-15% 0% Reading for Information RI1- R.3 20-29% 0% RI4- RI6 14-19% 2-8% Reading for Literature RL1- RL4, RL6 17-26% 0% RL5 6-9% 2-4%

Total percent of items 89-92% 8-11% Total percent of score points 77-83% 17-

23%

Breakdown of English III Common Exam Standards Multiple Choice Constructed

Response (33 to 37 items) (3 to 4 items)

Language (L4, L5) 12-16% 0% Reading for Information RI2, RI4 11-15% 0% RI1, RI3, RI5-6 24-34% 3-5% Reading for Literature RL1- RL4, RL6 22-31% 4-6%

Total percent of items 89-92% 8-11%

Total percent of score points 77-83% 17-23%

Breakdown of English IV Common Exam Standards Multiple Choice Constructed

Response (33 to 37 items) (3 to 4 items)

Language (L4, L5) 12-16% 0% Reading for Information RI1, RI4 13-18% 0% RI2, 3, 5, 6 21-31% 4-7% Reading for Literature RL1, 2, 4 18-27% 3-6%RL3, 5, 6 4-6% 0%

Total percent of items 89-92% 8-11% Total percent of score points 77-83% 17-23%

What To Expect:

4 TOTAL reading passages:

(2) literature based (2) from informational

texts in or SS or science. • Up to 10 multiple-choice

items and up to 2 constructed response items per passage.

• 33-37 multiple-choice items and 3 to 4 constructed response items.

The test will be presented in (2) forty-five minute parts.

Students will be given forty minutes to complete each part

Total time: 80 minutes

How Many Questions? Timed Sections

How to ACE Constructed Response

A- answer the question OR restate the prompt

(1 specific, straightforward sentence)

C-ite evidence from the prompt(pull “quotes”) OR from your knowledge of C&E

E-xplain your examples in detail

(2 to 3 sentences or bulleted ideas of examples and details)

S-um it up (1 to 2 sentences to conclude)

Constructed Response– Short

There is a popular idiom that states, “A picture is worth a thousand words.” How does the poem “Diary” exemplify this idiom? Include at least two details from the poem to support your answer.

How would you begin to answer the CR item without reading the poem?

What does the prompt already tell you ?

ACES Example

“Diary”

“Dear Diary,” she wrote, her pen poised pointed and sharp, thoughts twirling swirling cavorting in the

air risking life and limb and maybe some

blood. (5) The ink sat waiting, impatient,

annoyed, for the clarity to settle in, for the words to

coalesce into some form of sanity. But somewhere in the woven threads of

thought when the next swipe of the pen touched (10) the puritanical canvas that

threatened her equilibrium, there came not a letter formed, not a word

whispered, but another kind of line – the dancing marks finding their own path,

their own mind.

Words protested, “No! It is our turn!” but were ignored

(15) in favor of the image spilling forth from within –

a wounded dragon, reared back in a rage,

hissing and spitting flames of pain and fury,

pierced through the heart by a spear of loneliness and neglect.

The pen flew, spatters of ink transforming into blood and tears.

(20) Words retreated, knowing they’d lost the battle,

soundly defeated by a power they could not match,

even a thousand strong. At last, she lay, silent, sated, staring at

the open page, wondering when the next attack would

come.

Sample Item for English I

How would you begin to answer the CR

item without reading the poem?

What does the prompt already tell

you ?

Multiple Choice In the poem, how are the girl

and the dragon related? A. The girl wants to write a

story about a dragon. B. The dragon represents

the girl and her situation. C. The girl wishes she

could turn herself into a dragon.

D. The dragon illustrates the power the girl wants to have.

English I Sample Item Another Example Item

On Your Own Practice

Identify the tone in the poem “Memory” and describe two examples from the poem in which the author’s use of imagery helps create the tone you identified.

Short CR Item Practice

What will your first sentence be?A- Answer the question/prompt

Read the poem “Memory” by Margaret Walker

I can remember wind-swept streets of cities on cold and blustery nights, on rainy days; heads under shabby felts and parasols and shoulders hunched against a sharp concern; seeing hurt bewilderment on poor faces, smelling a deep and sinister unrest these brooding people cautiously caress; hearing ghostly marching on pavement stones and closing fast around their squares of hate.

I can remember seeing them alone,at work, and in their tenements at home.I can remember hearing all they said:their muttering protests, their whispered oaths, and all that spells their living in distress

C-ite from the text using E-xamples

S-um it up!

Designing Constructed Response Tasks for Reading

Here are some example short CR to practice with in class. • Explain why _____________ is a good title for this story (poem, article). Use

information (details) from the story (passage) to support your answer. • What are the main ideas in this article? Explain your answer by using

information from the article. • Write a paragraph explaining what you think will happen next. Use details

from the passage in your response. • In your own words, tell how to __________________. Use information from the

article to support your answer. • Write a paragraph describing the speaker’s feelings about

___________________/ at the beginning (or end) of the passage (poem). Use details from the passage to support your answer.

• In the story, the author/speaker says, “___________”. Use details from the story (poem) to explain what the a uthor/speaker means.

• What kind of person is ___________.? Explain his/her qualities by using specific details from the story (passage).

• Compare the mood (voice, tone…) in ___________ to the mood (voice, tone…) in

__________________. Use details from the passage (poem, etc.) to support your answer.