PACT Essential Academic Skills: Tests 701, 702, 703 Graded A

PACT Essential Academic Skills: Tests 701, 702, 703 Graded A Descriptive writing Writing used to create detailed descriptions of people, places, and things, and/or mood and atmosphere. Can stand alone or be part of a narrative Sensory details descriptions of sight, sound, touch, smell, taste transition words words that create a sense of time and organize events in the story narrative writing writing that tells a story or describes a specific person, place, or thing. Persuasive/argumentative writing writing that seeks to convince the reader ot believe the writer's opinion on a topic Examples of narrative/descriptive writing short stories, vignettes, letters, memoirs, and poems Examples of Persuasive/argumentative writing advertisements, commercials, speeches, newspaper editorials, debates Expository/Informative writing writing that explains a topic or gives general information on a topic examples of Expository/Informative writing compare/contrast essays, brochures, research reports, informative pieces. rhetorical patterns sequential order, chronological order, order of importance, spacial order, cause and effect, problem and solution, claim and refutation, compare and contrast sequential order orderly progression of events, ideas or steps Chronological order orderly progression of events based on time order of importance arrangement of ideas with the most important claim at the top or bottom spatial order arrangement of ideas related o physical space cause and effect event is described followed by the possible outcomes problem and solution author presents a problem and a possible solution claim and refutation arguing against a statement, fact, or claim compare and contrast provides similarities and differences about two ideas key transitional language however-turning point first...second...third- process given for example- illustration of point question determining sequential order Did the author explain a process? Question determining Chronological order Did the author walk through a process or period in history? question determining order of importance Did the author use terms like "most importantly" near the top or bottom? question determining spatial order Did the author keep places together based on geography? Question determining Cause and Effect Did the author explain what would happen after X occurred? Question determining problem and solution Did the author pose a problem and then provide answers? Question determining claim and refutation Did the author provide a statement, use "however" or "in fact", and then provide counter arguments? Question determining compare and contrast did the author create a paragraph of pros and one of cons? Did the author create a paragraph of similarities and one of differences? Did the author provide two very different ideas or characters? Controversial a statement that goes against the accepted societal view criticism author's opinion about an idea or topic Generalization an overarching statement made about a topic Definition how a word or concept is defined or explained comparison points made to show a similarity between two topics summary author provides a recap of an idea, often at the end of the passage Factors to editing a piece -reorganizing to create logical flow - remove details that do not support the main idea - remove details that are relevant but distract from the main idea - choosing new vocabulary to eliminate redundant or wordy descriptions -edit phrases for consistency in style or tone Chronological/sequential transition words first, second, third, next, finally Comparison and contrast transition words similarly, on the other hand, but, likewise Cause and effect transition words because, as a result, therefore Definition and example transition words for example, for instance, such as problem and solution transition words as a result, because, so that questions to evaluate writing for organization -did the author use transition words? -are the sentences in the proper order to best convey meaning? questions to evaluate writing for clarity/word choice -are there sentences, words, or phrases that need to be added or removed from the passage to ensure the meaning is clear? -Does a different vocabulary word need to be substituted to maintain understanding or mood? questions to evaluate writing for author's purpose -what revisions need to be made to the passage in order to make the purpose clear and consistent? - Is the thesis statement missing? questions to evaluate writing for audience - is the tone appropriate for the audience or purpose of the writing? - Does the writing use slang or jargon not on level with the audience or intended reader? Real numbers the set of all rational and irrational numbers Rational numbers numbers that can be expressed as a ratio of two integers (a/b) where b ≠ 0. Can be written in both fraction and decimal forms, and can be graphed on a number line Mixed numbers a rational number that is made up of a whole number and a fraction like 4½ natural numbers The set of numbers that can be pointed to in nature, ie 1, 2, 3, 4, ... Also called counting numbers. whole numbers set of natural numbers and zero ie 0, 1, 2, 3,... integers positive and negative counting numbers and zero ie ...-3, -2, -1, 0, 1, 2, 3,... irrational numbers Numbers that CANNOT be expressed as a ratio of two integers. Their decimal expansions are nonending and nonrepeating. ie π, e, (2^.5), i Prime numbers natural numbers greater than 1 that are divisible only by themselves and 1 without a remainder ie 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, and more Composite number natural numbers that have numbers that divide into them ie 4 = 2 × 2 scientific notation A method of writing or displaying numbers in terms of a decimal number between 1 and 10 multiplied by a power of 10. ie 123 = 1.23 x 10^2 less than used to compare two numbers when the first number is smaller than the second number. has an open circle on a number line greater than used to compare two numbers when the first number is larger than the second number. has an open circle on a number line less than or equal to a value that is "at most" as big as another value. has a closed circle on a number line greater than or equal to a value that is "at least" as big as another value. has a closed circle on a number line unit fraction a fraction with a numerator of 1 ie 1/4 benchmark fractions Common fractions used for estimating, such as 1/4, 2/3, & 3/4. numerator The top number of a fraction that tells how many parts of a whole are being considered. denominator The quantity below the line in a fraction. It tells how many equal parts are in the whole. common denominator a common factor of the denominators of two or more fractions least common multiple The smallest multiple (other than zero) that two or more numbers have in common. greater common factor the largest positive integer that divides evenly into all numbers with zero remainder Converting Decimals to Percentages Multiply the decimal by 100 or move the decimal point 2 times to the right and add percent sign Converting decimals to fractions multiply by 100, put result as numerator and 100 as denominator, then simplify Converting Fractions to Decimals Divide numerator by denominator Converting Fractions to Percentages Divide the numerator by the denominator then move the decimal point 2 times to the right Converting Percentages to Decimals move decimal two places to the left and drop the percent sign Converting Percentages to Fractions put the percentage number as numerator and 100 as denominator, remove the % sign, then simplify Exponents indicates repeated multiplication and are written above and after the number in the form x^n x^0= 1 x^1= x x^-n= 1/(x^n) Scientific Notation Rules Decimal must be after first non-zero integer Positive exponent means move decimal right Negative exponent means move decimal left Multiplication/Division: add/subtract exponents Addition/Subtraction: exponents must match before calculating context clues Clues in surrounding text that help the reader determine the meaning of an unknown word Semantic clue Type of Context clue Based on the subject read, the reader can determine what type of language will be used. Syntactic clue Type of context clue a clue derived from the word order in sentences denotation the literal, dictionary definition of a word Connotation An idea or feeling that a word invokes for a person Foreshadowing A narrative device that hints at coming events; often builds suspense or anxiety in the reader. symbolism A device in literature where an object represents an idea. recurring theme repetition of a theme/image throughout a story to symbolize meaning satire use of humor or exaggeration to critique human nature or character irony an incongruity between what the reader expects the author to mean and what they actually mean verbal irony contrast between what is said and what is meant ie sarcasm situational irony contrast between what happens and what is expected to happen dramatic irony the contrast between what a character expects and what the audience knows is true allegory extended metaphor with two meanings usually carried on throughout an entire story ie Animal Farm allusion a reference to someone to something outside the text ie "Don't be such a Grinch" Aphorism a short saying to convey a truth; often using an opposite to make the point ie "Winners never quit, and quitters never win" Apostrophe when a character speaks to an inanimate object or a person not present in the scene ie "Oh happy dagger!" Antithesis the direct opposite, a sharp contrast ie "The greatest leader of our time has been struck down by the foulest deed of our time." - LBJ extended metaphor A comparison between two unlike things that continues throughout a series of sentences in a paragraph or lines in a poem. ie The Metamorphosis Hyperbole an exaggeration or overstatement ie "Hungry enough to eat a horse" imagery Description that appeals to the senses (sight, sound, smell, touch, taste) Metonymy replacing an object with something commonly associated with it ie "lend me your ears" Parallelism syntactical similarity in clauses, often involving repeating a phrase ie "The greatest leader of our time has been struck down by the foulest deed of our time." - LBJ Repetition use of the same word, phrase, or idea to call attention to its significance synonym A word that means the same as another word antonym a word that means the opposite of another word main idea central point of the passage primary purpose why the author wrote To find the correct answer for Main Idea questions... Find the choice that is supported by the WHOLE passage To find the correct answer for Primary Purpose questions... Find the choice that matches the tone and word choice of the passage To find the correct answer to Identify audience questions... -pay attention to the level of vocabulary used -What does the author assume the reader does/doesn't know To find the correct answer to cause and effect questions... - Use only the information given -find the step mentioned in the question then read the sentence before and after it To find the correct answer to drawing conclusion questions... -use only info from the passage -choice shouldn't go past the logical -Does the choice flow with the end of the passage -look for qualifying words that limit or falsify choice To find the correct answer to drawing inferences and implications questions... -the correct choice will not contradict the main idea -the correct choice can be defended by facts directly from the passage To find the correct answer to identify author logic questions... -correct choice will not be stated by the text but must be true in order for the argument to be valid Facts presented as statistics, data, numbers, or general knowledge Opinions use qualifying words ie greatest, i believe, worst Bias feelings, outlook, or leanings for or against a particular person, race, ethnicity, age, or group, often without taking others' opinions or qualities into consideration Stereotyping making assumptions about an individual or group, sometimes based on incorrect or incomplete information To find the correct answer to identify bias questions... -ask what the author stands to gain by writing this - ask if the author considers or discusses both side of an argument. If not, that might identify this. To find the correct answer to analyze evidence questions... - ask what is the author trying to prove - if it's new facts ask: --what evidence has been used --would it strengthen, weaken, or be irrelevant to each choice To find the correct answer to Validity questions... -decide if a claim is valid -does the author provide evidence -does the evidence support or dispute the author's claim -are the supporting details factual Inference A conclusion reached on the basis of evidence and reasoning. an educated guess To find the correct answer to identify the author's attitude... determine if the descriptive vocabulary has a positive or negative connotation To find the correct answer to word choice... -first identify the primary purpose of writing -Think of the tone the connotation of the word conveys -compare to how the word impacts surrounding sentences