About the GED Language Arts, Reading Exam

 What to Expect on the Language Arts, Reading Exam The Language Arts, Reading Exam tests your ability to understand both literary and nonfiction texts. You will be asked to read these texts and then answer 40 multiple-choice questions about those passages. One-quarter (25%) of those questions will be based on nonfiction passages; the other 75% will be based on literary texts, including stories, poems, and plays. You will have 65 minutes for this exam. Types of Passages The reading passages on the GED, except poems, are typically between 200–400 words. Most of the passages will be excerpts from larger works. Each exam will include: ■ one poem of 8–25 lines ■ one excerpt from a play ■ one commentary on the arts (most likely about a visual art experience, such as a film, museum exhibit, or painting) ■ one business-related document (such as an excerpt from an employee manual) ■ one or more excerpts from fiction (novels and short stories) and nonfiction prose (essays, editorials/arti- cles, autobiography/memoir) CHAPTER About the GED Language Arts, Reading Exam IN THIS chapter, you will learn all about the GED Language Arts, Reading Test, including what kind of questions and reading passages to expect. 31 303 The passages include literature from a wide range of historical periods and literary movements. You can expect texts from three different time periods: ■ pre-1920 (ancient and classical literature) ■ 1920–1960 (modern literature) ■ 1960–present (contemporary literature) The passages on the Language Arts, Reading Exam are also carefully chosen to reflect the rich diversity of writ- ers and themes in literature. For example, your test may include a poem by a Native American man, an excerpt from a story by a Chinese American woman, and an excerpt from a play about civil war in Africa. Defining Literature Technically, the term literature means any written or pub- lished text. This can include everything from a classic such as Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn to your latest gro- cery shopping list. Of course, most of us don’t curl up next to a warm fire with our favorite shopping list or give a computer manual to a friend as a birthday gift. These texts serve a function, but they do not necessarily provide us with the pleasure of a literary text. Literary texts are fundamentally different from func- tional texts. Literary texts are valued for: ■ the messages they convey ■ the beauty of their forms ■ their emotional impact While a functional text may have a practical message and convey important or useful information, it does not typically convey a message about values or human nature as literary texts do. A functional text also usually follows a standard format and has little emotional impact. One generally thinks of fiction (invented stories) when thinking of literary texts, but literary texts can also be nonfiction (true stories). For example, Maya Angelou’s autobiography I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings is liter- ary, not functional, although it is the true story of her life. Similarly, “The Knife,” an essay by Richard Selzer, describes his true experiences and reflections as a sur- geon. His amazement at the beauty and complexity of the human body and the beauty of his descriptions and style make it unquestionably a literary text. Literary Genres There are many different types or genres of lit- erature. On the GED, you can expect literature from these genres: Fiction: ➧ novels ➧ short stories ➧ poems ➧ drama Nonfiction: ➧ autobiography/memoir ➧ essays ➧ commentary on the arts ➧ business-related documents Official GED literature describes 75% of the passages on the Language Arts, Reading Exam as “literary” and 25% as “nonfiction.” Of course, nonfiction texts can also be literary. The nonfiction referred to here is the com- mentary on the arts and the business-related documents. Each exam will have between seven and nine passages, with four to six questions for each passage. Five to seven of those passages will be literary (one or more poems, excerpts from plays, and excerpts from stories or novels, and possibly one or more excerpts from literary nonfic- tion text such as autobiographies or essays). Two to three of those passages will be functional nonfiction (com- mentary and business documents). Test Statistics ➧ 65 minutes ➧ 40 questions ➧ 7–9 reading passages ➧ 4–6 questions per passage ➧ 5–7 literary passages ➧ 2–3 nonfiction (functional) texts –– ALL ABOUT THE GED LANGUAGE ARTS, READING EXAM –– 304 Types of Questions There are four types of multiple-choice questions on the Language Arts, Reading Exam: 1. Comprehension questions (20%) test your basic understanding of what you read. They may ask you to restate information, summarize ideas, identify specific facts or details, draw basic con- clusions about the information presented, or identify implications of the ideas you have just read about. For example, question 1 from the pretest is a comprehension question: The “he” that the speaker refers to in the poem is a. the poet. b. the speaker. c. an eagle. d. a man on a mountain. e. the reader. 2. Analysis questions (30–35%) test your ability to break down information and explore relation- ships between ideas (e.g., a main idea and a sup- porting detail); distinguish between fact and opinion; compare and contrast items and ideas; recognize unstated assumptions; identify cause and effect relationships; and make basic infer- ences. For example, question 7 from the pretest is an analysis question: After he extends his tour, John Wade sometimes “went out of his way to confront hazard” (lines 25–26). He does this because a. he wants to die. b. he hopes it will help him forget. c. he thinks he is invincible. d. he hopes it will get him another promotion. e. he wants Kathy to think he is brave. 3. Synthesis questions (30–35%) ask you to develop theories and hypotheses about the texts. In terms of reading comprehension, this is essen- tially an extension of the inference-making skill. Questions may ask you to determine the author’s purpose or intent, infer cause and effect, infer how the author or a character feels about a related issue, or determine the effect of a particu- lar technique. For example, question 3 from the pretest is a synthesis question: The poet’s goal is most likely to a. make the reader feel as lonely as the eagle. b. paint a detailed picture of an eagle on a mountain. c. convey the magnificence and power of eagles. d. convince the reader to get involved in saving endangered species. e. tell a story about a special eagle. 4. Application questions (15%) ask you to use the ideas from a passage in a different context. For example, question 5 from the pretest is an appli- cation question: If the poet could belong to a contemporary organization, which group might he join? a. NAACP b. The World Wildlife Fund c. National Human Rights Organization d. International Mountain Climbers Club e. The Vegetarian Society Doing well on the Language Arts, Reading Exam requires both solid reading comprehension skills and an understanding of the types and elements of literature. The rest of the chapters in this section will review read- ing comprehension strategies, the elements of each of the types of passages you will find on the exam, and specific tips for understanding each kind of text. –– ALL ABOUT THE GED LANGUAGE ARTS, READING EXAM –– 305 T o understand what you read, you use a combination of skills that together enable you to glean meaning from a text. These skills can be grouped into five basic and essential reading comprehension strategies: 1. Determining the main idea or theme 2. Identifying specific/supporting facts and details 3. Distinguishing between fact and opinion 4. Making inferences 5. Identifying cause and effect relationships CHAPTER Reading Comprehension Strategies READING, LIKE writing, is based on a few fundamental skills. This chapter reviews five essential reading comprehension strategies, including finding the main idea and drawing logical conclusions from the text. 32 307  Determining the Main Idea or Theme Standardized reading comprehension tests always have questions about the main idea of the passage. But just what is the main idea, anyway, and why is it so impor- tant? And how is the main idea different from the theme? Often,students confuse the main idea,or theme, of a pas- sage with its topic. But they are two very different things.The topic or subject of a passage is what the passage is about. Main idea and theme,on the other hand,are what the writer wants to say about that subject. For example, take another look at the poem you read in the pretest,“The Eagle”: The Eagle He clasps the crag with crooked hands; Close to the sun in lonely lands, Ringed with the azure world, he stands. The wrinkled sea beneath him crawls; He watches from his mountain walls, And like a thunderbolt he falls. —Alfred Lord Tennyson, “The Eagle,” 1851 This poem is about an eagle, so an eagle is the topic of the poem. But that is not the theme of the poem. Main ideas and themes must express an attitude or an idea; they need to say something about their subject. Topic/Subject: what the passage is about Main Idea: the overall fact, feeling, or thought a writer wants to convey about his or her subject Theme: the overall meaning or idea of a work of fiction, poetry, or drama Main idea and theme are so important because they are what the text adds up to. The main idea or theme is what holds all of the ideas in the passage together; it is the writer’s main point. Indeed, it is why the writer writes in the first place: to express this idea. In “The Eagle,” the action and word choice in the poem reveal how the poet feels about his subject. The image of a noble eagle standing on a mountain crag and then suddenly plummeting toward the sea captures the writer’s respect for this awesome bird. This reverence for the power and beauty of the eagle is the theme of the poem. To hold all the ideas in the passage together, a main idea or theme needs to be sufficiently general. That is, it needs to be broad enough for all of the other ideas in the passage to fit underneath, like people underneath an umbrella. For example, look at the following choices for the theme of “The Eagle”: a. Eagles often live on mountains. b. Eagles can swoop down from the sky very quickly. c. Eagles are powerful, majestic birds. The only answer that can be correct is c, because this is the idea that the whole poem adds up to. It’s what holds together all of the ideas in the poem. Choices a and b are both too specific to be the theme. In addition, they do not express attitude or feelings. They simply state specific facts. Finding the Main Idea in Nonfiction Most nonfiction texts follow a very basic pattern of general idea → specific support. That is, the writer will state the main idea he or she wants to convey about the topic and then provide support for that idea, usually in the form of specific facts and details. This format can be diagrammed as follows: In the following paragraph, for example, notice how the first sentence states a main idea (makes a general claim about surveillance cameras). The rest of the para- graph provides specific facts and details to show why this statement is true: Surveillance cameras can provide two immensely important services. One, they can help us find those who commit crimes, includ- ing thieves, kidnappers, vandals, and even mur- derers. Two, they can serve as a powerful deterrent to crime. A thief who plans to steal a car may think twice if he knows he will be caught on video. A woman who hopes to kidnap Main Idea (general claim about the subject) Supporting Idea (specific fact or detail) Supporting Idea (specific fact or detail) Supporting Idea (specific fact or detail) – READING COMPREHENSION STRATEGIES – 308 a child may abandon her plans if she knows she will be captured on film. This main idea → support structure works on two levels: for the text as a whole and for each individual sec- tion or paragraph within the text. Distinguishing Main Ideas from Supporting Ideas If you’re not sure whether something is a main idea or a supporting idea, ask yourself the following question: Is the sentence making a general statement, or is it provid- ing specific information? In the following paragraph, for example, most of the sentences except one are too specific to be the main idea of the paragraph. Only one sentence—the first—is general enough to serve as an “umbrella” or “net” for the whole paragraph. Many people are afraid of snakes, but most snakes aren’t as dangerous as people think they are. There are more than 2,500 different species of snakes around the world. Only a small per- centage of those species are poisonous, and only a few species have venom strong enough to kill a human being. Furthermore, snakes bite only 1,000–2,000 people in the United States each year, and only ten of those bites (that’s less than 1%) result in death. Statistically, many other ani- mals are far more dangerous than snakes. In fact, in this country, more people die from dog bites each year than from snake bites. Notice how the first sentence makes a general claim about snakes (that they “aren’t as dangerous as people think they are”). Then, the rest of the sentences in the paragraph provide details and specific facts that support the main idea. Writers often provide clues that can help you distin- guish between main ideas and their support. Here are some of the most common words and phrases used to introduce specific examples: for example for instance in particular in addition furthermore some others specifically – READING COMPREHENSION STRATEGIES – 309 These signal words usually mean that a supporting fact or idea will follow. If you are having trouble finding the main idea of a paragraph, try eliminating sentences that begin with these phrases. (Notice that one of the sentences in the snake paragraph begins with one of these transitional words.) Topic Sentences In nonfiction texts, the overall main idea is supported by ideas expressed in paragraphs. Each of these paragraphs also has its own main idea. In fact, that’s the definition of a paragraph: a group of sentences about the same idea.The sentence that expresses the main idea of a paragraph is called a topic sentence. The first sentence in both the sur- veillance camera and snake paragraphs state their main ideas. Those sentences are therefore the topic sentences for those paragraphs. Topic sentences are often located at the beginning of paragraphs, but not always. Sometimes, writers begin with specific supporting ideas and lead up to the main idea. In this case, the topic sentence would probably be at the end of the paragraph. Notice how we can rewrite the snake paragraph to put the topic sentence at the end of the passage: There are more than 2,500 different species of snakes around the world. Only a small percent- age of those species are poisonous, and only a few species have venom strong enough to kill a human being. Snakes bite only 1,000–2,000 peo- ple in the United States each year, and only ten of those bites (that’s less than 1%) result in death. Statistically, many other animals are far more dangerous than snakes. In fact, in this country, more people die from dog bites each year than from snake bites. Clearly, snakes aren’t as dangerous as people think they are. Sometimes, the topic sentence is not found at the beginning or end of a paragraph but rather somewhere in the middle. Other times, there isn’t a clear topic sen- tence at all. But that doesn’t mean the paragraph doesn’t have a main idea. It’s there, but the author has chosen not to express it in a clear topic sentence. In that case, you will have to look carefully at the paragraph for clues about the main idea. Finding an Implied Main Idea When the main idea is implied, there’s no topic sentence, so finding the main idea requires some good detective work. If you look carefully at what is said and at the structure, word choice, style, and tone of the passage, you can figure out the main idea. (These terms will be dis- cussed in more detail later in the chapter.) For example, take a look at the following paragraph: This summer, I read The Windows of Time. Though it’s over 100 pages long, I read it in one afternoon. I couldn’t wait to see what happened to Evelyn, the main character. But by the time I got to the end, I wondered if I should have spent my afternoon doing something else. The ending was so awful that I completely forgot I’d enjoyed most of the book. There’s no topic sentence here, but you should still be able to find the main idea. Look carefully at what the writer says and how she says it. What is she suggesting? a. The Windows of Time is a terrific novel. b. The Windows of Time is disappointing. c. The Windows of Time is full of suspense. d. The Windows of Time is a lousy novel. The correct answer is choice b: The novel is disap- pointing. How can you tell that this is the main idea? First, we can eliminate choice c, because it’s too specific to be a main idea. It deals only with one specific aspect of the novel (its suspense). Choices a, b, and d, on the other hand, all express a larger idea—a general assertion about the quality of the novel. But only one of these statements can actually serve as a “net” for the whole paragraph. Notice that while the first few sentences praise the novel, the last two criticize it. (The word “but” at the beginning of the third sentence signals that the positive review is going to turn negative.) Clearly, this is a mixed review. Therefore, the best answer is b. Choice a is too positive and doesn’t account for the “awful” ending. Choice d, on the other hand, is too neg- ative and doesn’t account for the suspense and interest in the main character. But choice b allows for both positive and negative—when a good thing turns bad, one often feels disappointed. Here’s another example. In this passage, word choice is more important, so read carefully. – READING COMPREHENSION STRATEGIES – 310 Fortunately, none of Toby’s friends had ever seen the apartment where Toby lived with his mother and sister. Sandwiched between two burnt-out buildings, his two-story apartment building was by far the ugliest one on the block. It was a real eyesore: peeling orange paint (orange!), bro- ken windows, crooked steps, crooked every- thing. He could just imagine what his friends would say if they ever saw this poor excuse for a building. Which of the following expresses the main idea of this paragraph? a. Toby wishes he could move to a nicer building. b. Toby wishes his dad still lived with them. c. Toby worries about what his friends would think of where he lives. d. Toby is sad because he doesn’t have any friends. From the description, we can safely assume that Toby doesn’t like his apartment building and wishes he could move to a nicer building (choice a). But that idea isn’t general enough to cover the whole paragraph, because it doesn’t say anything about his friends. Choice d doesn’t say anything about his building, so it’s not broad enough either. Besides, the first sentence states that Toby has friends. We know that Toby lives only with his mother and little sister, so we might assume that he wishes his dad still lived with them (choice b). But there’s nothing in the paragraph to support that assumption and this idea doesn’t include the two main topics of the paragraph—Toby’s building and Toby’s friends. What the paragraph adds up to is that Toby is embar- rassed about his building, and he’s glad none of his friends has seen it (choice c). This is the main idea. The paragraph opens with the word “fortunately,” so we know that he thinks it’s a good thing none of them have been there. Plus, look at the word choice. Notice how the building is described. It’s “by far the ugliest on the block,” which is saying a lot, since it’s stuck between two burnt- out buildings. The writer calls it an “eyesore” and repeats “orange” with an exclamation point to emphasize how ugly the color is. Everything’s “crooked” in this “poor excuse for a building.” He’s ashamed of where he lives and worries about what his friends would think if they saw it. Determining Theme in Literature Theme is the overall message or idea that the writer wants to convey. Like a main idea, the theme is different from the subject in that the theme says something about the subject. For example, take John Donne’s poem “Death Be Not Proud.” The subject of the poem is death. But the theme of the poem says something about death. The poem’s message is that death is a gift for those who believe in God. Sonnet 72. “Death be not proud, though some have called thee” DEATH be not proud, though some have called thee Mighty and dreadful, for, thou art not so, For those whom thou think’st, thou dost overthrow, Die not, poor death, nor yet canst thou kill me. From rest and sleep, which but thy pictures bee, Much pleasure, then from thee, much more must flow, And soonest our best men with thee do go, Rest of their bones, and soul’s delivery. Thou art slave to fate, chance, kings, and desperate men, And dost with poison, war, and sickness dwell, And poppy, or charms can make us sleep as well, And better then thy stroke; why swell’st thou then? One short sleep past, we wake eternally, And death shall be no more; Death, thou shalt die. The main idea of a text is the thought that holds everything together. Likewise, the theme of a work of lit- erature is the thought that holds together the characters and action. It’s the idea that guides every choice the writer makes throughout the text. For example, look at the poem “A Poison Tree,” from William Blake’s Songs of Innocence and Experience.The poem has four stanzas (groups of lines in a poem, much like a paragraph is a group of lines in an essay or story). Read the poem carefully and read it out loud, too, because poetry is meant to be heard as well as read. – READING COMPREHENSION STRATEGIES – 311 (1) (5) (10) (15) (1) (5) (10) (15) (20) A Poison Tree I was angry with my friend: I told my wrath, my wrath did end. wrath = anger I was angry with my foe; foe = enemy I told it not, my wrath did grow. And I water’d it in fears, Night & morning with my tears; And I sunned it with smiles, deceitful = causing others And with soft deceitful wiles to believe what is not true wiles = trickery, deceit And it grew both by day and night, Till it bore an apple bright. And my foe beheld it shine, beheld = saw And he knew that it was mine. And into my garden stole When the night had veil’d the pole; veiled = hidden In the morning glad I see My foe outstretchd beneath the tree. To understand Blake’s theme, you need to look care- fully at what happened and then look at why it hap- pened. In the first stanza, Blake sets up two situations. First, the speaker (the “voice” or “narrator” of the poem) is angry with his friend (line 1) and he tells his friend about it (line 2). As a result, the anger goes away (line 2— “my wrath did end”). But he acts differently with his enemy. He doesn’t tell his foe about his anger (line 4), and as a result, the anger grows (line 4). In the second stanza, the speaker “water’d” his wrath in fears and “sunned” his wrath with smiles and wiles. Blake isn’t being literal here; rather, he’s drawing a com- parison between the speaker’s anger to something that grows with water and sun. It’s like some kind of plant. How do you know exactly what it is? Blake tells you in two key places: in the title and in the last line. The poem is called “The Poison Tree.”“Tree” is mentioned again in the last line of the poem. The kind of comparison is called a metaphor, and it is an important clue to the meaning of the poem. Blake could have compared the speaker’s anger to anything, but he chose to compare it to a tree. Trees have deep, strong roots and often flower or bear fruit. (This tree bears an apple.) They need some nurturing (sun and water) to grow. In the third stanza, the foe sees the speaker’s apple. In the fourth, he sneaks into the speaker’s garden at night. Finally, at the end of the poem, the foe is killed by the poi- sonous apple (the apple poisoned by the speaker’s wrath). That is what happens in the poem, but what does it all add up to? What does it mean? In other words, what is the theme? Look again at the action. Cause and effect are central to the theme of this poem. What does the speaker do? He tells his friend about his anger. What doesn’t the speaker do? He doesn’t tell his enemy about his anger. What hap- pens to his anger, then? It grows and grows and it offers fruit that tempts his enemy. And what happens to his enemy? He steals the apple, but it is the fruit of anger. It is poisonous and it kills him. Thus, the idea that best summarizes the idea of the poem is this: If you don’t talk about your anger, it can be deadly. This is the message or “lesson” of the poem. In many poems, the theme is an idea, while in others, the theme is an emotion. That is, the poet wants readers to feel an emotion very strongly. Poets can accomplish this through language. “The Eagle” is a good example of a poem with an emotional theme. The next poem, writ- ten by Stephen Crane in 1899, combines both action and language to convey theme. Read the poem out loud at least twice. A Man Said to the Universe A man said to the universe: “Sir, I exist!” “However,” replied the universe, “The fact has not created in me A sense of obligation.” Look carefully at the language in the poem. What kinds of words has the poet chosen? Are they warm, friendly words, or are they cold, distancing words? Do they make you feel comfortable, welcome? Or uncom- fortable, rejected? Are they specific or general? Do you feel like there’s a personal relationship here? Or are things formal, official? Crane’s word choice helps convey his theme. The words “sir,”“fact,” and “obligation” are cold and formal. There’s no sense of personal relationship between the man and the universe. This is heightened by the general nature of the poem. It’s just “a man”—not anyone spe- cific, not anyone you know. Not anyone the universe knows, either. It’s also written in the third-person point – READING COMPREHENSION STRATEGIES – 312 (1) (5) [...]... easily choose the wrong answer The correct answer is d, more than 2,500 This fact is clearly stated in the second sentence The best way to find this information is to use the key words from the question as your guide In this example, the key words are how many and species These two items tell you to look for a sentence in the passage that has both a number and the word species Then, you can find the sentence... all about Writers make a claim about their subject, and that claim is often an opinion Then, they offer facts to support that opinion Good writers offer support for their opinions because they know that opinions are debatable They know readers will want to see why they think what they do Most of their evidence will come in the form of facts Of course, this doesn’t mean that readers will agree with the. .. supported only by other opinions Making Inferences Inferences are conclusions that are drawn based upon evidence For example, if you look up at the sky and see heavy black rain clouds, you might logically infer that it is going to rain Reading comprehension tests like the Language Arts, Reading GED will often ask you to draw conclusions based upon what you read in the passage The key to drawing the right conclusions... Stan? The actions and words of the characters and the word choice tell us what is going on under the surface Stan’s face “hardens” with anger when he sees the dishes in the sink You can tell he expects the kitchen to be clean when he comes home When he walks in, he looks around the kitchen as if he’s inspecting it Then, he sees the dishes and his face hardens He asks why the dishes are still in the sink... facts, but they are still what people think and believe, not what they know Opinions are debatable; two different people could have two different opinions about the matter Facts, however, are not debatable Two different people would have a hard time debating a fact 313 – READING COMPREHENSION STRATEGIES – They might not agree on how to interpret the facts, but they would have to agree on the facts themselves... (making the right inferences) is to look for clues in the context Some of the best clues come from the writer’s word choice – READING COMPREHENSION STRATEGIES – Word Choice Often, the best clues to meaning come from the specific words a writer chooses to describe people, places, and things The writer’s word choice (also called diction) can reveal a great deal about how he or she (or a character) feels about. .. to reflect how Dennis feels The following is an excerpt from a short story Read the passage carefully to see if you can determine why the characters do what they do Why Are Stan and Anne Fighting? Anne tensed when she heard the front door open She waited in the kitchen near the dirty dishes in the sink She knew Stan would look there first Taking a deep breath, she thought about what she would say to... provides the correct information You don’t have to reread the entire passage—in fact, you can’t, because you will run out of time for other questions Instead, skim through the paragraphs, looking for your key words In addition, you can use the structure of the passage to help you find the correct information If you read carefully, you probably noticed that the paragraph talks about species first, then venom,... and Details On standardized tests, you will often be asked to identify specific facts and details from what you read This is true of the Language Arts, Reading GED as well The idea behind this kind of question isn’t for you to memorize everything in the passage Rather, these questions test (1) how carefully you read, (2) your ability to know where to look for specific information within a passage, and... about the subject To see how word choice reveals the writer’s attitude, read the two sentences below: A: Myra stared at Bill as he talked to his ex-wife, Irene B: Myra glared at Bill as he talked to his ex-wife, Irene It’s not hard to see the difference between these sentences In sentence A, the writer says that Myra stared at Bill while he talked to his ex-wife Sentence B, on the other hand, uses the . autobiography/memoir) CHAPTER About the GED Language Arts, Reading Exam IN THIS chapter, you will learn all about the GED Language Arts, Reading Test, including.  What to Expect on the Language Arts, Reading Exam The Language Arts, Reading Exam tests your ability to understand both literary