8.9.B
Description:
Analyze how the use of text structure contributes to the author's purpose.
Maps to Reading Plus skills:
5A, 6A
Exemplars
6A: Recognizing Author's Intent
6A: Recognizing Author's Intent
Description:
Recognizing Author's Purpose
SeeReader
✓ standard met
Selection:
H-26
H-26
Grade level: 8
Word count: 1706 words
Author: Guinevere Tobias
Synopsis: The tomato was once thought to be poisonous.
Excerpt:
A crowd of thousands gathered to watch Johnson eat himself to death. He didn't die, of course, and his feat gave many people the courage to try the fruit. This story may or may not be true; in some versions, President Thomas Jefferson was the one who ate the tomatoes. Whether or not anybody actually ate a basket of tomatoes in public, we do know for sure that more and more people started eating tomatoes in the 1800s.
Question:
The author's purpose in writing this selection was
- to entertain readers with tales and truths about the tomato.
- to provide readers with scientific research on the tomato.
- to encourage readers to consume more tomato products.
- to substantiate health claims made by the tomato industry.
Writing
✓ standard met
Writing prompt:
How does the author progress a selection to its conclusion? Provide three examples.
Evaluator
Organization:
Certica Solutions
5A: Examining Text Structure
5A: Examining Text Structure
Description:
Examining Text Structure
SeeReader
✓ standard met
Selection:
H-7
H-7
Grade level: 8
Word count: 1853 words
Author: Karen Berman
Synopsis: An immigrant takes a grueling voyage to improve her life.
Excerpt:
Sheyna was apprehensive as she boarded the ship, noticing that it looked bigger than her entire village! Beautiful ladies in feathered hats and gentlemen with walking sticks were boarding on another gangway. They were traveling in first class, which was for rich people. Her third-class steerage ticket entitled her to a bunk in a large room far below deck, where hundreds of bunks were stacked four high and her fellow passengers' possessions were crammed into every corner.
Question:
How does the author highlight the poor conditions experienced by third-class passengers during their voyage?
- by contrasting them with the privileges of first-class passengers
- by exaggerating the effects of severe weather conditions
- by comparing them to the poor conditions of the ship's crew
- by noting that most third-class passengers did not speak English
Writing
✓ standard met
Writing prompt:
Explain why an author chose to organize a selection's plot in an unconventional way. What benefits or disadvantages resulted from the action being presented in this way?
Evaluator
Organization:
Certica Solutions