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E1.8.D

Description: Analyze how the author's use of language achieves specific purposes.
Maps to Reading Plus skills: 4C, 5C, 6A, 6B

Exemplars

4C: Visualizing

4C: Visualizing

Description: Visualizing

SeeReader
✓ standard met

Selection: I-12

I-12

Grade level: 9
Word count: 2083 words
Author: Jake Gibson
Synopsis: The term avatar and the concept behind its use in video games have roots in Hindu mythology.
Excerpt: The prophecy continues with Vishnu incarnating as Kalki, a warrior similar in appearance to the Rama avatar. Kalki is supposed to enter India bearing weapons and riding on a white horse. This final avatar is considered god-like, possessing unlimited power and singlehandedly defeating the invaders in India.

Question: According to the prophecy, what will the people expect to see when the avatar Kalki arrives in India to defeat the foreign invaders?
  1. a warrior bearing weapons on a white horse
  2. a gold-skinned god descending from heaven
  3. a wild animal carrying a demon in its teeth
  4. a monster ascending from the seafloor

Writing
✓ standard met

Writing prompt: Describe an example of a particularly vivid scene from a selection. Explain what technique the author used to create such a clear picture of the setting or event you found memorable.

Evaluator

Organization: Certica Solutions

5C: Examining Genre

5C: Examining Genre

Description: Examining Genre

SeeReader
✓ standard met

Selection: I-42

I-42

Grade level: 9
Word count: 2284 words
Author: James Herbert Walker
Synopsis: The Johnstown Flood was one of the worst calamities in American history. More than 2,000 people were killed in this tragic event.
Excerpt: No excerpt is available for this question.
Question: This selection is best described as
  1. narrative nonfiction.
  2. an autobiography.
  3. a speech.
  4. science fiction.

Writing
✓ standard met

Writing prompt: Choose an expository piece, such as a speech or an essay. Describe how the author uses language to relay information, or make (or respond) to an argument.

Evaluator

Organization: Certica Solutions

6A: Recognizing Author's Intent

6A: Recognizing Author's Intent

Description: Recognizing Author's Purpose

SeeReader
✓ standard met

Selection: I-43

I-43

Grade level: 9
Word count: 1906 words
Author: Katherine Menard
Synopsis: During these events each team, called a "colla," builds and dismantles its own human tower.
Excerpt: These human towers, called castells, are a longstanding and beloved tradition of Catalonia, a region in easternmost Spain. The art and craft of assembling (and instantly disassembling) castells dates back to the early 1700s, but has grown enormously in popularity in recent years. Castells are featured at special festivals, most of which are held in the vicinity of Barcelona, the largest city in Catalonia.

Question: What is the author's purpose in describing other towers in the beginning of this selection?
  1. to highlight the cultural significance of the castells
  2. to demonstrate how much more difficult it is to build physical towers than castells
  3. to suggest that the castelliers should invest their energy and talent in more permanent structures
  4. to show that large cities have erected significant structures

Writing
✓ standard met

Writing prompt: Describe how the author of an argument tries to prove that he or she is right.

Evaluator

Organization: Certica Solutions

6B: Recognizing Persuasion

6B: Recognizing Persuasion

Description: Recognizing Persuasive Devices

SeeReader
✓ standard met

Selection: I-6

I-6

Grade level: 9
Word count: 1546 words
Author: Henry David Thoreau
Synopsis: Have you ever felt that life is just work, work, work? That's just what Thoreau felt too, over 150 years ago.
Excerpt: Imagine a man was tossed out of a window when he was an infant, and so made paralyzed for life. Or imagine he was scared out of his wits by an unexpected attack, bound to an inability to think or reason. To most men today, either of these unfortunate events is regrettable chiefly because the man was incapacitated for business! I think that there is nothing, not even crime, more opposed to poetry, to philosophy, to life itself, than this incessant business.

Question: How is this part of the selection written?
  1. as an emotional appeal to connect with readers on a personal level
  2. as a presentation of facts that are supported by extensive research
  3. as an analysis of historical events that explains why certain problems repeat
  4. as a sentimental flashback that shows how much people have in common

Writing
✓ standard met

Writing prompt: Imagine you want to make a documentary about a non-fiction selection you read. Describe the steps you would need to take to make your documentary as accurate and unbiased as possible.

Evaluator

Organization: Certica Solutions