3. MAKE-UP PRACTICE ACT
Wednesday, February 27th
4:30-7:45 pm
Room TBD
If you have sports practice/work/an
extracurricular, talk to whoever you need to
talk to ASAP to let them know you have a
mandatory test on Wednesday
4. MAJOR OF THE DAY: ENGLISH
Good if you like: lots of
reading, writing,
researching, having
class discussions
Involves a lot of critical
thinking
Might become: freelance
writer, teacher, publisher,
editor, journalist, or go
into a completely
different field…being
able to write well is an
employable skill!
5. MAJOR OF THE DAY: ENGLISH
UT is ranked #26 in the
world for top English
programs!
University of Houston
has a good English
program w/ emphasis
on creative writing
Sample classes (that I
took): 1950s American
Road Novels, Victorian
Literature, Scottish
Verse
7. What do we mean by
―Rhetorical‖?
• Dictionary definition: rhetoric means
effective and persuasive use of language
Soooooo….
The 35 rhetorical questions found in the
English section are testing your ability to
analyze language and choose the most
effective way for the author to communicate
with the reader.
8. Before we continue, please take a
few minutes to read Passage II,
―Down at the Laundromat.‖
Do not attempt to answer
questions. Just read the passage.
9. Passage Strategy
• Opening and Closing Sentences
o How well does the author guide the reader through the
essay? Let’s look at Question 24 from Passage II, ―Down
at the Laundromat‖
• Transitions
o Transitions allow the author to change topics or move on
to a new argument without confusing the reader.
o The answer to Question 24 should be a sentence that
provides a smooth path between paragraphs.
• Purpose of Writing—Main Arguments
oWhat do you think the main purpose of this passage
was?
What proof do you have?
10. Passage Organization
• Ordering sentences and/or pieces of
information
o Look at Question 21. You must read the entire first
paragraph in order to answer this question
successfully.
o Sentence 5 talks about trespassing…where does
this logically fit into the paragraph?
• Identifying main ideas and supporting details
o Question 26 asks you to classify an element of the
paragraph. Is this a supporting detail? A transition?
Foreshadowing? A main argument?
11. Passage Style
• Eliminate redundant material
oLook at question 20 and read sentence 5. What
does trespass mean?
• Ideas should be clear and concise
o Question 28 is asking you for the best way to
word the sentence.
o How you can get the author’s meaning across
in the most concise and clear way?
• Style can also ask about the writer’s tone—do
they write formally or informally?
12. • Look at Question 23.
o Is this a strategy, organization or style
question?
o What is the tone of the passage? Formal?
Informal? Whimsical? Serious?
o Do all of the answer choices describe the
laundromat’s paneling in some way?
