Last Minute Tips for the English I EOC

Textual Analysis: Read the passage! You don't want to. There's a little voice inside of you that says, "Just look for the answers in the passage.” Don't listen to that voice. It is the voice of Satan who wants you to fail. On the plot level questions, seek and find won't help because the wrong answers are in the text too. Most questions are going to be answerable only to those who read the whole thing (theme, purpose, prediction, etc.)

Composition: These are your grammar and usage questions You DO NOT have to read all of these passages. How do I know? Follow the instructions below! What to do: o Flip to the questions, skim them to see what you need, go to the parts of the passage referred to in the question or answer choices and read that part only!

Stretch Every hour or so, ask if you may take a stretch break. You will not want to do this, but it is important to do so. The longer you sit still, the slower your blood pumps. The slower your blood pumps, the less oxygen your brain gets. This...makes you feel...sleepy …and...lose...focus.

Look Up! - Literally! No, not now. Do it after you've finished answering all the questions on one of the passages. Before you start the next one, look away from the test book. This will make you refocus your thoughts and take a mini- break. Plus, it’s easier to do this thing one passage at a time.

Eat a Good Breakfast Your parents say they want you to do well in school, right? Well, now is the time for them to prove it! You need a hearty breakfast that will give your body plenty of fuel to stay focused. Maybe you can talk your mom into some pancakes....mmm….pancakes...

Go to Sleep No, not during the test! You don’t want to hear this, but a good night's sleep will give your body the energy it needs to stay alert and focused. Because your body gets on a schedule, you will really need to go to sleep early two nights in a row before the test. Do this - count the number of hours a semester of English class is. Now count the number of hours you'll lose if you go to bed by 10:00 at the latest. I think you'll find going to sleep early is a better deal than repeating the course next year!

Don't be Thrown off by... Figurative language is, simply put, words that are not meant to be taken literally. Take this example from King Henry V: "His face is all bubukles, and whelks, and knobs, and flames of fire; and his lips plow at his nose, and it is like a coal of fire, sometimes blue, and sometimes red; but his nose is executed, and his fire is out." We are not supposed to think that he literally has flames on his face. This is Shakespeare being poetic.

Don't be Thrown off by... (con’t) So when you run across something that doesn‘t make sense, chances are the author has used some sort of metaphor, personification, simile, etc. that you missed. Either figure out what the weird phrase means, or block it out and focus on what does make sense. The writers will pick texts with these types of techniques to throw you off. It is a mean test! Don't just read something confusing and then give up!

Use These to Help You Get Through the Poetry Passages Poetry can be tough for some. If it is for you, chances are you just don't understand what the author is doing. Remember this - poets have to get a lot of meaning into only a few words. So they use little tricks to help them pack that meaning into as little a space as possible. Here are some ways that they do this:

Use These to Help You Get Through the Poetry Passages (con't) Archetypes - these are symbols that are used the same way worldwide. Recognize these and you'll have a better chance. For example, seasons often indicate where someone is in life, so a poem in the fall probably means someone is approaching old age or death. Colors usually mean exactly what you think they mean - dark colors are bad, light colors are good, red is violence, green is life.

Poetry Reminders Pay attention to the rhyme scheme, if there is one. If the poet deviates from it, that usually means he/she is trying to draw your attention to it. For example, Shakespeare finishes each sonnet with a break in rhyme scheme. These are usually the two most important lines as far as the meaning of the sonnet goes. Words like "but," "yet," and "therefore" often precede lines that reveal something important in the poem.

While you read, consider: The Purpose/Context: Is this a newspaper article or a letter? Is it personal or public? Is it written during a war or important historical event? Who is the Author?: Do you recognize him? Is she a scientist or a poet? Does he have a potential bias? Tone: Is it sarcastic or serious? Is it funny or sad?