Regents Reading Exam

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Regents Reading Exam

• Beating the Test

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Know the Rules

• The Test Booklet Contains
• 9 reading passages (175-325 words in length)
• 5 to 8 questions per passage
• A total of 54 multiple-choice questions
• Students must place their answers on an answer
  sheet with a number two pencil.
• You have 60 minutes to complete the test

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What to Bring to the Test

• At least two number two pencils with erasers
• A sweater or jacket
• Bring your ticket that you received in the mail
  and follow the instructions on your ticket
• Bring a picture ID

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Mental Preparation

• Find the testing location the day before
• Allow time to eat a light snack (Make sure you
  are not starving or that you are not
  uncomfortably stuffed) and use the bathroom
  before the test
• Wear layers (short sleeve shirt) and bring a
  sweater or jacket make sure your clothes are
  comfortable
• Get to the testing site early, so you can easily
  find a parking space
• Students who are late are not admitted in the
  testing center
• Once inside, relax, focus on your task and do not
  socialize. Keep yourself focused.

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Strategies for Timed Reading Tests

• Read the questions first
• Answer Vocabulary and Fact Finding Questions
  First
• Answer Analysis Questions Next
• Answer Inferential Questions Last
• Look for Contextual Clues
• Scan the passage, but do NOT read the passage
  unless you have to do so
• Never read the passage more than once

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Read the Questions First

• Always know what type of question you are being
  asked to answer.
• Rank order the questions from Easiest to Hardest
  by placing them in one of four categories
• Vocabulary
• Fact Finding
• Analysis
• Inferential
• Then, start with the easiest question

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Type 1 - Vocabulary Questions

• GOAL to define the term underlined (Do not get
  Vocabulary Words mixed up with Referents
  Discussed Later)
• You will have 12-14 Vocabulary Questions on this
  test.
• Pick a Strategy
• Use Context Clues that define or describe the
  word
• Look for Similarities by using the word, and,
  or by listing
• Give an example of the word
• Contrast the word with one you already know
• Present a cause-effect situation
• Hint at the meaning through a long explanation

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Vocabulary - Use Context Clues to Define or
Describe a Word

• The first example defines the word for you.
• Example Decorative obi, or wide sashes, are worn
  with Kimonos during festive occasions. (obiwide
  sashes)
• The second example describes the word.
• The concept is very lucid now because the
  professor used a visual aid. (lucid clear)
• Watch for words that indicate the definition is
  nearby
• Any form of the verb to be (was, is, were, are,
  been, being)
• Or
• That is
• Since
• Because

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Vocabulary - Look for Similarities by using the
word, and, or by listing

• My cousin is an extremely meticulous, detailed,
  orderly, and conscientious individual.
• Meticulous Detailed
• And indicates similarity, so look at the other
  words in the list and choose the meaning that
  fits the list.

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Vocabulary - Give an Example of the Word

• Condiments like mustard, salt, and pepper are
  abundant in developed countries.
• Mustard, salt, and pepper are examples of
  condiments.
• Condiment a seasoning/relish for food
• Definition by example may be signaled by words
  and phrases
• Such as
• Like
• As
• The following
• For example
• For instance

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Vocabulary - Contrast the Word with One You
Already Know

• Whereas Stefani is very quiet, Kaley is extremely
  garrulous.
• Whereas signals that you are looking for the
  opposite of quiet garrulous talkative.
• The festivities during Carnival in Rio de
  Janiero, Brazil give some tourists the impression
  that Brazil is a wealthy country. On the
  contrary, the majority of the population live in
  a state of penury.
• On the Contrary signals that you are looking
  for the opposite of a wealthy country, which is
  a poor country. Poverty Penury
• Contrast Context clues are signaled by words and
  phrases
• Whereas, Or, But, Although, However, On the
  Contrary, Unlike, Conversely, On the other hand

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Vocabulary - Present a Cause-Effect Situation

• Josef left the metal bat out in the rain so,
  when he went to retrieve it, he found that it had
  oxidized.
• Rain on metal causes it to ? (oxidized rusted)
• Cause-Effect may be signaled by
• Because
• So
• Thus
• Consequently
• Therefore
• Since
• If, then

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Vocabulary - Hint at the Meaning Through Long
Explanation

• Mikya was a cheerleader. Her smile, her
  enthusiasm, her lively actions, her excitement
  about the upcoming game always attracted people.
  I never knew such an ebullient girl.
• If the immediate sentence does not help you, then
  read the preceding sentences to see if some
  description or explanation will give you a hint.
• Ebullient bubbly

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Type 2 - Fact Finding Questions

• GOAL to recognize specific details
• You will have about 10-13 questions on the test
  in this form.
• Usually, you are looking for a name or a number.
• Always scan the document from the top to the
  bottom never side-to-side
• To Answer Who, What, or Where questions
  look for Capital Letters.
• To Answer How Many, How Much, or When
  questions look for numbers.
• When all else fails, use key words in the
  question and search for those words, until you
  find them in the essay, and then search around
  that word or those words.

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Example of Solving Fact Finding Problems

• It is not easy to rank catastrophic forest
  fires. But, as far as human casualties are
  concerned, the 1871 Peshtigo fire in Wisconsin
  must be viewed as one the worst on record. The
  hot and dry summer left the huge forests in a
  dangerous dry state. Lumbering operations, aided
  by the construction of railroads, had penetrated
  the great forest leaving behind large amounts of
  debris. Fires in the interior began to merge, and
  an ominous glow reddened the night sky. Holbrook,
  using minimum figures, estimates the regional
  total deaths at 1,152.

• 1. What is the name of the worst forest fire on
  record?
• 2. Where was the fire?
• 3. About how many people died in the fire?
• 4. What did lumbering and railroad companies
  leave behind them after their work was done?

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Fact Finding Identifying a Referent

• You may have only two questions that are this
  type of fact finding question.
• A referent is a word that refers or alludes to
  another word mentioned previously in the passage.
• Referents usually take the form of pronouns, but
  you may find words like first, second,
  former, or later being using.

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Fact Finding Example of Referents

• When we read a book such as The Lord of the
  Rings The Fellowship of the Rings or Harry
  Potter and the Sorcerers Stone, there is little
  chance of our mistaking the power struggles
  between good and evil the first proclaims the
  threat of evil to the fellowship the second
  related a threat to Harry and his friends.
• The underlined word, second, as used in the
  passage refers to
• Lord of the Rings
• Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone
• Good
• Evil

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Type Three Analysis Questions

• GOAL Focus on the Writers technique and the
  organizational patterns
• 12-14 Questions on the test in this form.
• Types of Analysis Questions deal with
• Writers tone and attitude
• Writers Purpose and Style

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Analysis - Writers Tone and Attitude

• Tone sound of the authors voice the authors
  attitude toward the piece
• Pay attention to the connotation of the words
  chosen. (Does the word have a positive or a
  negative connotation?)
• For example (Delicious, Repugnant, Inedible)
• Listen to the words as you read them in your
  mind. Does the author sound angry? Defensive?
  Impartial? Critical? Sympathetic? Depressing?
  Sentimental? Mocking? Hopeful? Hostile?
  Enthusiastic?

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Analysis Example of Tone and Attitude

• Get away from me! Youve stolen my money and left
  me with nothing!
• Sentimental
• Angry
• Pessimistic
• Mildred told me that she doesnt care whether or
  not you go, and neither do I.
• Indifferent
• Suspenseful
• Sarcastic

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Analysis - Writers Purpose and Style

• The writers purpose and style are conveyed
  through the format the author chose to use to
  convey their thesis/theme.
• Writers write in different patterns, like you
  learned in ENG 101. We write to
• Inform
• Argue
• Entertain

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Analysis Purpose and StyleDifferent Writing
Formats

• Exemplification Example essay, Illustration
  essay, Informative essay provides detailed
  examples
• Compare/Contrast Show similarities/Show
  differences or to show both
• Persuade/Argumentative Get you to believe the
  authors point of view either subtly or more
  aggressively
• Narration/Description Tell a story to prove a
  point/to use the five senses to create imagery
• Cause and Effect To show how one thing leads to
  another thing. THIS resulted in or caused THAT.

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Analysis Example of Purpose and Style

• This radical antislavery mood resulted in
  violence, including the martyrdom of abolitionist
  newspaper editor, Elijah P. Lovejoy. In 1833,
  Lovejoy moved to the state of Missouri and began
  publishing an antislavery newspaper. He continued
  to publish until 1837 when a pro-slavery mob
  sacked his office, shot him to death, and threw
  his printing press into the Mississippi River.
  Lovejoys murder sent shock waves throughout the
  North and South with the news that a white man
  had been killed in the cause of abolitionism.
• By using the example of Elijah P. Lovejoy, the
  authors purpose is to
• Illustrate
• Contrast
• Ridicule

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Type Four Inferential Questions

• GOAL Make an Educated Guess Based on Context
  Clues.
• You will have 20-24 questions on this test.
• These questions will take more time.
• They are your Why or How questions.
• Again, look for words with negative and positive
  connotations
• Take into account Tone, Attitude, Style and
  Purpose, Thesis or Theme (Main Idea)
• These questions are best solved through the
  process of elimination.

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Example of Inferential Questions

• The most telling story is that of fighting lady,
  Rosetta
• Wakeman. She was the oldest child in a large
  family, and by
• necessity she worked under brutal conditions on
  the family
• farm in upstate New York. She left home at 19,
  and instead
• of taking a job as a laundress or a domestic for
  pennies a
• day, she dressed as a man and hired a canal boat
  as a coal
• handler.
• The reader can infer that Rosettas family is
• Middle Class
• Poor
• Well off
• What clues in the above passage help you answer
  this question?

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Inferential Questions Finding the Main Idea

• Skim the first paragraph for the Main Idea or the
  Last paragraph for the Main Idea
• If that fails, then compile the details given to
  you in the passage to come to a conclusion. (Look
  at what the details or sub-points have in common)

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Grading the Reading Exam

• You must receive a 61 or above to pass this test.
• The answer sheets are scored by a machine, so you
  must make sure that you
• Use a 2 pencil
• Mark your answer by completely filling in the
  bubble
• Do not mark outside the answer bubble
• Erase wrong answers thoroughly