Unit 1 Common Assessment Skills REview

Unit 1 Common

Assessment 2023

STUDY GUIDE

“Is Survival Selfish?”

PARTS OF AN ARGUMENT - PAGE 21

Claim

Author’s position on the topic or issue; central idea of the
argument

Reasons

Explanations that support the claim; should follow clear
and logical organization

Evidence

Facts, statistics, personal experiences, statements by
experts; supports the reasons and ultimately the claim

Conclusion

Revisits the claim with a persuasive closing statement

In an argument, an author expresses a position on an issue and then attempts to support
that position. A successful argument persuades readers to agree with the author’s claim, or
position. To analyze an argument, you must first outline its basic parts.

Multiple Choice

An author's position on a topic or issue is the

• conclusion

• evidence

• reasons

• claim

Multiple Choice

explanations that support the claim

• conclusion

• evidence

• reasons

• claim

Multiple Choice

facts, statistics, personal experiences, or statements by experts that support your resons in an argument

• conclusion

• evidence

• reasons

• claim

●CONTEXT CLUES: the words or ideas expressed before and after— provides us with
the information we need to fully understand or interpret the ideas in the passage.

●RHETORICAL QUESTION (PAGE 21)
○Rhetorical questions are questions that DO NOT CALL FOR AN ANSWER. They
are intended to engage the audience and make a point. In other cases, an author
may rely on faulty logic or rhetorical devices meant to deceive the audience.

●FACT VS. OPINION
○A fact is a statement that can be verified.

○An opinion is a statement that expresses a feeling, an attitude, judgment, or a
belief.

Multiple Choice

Do not require an answer but help the author make a point

• Context clues

• rhetorical questions

• facts

• opinions

Multiple Choice

can be verified

• Context clues

• rhetorical questions

• facts

• opinions

Multiple Choice

feelings, judgments, or personal beliefs

• Context clues

• rhetorical questions

• facts

• opinions

● TONE (PAGE 49)

○ the author’s attitude towards the subject. Authors shape a

work’s tone through topics they choose to explore, word
choices, and images those words create. Elements to consider
when evaluating tone include:
■ Words with positive or negative connotations
■ Use of formal or informal language
■ Repetition of significant words or phrases

● FIRST PERSON POINT OF VIEW: A character in a story telling it

from their perspective. Uses personal pronouns (I, me, my, we)

●

COMPARE/CONTRAST
○

Looking at what is the same and what is different

Multiple Choice

the author's attitude toward a subject created by words with positive and negative connotation and repetition

• tone

• first-person point of view

• compare-contrast

Multiple Choice

a character in a story telling the story

• tone

• first-person point of view

• compare-contrast

Multiple Choice

looking for what is the same and what is different

• tone

• first-person point of view

• compare-contrast

●

INDEPENDENT/DEPENDENT (SUBORDINATE) CLAUSES (PAGE
71)
○

A clause is a group of words with a subject and a verb.

○

There are two types of clauses: an independent clause can stand
alone as a sentence; a dependent clause cannot.

○

Dependent clauses act as modifiers, adding meaning to
independent clauses.

○

Dependent clauses often begin with words like these:as if, as,
since, than, that, though, until, whenever,where, while, who, why.
These words are subordinating conjunctions that clarify the
connection between the clauses.

KNOW YOUR DEPENDENT CLAUSES.
●

Theyhad transferred me to another Kommando, the construction
one, where twelve hours a day Ihauled heavy slabs of stone.
○

This sentence contains one independent clause and one
dependent clause. Notice how the independent clauseThey had
transferred me to another Kommando, the construction one forms a
complete thought and can stand alone as a sentence. The
dependent clause, which is underlined, provides additional
information about the independent clause, but it cannot stand
alone. The two types of clauses function together to convey the
author’s meaning.

KNOW YOUR DEPENDENT CLAUSES.
● Snow began to fall. (Independent Clause)
● While I was waiting for the bus, snow began to fall.

○ If a dependent clause begins a sentence, it

usually is followed by a comma. If a dependent
clause follows the independent clause, there
usually is no comma preceding (coming before)
it.
■ Snow began to fall while I was waiting for the bus.

Multiple Choice

a group of words that has a subject and a verb

• clause

• phrase

• subject

• verb

Multiple Choice

a clause that CAN stand alone

• subordinate

• phrase

• dependent

• independent

Multiple Choice

words like After, Although, When, Whenever, Where, Wherever, Until, Unless, Before, Because, If, So, So that, and Since

• participles

• subordinating conjuncitons

• coordinating conjunctions

• participles

Multiple Choice

a clause that CAN'T stand alone

• participle

• phrase

• dependent

• independent

● COLONS (PAGE 19)

○ Use a colon before a list of items, especially after

expressions like “the following” and “as follows”

○ Use a colon after a sentence that introduces another

sentence that explains it.
■ This is what they were to me: real-life boogeymen whose

origins and intentions I could never fathom.
● The two-part sentence provides readers with a

question (What were the Robinsons to Steve?)
followed by its answer (monsters he cannot
understand).

Use of Colons

Purpose
Example

● Illustrate or provide an example of what was just stated

○ I was fixated on one thing: food.

● Introduce a quotation or dialogue

○ But Mrs. Levin was insistent: “if it’s okay, I would like to give

him these myself.”

● Introduce a list

○ And my hearing was finely tuned. I knew the stride pattern of

each member of the family: Betty shuffled, Reggie had longer
steps, and Willie’s plodding was the easiest to detect.

Multiple Choice

Which one is NOT a use of the colon

• between the preposition and the object of the preposition

• after a complete sentence to introduce a list of itsms

• provides an exampe of what was just stated

• introduce an explanation or quotation

●SEMICOLONS
○Use a semicolon to join two closely related independent clauses.

○Use a semicolon between independent clauses joined by conjunctive
adverbs or transitional expressions like however, therefore, nevertheless,etc.

○A semicolon (rather than a comma) may be needed to separate
independent clauses joined by a coordinating conjunction when there are
commas within the clauses.

○Read the following sentence:

■
For Hazel and his followers, it was never a question of if they would

find a home; it was simply a matter of when.
●The author’s use of the semicolon shows the relationship between
the two statements.

Multiple Choice

join closely-related sentences

• periods

• semicolons

●SEMICOLONS
○Use a semicolon to join two closely related independent clauses.

○Use a semicolon between independent clauses joined by conjunctive
adverbs or transitional expressions like however, therefore, nevertheless,etc.

○A semicolon (rather than a comma) may be needed to separate
independent clauses joined by a coordinating conjunction when there are
commas within the clauses.

○Read the following sentence:

■
For Hazel and his followers, it was never a question of if they would

find a home; it was simply a matter of when.
●The author’s use of the semicolon shows the relationship between
the two statements.

The members of the family were not nice to me; however, I survived.

●COMMA RULES - The FOUR I’s:
○Items in a series: Use commas to separate three or more items in a series.

EXAMPLE: Ameila and Rea worked on the lesson, looked up information on the internet,
and completed the assignment just before the bell rang.
○Interrupters: Use commas around the elements that interrupt the flow of the
sentence.

EXAMPLE: Roland found out that Finn, the football player in his class, was a really nice
guy.

○
Introducers: Use commas around words, phrases, or clauses that come at the
beginning of the sentence to introduce the main idea.

EXAMPLE: Whenever Aiden sits by William, they can’t keep from talking because they are
friends.
○Independent clauses: Use a comma before a the FANBOYS (coordinating
conjunction)

EXAMPLE: Liam told Hailie about the work she missed, so she was able to do it easily.

Multiple Choice

semicolons

• join two independent clauses

• add emphasis to boring sentences

• decorate sentences so that they are prettier

• make frowny face emojis

Multiple Choice

May follow a semicolon to make a transition to the next sentence (however, therefore, nevertheless)

• participles

• prepositions

• subordinating conjunctions

• conjunctive adverbs