Decoding the NCFE & EOC for English

When the question asks you "how the author creates suspense," what should you do?

• Find specific details that show where the author is giving you clues about what will happen

• Find specific details that show where the author is holding back information or being vague to keep your attention

• Find words you don't know and guess what they mean

• Take an educated guess

When the question asks you to "make a inference based on a specific detail," what should you do?

• Find specific details that show where the author is giving you clues about what will happen

• Find specific details that show where the author is holding back information or being vague to keep your attention

• Think about what the line could mean, but that the author doesn't say directly

• Take an educated guess

When the question asks you to "find evidence to support this argument," what should you do?

• Find specific details that show where the author is giving you clues about what will happen

• Choose the argument you think the author is making

• Think about what the line could mean, but that the author doesn't say directly

• Think about the argument you're given and find specific details that the author uses to prove it

When the question asks you to decide why the text was given its title, what should you do?

• Think about the theme and main idea and how the title connects to those

• Choose the argument you think the author is making

• Think about what the line could mean, but that the author doesn't say directly

• Find specific details in the story that use the words from the title

When the question asks you about the "impact of figurative language," what should you do?

• Think about the theme and main idea and how the title connects to those

• Find examples of metaphors and similes and see how they connect to each other

• Think about what the title could mean and find the overall theme

• Find specific details in the story that use the words from the title

When the question asks you why the author uses a particular word, what should you do?

• Reread the part that has that word in it

• Find examples of metaphors and similes and see how they connect to each other

• Reread the part that has that word and consider what that word means that other similar words don't mean

• Find specific details in the story that use the words from the title

When the question asks you to determine what the author is saying and quotes a specific line from the text, what should you do?

• Reread the part that has that line in it

• Think about what the line is saying, but also what can be inferred from it

• Reread the part that has that word and consider what that word means that other similar words don't mean

• Find specific details in the story from where the line comes from

When the question asks you to determine what word can be used to replace a word or phrase, what should you do?

• Reread the part that has that line in it

• Think about what the line is saying, but also what can be inferred from it

• Reread the part that has that word and consider what that word means that other similar words don't mean

• Think of similar word that wouldn't change the original meaning of the sentence and check against the answer choices

When the question asks you to determine what "emotional impact" the tone has, what should you do?

• Look for words or phrases that are emotional or expressive, and decide what emotion they're conveying

• Think about what the words are saying, but also what can be inferred from them

• Reread the part that has that word and consider what that word means that other similar words don't mean

• Read it carefully and think about how it makes you feel

When the question asks you to choose an answer that contains an objective summary, what should you do?

• Use SWBST to summarise the story, making sure to leave out opinions

• Determine the main idea

• Reread the part that has that word and consider what that word means that other similar words don't mean

• Choose the one that best matches your opinion