Author's Purpose Practice

VISUAL PERCEPTION

It is tempting to think that your eyes are simply mirrors that reflect whatever is in front of them. Researchers, however, have shown that your brain is constantly working to create the impression of a continuous, uninterrupted world.

For instance, in the last 10 minutes, you have blinked your eyes around 200 times. You have probably not been aware of any of these interruptions in your visual world. Something you probably have not seen in a long time without the aid of a mirror is your nose. It is always right there, down in the bottom corner of your vision, but your brain filters it out so that you are not aware of your nose unless you purposefully look at it.

Nor are you aware of the artery that runs right down the middle of your retina. It creates a large blind spot in your visual field, but you never notice the hole it leaves. To see this blind spot, try the following: Cover your left eye with your hand. With your right eye, look at the O on the left. As you move your head closer to the O, the X will disappear as it enters the blind spot caused by your optical nerve.

O

X

What is the main purpose of this passage?

https://www.testprepreview.com/modules/authors-purpose.htm

• To explain the way visual perception works

• To persuade the reader to consult an optometrist if the O and X disappear.

• To persuade the reader to pay close attention to blind spots

• To prove that vision is a passive process

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CCSS.RI. 9-10.6

CCSS.RI.7.9

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OPPOSITIONAL DEFIANT DISORDER

On a bad day, have you ever been irritable? Have you ever used a harsh tone or even been verbally disrespectful to your parents or teachers? Everyone has a short temper from time to time, but current statistics indicate that between 16 and 20 percent of a school’s population suffer from a psychological condition known as oppositional defiant disorder, or ODD.

ODD symptoms include difficulty complying with adult requests, excessive arguments with adults, temper tantrums, difficulty accepting responsibility for actions, low frustration tolerance, and behaviors intended to annoy or upset adults. Parents of children with ODD often feel as though their whole relationship is based on conflict after conflict.

Unfortunately, ODD can be caused by a number of factors. Some students affected by ODD suffer abuse, neglect, and severe or unpredictable discipline at home. Others have parents with mood disorders or have experienced family violence. Various types of therapy are helpful in treating ODD, and some drugs can treat particular symptoms. However, no single cure exists.

The best advice from professionals is directed toward parents. Therapists encourage parents to avoid situations that usually end in power struggles, to try not to feed into oppositional behavior by reacting emotionally, to praise positive behaviors, and to discourage negative behaviors with timeouts instead of harsh discipline.

The author’s purpose in writing this passage is to...

• Express frustration about ODD.

• Explain that parents are the cause of ODD.

• Inform the reader about this complex condition.

• Persuade the reader to keep students with ODD out of public schools.

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CCSS.RI. 9-10.6

CCSS.RI.7.9

CCSS.RI.8.6

CCSS.RI.8.9

CCSS.RL.7.6

On a bad day, have you ever been irritable? Have you ever used a harsh tone or even been verbally disrespectful to your parents or teachers? Everyone has a short temper from time to time, but current statistics indicate that between 16 and 20 percent of a school’s population suffer from a psychological condition known as oppositional defiant disorder, or ODD.

ODD symptoms include difficulty complying with adult requests, excessive arguments with adults, temper tantrums, difficulty accepting responsibility for actions, low frustration tolerance, and behaviors intended to annoy or upset adults. Parents of children with ODD often feel as though their whole relationship is based on conflict after conflict.

Unfortunately, ODD can be caused by a number of factors. Some students affected by ODD suffer abuse, neglect, and severe or unpredictable discipline at home. Others have parents with mood disorders or have experienced family violence. Various types of therapy are helpful in treating ODD, and some drugs can treat particular symptoms. However, no single cure exists.

The best advice from professionals is directed toward parents. Therapists encourage parents to avoid situations that usually end in power struggles, to try not to feed into oppositional behavior by reacting emotionally, to praise positive behaviors, and to discourage negative behaviors with timeouts instead of harsh discipline.

Which of the following article titles might contain information that CONFLICTS with the author's perspective on ODD?

• "Helping your child overcome ODD through Patient Parent Practices"

• "Discipline your Unruly Child with an Iron Fist"

• "Praise and Patience - An ODD child's parent guide"

• "Is it my fault? - A Survival & Support Guide to ODD Parenting"

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CCSS.RI.7.6

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EARLY POLITICAL PARTIES

The United States has always been a pluralistic society, meaning it has many points of view and many groups with different identities from its beginning. That is not to say that these groups always saw eye to eye. The first political parties developed in the United States as a result of conflicting visions of the American identity. Many politicians believed that wealthy merchants and lawyers represented the country’s true identity, but many others saw it in the farmers and workers who formed the country’s economic base.

The event that brought this disagreement to the surface was the creation of the Bank of the United States in 1791. The bank set out to rid the country of the debts from the American Revolution. Until then, each state was responsible for its own debts. The Bank of the United States, however, wanted to take on these debts and pay them off itself. While many people considered this offer to be a good financial deal for the states, many states were uncomfortable with the arrangement because they saw it as a power play by the federal government. If one central bank had control over the finances of individual states, then the people who owned the bank would profit from the states in the future. This concern was the basis of the disagreement: Who should have more power, the individual states or the central government?

The Democratic-Republican Party developed to protest the bank, but it came to represent a vision of America with power spread among states. The Federalist Party was established in defense of the bank, but its ultimate vision was of a strong central government that could help steer the United States toward a more competitive position in the world economy. These different points of view-central government versus separate states-would not be resolved easily. These same disagreements fueled the tension that erupted into the Civil War over half a century later.

What is the author’s purpose in writing this passage?

• To persuade the reader to accept the Federalist Party’s point of view.

• To explain the disagreements between early American political parties.

• To explain the importance of a strong central government and why we should have one.

• To criticize the founders of the Bank of the United States

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CCSS.RI. 9-10.6

CCSS.RI.7.6

CCSS.RI.8.9

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CCSS.RL.9-10.6

EARLY POLITICAL PARTIES

The United States has always been a pluralistic society, meaning it has embraced many points of view and many groups with different identities from its beginning. That is not to say that these groups always saw eye to eye. The first political parties developed in the United States as a result of conflicting visions of the American identity. Many politicians believed that wealthy merchants and lawyers represented the country’s true identity, but many others saw it in the farmers and workers who formed the country’s economic base.

Based on how pluralistic is used in this passage, what is the best definition from those provided?

• A uniform society where all people share very similar ideas and religious beliefs and do not tolerate differences in opinions.

• A society containing a strict hierarchical system of power based around land ownership and protection.

• A complex society where all things appear "perfect" in every way. Crime, poverty and poverty are undetectable.

• A diverse society, where the people believe all kinds of different things and tolerate each other's beliefs even when they don't match their own.

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