Author's Purpose: A section in a history book describing the conditions and causes of the Great Depression in the Midwest in the 1930s

Author's Purpose: A speech written by Jose Canseco listing the negative effects of steroids and urging young athletes to not use steroids

Author's Purpose: A booklet containing the school rules and the consequences for violating those rules

Author's Purpose: A story written about a young boy who moves to a new school and is bullied, but he gains self-confidence by joining a sports team and learns to stand up for himself.

What is the meaning of the word Dignity: Even when the police officers put the handcuffs on my mother, she maintained her dignity, holding her head up high as she was marched off the protest site.

What is the meaning of Splendid: The rays from the rising sun shined splendidly through our kitchen window.

What is the meaning of Fascinate: Alvin went to the museum every Saturday because he was so fascinated by art.

What is the meaning of the word Yearn: Even though John had a good job and a nice family, he yearned for more.

What is the text structure? All matter, all things can be changed in two ways: chemically and physically. Both chemical and physical changes affect the state of matter. Physical changes are those that do not change the make-up or identity of the matter. For example, clay will bend or flatten if squeezed, but it will still be clay. Changing the shape of clay is a physical change, and does not change the matter's identity. Chemical changes turn the matter into a new kind of matter with different properties. For example, when paper is burnt, it becomes ash and will never be paper again. The difference between them is that physical changes are temporary or only last for a little while, and chemical changes are permanent, which means they last forever. Physical and chemical changes both affect the state of matter.

What is the text structure? When I got home from school after a long boring day, I took out the peanut butter, jelly, and bread. After taking the lid off of the jars, I spread the peanut butter on one side of the bread and the jelly on the other, and then I put the two pieces of bread together. After that, I enjoyed it while watching "Cops" on the TV. I swear, that was the best peanut butter and jelly sandwich I ever ate.

What is the Text Structure? Dr. Miller doesn't want the tigers to vanish. These majestic beasts are disappearing at an alarming rate. Dr. Miller thinks that we should write to our congress people. If we let them know that we demand the preservation of this species, maybe we can make a difference. Dr. Miller also thinks that we should donate to Save the Tigers. Our donations will help to support and empower those who are fighting the hardest to preserve the tigers. We owe it to our grandchildren to do something.

What is the Text Structure? Many people are confused about why our economy went to shambles in 2008. The crisis was actually the result of a combination of many complex factors. First, easy credit conditions allowed people who were high-risk or unworthy of credit to borrow, and even people who had no income were eligible for large loans. Second, banks would bundle these toxic loans and sell them as packages on the financial market. Third, large insurance firms backed these packages, misrepresenting these high-risk loans as safe investments. Fourth, because of the ease of acquiring credit and the rapid growth in the housing market, people were buying two or three houses, intending to sell them for more than they paid. All of these factors created bubbles of speculation. These bubbles burst, sending the whole market into a downward spiral, causing employers to lose capital and lay off employees. Consumer spending then plummeted and most businesses suffered. The economy is like a big boat, and once it gets moving quickly in the wrong direction, it's hard to turn it around.

What is the Point of View?

Leslie sat in front of Paul. She had two long, brown pigtails that reached all the way down to her waist. Paul saw those pigtails, and a terrible urge came over him. He wanted to pull a pigtail. He wanted to wrap his fist around it, feel the hair between his fingers, and just yank. He thought it would be fun to tie the pigtails together, or better yet, tie them to her chair. But most of all, he just wanted to pull one.

What is the Point of View?

And we scrounged. Next to survival, scrounge was probably the most important word in our new vocabulary. We found a store that was throwing out water-damaged mattresses. Getting them home was a problem, since we had to make two trips, leaving Brad and Katie, armed with sticks to guard over the remained. I truly expected them to be challenged by some gang boss, but they said that the only person who came by was a scrawny little rat of a girl living alone. We let her have one of the mattresses.

What is the Point of View?

At dawn, Mae Tuck set out on her horse for the wood at the edge of the village of Treegap. She was going there, as she did once every ten years, to meet her two sons, Miles and Jesse, and she was feeling at ease. At noon time, Winnie Foster, whose family owned the Treegap wood, lost her patience at last and decided to think about running away.

What is the Point of View?

To his astonishment, Charlie found himself standing next to his bicycle, back where he had entered the swamp. That was bizarre and upsetting—but not as bad as the realization that he was still holding the skull. He thought he had dropped it before he raced out the door. He certainly hadn’t intended to steal the thing. He didn’t even really want it!

What is the Central Idea of the passage?

A penny for your thoughts? If it's a 1943 copper penny, it could be worth as much as fifty thousand dollars. In 1943, most pennies were made out of steel since copper was needed for World War II, so the 1943 copper penny is ultra-rare. Another rarity is the 1955 double die penny. These pennies were mistakenly double stamped, so they have overlapping dates and letters. If it's uncirculated, it'd easily fetch $25,000 at an auction. Now that's a pretty penny.

What is the Central Idea of the passage?

Before you put on that skeleton costume and rove door-to-door pandering for candy, take a minute to reflect on this tradition. Halloween is believed to have come from an ancient Celtic festival dating back some 2,000 years. November 1st was the Celtic New Year and marked the end of summer to the Celts. They celebrated on its eve by wearing costumes made of animal skins and dancing around bon fires. Over the next two millennia, this primitive celebration grew to be the candy fueled costume ball that we know today.

What is the Central Idea of the passage?

When one hears the term "reality" applied to a show, one might expect that the events portrayed occurred naturally or, at the least, were not scripted. This is not always the case. Many reality shows occur in unreal environments, like rented mansions occupied by film crews. Such living environments do not reflect what most people understand to be "reality." Worse, there have been accusations that events not captured on film were later restaged by producers. Worse still, some involved in the production of "reality" television claim that the participants were urged to act out story lines premeditated by producers. With such accusations floating around, it's no wonder many people take reality TV to be about as real as the sitcom.

What is the Central Idea of the passage?

There are many types of lethal venom in the animal kingdom, but perhaps no stranger carrier than the platypus. The platypus is one of few venomous mammals. Male platypus carry a venom cocktail in their ankle spurs. This venom incapacitates victims with excruciating pain. Stranger still, the platypus is the only mammal that uses electroreception. That means that the platypus uses its bill to sense the electricity produced by the muscular movements of its prey. Electroreception is a sixth sense different from seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, or feeling. Perhaps most odd, the platypus is the only mammal that lays eggs rather than giving birth to live young. What an odd creature indeed.

What is the Tone of this poem?

Strange Meetings

By Harold Mono

If suddenly a clod1 of earth should rise,

And walk about, and breathe, and speak, and love, How one would tremble, and in what surprise Gasp: "Can you move?"

I see men walking, and I always feel: "Earth! How have you done this? What can you be?" I can't learn how to know men, or conceal How strange they are to me.

What is the Tone of the poem?

Heat

By Hilda Doolittle

O wind, rend¹ open the heat,

Cut apart the heat,

Rend it to tatters².

Fruit cannot drop

Through this thick air --

Fruit cannot fall into heat

That presses up and blunts

The points of pears

And rounds the grapes.

Cut the heat --

Plough through it,

Turning it on either side

Of your path.

What is the Tone of the poem/

Swinging

By W. K. Clifford

Swing, swing, swing, See! the sun is gone away; Swing, swing, swing, Gone to make a bright new day. Swing, swing, swing. I can see as up I go The poplars waving to and fro, I can see as I come down The lights are twinkling in the town, High and low, Fast and slow, Swing, swing, swing.

What the Tone of the poem?

Noon

By Kendall Banning

The bees are humming, humming in the clover; The bobolink is singing in the rye; The brook is purling, purling in the valley, And the river's laughing, radiant, to the sky! The buttercups are nodding in the sunlight; The winds are whispering, whispering to the pine; The joy of June has found me; as an aureole it's crowned me Because, oh best beloved, you are mine!

Who is the Intended Audience?

A travel brochure explaining all the things you can do when you visit the state of Florida.

Who is the Intended Audience?

A magazine that is focused on the topic of Politicians.

Who is the Intended Audience?

A Sports Article about how you can improve your overall performance on the field if you train using a certain product.

What is the connotation of "Gray"?

What is the denotation of "Gray"?

One of them is that happy moment at the soda fountain…with a tinkling glass of ice-cold Coca-Cola.

The writer of this advertisement probably used the word ice-cold rather than freezing because icecold has

Pure refreshment… familiar to everyone.

All of the following have the same connotation as familiar except —

“Delicious and refreshing.”

Which of the following could best replace refreshing in the sentence? (HINT: Choose a synonym with the same connotation.) 

The need is urgent. Together, we have the capacity to make a difference

If the writer of this advertisement wanted to use a stronger word than capacity, she might use the word

What is the connotation and denotation of the word Persistent?

What is the denotation and connotation of the word Thrifty?

What is the denotation and connotation of the word Smirked?

Choose the correct pronoun:

Mrs. Davis gave (we, us) a new assignment.

Choose the correct pronoun:

She thanked (them, they) for the present.

Choose the correct pronoun:

(Him, He) kicked the ball.

Choose the correct pronoun:

Mom picked the tomatoes before (they, them) were ripe.

Is this Biased or Unbiased?

You want to know how many students in our school have broken a bone. You survey the members of the football team.

Is this Biased or Unbiased?

A bank casually selects customers throughout the day to ask them if they are pleased with the service they receive.

Is this Biased or Unbiased?

Your teacher is selecting students to help set up for a school dance. Only 5 students are needed to help. She puts everyone’s name in a hat and selects 5 names without looking.

Is this Biased or Unbiased?

You want to survey the students in your school about their exercise habits. At lunchtime you stand by the salad line. You survey every student who bought salads for lunch.

Identify the Author's Claim:

The use of social networking sites, in particular Facebook, can not only skew your understanding of reality, it can cause you actual, physical harm. According to Jean Conklin, a clinical psychiatrist at University of Maryland Hospital, in Baltimore, “Facebook is to your mind what sugar is to your body – bad all around.”

Identify the Author's Claim:

Unless you claim your car or truck as a business expense, then leasing a car is probably not going to be advantageous for you. Though some people like the idea of leasing because they want to drive a new car every couple of years, there are some good reasons why purchasing a car makes more financial sense.

Identify the Author's Claim:

Homemade oatmeal cookies are not only a better snack option than a candy bar or pack of crackers, they are actually good for you. While processed foods strip the nutrients out during processing, homemade treats keep the nutrients in. One one‐ounce, homemade oatmeal cookie will give you up to 27 mg of folate―6% of your daily recommended allowance (RDA)―a B vitamin that your body uses to make energy. It will also give you small amounts of vitamin A and vitamin K

Where would you find information about similes and metaphors?

According to the graph, which fruit was voted on by 30 people?