Pert Reading Study Guide – Complete
Author’s purpose Right Ans - The reason the author has for writing.
( Inform, persuade, express, & entertain)
Inform Right Ans - The purpose is to give information. Information is
usually given in a straightforward and matter-of-fact manner. This is normally
found in DIY books, news reports and textbooks.
Persuade Right Ans - The purpose is to convince or change the mind of the
reader to the author's point of view. Often, but not always, persuasive writing
uses imperatives such as "ought," "should," and "must" and is written in
second person "you" to catch the reader's attention. Often this is used in
advertisements, speeches, and commercials.
Entertain Right Ans - The purpose is to amuse the reader. Entertainment
can engage the emotions with humor, tragedy or romance, or the intellect
with detective stories, adventures, and poetry.
Author's tone Right Ans - the attitude or indicator of what is felt, thought,
or believed as a result of the author's word choice.
how can I determine tone? Right Ans - ask if the passage is positive,
negative, or neutral. If you can determine which of these three options best
fits the passage, then try to determine what kind of positive/negative feelings
the author has and which words express that attitude
negative tone Right Ans - Erica seems too ambivalent about how to
proceed.
positive tone Right Ans - Erica tries to be objective about how to proceed.
neutral tone Right Ans - Erica is matter-of-fact about how to proceed
when answering questions about tone what should you do? Right Ans -
make sure the tone does not contradict the author's purpose.
if the authors purpose is to inform then Right Ans - tone should be
described with neutral/objective words.
, subject Right Ans - often an incomplete sentence or a few words. Ex: music,
mental illness, famous artists, technology.
how can I identify the topic or subject Right Ans - think about what
keywords you would use to search for the passage.
Main idea Right Ans - what the passage is mainly trying to say or support; it
is the most important point, claim, or argument.
a reference to a main idea would be Right Ans - like Main St. in a small
town—all of the other streets connect to it. In the same way, all the details in a
paragraph should connect to the main idea.
the main idea is Right Ans - a broad statement in the form of a complete
sentence.
what can I ask to find the main idea Right Ans - What is the most important
point, claim or argument that the author wants me to understand
when I do select an answer surrounding Main idea what should I ask? Right
Ans - Do all the other sentences tell more about this idea
what should I do to identify details about the Main idea Right Ans - Always
go back and reread the passage to check the facts; do not rely on your
memory.
how can I identify supporting details and answer them Right Ans - Nearly
all supporting detail questions ask about specific facts, and can be answered
by finding the information as it is stated in the passage, not something that
you're asked to guess
how do common supporting details start out as? Right Ans - According to
the passage
what words in the answer choices of supporting details question should you
avoid Right Ans - All, always, never, none
Author’s purpose Right Ans - The reason the author has for writing.
( Inform, persuade, express, & entertain)
Inform Right Ans - The purpose is to give information. Information is
usually given in a straightforward and matter-of-fact manner. This is normally
found in DIY books, news reports and textbooks.
Persuade Right Ans - The purpose is to convince or change the mind of the
reader to the author's point of view. Often, but not always, persuasive writing
uses imperatives such as "ought," "should," and "must" and is written in
second person "you" to catch the reader's attention. Often this is used in
advertisements, speeches, and commercials.
Entertain Right Ans - The purpose is to amuse the reader. Entertainment
can engage the emotions with humor, tragedy or romance, or the intellect
with detective stories, adventures, and poetry.
Author's tone Right Ans - the attitude or indicator of what is felt, thought,
or believed as a result of the author's word choice.
how can I determine tone? Right Ans - ask if the passage is positive,
negative, or neutral. If you can determine which of these three options best
fits the passage, then try to determine what kind of positive/negative feelings
the author has and which words express that attitude
negative tone Right Ans - Erica seems too ambivalent about how to
proceed.
positive tone Right Ans - Erica tries to be objective about how to proceed.
neutral tone Right Ans - Erica is matter-of-fact about how to proceed
when answering questions about tone what should you do? Right Ans -
make sure the tone does not contradict the author's purpose.
if the authors purpose is to inform then Right Ans - tone should be
described with neutral/objective words.
, subject Right Ans - often an incomplete sentence or a few words. Ex: music,
mental illness, famous artists, technology.
how can I identify the topic or subject Right Ans - think about what
keywords you would use to search for the passage.
Main idea Right Ans - what the passage is mainly trying to say or support; it
is the most important point, claim, or argument.
a reference to a main idea would be Right Ans - like Main St. in a small
town—all of the other streets connect to it. In the same way, all the details in a
paragraph should connect to the main idea.
the main idea is Right Ans - a broad statement in the form of a complete
sentence.
what can I ask to find the main idea Right Ans - What is the most important
point, claim or argument that the author wants me to understand
when I do select an answer surrounding Main idea what should I ask? Right
Ans - Do all the other sentences tell more about this idea
what should I do to identify details about the Main idea Right Ans - Always
go back and reread the passage to check the facts; do not rely on your
memory.
how can I identify supporting details and answer them Right Ans - Nearly
all supporting detail questions ask about specific facts, and can be answered
by finding the information as it is stated in the passage, not something that
you're asked to guess
how do common supporting details start out as? Right Ans - According to
the passage
what words in the answer choices of supporting details question should you
avoid Right Ans - All, always, never, none
