ASE MLR Exam Study Guide: Questions & Answers
1. When instructing students about résumé writing, it is most appropriate for the teacher to emphasize
the importance of which of the following?
A. Maintaining a first-person point of view
B. Highlighting positive personality characteristics
C. Embellishing the objective and skills sections
D. Using formal and sophisticated language - ANSWER:Option D is correct because a résumé should be
written in formal, professional language and be free of slang or conversational language.
2. A teacher instructs students to read a short story on their own and keep track of the major events by
listing them in their notebooks as they read. The next day, the teacher asks the students to use their lists
to write a summary of the story. A primary benefit of the activity is that it helps students
A. retain comprehension of literature.
B. make personal connections with literature.
C. write creatively when responding to literature.
D. develop analytical thinking skills about literature. - ANSWER:Option A is correct because this activity
helps students to understand the relationship between reading and writing by allowing students to
reflect on the story and then create a summary based on their responses.
3. Which of the following assignments best integrates math and expository writing to assess specific
skills in both areas?
A. An argument paper that is either for or against including basic computation in the math curriculum
B. A research paper about the important contributions of a particular early mathematician
C. A procedural essay explaining the steps involved in solving a particular math equation
D. A reflective essay that describes the students' memories of learning math concepts at an early age -
ANSWER:Option C is correct because in explaining the process of solving a math equation, the students
must develop a full understanding of the process; furthermore, explaining the process in writing
reinforces the students' understanding of the process as well as their writing skills.
4. A high school teacher reads a text aloud to students daily while students follow along with their own
copies of the text. By hearing the text read aloud, students gain an understanding of how which of the
following elements contributes to the quality of writing?
A. Themes and motifs
B. Text structure
C. Setting and characterization
,D. Sentence structure - ANSWER:Option D is correct because seeing and hearing the connection between
written and spoken language will help students understand the role of punctuation in writing and can
help them better understand different sentence structures.
5. A seventh-grade English teacher is assessing students' understanding of the persuasive essay by
having them complete an in-class persuasive writing assignment. To most appropriately support an
English learner (EL) in the class who writes at the advanced level of English-language proficiency, the
teacher should provide the student with which of the following?
A. Simple sentence stems that facilitate the EL's ability to write about familiar concepts
B. Instructions in the EL's native language when discussing familiar concepts
C. Complex sentence stems that facilitate the EL's ability to write about abstract concepts
D. Permission to write about abstract concepts in the EL's native language - ANSWER:Option C is correct
because complex sentence stems would aid the EL in writing about abstract concepts in the same
manner that a native English speaker might write, which is an appropriate goal for an EL writing at the
advanced level of English-language proficiency.
6. When giving a seventh-grade class an informational essay to read, a teacher wants to ensure that an
English learner (EL) in the class who is reading at the intermediate English-language proficiency level is
able to comprehend the language. Which of the following supports will best promote the EL's
comprehension while reading?
A. Providing the EL a word list that gives a familiar synonym for words likely to be unfamiliar
B. Providing the EL a list of commonly used sentence stems used in informative articles
C. Having the EL record events that are most important to remember in a graphic organizer
D. Having the EL illustrate the parts of the article that he or she finds interesting - ANSWER:Option A is
correct because providing word lists of synonyms will ensure that ELs will not have to struggle to
understand unknown words; they will be better able to understand the content of the informational text.
7. An English learner (EL) speaking at the beginning level of English-language proficiency can be expected
to speak with
A. a variety of sentence structures.
B. a variety of verb tenses.
C. abstract ideas and terms.
D. single words and short phrases. - ANSWER:Option D is correct because an EL at the beginning level of
English-language proficiency mainly speaks using short words and phrases about recently practiced,
memorized, or highly familiar material.
8. A high school teacher has assigned a novel for students to read outside of class. Which of the
following strategies will be most helpful for a student who struggles with basic reading comprehension?
A. Working with a partner while reading the novel
, B. Watching the film version of the novel before reading the novel
C. Having extra time to finish reading the novel
D. Choosing a different novel that is at a lower reading level for the class - ANSWER:Option B is correct
because seeing the film version helps provide needed context and a basic plot outline; it will also help
the student distinguish the different characters so that when reading the novel, the student will already
have a basic understanding and can use this background knowledge to develop a deeper understanding.
9. A seventh-grade teacher assigns the following in-class writing prompt: "Write a descriptive paragraph
about a place that is special to you." Which TWO of the following modifications of the assignment will
best support an English learner who is writing at the beginning level of English-language proficiency?
A. Providing the student with a list of descriptive adjectives to use
B. Allowing the student to dictate a description to another student
C. Asking the student to list objects found in the place
D. Having the student draw and label a picture of the place
E. Having the student copy a teacher-created paragraph - ANSWER:Option C is correct because at the
beginning level of language proficiency, the student should be able to complete a simple list of objects.
10. From which of the following two languages did eighteenth-century writers, such as Samuel Johnson,
borrow words and coin new words using the languages' morphemes?
A. Contemporary Spanish and Portuguese
B. Ancient Sanskrit and Phoenician
C. Classical Greek and Latin
D. Medieval French and Italian - ANSWER:Option C is correct because during the eighteenth century,
adoption of Greek and Latin words into English became increasingly popular, as did the practice of
inventing new words based on these ancient languages
11. Which of the following activities best helps students learn to use affixes to determine the meaning of
unknown vocabulary?
A. Choosing an affix to study and having students use a dictionary to define words that use the affix
B. a list of words containing affixes and having students sort them into categories based on like parts
C. Having students use flash cards to memorize the meaning of common affixes and take a quiz on their
meanings
D. Having students examine a list of words that contain common affixes and write the meaning of each
word part - ANSWER:Option D is correct because this activity will develop students' understanding of
how affixes create meaning in a word and will build their knowledge of the meanings of common affixes.
12. Which of the following statements best describes the impact of texting and other social media
communications on the evolution of the English language?
1. When instructing students about résumé writing, it is most appropriate for the teacher to emphasize
the importance of which of the following?
A. Maintaining a first-person point of view
B. Highlighting positive personality characteristics
C. Embellishing the objective and skills sections
D. Using formal and sophisticated language - ANSWER:Option D is correct because a résumé should be
written in formal, professional language and be free of slang or conversational language.
2. A teacher instructs students to read a short story on their own and keep track of the major events by
listing them in their notebooks as they read. The next day, the teacher asks the students to use their lists
to write a summary of the story. A primary benefit of the activity is that it helps students
A. retain comprehension of literature.
B. make personal connections with literature.
C. write creatively when responding to literature.
D. develop analytical thinking skills about literature. - ANSWER:Option A is correct because this activity
helps students to understand the relationship between reading and writing by allowing students to
reflect on the story and then create a summary based on their responses.
3. Which of the following assignments best integrates math and expository writing to assess specific
skills in both areas?
A. An argument paper that is either for or against including basic computation in the math curriculum
B. A research paper about the important contributions of a particular early mathematician
C. A procedural essay explaining the steps involved in solving a particular math equation
D. A reflective essay that describes the students' memories of learning math concepts at an early age -
ANSWER:Option C is correct because in explaining the process of solving a math equation, the students
must develop a full understanding of the process; furthermore, explaining the process in writing
reinforces the students' understanding of the process as well as their writing skills.
4. A high school teacher reads a text aloud to students daily while students follow along with their own
copies of the text. By hearing the text read aloud, students gain an understanding of how which of the
following elements contributes to the quality of writing?
A. Themes and motifs
B. Text structure
C. Setting and characterization
,D. Sentence structure - ANSWER:Option D is correct because seeing and hearing the connection between
written and spoken language will help students understand the role of punctuation in writing and can
help them better understand different sentence structures.
5. A seventh-grade English teacher is assessing students' understanding of the persuasive essay by
having them complete an in-class persuasive writing assignment. To most appropriately support an
English learner (EL) in the class who writes at the advanced level of English-language proficiency, the
teacher should provide the student with which of the following?
A. Simple sentence stems that facilitate the EL's ability to write about familiar concepts
B. Instructions in the EL's native language when discussing familiar concepts
C. Complex sentence stems that facilitate the EL's ability to write about abstract concepts
D. Permission to write about abstract concepts in the EL's native language - ANSWER:Option C is correct
because complex sentence stems would aid the EL in writing about abstract concepts in the same
manner that a native English speaker might write, which is an appropriate goal for an EL writing at the
advanced level of English-language proficiency.
6. When giving a seventh-grade class an informational essay to read, a teacher wants to ensure that an
English learner (EL) in the class who is reading at the intermediate English-language proficiency level is
able to comprehend the language. Which of the following supports will best promote the EL's
comprehension while reading?
A. Providing the EL a word list that gives a familiar synonym for words likely to be unfamiliar
B. Providing the EL a list of commonly used sentence stems used in informative articles
C. Having the EL record events that are most important to remember in a graphic organizer
D. Having the EL illustrate the parts of the article that he or she finds interesting - ANSWER:Option A is
correct because providing word lists of synonyms will ensure that ELs will not have to struggle to
understand unknown words; they will be better able to understand the content of the informational text.
7. An English learner (EL) speaking at the beginning level of English-language proficiency can be expected
to speak with
A. a variety of sentence structures.
B. a variety of verb tenses.
C. abstract ideas and terms.
D. single words and short phrases. - ANSWER:Option D is correct because an EL at the beginning level of
English-language proficiency mainly speaks using short words and phrases about recently practiced,
memorized, or highly familiar material.
8. A high school teacher has assigned a novel for students to read outside of class. Which of the
following strategies will be most helpful for a student who struggles with basic reading comprehension?
A. Working with a partner while reading the novel
, B. Watching the film version of the novel before reading the novel
C. Having extra time to finish reading the novel
D. Choosing a different novel that is at a lower reading level for the class - ANSWER:Option B is correct
because seeing the film version helps provide needed context and a basic plot outline; it will also help
the student distinguish the different characters so that when reading the novel, the student will already
have a basic understanding and can use this background knowledge to develop a deeper understanding.
9. A seventh-grade teacher assigns the following in-class writing prompt: "Write a descriptive paragraph
about a place that is special to you." Which TWO of the following modifications of the assignment will
best support an English learner who is writing at the beginning level of English-language proficiency?
A. Providing the student with a list of descriptive adjectives to use
B. Allowing the student to dictate a description to another student
C. Asking the student to list objects found in the place
D. Having the student draw and label a picture of the place
E. Having the student copy a teacher-created paragraph - ANSWER:Option C is correct because at the
beginning level of language proficiency, the student should be able to complete a simple list of objects.
10. From which of the following two languages did eighteenth-century writers, such as Samuel Johnson,
borrow words and coin new words using the languages' morphemes?
A. Contemporary Spanish and Portuguese
B. Ancient Sanskrit and Phoenician
C. Classical Greek and Latin
D. Medieval French and Italian - ANSWER:Option C is correct because during the eighteenth century,
adoption of Greek and Latin words into English became increasingly popular, as did the practice of
inventing new words based on these ancient languages
11. Which of the following activities best helps students learn to use affixes to determine the meaning of
unknown vocabulary?
A. Choosing an affix to study and having students use a dictionary to define words that use the affix
B. a list of words containing affixes and having students sort them into categories based on like parts
C. Having students use flash cards to memorize the meaning of common affixes and take a quiz on their
meanings
D. Having students examine a list of words that contain common affixes and write the meaning of each
word part - ANSWER:Option D is correct because this activity will develop students' understanding of
how affixes create meaning in a word and will build their knowledge of the meanings of common affixes.
12. Which of the following statements best describes the impact of texting and other social media
communications on the evolution of the English language?
