TEAS EXAM STUDY GUIDE WITH COMPLETE QUESTIONS AND WELL DEFINED ANSWERS.

The Main Idea of a Text - correct answer Describes the author's main topic and general perspective on that topic. It is expressed within and throughout the text. The reader can recognize the main idea in any text by - correct answer considering the main topic and how it is addressed throughout the passage. On this test, you will be asked - correct answer not only to identify the main idea of a text, but to differentiate it from topic and theme and to summarize it clearly and concisely. The main idea is closely connected to - correct answer topic sentences and how they are supported in a text. Questions about the main idea may - correct answer also deal with finding topic sentences, summarizing ideas in the text, or finding the supporting details of a text. In the sections that follow, - correct answer determine the distinctions between all these aspects of text and practice answering questions related to them. To determine the topic, - correct answer ask yourself what you're reading about. To determine the main idea, - correct answer ask yourself how the author feels about the topic. To identify the main idea, - correct answer first identify the topic The difference between the main idea and topic is simple, - correct answer The topic is the overall subject matter of the passage; the main idea is what the author wants to say about that topic. The main idea covers - correct answer the author's direct perspective about a topic, as distinct from the theme. Theme - correct answer Generally true idea that the reader might derive from a text. Most of the time, - correct answer a fiction text will have a theme, while a nonfiction text will have a main idea. In a nonfiction text, - correct answer the author speaks more directly about a topic to the audience-his or her perspective is more apparent. Analyzing details the author includes - correct answer and looking for similarities among them guides the reader to the conclusion. By identifying the supporting details the author's main idea becomes clear. Summarizing the main idea requires - correct answer focusing on the connection between the different ideas and how that connection helps the reader draw a conclusion. A summary is a - correct answer very brief restatement of the most important parts of an argument or text. To build a summary, - correct answer start with the most important idea in a text. To continue building a longer summary, look for supporting details to add. Remember that when you summarize, - correct answer your text should be much shorter than the original. To build an outline of the text - correct answer as you read, jot down words or phrases that describe the main idea as you're reading and underline important details. Part of identifying the main idea is - correct answer understanding the structure of a piece of writing When looking at a short passage of one or two paragraphs, - correct answer identifying the topic sentences and summary sentences will quickly tell the reader what the paragraphs are about and what conclusions the author wants the reader to draw. Topic sentences and summary sentences function as - correct answer bookends to a paragraph or passage, telling readers what to think and then keeping the paragraph tightly together. The topic sentence is - correct answer generally the first sentence or very near the first sentence in the paragraph. It introduces the reader to the topic by making a general statement about that topic, clearly and specifically directing the reader to access any previous experiences with that topic. The summary sentence of a paragraph on the other hand, - correct answer frequently (but not always!) comes at the end of a paragraph or passage, because it wraps up all the ideas the passage presents. The summary sentence - correct answer gives the reader an understanding of what the author wants to say about the topic and what conclusions can be drawn about it. While the topic sentence acts - correct answer as an introduction to the topic, allowing the reader to activate his/her own ideas and experiences with the topic, the summary statement asks the reader to accept the author's ideas about that topic. Finding a summary sentence, - correct answer will help to quickly identify the main idea. Between a topic sentence and a summary sentence, - correct answer the rest of a paragraph is built by supporting details. Supporting details can - correct answer come in many forms; the purpose of the passage dictates the type of information that will be used to support the main idea. A persuasive passage may use - correct answer specific facts and data, or it may detail specific reasons for the author's opinion. An informative passage - correct answer will primarily use facts about the topic to support the main idea. Even a narrative passage will - correct answer have supporting details- the specific things the author says to develop the story and characters. The most important aspect of supporting details is - correct answer exactly what the name says; they must support the main idea. Looking at the various supporting details and - correct answer how they work with one another will solidify an understanding of the author's perspective on a topic and what the main idea of the passage really is. The supporting details contain important - correct answer information key to understanding the passage Supporting details build - correct answer the argument and contain the key ideas upon which the main idea rests. While finding the supporting details - correct answer will help reveal the main idea, it is actually easier to find the most important supporting details by understanding the main idea first; then the pieces that make up the argument will become clear. Signal words - correct answer or transitions and conjunctions that explains to the reader how one sentence or idea is connected to another hint at supporting ideas. Signal words and phrases - correct answer can be anywhere in a sentence, and it is important to understand what each signal word means Signal words can add - correct answer information, provide counterarguments, create organization in the passage, or draw conclusions. Some common signal words and terms include - correct answer for example, in particular, in addition, besides, in contrast, therefore, because, or many other similar phrases. Besides using supporting details to - correct answer understand a main idea, the reader must evaluate them for relevance and consistency. An author selects - correct answer supporting details that help organize the passage and support the main idea. Sometimes, the author's bias may - correct answer cause him or her to omit details that don't directly support the main idea or that may even support a main idea. A reader must recognize not only what the author says, but also what the author leaves out.. To understand how a supporting detail relates to the main idea, - correct answer a reader must first understand the purpose of the passage. What is the author trying to communicate? How does the author want the reader to respond? Every passage has a specific goal, and each paragraph in a passage is meant to support that goal. For each supporting detail, - correct answer the position in the text, the signal words, and the specific content work together to alert the reader to the relationship between the supporting ideas and the main ideas. Close reading of a text requires - correct answer taking note of its striking features. For example, does a point in the text appeal to your sense of justice? Does a description seem rather exaggerated or overstates?Do certain words seem emotive, like agonizing? Are rhetorical questions being used to lead you to a certain conclusion? In general, an author includes - correct answer details that support the main idea; however, the reader must decide how those ideas relate to one another and uncover any weakness in their support of the author's argument. This is particularly important in a persuasive piece of writing, when an author may display bias in his or her choice of supporting details. Discovering the author's bias and - correct answer how the supporting details reveal that bias is key to understanding a text. Authors use both - correct answer facts and opinions as supporting details. While it is usually a simple task to identify between the two, sometimes an author might mix facts and opinions in such a way that the two become convoluted; in addition, an author might state an opinion as if it is a fact. The difference between a fact and an opinion - correct answer is simple; a fact is a piece of information that can be verified as true or false by any person, and it retains the quality of truthfulness (or not) no matter who verifies it. An opinion - correct answer expresses a belief held by the speaker and may or may not be something each audience member agrees with. To distinguish between fact and opinion - correct answer ,ask if a statement can be proven. Look for subjectivity by asking if an observation could vary according to the situation or person observing. The structure of a text determines - correct answer how the reader understands the argument and how various details interact to form the argument. There are many ways to arrange a text, - correct answer and varying types of arrangements have distinct characteristics. Specific text structures include - correct answer cause and effect, compare and contrast, problem and solution, descriptive, and chronological Cause and Effect - correct answer the author describes a situation and then its effects Compare and Contrast - correct answer the author explores the similarities and differences between two or more things