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The Main Idea of a Text ✔ 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 ✔ considering the main topic and how it is addressed throughout the passage. On this test, you will be asked ✔ 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 ✔ topic sentences and how they are supported in a text. Questions about the main idea may ✔ also deal with finding topic sentences, summarizing ideas in the text, or finding the supporting details of a text. In the sections that follow, ✔ determine the distinctions between all these aspects of text and practice answering questions related to them. To determine the topic, ✔ ask yourself what you're reading about. To determine the main idea, ✔ ask yourself how the author feels about the topic. To identify the main idea, ✔ first identify the topic The difference between the main idea and topic is simple, ✔ 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 ✔ the author's direct perspective about a topic, as distinct from the theme. Theme ✔ Generally true idea that the reader might derive from a text.
Most of the time, ✔ a fiction text will have a theme, while a nonfiction text will have a main idea. In a nonfiction text, ✔ the author speaks more directly about a topic to the audience-his or her perspective is more apparent. Analyzing details the author includes ✔ 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 ✔ focusing on the connection between the different ideas and how that connection helps the reader draw a conclusion. A summary is a ✔ very brief restatement of the most important parts of an argument or text. To build a summary, ✔ 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, ✔ your text should be much shorter than the original. To build an outline of the text ✔ 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 ✔ understanding the structure of a piece of writing When looking at a short passage of one or two paragraphs, ✔ 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 ✔ bookends to a paragraph or passage, telling readers what to think and then keeping the paragraph tightly together. The topic sentence is ✔ 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,
✔ information key to understanding the passage Supporting details build ✔ the argument and contain the key ideas upon which the main idea rests. While finding the supporting details ✔ 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 ✔ 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 ✔ can be anywhere in a sentence, and it is important to understand what each signal word means Signal words can add ✔ information, provide counterarguments, create organization in the passage, or draw conclusions. Some common signal words and terms include ✔ for example, in particular, in addition, besides, in contrast, therefore, because, or many other similar phrases. Besides using supporting details to ✔ understand a main idea, the reader must evaluate them for relevance and consistency. An author selects ✔ supporting details that help organize the passage and support the main idea. Sometimes, the author's bias may ✔ 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, ✔ 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,
✔ 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 ✔ 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 ✔ 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 ✔ how the supporting details reveal that bias is key to understanding a text. Authors use both ✔ 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 ✔ 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 ✔ 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 ✔ ,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 ✔ how the reader understands the argument and how various details interact to form the argument. There are many ways to arrange a text, ✔ and varying types of arrangements have distinct characteristics. Specific text structures include
Understanding text occurs ✔ as readers draw conclusions and make logical inferences from a text. To draw a conclusion, ✔ readers must first consider the details or facts. Then, they arrive at a conclusion from these details; the conclusions is the next logical point in the thought sequence For example, in a Hemingway story, ✔ an old man is sitting alone in a cafe. The young waiter says that the cafe is closing, but the old man continues to drink. The waiter starts closing up, and the old man signals for a refill. Based on these details, the reader might conclude that the old man hasn't understood the young waiter's desire for him to leave An inference is distinct from a conclusion. An inference is ✔ an educated guess that readers take based on details in the text as well as their own knowledge; it is information that enriches the reader's understanding of the literal meaning of the text. Readers use their own ✔ knowledge when considering what the author suggests through the details offered in descriptions of decisions or situations. Returning to the Hemingway story about the old man, the reader might infer that the old man is lonely, enjoys being in the cafe, and is reluctant to leave. When reading fictional text, ✔ inferring character motivations is essential. The actions of the character move ✔ the plot forward; understanding the meaning of the series of events requires making sense of the characters' reasoning for their actions. Hemingway includes ✔ contrasting details as the young waiter and an older waiter discuss the old man. The older waiter sympathizes with the old man because this waiter, too, needs a light for the night; both old men are lonely and experience a sense of emptiness in life, which motivates them to seek out the cafe. Readers must also be able to ✔ connect texts to each other. A reader should recognize that the ✔ Hemingway story about the old man in the cafe, for instance, shares similarities with other Hemingway stories about individuals struggling to deal with loss and loneliness in a dignified way.
Readers can even integrate ✔ their own personal connections and experiences into their reading. When readers read persuasive texts, for instance, ✔ they may connect the arguments in those texts to counterarguments and opposing evidence of which they are aware. They use these connections to infer meaning. Considering a character's motivations mean asking: ✔ What does the character want to achieve? What will the character get by accomplishing this? What does the character seem to value the most? It is important to approach every passage with ✔ the understanding that an author chooses words, structures, and content with specific purpose and intent. Without that assumption, it will be impossible to understand the author. With that assumption, a reader can discern why an author uses those words and structures and how they relate to the content. The author of a passage sets out to ✔ communicate a specific idea to an audience with a specific goal in mind. The author's purpose is ✔ expressed by determining why an author wants a reader to understand the main idea There are 4 basic purposes to which an author can write; ✔ within each of these general purposes, the author may also direct the audience the audience to take a clear action or respond in a certain way. The purpose for which an author writes a passage is ✔ also connected to the structure of the text. In a narrative, ✔ the author will use the characteristics of storytelling, such as chronological order, characters, and a defined setting.. Identifying these characteristics in a text should indicate that the author wishes to communicate a theme or main idea stemming from the events or characters in the story. In an expository passage, on the other hand, ✔ the author simply explains an idea or topic to the reader. The main idea will probably ✔ be a factual statement or a direct assertion of a broadly held opinion.
Logos ✔ Logical appeal, builds on that trust by providing facts and support for the author's opinion, explaining the argument with clear connections and reasoning. At this point, the reader should beware of logical fallacies that falsely connect unrelated ideas and build arguments on incorrect premises. Finally, an author convinces the reader to ✔ accept an opinion or belief by demonstrating that not only is it the most logical opinion, but it also appeals to his or her emotional reaction to a topic. Pathos ✔ the appeal to emotion, does not depend on reasonable connections between ideas; rather, it reminds a reader through imagery, strong language, and personal connections that the author's argument aligns with the reader's best interests. Many persuasive passage use ✔ all 3 rhetorical strategies to best appeal to a reader. The structure, purpose, main idea, and language of a ✔ text, all converge on one target: the intended audience. An author makes decisions about ✔ every aspect of a piece of writing base on that audience, and a reader can evaluate the writing through the lens of the audience. By considering the ✔ probable reactions of an intended audience, readers can determine many things: whether or not they are part of that intended audience, the author's purpose for using specific techniques or devices, the biases of the author and how they appear in the writing, and how the author uses rhetorical strategies. While a reader can evaluate ✔ each of these separately, identifying and considering the intended audience deepens the understanding of a text and highlights its details. To identify the intended audience, ✔ consider several aspects of the text. First of all, look at the main idea and/or theme of the passage. Who is more likely to care about that idea, benefit from it, or need to know about the topic? If the text is persuasive, who is the author trying to persuade? If it's explanatory, who would benefit from having this knowledge? Next, in order to
✔ refine your understanding of an audience, look at the language. An author tailors the language in a passage to appeal to the intended audience, so the reader can study the language to better understand the audience. Formal language is ✔ used to appeal to academics or people in a professional setting, while media like commercials and blogs will use more informal language to reach a wider audience. For example, employees use different language when writing emails to the boss than in emails to coworkers On the TEAS you're likely to see ✔ text from items like memos, emails, and print media. Identifying the audience for these items will help in answering questions about them A brochure meant for ✔ a public bulletin board is likely to have a specific purpose and tone, as would a job application, a letter to a colleague, or a company- wide announcement. Use your knowledge of the audience to assess the text's main idea, tone, and structure. One important aspect of ✔ communication between author and audience occurs subtly, through the tone and mood developed throughout a passage. The tone describes the ✔ author's attitude toward the topic distinct from the mood. The mood, ✔ the pervasive feeling or atmosphere in a passage that provokes specific emotions in the reader. The reader's emotional response ✔ to a text can hint at it's tone The importance of the distinction between (the tone and the mood) these aspects of text ✔ lies once again in the audience: the mood influences a reader's emotional state in the piece, while the tone establishes the relationship between the audience and the author. Does the author intend to instruct the audience? ✔ Is the author more experienced than the audience, or does she or he wish to establish a friendly or equal relationship? In each of these cases, the author can use a different tone to establish the appropriate level of communication. To determine mood and tone in a passage,
One type of context clue is a ✔ definition or description clue. Readers should be attentive to ✔ signal words like because, since, in contrast, instead of, therefocre, however, and as a result. These signal words indicate how an unfamiliar word is related to the overall meaning of the sentence or paragraph. Sometimes authors may use a difficult word; then say ✔ "that is" or "which is" to signal the reader that they are providing a synonym or restate the idea in familiar words: Teachers often prefer teaching students with intrinsic motivation; these students have an internal desire to learn. The meaning of intrinsic is restated as internal Similarly, authors may include ✔ example clues by providing an example of the unfamiliar word close to the word: Teachers may view extrinsic rewards as efficacious; however, an individual student may not be interested in what the teacher offers. For example, a student who is diabetic may not feel any incentive to work when offered a sweet treat. Efficacious is explained with an example demonstrating the effectiveness (and lack thereof) of extrinsic rewards. Another commonly used context clue is the ✔ contrast/ antonym clue. In this case, authors indicate that the unfamiliar word is the opposite of the familiar word: In contrast to intrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation is contingent on teachers offering rewards that are appealing. The phrase in contrast tells the reader that extrinsic is the opposite of intrinsic. Figures of speech are ✔ expressions that are understood to have a non-literal meaning. Instead of meaning what is actually said, figurative language suggests ✔ meaning by speaking of a subject as if it is something else. When Shakespeare says, ✔ " All the world's a stage, /And all men and women merely players," he isn't stating that the world is literally a stage. Instead, it functions like a stage, with men and women giving performances as if they were actors on a stage. Figures of speech extend the ✔ meaning of words by giving readers a new way to think about the subject. Thinking of the world as a ✔ stage on which people are performing is a new way of thinking about life. After reading Shakespeare's metaphor, people may reflect on how often they play a role
themselves: they may wonder when their behavior is genuine, if they are too worried about others evaluating their performance, and so on. Figures of speech engage a reader's ✔ imagination and add emphasis to different aspects of their subject. A metaphor is ✔ essentially an analogy. It is figurative language that explains something unfamiliar- the topic- through a vehicle familiar to the reader, correlating the two to explain something to the reader or enhance an idea. The familiar vehicle helps the reader understand a new or unfamiliar topic. For example, if a person refers to a ✔ problem as "the elephant in the room'' the topic is the problem; elephant is the vehicle expressing just how overwhelming and undeniable the problem is (as big and powerful as the elephant, though not literally one.) Similes usually use ✔ words such as like or as in phrasing; metaphors do not. A simile is ✔ figurative language that directly points to similarities between two things. The author is using a familiar vehicle to express an idea about the topic. For example, in his poem " The Rime of the Ancient Mariner" ✔ Samuel Taylor Coleridge describes his ship as "Idle as a painted ship upon a painted ocean". Readers have most likely seen a painting of a ship; Coleridge harnesses this knowledge not only to explain that the ship is still, but to emphasize just how motionless and quiet it really is. Research is the ✔ process of searching for credible information, or sources. Sources take various forms, ✔ such as written documentation, audio-visual materials, information found over the internet, in-person interviews, and more. Sources may answer specific questions posed in a text, ✔ enrich the information provided on a topic by the writer, or support a writer's argument In the twenty-first century, locating sources is easy; however ✔ , finding and determining quality sources involves careful evaluation of each one. The TEAS Reading test will
The sources researches use ✔ depend on their purpose. If the researcher's purpose is to analyze, interpret, or critique a historical event, a creative work, or a natural phenomenon, the researcher will use primary or original sources. Primary sources were ✔ produced by people with firsthand experience of an event. Examples of primary sources include: ✔ letters and emails, autobiographies, diaries and memoirs, firsthand or eyewitness accounts or descriptions of events, interviews, questionnaires, and surveys, speeches and lectures, photographs, drawings, and paintings, news stories written at the time of the event. The written analysis or interpretation of a primary source is ✔ considered a secondary source. Secondary sources are ✔ written by people who did not have firsthand experience of the topic being described. Instead, authors of secondary sources examine ✔ primary sources in order to draw conclusions or make generalizations about people, events, and ideas. Examples of secondary sources include: ✔ literary criticism and interpretation, biographies, historical criticism, political analyses, essays on ethics and social policies. A map is ✔ a visual representation of space. It shows the relative location of a number of features, including roads, buildings, cities, and natural features like bodies of water and mountains. Many of these features will likely be represented by symbols. For example, a forested area might be marked with a ✔ drawing of a single tree, and railroad tracks might be indicated using a dotted line. The meanings of these symbols will be ✔ shown in the legend. Specific features that do appear in the legend will be labeled on the map itself. The spatial relationship between the features on a map is
✔ indicated both by their position on the page and by the scale, which shows the relationship between distance on the map and distance in real life. The scale will be a ✔ short line marked with a specific measurement like 100 kilometers or 10 miles.This measurement provides a conversion factor to find the real-life distance between features on the map. For example, if the scale line is ✔ 1 inch long and corresponds to 50 miles in real life, then 2 inches on the map equals 100 miles in real life, and so on. Maps will also include a ✔ compass, which shows the four cardinal directions: north, south, east, and west. Traditionally, maps are ✔ oriented with the top of the page being north and the right side of the page being east, although this is not an absolute. Graphs and charts are ✔ visual representations of data. These figures include line graphs, bar graphs, pie charts, scatter plots, and histograms. These figures have a number of key features that you will need to identify. Graphs and charts will always have ✔ a title that provides a brief description of the data being described. The title will often include information that is vital for understanding the graph. For example, the title Graduating Students in the Class of 2016 tells the ✔ reader that the data set to follow includes students who graduated in 2016. The graph may also include a subtitle that provides more detailed information. Graphs also include ✔ horizontal and vertical axes with labels describing the data being charted on each axis. Both labels should show the units of the data being displayed on that axis. Axes showing ✔ countable data, such as money or the number of students, will include a numeric scale that allows the reader to determine the value of each point or bar on the graph Axes, that show categorical data, such as ✔ time or location, will include text with the name of each category. Always start with the
Following directions requires the ✔ ability to identify the initial conditions, understand sequences, and analyze relationships among steps. First, identify the initial conditions laid out by the problem. This might be a spatial relationship between figures or a certain number of items. Next, look for markers that indicate a ✔ sequence. That may be as simple as identifying numbered steps, or the problem might require a closer reading. Certain words provide clues to the sequence of steps. Transition words like first, next, then, and finally indicate the order of tasks to be carried out. Once the order of steps have been identified, they can be carried out in that order. When working through directions, ✔ pay special attention to the relationships between the steps. The action carried out in step 1 will likely affect the action in step 2, so make sure that each step is completed correctly before moving on. These questions are a test of the reader's attention to detail. When working through a set of directions, always ✔ write down the result of each step. This will help you avoid making simple mistakes and will also help you check your work if you find an error. Number are placed in categories based on ✔ their properties. A natural number is ✔ greater than 0 and has no decimal or fraction attached. These are also sometimes called counting numbers. (1,2,3,4) Whole numbers are ✔ natural numbers and the number 0. (0,1,2,3,4) Integers include ✔ positive and negative natural numbers and zero. (..., -4, -3, -2, -1,0, 1, 2, 3, 4,...) A rational number can be ✔ represented as a fraction. Any decimal part must terminate, or resolve into a repeating pattern. Examples include -12, -4/5. 0.36. 7.7 repeating, 26 and a half, etc. An irrational number ✔ cannot be represented as a fraction. An irrational decimal number never ends and never resolves into a repeating pattern. Examples include - square root of 7, pi, and 0.34567989135.... A real number is a
✔ number that can be represented by a point on a number line. Real numbers include all the rational and irrational numbers. Every whole number (except 1) is ✔ either a prime number or a composite number. A prime number is a ✔ natural number greater than 1 which can only be divided evenly by 1 and itself. For example 7 is a prime number because it can only be divided by the numbers 1 and 7. If a real number is a ✔ natural number, then it is also an integer, a whole number, and a rational number. On the other hand, a composite number is a ✔ natural number greater than 1 which can be evenly divided by at least one other number beside 1 and itself. For example it can be divided by 1,2, 3, and 6. Composite numbers can be ✔ broken down into prime numbers using factors trees. For example, the number 54 is 2 x 27, is 3 x 9, and 9 is 3 x 3. Factors are numbers that are ✔ multiplied by each other. Once the number has been down into its simplest fore, the composite number can be ✔ expressed using exponents. An exponent shows how ✔ many times a number should be multiplied by itself. In the factor tree, the number 54 can be written as 2 x 3 x 3 x 3 or 2 x 3^3. Scientific notation is a ✔ method of representing very large and small numbers in the form a x 10^n where a is a value between 1 and 10, and n is a nonzero integer. For example, the number 927,000,000 is written in scientific notation as ✔ 9.27 x 10^8. Multiplying 9.27 by 10 eight times gives 927,000,000. When performing operations with scientific notation, ✔ the final answer should be in the form a x 10^n. When adding and subtracting numbers in scientific notation, ✔ power of 10 must be the same for all number. This results in like terms in which the a terms are added or subtracted and the 10^n remains unchanged.
