8th grade reading comprehension

Example

Text A (a poem): "The rain drums softly, a lullaby on the roof." Text B (a weather report): "Rainfall of 12 mm is expected overnight." How do the texts present rain differently?

1. Comparing texts means finding where they agree and differ.
2. So the answer is: A presents it as soothing and musical; B gives a precise measurement.

Answer: A presents it as soothing and musical; B gives a precise measurement.

Example

Judge the evidence for this claim. Claim: Our school should switch to LED lights. Evidence: My uncle has LED lights at home.

1. Strong evidence is both relevant (on the point) and sufficient (enough to be convincing).
2. It is on topic but a single personal example proves very little.
3. So the answer is: relevant but not sufficient

Answer: relevant but not sufficient

Example

Which persuasive technique matches this description? Grouping ideas or words in threes to make them memorable.

1. Persuasive writers combine appeals to feeling (emotive language, anecdotes) with appeals to logic and authority (statistics, expert opinion), plus memorable patterns (rule of three, rhetorical questions, direct address).
2. rule of three: Grouping ideas or words in threes to make them memorable.
3. So the answer is: rule of three

Answer: rule of three

Example

Which fallacy matches this description? Presenting only two options when more exist.

1. A fallacy is a flaw in reasoning that can make a weak argument sound convincing.
2. false dilemma: Presenting only two options when more exist.
3. So the answer is: false dilemma

Answer: false dilemma

Example

Which narrative technique matches this description? An ending to a chapter or episode that leaves the reader in suspense.

1. Writers control time and suspense with techniques such as foreshadowing, flashback, cliffhangers and red herrings.
2. cliffhanger: An ending to a chapter or episode that leaves the reader in suspense.
3. So the answer is: cliffhanger

Answer: cliffhanger

Example

Read the question and choose. In the story, the lights of the city go out one by one as the old cinema closes forever. What do the fading lights most likely symbolise?

1. Writers use symbols (objects, places, weather, colours) to represent ideas such as freedom, hope or guilt.
2. So the answer is: the end of an era

Answer: the end of an era

Example

Which poetry term matches this description? A funny five-line poem with the rhyme scheme AABBA.

1. Poetic forms are defined by length, rhyme, rhythm and purpose.
2. limerick: A funny five-line poem with the rhyme scheme AABBA.
3. So the answer is: limerick

Answer: limerick

Example

Read the question and choose. A website's address looks almost like a famous newspaper's, but with one letter different. What should you suspect?

1. Lateral reading means checking a source by seeing what other trustworthy sources say about it, and tracing claims to their origin.
2. Lookalike addresses are a common trick of fake sites.
3. So the answer is: it may be an imitation site pretending to be the real one

Answer: it may be an imitation site pretending to be the real one