Question Stems (from Keystone Literature Assessment Anchors and Eligible Content, January
2013)
Literature (includes literary non-­fiction)
author’s purpose
What is the author’s purpose in writing the passage?
author’s purpose
Explain the author’s purpose for writing the passage. Use information from the
passage to support your explanation.
text examples that
support author’s
purpose
Which addition to the passage could best support the author’s purpose?
How elements of
fiction communicate
ideas
Read the sentence from the (poem, speech, drama, story, etc.)
provide sentence here
How does the (poet’s, author’s, speaker’s) use of ______(SHAMPOO or other
term) help to communicate an idea (or main point) in the piece?
clarifying meaning of
vocabulary
Which word is a synonym for ______?
affixes
The prefix “in-­” helps the reader know that “inexplicable” means
context clues
Read the sentence from the passage.
provide sentence here that has a vocabulary word underlined
What does the word _____ mean as used in the sentence?
word connotations
Read the sentence from the passage.
provide sentence here that has a vocabulary word underlined
Which feeling is suggested by the use of the word _____?
main idea
Based on the information in the passage, why does Mrs. Allen visit different places
in town each day?
summarizing
Read the incomplete summary of the passage.
(List events in passage in bullet form with one missing)
● First this
● Then this
● Then this
● _________________________
● And this
Which sentence best completes the summary?
inferences
What does Samuel most likely do at the end of the passage after he looks at the
landscape?
draw conclusions
Read the statement from the passage.
“... silence was the only speech amid such splendors.”
Explain the significance of this statement to the passage. Use information from the
passage to support your explanation.
text evidence to
support
generalizations
Which sentence from the passage best supports the generalization that ______?
how form influences
meaning
How does the author’s use of fiction as a literary form influence the meaning of the
passage?
distinguish fiction
from literary
Which characteristic of the passage best indicates to readers that it is fiction
non-­fiction
rather than informational non-­fiction?
connections
between texts
In which way are the poem and passage similar? (could also use different here)
distinguish narrative,
poetry, and drama
How does the reader know that the passage is narrative prose rather than drama?
character
Which word best describes Maria in the passage?
setting
Which sentence best describes the relationship of the setting to the plot in the
passage?
plot
Which sentence from the passage best represents the conflict? (use any plot
element here)
theme
Which universal theme is most reflected in the passage?
tone, style, mood
How does the author’s style help to create the mood of the passage?
point of view
Why is an omniscient narrator most likely used to describe events in the passage?
literary, historical or
cultural significance
Based on the passage, which American cultural idea is most emphasized?
figurative language
Read the sentence from the passage.
provide sentence with figurative language
What is the effect of the (figurative language term) used to _____?
sound devices and
poetic structures
What is the rhyme scheme of the first stanza of the poem?
drama terms (stage
directions,
monologue,
dialogue, soliloquy,
dialect, dramatic
script)
Which stage direction from the passage best reveals insight into James’
personality?