MIDTERM REVIEW SHEET AND STUDY GUIDE
Ten Steps Chapters 1-8
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MIDTERM EXAM DETAILS
• Midterm will cover Ten Steps Chapters 1-8
• Exam Date: Tue 01/24
• Midterm must be taken in order to pass the course.
• Midterm may not be made up on a later date.
• 250 points
• Short Answer: Explain concepts and give examples
• Multiple Choice: similar to Exercise Sheet exercises
• Due Monday 01/23: Review all Exercise Sheets and Slideshows. Mark/record any remaining
questions that you have. Complete this Review Sheet.
• Study Course Text 1 and Course Text 1 Worksheet (blue) as well as discussion
notes.
!CONCEPT REVIEW
!Chapter 1
!1. Name and define the four types of context clues for figuring out the definition of an
unknown word.
example: gives a specific, concrete illustration of what the word means (which is
an abstract idea)
synonym: a word in the sentence that has the same or similar meaning to the
unknown word.
antonym: a word in the sentence that has the opposite meaning of the unknown
word.
general sense: the general idea portrayed by the sentence demonstrates what the
unknown word means.
!2.
What is a part of speech?
A part of speech is a building block of a sentence. Each part of speech has its own,
distinct, grammatical function. For example, a noun is a person, place, or thing,
and that is how it will function within a sentence.
!noun: person, place, thing, or idea
verb: a word that expresses an action that is undertaken by a noun
adjective: a word that describes a noun (it modifies a noun, by adding more detail
to it)
adverb: a word that describes a verb or an adjective (it modifies a verb or an
adjective, by adding more detail to it)
pronoun: a word that stands in place of a noun (example—Mary is a noun, “she” is
her pronoun)
!3.
Why are parts of speech important in terms of understanding the definition of a word?
Knowing a word’s part of speech tells you how to use it in a sentence. When you
are looking for the definition of an unknown word based on context clues, you
should always figure out its part of speech by looking at how it is functioning
within the sentence.
!Jamilah is exceedingly erudite in class: she can recite concepts and historical facts with perfect
accuracy.
!“erudite” is an adjective. “exceedingly” is an adverb, and adverbs only modify verbs or
adjectives, and “erudite” does not appear to be an action word, so I can infer that it is an
adjective. Also, “erudite” seems to be describing Jamilah, which is a noun.
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4. Why are parts of speech important in terms of finding a word’s synonym or antonym?
Synonyms and antonyms will always be the same part of speech.
!good/bad: antonyms that are both adjectives.
!stay/go: antonyms that are both verbs.
!rushed/hasty: synonyms that are both adjectives.
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5. Construct a sentence for given word below which uses a synonym, antonym, or example clue.
precarious (adjective):not securely held or in position; dangerously likely to fall or collapse.
!The rope was not tied correctly, so it was precarious. (CONTEXT CLUE:
EXAMPLE)
!The broken rope that was supposed to secure the crates was not functioning
correctly, so it led to a very precarious situation. (CONTEXT CLUES: almost
ANTONYM with “secure”, example of a precarious situation, general sense.)
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!Chapters 2-4
!6. What is the difference between a topic and a main idea?
!A topic is a general subject, while a main idea takes a specific position on that
subject, and also serves as the umbrella statement under which all major and
minor supporting details fit.
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!7.
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Put these things in order, from general to specific:
minor supporting details
topic
main idea
major supporting details
CORRECT ORDER:
!TOPIC, MAIN IDEA, MAJOR SUPPORTING DETAILS, MINOR SUPPORTING
DETAILS.
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8. Explain the difference between major and minor supporting details.
!Major supporting details directly support the main idea. Minor supporting details
support Major Supporting Details and go into more depth and detail about the
Major Supporting details.
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9. Explain what an outline is, and how it is helpful for reading and taking notes.
!An outline is a particular way of taking notes on a paragraph. It has a particular
system. You list and label the main idea at the top, and then you number the major
supporting details. Then, you indent the minor supporting details and letter them
in lists beneath the major supporting details that they relate to.
!It’s helpful because it helps keep the main idea, and major/minor supporting
details in a paragraph or an article visually organized. It’s also helpful because it is
meant to be written in note form rather than full sentences—so you can quickly
scan it and refresh your memory on a paragraph or article.
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!10. Explain what an idea map is, and how it is helpful for reading and taking notes.
!An idea map is a diagram. It’s like a visual outline. It uses lines to connect the Main
Idea (at the top) to the Major Supporting Details (middle) to the Minor Supporting
Details (toward the bottom).
!It’s particularly helpful for visual learners, because it clearly demonstrates how
those three elements of a paragraph are connected. The Main Idea in an idea map
looks more visually like an umbrella as well, which strengthens understanding of
its logical function within a paragraph or article.
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Chapters 5 and 6
!11. Chapters 5 and 6 are called “Relationships I” and “Relationships II”. What relationships
do these chapter titles refer to?
Those chapter titles refer to relationships between Major Supporting Details, and
also between the Main Idea and Major Supporting Details. (Technically, also
includes the relationship between Major and Minor Supporting details, but to a
lesser extent.)
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12. Name and explain the two types of relationships covered in Chapter 5. Give one example of
each type of relationship.
!Addition (list): The major supporting details can be listed in any order. example: A
paragraph whose major supporting details are types of people you might
encounter at a concert. *a different author could rearrange the same material and
it would still make sense.
!Time: The major supporting details must occur in a particular order, because the
paragraph describes a movement through time. example: A paragraph about the
steps required to make mac and cheese. *a different author would need to keep the
original order.
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13. Name and explain the three types of relationships covered in Chapter 6. Give one example of
each type of relationship.
!Illustration
(definition-example): A word or concept is defined (the definition is
given), and then specific examples of that word or concept are given. These
examples illustrate exactly what that word or concept means.
!Cause and Effect: The reason(s) for particular result(s) are described. A paragraph
can contain one cause with multiple effects, or many causes with one effect.
example: A paragraph that lists multiple causes (texting, speeding, loud
passengers) of one effect (a car accident)
!Compare/Contrast. Compare: finding similarities between two or more things.
Contrast: Finding differences between two or more things. A paragraph can
contain both of these things, although it may also only include one.
example: A paragraph that describes the similarities and differences between the
Civil Rights Movement and Black Lives Matter.
!Chapter 7
!14. What is an inference?
An idea or a conclusion that is not directly stated, but is still accurate. Doesn’t have to be the
umbrella statement. Just any conclusion that you can logically draw based on what is there.
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!15. What concrete steps must you take in order to successfully arrive at an accurate inference?
!For an article or paragraph:
1. Stay focused on the facts or data that are present in the text.
2. Use your background knowledge on the subject
3. Use logic to connect 1 an 2.
!For a chart:
1. Read the title
2. Check the source
3. Read any labels or captions on top/side/underneath
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Chapter 8
4. Name the three possible purposes of a text that are described in Chapter 8.
!To inform, to persuade, to entertain.
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5. Explain each of the three possible purposes you named above, and give an example of each.
!To inform: to give information about a subject. More factually-based.
example: A Biology textbook. A news article about a recent earthquake. A recipe.
An instructional manual about how to put together a bookshelf.
!To persuade: To convince the reader to agree with the author’s position or point of
view on a subject. Will often include information, but the main purpose is still to
convince someone to agree. The information is cited as evidence, to make someone
agree.
example: An essay defending women’s rights.
!To entertain: To appeal to a readers’ senses. To give them feelings of amusement
or pleasure.
examples: A comic book, A Dr. Seuss book. Some memes.
!6. Explain what an author’s tone is.
!Their attitude toward their subject. The way that they express themselves through
word choice and word feeling communicates their tone.
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7. Choose an adjective that can be used to describe a tone. Write it down. Then, write a
sentence which employs that tone.
!critical: The food tastes so plain, and I can tell that it wasn’t prepared with care.
!affectionate: My baby cat is the cutest thing in the world.
!straightforward: To get to the station, turn left.
!happy: I love my job. It has great hours, and my coworkers are friendly.
!sarcastic: If you were going to take that much pasta, you might as well have
dumped the whole bowl into your purse.
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!EXERCISES
!PART 1: Relationships I and II
DIRECTIONS:Read each item and answer the question about relationships.
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!Passage 1
!(1) An infomercial is a televised commercial message lasting approximately thirty minutes and
used to sell a product by convincing viewers that they must have this product. (2) Kitchen
products such as a food dehydrator and a juice extractor are successful goods shown on
infomercials. (3) Other examples of products that have made it big on infomercials include a
cleaning solution that promises to clean any household surface safely and inexpensively, and a
similar product that claims it will shine and polish your car with next to no effort. (4)
Infomercials can be very convincing, but viewers are wise to remember the Latin term caveat
emptor: Let the buyer beware!
!1. The main pattern of organization (relationship) in Passage 1 is
!a. list of items.
b. comparison and/or contrast.
c. definition and example.
!2. Name a transition word which signals that pattern of organization that you chose above:
!other examples of products…
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Passage 2
(1) Bats have some fascinating characteristics. (2) For one thing, they are the only mammals that
truly fly. (3) Furthermore, they are the only animals that roost hanging upside down. (4) Insecteating bats have astonishing hearing. (5) Some can hear individual insects walk or flutter their
wings. (6) Most insect-eating bats use echo-location to catch insects at night: the bats emit
squeaks (too high-pitched for us to hear) that bounce off insects and surrounding objects and
echo back, enabling them to follow a moth's zigzag flight or distinguish, say, a mosquito from a
gnat. (7) Bats are so adept at locating insects that a single bat may eat several thousand within
one night.
!3. The main pattern of organization (relationship) of the selection is
!a. list of items.
b. time order.
c. comparison and/or contrast.
!4. Name a transition word which signals that pattern of organization that you chose above:
for one thing, furthermore
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Passage 3
(1) The flamingo obtains its food through an unusual method. (2) First, it stomps on the ground
underwater, using its large webbed feet to churn up food, such as seeds, blue-green algae and
crustaceans, from the muddy bottom. (3) Next, it puts its head into the water so that its beak can
collect the particles. (4) Then, using its spiny tongue as a pump, it draws the food past special
finger-like projections inside its beak. (5) These projections, called lamellae, act as strainers to
separate the bird's meal from the water before it swallows.
!5. The main pattern of organization (relationship) in Passage 3 is
!a. definition and example.
b. time order.
c. comparison and/or contrast.
!6. Name a transition word which signals that pattern of organization that you chose above:
!first, next, then
!Passage 4
(1) For hundreds of years, women were not allowed to sing in church or on the stage;
consequently, young boys would sing the high parts. (2) Unfortunately, when the boys reached
puberty, their voices would change. (3) By the 1700s, some enterprising Italians came up with a
solution to preserve a boy's voice. (4) If the boy was castrated, then he could never go through
puberty, and therefore his voice would never change. (5) It was said that these singers, known as
the castrati, had voices that could make the angels in heaven cry. (6) Although the Church
forbade castration, the voices of the castrati were highly prized at church services. (7) The
golden age of this cruel custom began to fade during the 1800s, mostly because it became
socially acceptable for women to sing professionally.
!7. The main patterns of organization of the selection are time order and
!a. list of items.
b. comparison and/or contrast.
c. cause and effect.
!8. Name a word from Passage 4 which signals the pattern of organization that you chose above:
!consequently, solution, because, therefore
!Passage 5
(1) Because they are similar in size, density, and location (second and third planets from the
sun) Venus and Earth have been called "the twin planets." (2) In reality, the two planets
radically differ. (3) Earth has climates ranging from subfreezing to tropical. (4) Venus, however,
has only one surface temperature: 864°F, hot enough to melt lead. (5) Nearly three-fourths of
the Earth's surface is water. (6) In contrast, Venus has no surface water. (7) Unlike Earth, Venus
has no magnetic field. (8) Earth's clouds are composed of water droplets and ice crystals, but
Venus's clouds consist mainly of sulfuric acid. (9) Although Earth's atmosphere is primarily
nitrogen (77%) and oxygen (21%), Venus's is overwhelmingly carbon dioxide (96%), with
relatively small amounts of nitrogen (3.5%) and oxygen (less than 0.5%). (10) Perhaps the most
important difference between the two planets is this: Venus is devoid of life.
!9. The main patterns of organization of the selection are list of items and
!a. cause and effect.
b. time order.
c. comparison and/or contrast.
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!PART 2: Purpose and Tone
DIRECTIONS:Read the passage. Then choose the answer to the question about purpose or tone.
!1. Didn't you think the acting in that movie was great? I just think the whole cast did a great job.
!The tone of this passage is
!a. admiring.
b. relieved.
c. downhearted.
!2. The movie was short on plot. It really had no story at all.
!The tone of this passage is
!a. apologetic.
b. critical.
c. comforting.
!3. (1) As I turned onto Stanton Street early one Sunday morning, I saw a chicken walking a few
yards ahead of me. (2) “What’s this about?” I thought. (3) The chicken seemed to know just
where it was going. (4) I started walking faster than the chicken, so I gradually caught up. (5) “I
am actually following a chicken,” I said to myself. (6) The chicken turned south on Eighteenth.
(7) At the fourth house along, it turned in at the walk, hopped up the front steps, and rapped
sharply on the metal storm door with its beak. (8) After a moment, the door opened and the
chicken went in. (9) I just stood there for a minute, looking at the closed door. (10) I didn’t know
what to think or say.
!The tone of this passage is
!a. disbelieving.
b. outraged.
c. malicious.
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!4. (1) The barber’s red and white spiral-striped pole has its origins in bloodletting. (2)
Bloodletting involves removal of small amounts of blood from the body. (3) During the Middle
Ages it was considered a remedy for many ailments. (4) Barbers took up bloodletting as a result
of their regular trips to monasteries. (5) Besides having the crowns of their heads shaved,
medieval monks were required to undergo periodic bloodletting. (6) Barbers simply combined
the two services. (7) In villages, barbers placed outside their doors white cloths reddened with
blood to indicate the times thought best for bleeding (April, May, and September). (8) Today’s
barber pole reflects this early form of advertising.
!The tone of this passage is
!a. forgiving.
b. optimistic.
c. objective.
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5. (1) General Motors, the company which invented “planned obsolescence”—the decision to
build cars that would fall apart after a few years so that the customer would then have to buy a
new one—declared bankruptcy in 2009. (2) It refused to build automobiles that the public
wanted: cars that got great gas mileage, that were as safe as they could be, that were exceedingly
comfortable to drive—and wouldn’t start falling apart after two years. (3) GM stubbornly fought
environmental and safety regulations. (4) Its executives arrogantly ignored “inferior” Japanese
and German cars, cars that would become the gold standard for automobile buyers. (5)
Beginning in the 1980s, when GM was posting record profits, it moved countless jobs to Mexico
and elsewhere, thus destroying the lives of tens of thousands of hard-working Americans. (6)
The glaring stupidity of this policy was that, when GM eliminated the income of so many
middle–class families, who did it think was going to be able to afford to buy its cars?
!The tone of this passage is
!a. critical.
b. sarcastic.
c. encouraging.
!6. (1) Imagine a man who spends thirty years of his life in jail. (2) The charge he was convicted
of? (3) Fighting to win equal rights for his people. (4) Imagine that the years in prison were
harsh. (5) Among the tasks he was forced to do was breaking rocks, and the irritation of stone
dust permanently damaged his eyesight. (6) What kind of person would it take to endure this
and much more and yet emerge unbroken in mind and spirit? (7) Such a man is Nelson
Mandela. (8) And what is hardest of all to imagine is that he would become president of the
nation that jailed him and that he would forgive those who did so. (9) Truly, Mandela is an
awesome person.
!The tone of this passage is
!a. irritated.
b. admiring.
c. accusing.
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PART 3: Combined Skills
!Passage 6
(1)The eyes themselves can send several kinds of messages. (2)Meeting someone’s glance
with your eyes is usually a sign of involvement, whereas looking away often signals
a desire to avoid contact. (3)This is why SOLICITORS on the street—panhandlers,
salespeople, petitioners—try to catch our eye. (4)Once they’ve managed to establish contact with
a glance, it becomes harder for the approached person to draw away. (5)Most of us remember
trying to avoid a question we didn’t understand by glancing away from the teacher. (6)At times
like these we usually became very interested in our textbooks, fingernails, the clock—anything
but the teacher’s stare. (7)Of course, the teacher always seemed to know the meaning of this
nonverbal behavior, and ended up calling on those of us who signaled our uncertainty.
!(8)Another kind of message the eyes communicate is a positive or negative
attitude. (9)When someone glances toward us with the proper facial expression, we get a clear
message that the looker is interested in us—hence the expression “making eyes.” (10)At the
same time, when our long glances toward someone else are avoided by that person, we can be
pretty sure that the other person isn’t as interested in us as we are in him or her. (11)(Of course,
there are all sorts of courtship games in which the receiver of a glance pretends not to notice any
message by glancing away, yet signals interest with some other part of the body.) (12)The eyes
communicate both dominance and submission. (13)We’ve all played the game of trying
to stare somebody down, and in real life there are also times when downcast eyes are a sign of
giving in. (14)In some religious orders, for example, SUBORDINATE members are expected to
keep their eyes downcast when addressing a superior.
!1. In sentence 3, the word SOLICITORS means
!a. panhandlers.
b. people who pass by.
c. people who wish to ask for something.
d. people who wish to help us.
!2. Sentence 3 contains which kind of context clue?
!a. synonym
b. antonym
c. example
d. general sense
!3. In sentence 14, the word SUBORDINATE is a:
!a. adjective
b. noun
c. verb
!4. In sentence 14, the word SUBORDINATE means:
!a. below another in rank or power.
b. more powerful than another.
c. disrespectful.
d. playful.
!5. Sentence 8 is:
!a. a major supporting detail.
b. a minor supporting detail
c. the topic of the passage.
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d. the main idea of the passage.
!6. How many major supporting details are there in Passage 6? ________
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7. The relationship of sentence 14 to sentence 13 is one of
!a. addition.
b. contrast.
c. illustration.
d. comparison.
!8. The main pattern of organization of Passage 1 is
!a. series of steps.
b. list of items.
c. comparison and/or contrast.
d. definition and example.
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9. According to the author, avoiding the eyes of someone who is giving us long glances
!a. is a sure sign of interest.
b. is always an indication of lack of interest.
c. indicates respect for someone with greater rank or power.
d. usually, but not always, indicates a lack of interest.
!10. From this passage, you could infer that
!a. people should communicate verbally more often.
b. eye messages can reflect our desires and relationships.
c. we should try to avoid communicating with our eyes.
d. eye messages are more likely to be negative than positive.
!11. The purpose of this passage seems to be:
!a. to inform.
b. to persuade.
c. to entertain.
!12. Which adjective best describes Passage 1’s tone?
!a. angry
b.
c.
d.
e.
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critical
neutral
lonely
cheerful
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