English I EOC Preparation

Be familiar with the following terms and concepts:  Passage  Selection  Main idea  Summary  FANBOYS  Acronym helpful in remembering the conjunctions for, and, neither/nor, but/because, or, yet, and so.

Vocabulary  When the English I EOC asks you the meaning of a word, look for clues near the word in the reading selection to figure out the meaning.  Remember, SYNONYM means a word with the same meaning, while ANTONYM means a word with the opposite meaning.  SYN indicates “same”  ANT indicates “against” or “not”

Effective Reading Strategies  Play close attention to the title, introduction, and graphics.  READ THE ENTIRE SELECTION—DO NOT SIMPLY SKIM FOR ANSWERS!  You MAY find it helpful to read the questions before you read the selection. If so, you can mark words or passages you remember while you read, and come back to them as you then re-read each question. However, you might find this method too slow.  The test will ask you to determine the main idea of a story. Be careful—you will be given choices which could be a main idea of a different story, just not the one you have been given. Make sure that you choose the answer that best expresses the main idea as supported by facts, not inferences or guesses, from the story you have just read.  Be careful to choose the answer that expresses the main idea of the passage as a whole, not simply related to minor details from the passage.  The main idea of a story or paragraph often comes in the introductory paragraph, or the first sentence in a paragraph. The other sentences are usually considered to be supporting details.  A summary gives the main idea of the story plus some supporting details. These can often be found on the inside flap of a book or the back cover.  Always look for clues in a story before you make your choices.  Don’t just choose something because it sounds good—you must be able to back up your answer with facts or inferences from the selection.  Read ALL answer choices before making your final selection.  Eliminate answers that are obviously incorrect, thereby increasing the likelihood that you will be able to choose the correct answer.

Character Analysis  The test may ask you to make a judgment about a character. Pay close attention to:  the words the character says (dialogue).  what the character says about himself.  what other characters say about the character.  what the narrator says about the character.  what the character does (action).  how the character speaks (dialect).

Definitions to Know!  Read back over all 100 literary terms to re-familiarize yourself with them.

Sentence Combining  The English I test will frequently ask you to combine two sentence to create a more effective sentence, create parallel structure, or “reduce wordiness.” There are three ways to properly accomplish this task:  Remove the period and join the two sentences with a comma and a FANBOYS.  Put a semicolon where the first period used to be.  Put a semicolon plus the word however, therefore, or nevertheless where the first period used to be. . Example: Louise had very little money for a car. She was determined to get one before she turned eighteen.  Louise had very little money for a car, but he was determined to get one before she turned eighteen.  Louise had very little money for a car; she was determined to get one before she turned eighteen.  Louise had very little money for a car; nevertheless, she was determined to get one before she turned eighteen.  Remember, semicolons can only be used if the second sentence is an independent clause, meaning it can stand alone.

Run-ons  You will be asked to identify run-on sentences. To find run-ons, look for sentences that:  have two sentences combined together with no punctuation to separate them. . This type of run-on is called a fused sentence. . Example: Louise had very little money for a car she was determined to get one.  Have two sentences put together with only a comma to separate them. . This type of run-on is called a comma splice. . Example: Louise had very little money for a car, she was determined to get one.  Use the sentence-combining techniques mentioned above to correct both types of run-ons.

Sentence Fragments  You will be asked to identify sentence fragments. Remember, a sentence fragments either a subject or verb, or does not express a complete thought. Watch for phrases that:  lack a verb. . Example: Olivia’s enjoyment of music.  lack a subject. . Example: Listened to music.  begin with after, before, if, when, or since. . When these words lead off a phrase, they turn it into a fragment. . Examples: After the bell rang. Before we go home. Since I got home. Moving Sentences  The English I test will ask you to move a sentence to make it fit a more logical pattern in the selection. You should strive to put introductory sentences at the beginning, details in the middle, and sentences that sum up the story at the end.

Punctuation  Quotation Marks  Only the exact words which come out of a person’s mouth receive quotation marks around them.  An indirect quotation introduced by that does not require quotation marks.  A comma separates words (Mr. Davis said, “Act right!”  Notice that the first word of the direct quotation is capitalized if the direct quotation is a complete sentence. . Example: “Thanks. I’ll call right back.” . Example: “Do you know what time it is?” asked Dean.

Apostrophes  Apostrophes indicate possession.  Example: The truck’s engine was sputtering.  To show possession by one or more person(s), add only an apostrophe if the plural word already ends in –s.  Example: The steak knives’ edges are dull.  REMEMBER: It’s is a contraction of it is.  Example: I can’t go to the park today because it’s raining outside.  REMEMBER: Its indicates possession.  Example: The dog buried its toy under our house.

Commas  Commas are used to separate two independent clauses joined by a FANBOYS  Example: She loved camping, yet she was still scared.  Commas are used after introductory clauses beginning with words like, if, when, because, after, before, although, or other FANBOYS.  Example: Because danger is everywhere, the boy is always very careful.  Use commas after introductory phrases.  Example: At the back of the restaurant, there is a private room for parties.  Use commas to separate three or more items in a list.  Example: The children rushed down the stairs, out the door, and into the yard. . Commas should not be used:  to separate two verbs sharing the same subject and joined by the word and.  Example: The train slowed, and stopped at the station.  to separate only two items in a list.  Example: The station was decorated with colored posters, and murals.  A good way to tell whether a comma is needed between words in a series is to see whether the word and could be used between them.  It would be correct to say, “red and white and blue,” so commas are needed.  It would NOT be correct to say, “dear and little and old lady,” so commas are not needed.  If an address or date is used in a sentence, treat it as a series, putting a comma after every item, including the last.  Example: He was born on April 17, 1972, in Morehead City, North Carolina.  Put a comma after an introductory expression, whether a word, group of words, or dependant clause, that does not flow smoothly into a sentence.  Example: Yes, I’ll go with you to the lake tomorrow.  Example: Well, that was the beginning of the end!  Example: After a breakfast of ham and eggs, he took a short walk around the park.  Put commas around the name of a person spoken to.  Example: Yes, Clint, I’ll help you assemble the desk.

Semicolons  Semicolons are used in place of the word and to join two sentences.  Example: Bill searched the words; I looked along the riverbank.  Remember if you accidentally put a comma here instead of a semicolon that would be a comma splice.  Put semicolons in front of joining words like, however and nevertheless when they join two sentences. Remember that the semicolon goes before the words however and nevertheless, with a comma to follow.

Capitalization  The titles of movies, plays, books, short stories, magazines, newspapers, and songs begin with capital letters.  When used in titles, words such as a, an, the, and, but, or, for, of, in, at, on, from, to, and into are NOT capitalized unless they are the first or last words.  Example: Your Child from Birth to Age Three.

Subject-Verb Agreement  Remember, your subject and verb must match in number.  Watch out for prepositional phrases that are placed between the subject and verb.  The bird in the trees calls each morning. . The verb calls must match with the singular bird, not the plural trees.

Pronouns  The following pronouns should come before verbs:  I, you, he, she, it, we, you, they  The following pronouns should come after verbs:  Me, him, her, it, us, them  To determine the correct usage of I and me, say each alone in the sentence.  Incorrect: John and me are going to the gym today after school. . Test:  John (is) going to the gym after school today.  Me (is) going to the gym after school today.  Correct: John and I are going to the gym today after school. . Test:  John (is) going to the gym after school today.  I (am) going to the gym after school today.