STAAR Sample Short Answer Questions ENGLISH I, II, and III Single Selection: Literary In this excerpt from Anne of Green Gables, do you think the stage directions enhance your understanding of the scene? Explain your answer and support it with (2012 Released Questions) In Clasp, what does the hair clasp symbolize? Explain your answer and support it with evidence from the (2012 Released Questions) How would you describe Paul in the excerpt from The Custom of the Country? Support your answer with (EI 2013 Released Test, SA2; RC1, F19B) In how does the writer interweave personal examples to provide the reader with an historical and cultural context? Explain your answer and support it with (9.2C, 10.2C) How effective is the author s use of irony (or diction, imagery, controlling images, figurative language, understatement, overstatement, paradox) in? Explain your answer and support it with (9.3A) How effective is the author s use of structure or prosody (meter, rhyme scheme) in? Explain your answer and support it with (10.3A) How effective is the author s use of graphic elements (line length, punctuation, word position) in? Explain your answer and support it with (10.3A) How do the monologues (soliloquies, dramatic irony) in enhance the dramatic text? Explain your answer and support it with (9.4A) How do the archetypes and motifs affect the plot in? Explain your answer and support it with (10.4A) How does the author s use of non-linear plot development enhance the reader s understanding in? Explain your answer and support it with (9.5A) How do paragraphs - contribute to the success of the plot as a whole? Explain your answer and support it with (10.5A) How does the author s use of figurative language (point of view, etc.) shape his portrayal of the plot and setting in? Explain your answer and support it with (11.5A) How does the author develop complex yet believable characters in? Explain your answer and support it with (9.5B) How does the author use literary devices to create internal (or external) development of the characters in? Explain your answer and support it with (10.5B) How do the characters in handle their moral dilemmas? Explain your answer and support it with (10.5B) 1
Single Selection: Literary (con t) How is shaped by the author s choice of point of view? Explain your answer and support it with (9.5C) How does the author s form of narration connect to the tone in? Explain your answer and support it with (10.5C) How is the narration impacted when the narrator s point of view shifts from one character to another in? Explain your answer and support it with (11.5C) How does the author develop complex yet believable characters in? Explain your answer and support it with (9.5B) How effectively does the author interweave personal examples and ideas with factual information to describe in? Explain your answer and support it with (9.6A) How effective is the author s use of syntax (diction, voice, tone, imagery) in? Explain your answer and support it with (10.6A) to influence the reader in? Explain your answer and support it with evidence from the to evoke emotions in? Explain your answer and support it with evidence from the to create meaning in? Explain your answer and support it with evidence from the How effectively does the author interweave personal examples and ideas with factual information to describe in? Explain your answer and support it with (9.6A) How effective is the author s use of syntax (diction, voice, tone, imagery) in? Explain your answer and support it with (10.6A) to influence the reader in? Explain your answer and support it with evidence from the to evoke emotions in? Explain your answer and support it with (11.6A) to create meaning in? Explain your answer and support it with (11.6A) What role does irony (sarcasm, or paradox) play in? Explain your answer and support it with (9.7A) What is the function of symbolism (allegory, or allusions) in? Explain your answer and support it with (10.7A) 2
Single Selection: Literary (con t) How effective is the author s use of biblical allusions (classical, or mythological allusions) in? Explain your answer and support it with (11.7A) How effectively does the author interweave personal examples and ideas with factual information to describe in? Explain your answer and support it with (9.6A) How effective is the author s use of syntax (diction, voice, tone, imagery) in? Explain your answer and support it with (10.6A) to influence the reader in? Explain your answer and support it with (11.6A) to evoke emotions in? Explain your answer and support it with (11.6A) to create meaning in? Explain your answer and support it with (11.6A) Choose one dramatic convention in. How is it used to enhance the text? Explain your answer and support it with How is metaphor used to development the meaning of? Explain your answer and support it with How is irony used to develop s character? Explain your answer and support it with evidence from the What mood or feeling do you think is created by the diction and imagery in this poem (essay, article, etc.)? Explain your answer and support it with Do you think the author s choice of point of view is effective for this selection? Explain your answer and support it with In what do you think the symbolizes? Explain your answer and support it with evidence from the How does appeal to his audience s sense of? Explain your answer and support it with How does the author use figurative language to convey the narrator s feelings? What is the overall effect of the author s description of? Explain your answer and support it with Based on this selection, what conclusions can you draw about? Explain your answer and support it with What quality does display in the? Explain your answer and support it with How does the figurative language in relate to the historical and cultural setting of this selection? Explain your answer and support it with (9.2C, 10.2C) 3
Single Selection: Expository In Hungry Bears Prefer Minivans, how does the writer s approach to the topic make it more accessible to the reader? Support your answer with (2012 Released Questions) After reading Postcard: New Delhi, do you think Gupta s modified airplane is a good idea? Explain your answer and support it with (EI 2013 Released Test, SA1; RC1, F19B) How does the controlling idea and specific purpose of help the reader better understand this selection? Explain your answer and support it with (9.8A) How does the author s use of controlling idea and specific purpose of help the reader better understand this selection? Explain your answer and support it with (10.8A) How does the author s style of writing (tone, or diction) in help advance the author s purpose (perspective or stance)? Explain your answer and support it with (11.8A) How well does the author differentiate between opinions that are substantiated and those that are unsubstantiated in? Explain your answer and support it with (9.9A) What kinds of evidence does the author of use to support her conclusions and arguments? Explain your answer and support it with (10.9A) How well does the author use deductive or inductive reasoning to support his conclusions in? Explain your answer and support it with (11.9A) Does the author s choice of organizational patterns help the reader better understand his ideas in? Explain your answer and support it with (9.9C, 10.9C) How well does the author s choice of organizational patterns help the reader better understand the ideas in? Explain your answer and support it with (11.9C) What logical connections can be made between the ideas and details in and? Explain your answer and support it with (9.9D, 10.9D) In, how relevant (credible) is the evidence given to support/oppose the argument for the intended audience? Explain your answer and support it with (9.10A) Considering the shifts in perspective in argument, how accurate is the evidence used to support the different viewpoints in? Explain your answer and support it with (10.10A) How does the author s purpose and stated or perceived audience affect the tone in? Explain your answer and support it with (11.10A) How convincing are the rhetorical structures used in? Explain your answer and support it with (9.10B) How effectively does the author clarify the objectives in? Explain your answer and support it with (9.11A) How would you rate the clarity of the graphics and the visual appeal used in? Explain your answer and support it with (10.11A) 4
Single Selection: Expository (con t) How logical is the sequence of information presented in? Explain your answer and support it with (11.11A) How meaningful is the information presented in the various graphical sources used in? Explain your answer and support it with (9.11B) What conclusions can you draw about the ideas presented in the graphical sources used in? Explain your answer and support it with (10.11B) Overall, what is the message the author is trying to convey by including the graphics found in? Explain your answer and support it with (11.11B) How well do the media messages in reflect social and cultural views? Explain your answer and support it with (10.12A, 11/12A) How do the changes in formality and tone affect specific audiences and purposes in? Explain your answer and support it with (9.12D, 10.12D) What is the overall effect of the author s description of? Explain your answer and support it with includes an insert that defines the terms endangered and extinct. What is the importance of the insert to the overall message of the article? Explain your answer and support your answer with evidence from the How does the author s organizational pattern of relate to her purpose? Explain your answer and support it with How effective are the rhetorical devices used in? Explain your answer and support it with What impression do you form of through the aside in the first paragraph? Explain your answer and support it with Do you think the author did an effective job of supporting his conclusion? Explain your answer and support it with Do you think the article did a good job of substantiating the opinion that? Explain your answer and support it with What is the author s purpose in this passage? Explain your answer and support it with evidence from the How does the author try to convince readers that? Explain your answer and support it with How would you describe the author s attitude toward? Explain your answer and support it with How does appeal to his audience s sense of? Explain your answer and support it with 5
Single Selection: Expository (con t) According to this article, what would most likely happen if? Explain your answer and support it with How effective are these instructions in explaining? Explain your answer and support it with How does the tone of this selection relate to the author s purpose? Explain your answer and support it with Based on this selection, what conclusions can you draw about? Explain your answer and support it with includes two inserts. How is the information in the article affected by the inserts? Explain your answer and support it with What do you think is the purpose of this speech? Explain your answer and support it with evidence from the Do you think the author s evidence is week or strong? Explain your answer and support it with evidence from the How would you best describe the author s style of writing in? In this essay by, do you think the title enhances your understanding of the thesis? Explain your answer and support it with Why do you think the author included paragraph 9? Explain your answer and support it with evidence from the How would you characterize the author s tone in this essay? Explain your answer and support it with evidence from the What can you tell about (the author) based on her essay? Explain your answer and support it with 6
CONNECTING TEXTS How are the themes of Those Winter Sundays and All My Babies Are Gone Now similar? Support your answer with evidence from both selections. (2012 Released Questions) What message do you think the speaker in Sunday Morning Early and the narrator of I Wish I Was a Poet are trying to convey? Explain your answer and support it with evidence from both selections. (EI 2013 Released Test, SA2, RC1, F19B) EII, SA1, Do you think Jaime Teevan in 2009 Young Innovators Under 35: Jaime Teevan, 32 and Barry Bingham, Jr., in Digital Dad Versus the Dinosaurs have anything in common? Explain your answer and support it with evidence from both selections. (EII 2013 Released Test, SA1, RC1, F19B) What logical connections can be made between the ideas and details in and? Explain your answer and support it with (9.9D, 10.9D) What logical connections can be made between the ideas in and? Explain your answer and support it with (11.9D) How would you compare the visual representation of events in and? Explain your answer and support it with (9.12A) How would you compare the visual communication of information in and? Explain your answer and support it with (9.12A) How do the changes in formality and tone affect specific audiences and purposes in and? Explain your answer and support it with (11.12D) How do the genres of and connect through the theme to shape the meanings of the selections? Explain your answer and support it with How is the concept of important in both and? Does the idea of significant to both and? How are and alike in and? What is a significant difference between and in and? How do the authors in and use text structure to influence the reader s understanding of the text? In what way is (selection 1) similar to (selection 2) in and? In what way is (character 1) similar to (character 2) in and? 7