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OhioEnglish Language

Reading Informational Texts

6 dot points across 6 inquiry questions. Click any dot point for a focused answer with worked past exam questions where available.

How do you trace an argument, telling the central claim apart from reasons and evidence, and how do you judge whether the reasoning is sound?

Analyzing argument and claims in informational texts on the Ohio English II test: identifying the central claim, the reasons that support it, and the evidence behind the reasons, distinguishing a claim from a fact and from an opinion, recognizing a counterclaim, and evaluating whether the reasoning is valid and the evidence relevant and sufficient.
How to analyze argument on the Ohio English II test: identifying the central claim, reasons, and evidence, telling a claim apart from a fact, recognizing a counterclaim, and judging whether reasoning is valid and evidence is relevant and sufficient. The test rewards evaluating reasoning, not just summarizing it.
10 min answer →

How do you identify an author's purpose and point of view, and how do you analyze the rhetorical choices, including word choice and appeals, that advance it?

Analyzing author's purpose and rhetoric in informational texts on the Ohio English II test: determining the author's purpose and point of view, distinguishing purpose (to inform, persuade, or explain) from topic, and analyzing rhetorical choices such as word choice, tone, and the appeals to logic, emotion, and credibility (logos, pathos, ethos) and their effect.
How to analyze author's purpose and rhetoric on the Ohio English II test: determining purpose and point of view, telling purpose apart from topic, and analyzing word choice, tone, and the appeals to logic, emotion, and credibility. The test rewards explaining how a rhetorical choice advances the purpose.
10 min answer →

How do you state the central idea of an informational text as a full sentence, and how do you tell it apart from a supporting detail or a single fact?

Analyzing central ideas in informational texts on the Ohio English II test: stating the controlling idea of an article or essay as a full sentence, distinguishing the central idea from supporting details and from the topic, tracing how the central idea is developed across paragraphs, and writing an objective summary that captures it.
How to analyze central ideas on the Ohio English II test: stating the controlling idea of an informational text as a full sentence, telling it apart from a detail or the topic, tracing how it is developed, and writing an objective summary. The central idea is the nonfiction cousin of theme.
9 min answer →

How do you read two informational texts on the same topic together, comparing how they treat it and synthesizing them into one understanding?

Comparing and synthesizing paired informational texts on the Ohio English II test: reading two texts on a shared topic, analyzing how their central ideas, claims, evidence, or emphasis agree and differ, synthesizing them into a combined understanding, and supporting each point with evidence from the correct source, which is also the reading skill the extended-response writing task depends on.
How to compare and synthesize paired informational texts on the Ohio English II test: analyzing how two texts on a topic agree or differ in central idea, claim, or evidence, combining them into one understanding, and proving each point from the right source. This reading skill underpins the extended response.
9 min answer →

How do you make an inference from a text and then find the line that proves it, especially on the evidence-based two-part items?

Making inferences and citing text evidence on the Ohio English II test: drawing a logical inference from what a text states and implies, distinguishing an inference from a guess and from a restatement, citing the strongest evidence that supports an analysis, and handling evidence-based two-part items where Part A is the inference and Part B is the supporting line.
How to make inferences and cite evidence on the Ohio English II test: drawing a logical inference, telling it apart from a guess or a restatement, and citing the strongest supporting line. The evidence-based two-part items make this the most tested habit on the whole test.
10 min answer →

How do you recognize the structure of an informational text, and how does the way it is organized help it make its point?

Analyzing text structure and organization in informational texts on the Ohio English II test: recognizing common structures (cause and effect, compare and contrast, problem and solution, chronological or sequential, claim and support) and explaining how an author's structural choice, including the order of paragraphs and the placement of a key idea, advances the central idea or argument.
How to analyze text structure on the Ohio English II test: recognizing cause and effect, compare and contrast, problem and solution, chronological, and claim and support structures, and explaining how the organization helps the text make its point. The test rewards effect, not just naming the structure.
9 min answer →