Midterm Test for 9th Literature
Study Guide
These are the Standards we have covered this semester so far…under each is an example or two of
what we did with it so you can prepare for things like it on your midterm.
ELAGSE9-10RL1: Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly
as well as inferences drawn from the text.
 Any time you backed up your opinion with evidence from the text (put it in quotation marks and gave
me a page number or author’s name to back it up.
 You will have to do this when you answer short answer questions on your test. You will have to back
up your statement with evidence from the text.
ELAGSE9-10RL2: Determine a theme and/or central idea of text and analyze in detail its development over
the course of the text, including how it emerges and is shaped and refined by specific details; provide
an objective summary of the text.
 When you figured out the theme of various short-stories…including but not limited to “The Most
Dangerous Game” (survival of the fittest….you never really know about something until you have tried
it yourself…) OR “The Cask of Amontillado” (revenge is best when it happens with impunity) OR The
Odyssey (Home is all you need…)
ELAGSE9-10RL3: Analyze how complex characters (e.g., those with multiple or conflicting motivations)
develop over the course of a text, interact with other characters, and advance the plot or develop the theme.
 Character Development…
 Direct Characterization (when the author tells you specifics about a character)
 Indirect Characterization (when you find out about a character through his/her actions, conversations
etc…)
 Examples: General Zaroff (direct…looks like Dracula…indirectly…a murderer); Montresor (direct…has
lots of money…indirectly…wants revenge).
ELAGSE9-10RI3: Analyze how the author unfolds an analysis or series of ideas or events, including the order in
which the points are made, how they are introduced and developed, and the connections that are drawn
between them.
 Elie Wiesel’s Night. How he wrote it, why he told it the way he did….how he draws on later
experiences to show you how it relates to today (the woman in Paris, the children diving for coins)
ELAGSE9-10RL4: Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in the text, including
figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the cumulative impact of specific word choices on meaning
and tone (e.g., how the language evokes a sense of time and place; how it sets a formal or informal tone.)
 Figurative Language (simile, metaphor, personification, hyperbole)….words that are used
connotatively to mean more than they do as just a definition.
 Denotation: dictionary definition
 Words used in the story help to affect how you read it (MOOD) because of how they wrote it (TONE).
ELAGSE9-10RI5: Analyze in detail how an author’s ideas or claims are developed and refined by particular
sentences, paragraphs, or larger portions of a text (e.g., a section or chapter).
 Night and how he wrote it using figurative language, the order he told things (why did he flash-forward
sometimes)…and how he told them….he changed his father’s name, he changed the camps, etc…we
learned that sometimes the truth was TOO hard….
 He wrote it as a memoir (slice of life)
ELAGSE9-10RI6: Determine an author’s point of view or purpose in a text and analyze how an author uses
rhetoric to advance that point of view or purpose.
 Why did Elie Wiesel write Night.
 Why did he use figurative language to help tell his story?
 Why did he continuously tell of people and what they saw?
ELAGSE9-10RL6: Analyze a particular point of view or cultural experience reflected in a work of literature
from outside the United States, drawing on a wide reading of world literature.
 The Odyssey and all of its Greek traditions, ideas, characters etc….the idea that we get our Southern
Hospitality from Greek traditions.
 The idea that we get our symbols from Greek gods/goddesses.
 The fact that most of our prefixes and suffixes came from the Greek language.
ELAGSE9-10RI7: Analyze various accounts of a subject told in different mediums (e.g., a person’s life story in
print and multimedia), determining which details are emphasized in each account.
 Night vs. “Band of Brothers”
 Night vs. “Schindler’s List”
 Night vs. Documentary of Auschwitz
 Night vs. pictures/propaganda (bulletin board)
ELAGSE9-10W1: Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts, using
valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence.
 You believe that Elie Wiesel is not a fraud….
 You can argue that the Holocaust was an atrocity and history should never repeat itself.
 You can argue that Brother is/is not responsible for Doodle’s death.
ELAGSE9-10W2: Write informative/explanatory texts to examine and convey complex ideas, concepts,
and information clearly and accurately through the effective selection, organization, and analysis of
content.
a. Introduce a topic; organize complex ideas, concepts, and information to make important
connections and distinctions; include formatting (e.g., headings), graphics (e.g., figures, tables), and
multimedia when useful to aiding comprehension.
b. Develop the topic with well-chosen, relevant, and sufficient facts, extended definitions,
concrete details, quotations, or other information and examples appropriate to the audience’s
knowledge of the topic.
 Your Greek Mythology Project
 Your book reviews
 Why Odysseus is the Epic Hero etc…
ELAGSE9-10W3: Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective
technique, well-chosen details, and well-structured event sequences.
 Ending to “The Interlopers”
 Another daydream for Walter Mitty
 Your own Homeric Similes
ELAGSE9-10W8: Gather relevant information from multiple authoritative print and digital sources, using
advanced searches effectively; assess the usefulness of each source in answering the research question;
integrate information into the text selectively to maintain the flow of ideas, avoiding plagiarism and
following a standard format for citation.
 Your Greek Mythology Projects
 Your Holocaust Projects
ELAGSE9-10W9: Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and
research.
 Any time you cite textual evidence or quote a book/story.
ELAGSE9-10SL1: Initiate and participate effectively in a range of collaborative discussions(one-on-one, in
groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grades 9–10 topics, texts, and issues, building on
others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively.
 Class Discussions
 Socratic Seminars
 Debates
 Working in groups
ELAGSE9-10SL3: Evaluate and/or reflect on a speaker’s point of view, reasoning, and use of evidence
and rhetoric, identifying any fallacious reasoning or exaggerated or distorted evidence.
 Could be interpreting Poetry
 Watching a speech (Hitler, etc..)
 Reading a piece of text to determine if the person is right/wrong.
ELAGSE9-10SL4: Present information, findings, and supporting evidence clearly, concisely, and logically
such that listeners can follow the line of reasoning and the organization, development, substance, and
style are appropriate to purpose, audience, and task.
 Class presentations
 Reading your ideas aloud
 Any time you speak in class…is there a purpose, are you articulate, do you have a valid point?