1. HSPA Reading Passage and Strategies
There are two kinds of passages that will be used on the HSPA:
Narrative
Persuasive

2. Pre-Reading Tips:
Read ALL of the questions FIRST (including the open-ended). This will give you a purpose of reading.
Skim and scan any titles, headlines, and sub-headlines, bold and italicized words/phrases.
PREDICT: predict what you may think happen or what the story/essay is about BEFORE reading given all of the “clues.”

3. Narrative Passage Reading Tips:
Narrative passages will be a fiction story or excerpt from a longer fiction story.
While reading try the following tips:
Identify the four elements of fiction: characters, setting, plot, and theme.
Summarize with one word or phrase the action in the story by section and/or paragraph. You may write this summary in the margin
Underline important words, phrases, or sentences that will help you answer the open-ended questions.

4. Persuasive Passage Reading Tips
Persuasive passages present an authors point of view.
While reading try the following tips:
Identify the persuasive techniques being used. Question the information being presented.
Summarize sections/paragraphs with one word or phrase, in the margins.
Identify author’s purpose for writing/persuading.
Identify the thesis statement and topic statements

5. Multiple Choice Questions
READ the directions FIRST.
READ the questions, cover the answer choices and come up with the answer BEFORE reading the options. Select the choice that matches your answer best.
If you don’t know the answer, then try process of elimination. Eliminate wrong or not possible answers first.
Don’t “add” information into the possible answers.
Refer back to the reading passage whenever possible.
Skip if not sure, go back once you finish the rest.
Review your answers once finished.

6. What is an open-ended question?
An open-ended question is a question that is designed to allow a full, meaningful answer using your own knowledge and/or feelings.
It is the opposite of a closed-ended question (this kind of question only needs a short or one-word answer).

7. Examples Closed-Ended: Do you get along well with your boss?
Who will you vote for this election?
What color shirt are you wearing?
Open-Ended:
Tell me about your relationship with your boss.
What do you think about the two candidates in this election?
That’s an interesting colored shirt you’re wearing.

8. Miscellaneous (but VALUABLE) thoughts…
You will not score proficient on any portion of the HSPA if you “skip” the open-ended Qs
Be sure to answer all aspects/bullets of the open-ended response.
Leaving out a bullet will result in a lower score.
Write SOMETHING. If you give n“0”thing, then you get n“0”thing.

9. How are the OEs structured?
First Bullet: usually a question that is "close to the text."
Second Bullet: inference level, "beyond the text," related to characters, or events in the story that the student needs to understand, or the world in general (applying text to the outside world.)
Question Ends With: "Use information from the text to support your answer.“

10. QASI
Question: Students are to simply restate the question when answering the prompt. This creates a familiarity with the text and also shows the test graders that the student is aware of what is being asked.
Answer: Students are to answer all parts of the question. If there are two bullets to a question, they are to answer each bullet in a separate paragraph. If the bullet itself has multiple parts, all parts must be answered to receive an acceptable score.

11. Support: This is perhaps the most crucial element
Support: This is perhaps the most crucial element. The students are required to include direct support, either in the form of quotes, paraphrases or summaries, in their answer. A good transition is to write "In paragraph ____ the author states...“
Insight: This is the last step and can really increase a student's scoring potential. They can reflect on the question and answer and offer some insight, whether it be a personal anecdote, allusion, or scholastic or global reference. It creates nice closure and offers the grader a chance to see the students think "outside the box."

12. OER are scored on a scale of 0-4
OER are scored on a scale of 0-4. The more evidence and support you provide, the higher your score will be!
POC
PROOF: quote (text) from the story. You’ve got to have text evidence to be a success!
OPINION: This includes your analysis (opinion) that answers the question. It helps if it comes from the quote!
CONNECTION: The opinion and proof connect with similar words or ideas. Connecting your ideas is what will get you a higher score!

13. If you cover all of these questions, you will be sure to receive the highest grade possible on your open-ended responses.
a. Read ALL parts of the question
b. Focus your answer on the question asked? (It is often helpful to restate the question in your answer)
c. Respond to ALL bullets
d. Fully explain/develop your answer (Pretend that your reader has never read the passage)
e. Cite specific quotes or text from the passage to help support your answer
f. Provide additional insight to explain/develop your answer (Make connections beyond the text)

14. Scoring Rubric

15. 1. In paragraph 1, the author states that, "Republicans and Free Staters were staging civil war." - What language does the author use to create the mood for the story? - Give several examples from the story that are used to create the setting. Is the setting appropriate? Explain. Use information from the story to support your response.
1. In “The Sniper,” there is a civil war going on in Ireland between the Republicans and the Free Staters. The author creates a tense mood through the use of descriptive language and similes. For example, in the first paragraph, the author states that “machine guns and rifles broke the silence of the night, spasmodically, like dogs barking on lone farms.” He describes the night as being “enveloped in darkness but for the dim light of the moon that shone through fleecy clouds, casting a pale light as of approaching dawn over the streets and the dark waters of the Liffey.” The author depicts the scene as being set as the “June twilight faded into night.” The story takes place in Dublin, Ireland, atop a house with a chimney stack. The setting is appropriate because the narrator is a sniper. Snipers are supposed to keep hidden and take out targets without being detected. They are never on the front lines of battle. Moreover, Dublin is the capital of Ireland and would be a place with important and crucial battles.

16. 2. Create a character sketch of the narrator
2. Create a character sketch of the narrator. What information are you given to support your sketch? - Give several examples of characterization used by the author throughout the story. - Explain whether the author introduced the narrator directly or indirectly and explain why he did so. Use information from the story to support your response.
2. We are given a detailed character sketch of the narrator throughout the story through the use of descriptive language. In the second paragraph, the narrator is described as having the “face of a student, thin and ascetic, but his eyes had the cold gleam of the fanatic. They were deep and thoughtful, the eyes of a man who is used to looking at death.” Also, in the third paragraph, we are told the narrator was “too excited to eat” that morning. From these descriptions, we can deduce that the narrator is a young man and has most likely been in the war for some time. Also, the adrenaline and action of the war excite him. The narrator is introduced to us directly because the author states in the second paragraph that “[o]n a rooftop near O'Connell Bridge, a Republican sniper lay watching.” We know this is the author because the title of the story is called “The Sniper,” so the main character must be the sniper introduced at the beginning of the story.