ELA 30-1 Diploma cheat sheet

Part B is entirely multiple-choice: each question is answered by selecting the best option, and no written response is scored in this section.

Distinguish tone (the writer's attitude toward the subject) from mood (the feeling created in the reader); the two are not interchangeable.

Stems asking for the 'best' answer require checking every option: an option that sounds right but is only partly supported by the passage is a distractor.

Inference questions are answered from textual evidence plus logic; any option requiring information the passage never implies is wrong.

Literary questions typically test device identification - simile (like/as), metaphor, personification, hyperbole, understatement, irony - together with the effect of that device.

For functional and visual texts (ads, cartoons, infographics), establish purpose, intended audience, and persuasive appeal (logos, pathos, ethos) before evaluating the options.

Word-in-context questions turn on connotation: substitute each option into the sentence and keep the one that preserves the passage's tone.

Structural patterns to name: chronological, cause-effect, comparison-contrast, problem-solution, and claim-with-evidence; the pattern signals how ideas relate.

For main-idea questions, the correct option covers the whole passage, not one paragraph or one striking detail.

Part A is scored with analytic rubrics: the critical/analytical essay is rated on Thought and Understanding, Supporting Evidence, Organization, Matters of Choice, and Matters of Correctness.

The personal response is rated on Ideas and Impressions and on Presentation; first-person voice and personal experience are appropriate there.

A thesis must be arguable; if a statement could be confirmed by a fact check, it is a topic rather than a thesis.

Body-paragraph sequence that scores: topic sentence, context for the evidence, integrated quotation or specific detail, commentary explaining how the evidence proves the point.

Quotations must be introduced, embedded in the grammar of your own sentence, and analysed; a dropped quotation without commentary weakens Supporting Evidence.

Use the literary present tense when discussing events in a text ('the speaker realizes'), reserving past tense for biographical or publication facts.

Plot summary earns no credit on its own: every narrative detail included must be tied to an interpretive claim.

Matters of Correctness errors (comma splices, fragments, tense shifts, misspelled character names) are scored separately from ideas, so reserve time to proofread.

The critical/analytical response must analyse a literary text studied in the course; the personal response may draw on your own experience or observation.