English Language Arts and Literature
Know what each part rewards
The Grade 9 ELA PAT splits into Part A (writing) and Part B (reading). Part A offers a choice between narrative and functional writing; markers look for a clear controlling idea, organized paragraphs with transitions, specific supporting detail, varied sentence structure, and correct conventions - spelling, punctuation, agreement, sentence boundaries. Part B is multiple choice over literary texts (short stories, poems, excerpts) and informational texts (articles, editorials, infographics), testing main idea, theme, inference, author's purpose, tone and mood, point of view, text organization, figurative language, and persuasive or bias techniques.
Traps that cost marks
Watch for answers that are true in real life but unsupported by the passage - the most common distractor design. Distinguish topic from theme: topic is a word (“friendship”), theme is a sentence about life (“Loyalty survives distance”). For tone questions, read diction and punctuation, not just events. With “best” or “most likely,” two options often look plausible; the weaker one is usually too extreme (“always,” “never,” “everyone”) or too narrow. In writing, an interesting idea with no evidence to develop it stalls - plan two or three concrete specifics before drafting.
Rule of thumb
Every answer must be traceable to the text. If you cannot point to a sentence or a clear implication, the option is a distractor.
Worked example - theme
A story shows a boy losing a race, then training so a younger runner can finish the next one. “Running” is the topic; “Competition is pointless” misreads the ending; “Growth often comes through helping others” captures the shift the story actually stages.