Reading Prose and Poetry
What the questions test
Literary questions on FAST ask you to explain how a story or poem works, not just what happens. Track characters (what they want, fear, and how they change), setting, plot (exposition, rising action, climax, resolution), and conflict (character vs. character, self, nature, or society). Then move up a level: theme is the message about life the whole text supports; tone is the author's attitude; mood is the feeling the reader gets.
Craft matters too. Notice point of view (first person, third-person limited, third-person omniscient), figurative language (simile, metaphor, personification, hyperbole), imagery, and symbolism. Ask why the author chose that detail at that moment.
Traps
- Confusing topic with theme. "Friendship" is a topic; a theme is a sentence.
- Confusing a lasting character trait (brave, jealous) with a temporary emotion (angry right now).
- Choosing a literal reading when the sentence is clearly figurative.
- Picking a theme that sounds wise but isn't supported by the ending.
- Mixing up the speaker (the voice in a poem) with the poet.
Worked example
A story shows a new student eating alone, then a classmate sits down and shares her lunch. At the end, the new student smiles and offers to walk home together.
Weak answer: "The theme is friendship." That is a topic. Strong answer: "Small acts of kindness can turn loneliness into belonging." It is a full sentence, it is about life, and two details support it.
Rule of thumb: if you can label it with one word, it's a topic; keep asking "So what does the author want me to believe?"