ELAR Text Comprehension & Analysis 5 ā Questions and Answers
Question 1: An author writes a memoir chapter in which she describes smelling her grandmother's perfume decades later and being transported back to childhood. What narrative technique is this?
- Foreshadowing
- Stream of consciousness
- Sensory-triggered flashback (Correct answer)
- Dramatic irony
Correct answer: Sensory-triggered flashback
Using a sensory detail to trigger a memory and shift the narrative back in time is a sensory-triggered flashback.
Question 2: A text feature such as a sidebar in a magazine article most often serves to:
- Provide the main argument of the article
- Offer supplementary information related to the main text (Correct answer)
- Contradict the author's central claim
- List the article's bibliography
Correct answer: Offer supplementary information related to the main text
Sidebars typically present extra, related informationāstatistics, definitions, or related storiesāthat complements rather than replaces the main text.
Question 3: Which of the following describes verbal irony?
- A character says the opposite of what they mean. (Correct answer)
- An event turns out the opposite of what was expected.
- The audience knows something a character does not.
- A situation worsens despite a character's best efforts.
Correct answer: A character says the opposite of what they mean.
Verbal irony occurs when a speaker says the opposite of their true meaning, often for sarcastic or humorous effect.
Question 4: A student reads two articles about climate change: one from a scientific journal and one from an opinion blog. How should the student approach these sources differently?
- Trust the blog more because it is written in simpler language.
- Recognize that the journal likely uses peer-reviewed evidence while the blog reflects personal opinion. (Correct answer)
- Treat both sources as equally credible since they share the same topic.
- Ignore the journal because scientific writing is too complex.
Correct answer: Recognize that the journal likely uses peer-reviewed evidence while the blog reflects personal opinion.
Scientific journals undergo peer review and cite empirical data, while opinion blogs reflect the author's personal views and may lack rigorous evidence.
Question 5: In a story, a character who appears kind and generous early on is revealed to be manipulative by the story's end. This type of character is best described as:
- A static character
- A foil
- A dynamic character (Correct answer)
- A flat character
Correct answer: A dynamic character
A dynamic character undergoes significant change or revelation across the narrative, as seen when hidden traits are exposed.
Question 6: The tone of a passage can best be determined by examining:
- The number of paragraphs and sentence lengths only
- The author's word choice, imagery, and how subjects are described (Correct answer)
- The title of the work alone
- The genre category of the text
Correct answer: The author's word choice, imagery, and how subjects are described
Tone emerges from the specific words, images, and descriptive choices an author makes, which together signal their attitude toward the subject.
Question 7: A student writes: 'The author implies that technology isolates people.' What must the student do to support this inference in an essay?
- State their personal experience with technology
- Cite specific textual evidence such as quotes or details from the passage (Correct answer)
- Find a second article that agrees with the inference
- Rewrite the passage in their own words entirely
Correct answer: Cite specific textual evidence such as quotes or details from the passage
Inferences must be grounded in textual evidence; citing specific quotes or details from the passage validates the student's claim.
ELAR Text Comprehension & Analysis 5
An author writes a memoir chapter in which she describes smelling her grandmother's perfume decades later and being transported back to childhood.
What narrative technique is this?