Transcript Short Answer: Code 10

Thomas A. Stewart
Literacy Test (OSSLT)
Prep Guide
2013
Reading: Open Response
Introduction
This guide is intended to be a resource for students,
teachers and parents.
It has several sections covering what to expect, how
these questions are marked, examples of good and
bad answers with explanations for why.
Throughout the guide there are suggestions, tips and
hints.
You can jump from section to section or go through
the guide in order.
We recommend visiting this guide more than once.
A TAS Com-Tech Product:
OSSLT-speak
Decoding the OSSLT:
The OSSLT has its own special terminology. It’s important to know what their terms
mean.
A “selection” is the thing they have you read…it might be part of a book,
a story from a magazine, something from a website, but basically it’s the
thing you need to base your answers on.
Prompt:
The “prompt” is basically the question. For a Series of Paragraphs
Expressing an Opinion the “prompt” will be the topic they want you to
write about.
Response: Your “response” is your answer; what you write about the “selection” in
answer to the “prompt.”
Scoring:
“Scoring” is the word they use for marking or grading. Your score on
each question is called a Code. So if you get 30 they call it a Code 30.
Conventions: Spelling, grammar, sentence structure and punctuation.
Selection:
This is an example of a “Reading selection”. It will
have both Multiple Choice and Open Response
questions attached to it.
Reading: Open Response:
EXAMPLE:
New Discoveries at the Dinosaur Capital
LOOK AT THE PHOTO
of the World
The photo (or graphic) helps give you an
Recent discoveries have strengthened
Interested teens and adults can attend Day
idea
of
what
the
story is really about. Be
Alberta’s reputation as the “Dinosaur
Digs sponsored by the Royal Tyrrell Museum.
try to relate
the story
to have
Capital of the World.” Scientistscareful
at the to always
Thousands
of important
specimens
Royal Tyrrell Museum in Drumheller,
been uncovered
by participants,
the photo. Looking
at the photo
alone including a
Alberta, are examining the firstcan
duck-billed
1.3-metre-long leg bone from a duck-billed
be misleading.
READdinosaur
THE TITLE
skeleton to be recovered in
dinosaur, fragments of turtle shell, fossilized
northern Alberta. The skeleton could
crocodile and fish teeth, remains of horned
It will represent
give youa new species of dinosaur.
dinosaurs and nearly 100 tyrannosaur teeth!
The hadrosaur,
or duck-billed dinosaur,
information
you will
lived need
about 73
probably
inmillion
the years ago, when
much of Alberta was covered by a vast
You will
likely
see a short article from a magazine or
question.
inland sea. Herds of duck-billed creatures
a newspaper.
It across
will either
be avegetated
real-lifelowlands,
story
moved
the lushly
in time
by predators
such as
(narrative),followed
a news
article
or an informational
text –
rex.an event, a process, a social
somethingTyrannosaurus
that explains
issue – anything
a space
Since thefrom
retreatgrowing
of the ice tomatoes
more than 10on
000
station to making
years ago,candy.
erosion has carved out the
hillsides, uncovering the bones of the once
Often, but abundant
not always,
there
be athe
photograph
dinosaurs
andwill
shaping
dramatic
graphic. and mysterious Badlands.
or a
Reading: Open Response:
These questions usually follow a series of multiple choice questions.
Open Response questions will have six (6) lines for your answer and
space below for your rough work.
The question will be based on the text and it is intended to test your
comprehension – did you understand what you just read? Also, it will
test your ability to summarize.
You need to support your answer with one or two (two is better)
details from the text.
In some cases you will have to make an inference –
“What do I think based on what I’ve read and what I know?”
These questions are marked out of 30…they are either 0 which
means you didn’t answer the question, or 10, 20 or 30. The markers
call these Code 10, Code 20 or Code 30.
Reading: Open Response:
Remember, even though there will be a number of multiple choice
questions they are only worth ONE POINT EACH. The Open
Response question is worth 30 POINTS.
It’s important you spend some time answering the Open Response
question as it is by far, the most important question in that section.
The first thing you should do is restate the question in your answer.
How might the information in this news report encourage
people to visit Alberta?
Becomes: More people might want to visit Alberta because….
You will be given six (six) lines to write your answer. Use them all.
Above all: Never leave a question blank!
Reading: Open
Response - Code 10
QUESTION:
How might the information in this news report encourage people to visit Alberta? Use
specific details and examples from the selection to support your answer.
A “Code 10” – is a fail for some or all of the following reasons:
The answer identifies one or more ways that this news report might encourage people to
visit Alberta, but does not support the choice. The response provides:
• no support for the choice
This question is asking you to
or
• irrelevant support based onmake
the selection
an inference.
or
Based on the article, why do
• support that applies to encouraging people to visit anywhere (e.g. because it is
you think some people might
interesting to see different museums).
now want to visit Alberta?
You should look for facts in
that might cause more
interest for tourists.
Reading: Open
Response - Code 10
QUESTION:
How might the information in this news report encourage people to visit Alberta? Use
specific details and examples from the selection to support your answer.
Explanation:
This response is Code 10 (fail) because it provides support that could apply to anywhere,
not specifically Alberta (“there is history there and caulture,” “something for eneyone to do
there”).
The spelling mistakes don’t help, but are not the reason this is a Code 10.
Reading: Open
Response - Code 20
QUESTION:
How might the information in this news report encourage people to visit Alberta? Use
specific details and examples from the selection to support your answer.
A “Code 20” – is better than a Code 10, but may or may not be “a pass.” It depends
on your performance on the rest of the test. If you get nothing but Code 20’s on
Reading questions it might not be enough to get you over the hump.
Bottom line is always try to do as well as you can on the OSSLT.
The response identifies one or more ways that this news report might encourage people to
visit Alberta, but uses:
• vague support from the selection to show how the report might encourage people to visit
Alberta (e.g., if you like dinosaurs, this museum has them all.) would be a Code 20
A Code 20 response is one where the reader is required to make the connection between
the support and how it might encourage people on their own.
Reading: Open
Response - Code 20
QUESTION:
How might the information in this news report encourage people to visit Alberta? Use
specific details and examples from the selection to support your answer.
Explanation:
This response is Code 20 because it identifies a way that the report encourages people to
visit (“because there is a new species of dinosaurs”) but uses vague support.
The reader is required to make the connection between the finding of the new species and
the idea that “anyone can come dig and find a dinosaur themselves”.
Reading: Open
Response - Code 30
QUESTION:
How might the information in this news report encourage people to visit Alberta? Use
specific details and examples from the selection to support your answer.
A “Code 30” – is a definitely a “pass” and is what you should be shooting for.
A response that identifies one or more ways that this news report might encourage people
to visit Alberta, and uses specific and relevant support from the selection to clearly show
how the article might encourage people to visit Alberta is a Code 30
Reading: Open
Code
30
This isResponse
a) on topic, b) makes-you
use examples
Look at the first sentence of this answer. The
student has restated the question.
from the text and c) takes up a line and a half.
QUESTION:
All of which are good.
How might the information in this news report encourage people to visit Alberta? Use
specific details and examples from the selection to support your answer.
Explanation:
This response is a Code 30 because it identifies a way that the report encourages people to
visit Alberta:
(“readers may now be curious to see a possible new species”). The response uses a
specific and relevant detail from the selection (Day Digs) and clearly shows how the Day
Dig encourages people to visit Alberta (“People who read this news report may now want to
participate in the Day Digs to discover new specimens.”).
Reading: Open Response:
OK. Where do we find the
New Discoveries
answers?
Here’s another
at the Dinosaur Capital
of the World
EXAMPLE:
Recent discoveries have strengthened
Interested teens
Interested
teensand
andadults
adults
can
can
attend
attend
Day
Day
Alberta’s reputation
Alberta’s
reputation
asas
the
the
“Dinosaur
“Dinosaur
Digs sponsored
Digs
sponsoredbybythe
the
Royal
Royal
Tyrrell
Tyrrell
Museum.
Capital of
Capital
ofthe
theWorld.”
World.”Scientists
Scientistsatatthe
the
ThousandsThousands
Museum.
of important
of specimens
important specimens
have
Royal Tyrrell Museum in Drumheller,
been been
have
uncovered
uncovered
by participants,
by participants,
including a
Alberta, are examining the first duck-billed Here’s
1.3-metre-long
including
1.3-metre-long
leg bone from
legabone
duck-billed
from a
one apart.
dinosaur skeleton to be recovered in
dinosaur, fragments
duck-billed
dinosaur,offragments
turtle shell,
of turtle
fossilized
shell,
northern Alberta. The skeleton could
crocodile and
fossilized
crocodile
fish teeth,
and fish
remains
teeth,ofremains
horned of
represent a new species of dinosaur.
dinosaurs
horned
dinosaurs
and nearly
and100
nearly
tyrannosaur
100 tyrannosaur
teeth!
The hadrosaur, or duck-billed dinosaur,
teeth!
lived about 73 million years ago, when
The
word
Interested
should
muchIfof
Alberta
was
covered
by ais
vast
people
think
Alberta
the be a
inland sea.
of
duck-billed
creatures
red Herds
flag here.
What
does
this tell
You
can
nail
itWorld”
down
“Dinosaur
Capital
of
the
moved across the lushly vegetated lowlands,
us?
by
using such
this as
that’s
an by
attraction.
Anything
followed
in time
predators
list of the
Tyrannosaurus
rex.shopping
that enhances
that reputation
Interested people can now help dig
have
isup
more
of things
aHow
drawpeople
to tourists.
fossils.
cool
would
that be?
Since the retreat of the ice more than 10 000
dug up.
years ago, erosion has carved out the
Cool
enough
bring
more
hillsides,
uncovering
theto
bones
of the
oncepeople
to Alberta.
abundant
dinosaurs and shaping the dramatic
and mysterious Badlands.
Thomas A Stewart
OSSLT Guide
TAS OSSLT Guides:
How the test is marked and why this matters
Reading Questions: Open Response
Reading Questions: Multiple Choice
Writing Questions: Series of Paragraphs
Writing Questions: Open Response Short Writing
Writing Questions: News Report
How to prepare for the OSSLT
Overview of the OSSLT