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English 30-1

English 30-1 · Worksheets

Close reading

Ten questions of mixed difficulty, covering Close reading. Print it, or work through it on screen — the answer key starts on its own page.

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Close reading

English 30-1 · maddyhelps.com

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Circle the best answer for each question. Use the space to note the evidence or reasoning that decided it.

  1. A writer begins an essay with a short personal anecdote before making an argument. The most likely reason is to

    1. a) summarize the essay's conclusion
    2. b) confuse the reader deliberately
    3. c) prove the argument with evidence
    4. d) draw the reader in and make the argument feel concrete

  2. Read: “Another meeting, another hour of my life I will never see again — truly, we are blessed.” The tone is best described as

    1. a) sincere
    2. b) sarcastic
    3. c) anxious
    4. d) nostalgic

  3. A question asks what a text suggests about a character rather than what it states. The best answer will be one that

    1. a) describes what most people would do in that situation
    2. b) is supported by details in the text, even though it is never said outright
    3. c) repeats a line from the text word for word
    4. d) is the most dramatic of the four options

  4. The connotation of a word is

    1. a) the feeling or association it carries beyond its dictionary meaning
    2. b) its origin in another language
    3. c) its dictionary definition
    4. d) the way it is pronounced

  5. Read: “She set the letter on the table, unopened, and went back to washing dishes that were already clean.” The detail about the dishes suggests that she is

    1. a) angry with the sender
    2. b) avoiding the letter
    3. c) proud of her housekeeping
    4. d) expecting a visitor

  6. Tone is best described as

    1. a) the order events are told in
    2. b) the writer's attitude toward the subject or audience
    3. c) the subject the text is about
    4. d) the feeling created in the reader

  7. Read: “The town rebuilt the bridge in a single season. The library has waited nine years.” Placing these two sentences side by side mainly serves to

    1. a) create suspense about the library
    2. b) explain how bridges are built
    3. c) establish the setting of the town
    4. d) imply a judgment about the town's priorities

  8. An inference is

    1. a) the writer's opinion about the subject
    2. b) a conclusion the reader draws from evidence in the text plus reasoning
    3. c) a fact stated directly in the text
    4. d) a summary of what happened

  9. A text whose purpose is to persuade will most likely

    1. a) tell a story in chronological order
    2. b) present a position and support it with appeals to the reader
    3. c) explain a process in neutral steps
    4. d) describe a scene in sensory detail

  10. Situational irony occurs when

    1. a) a character says the opposite of what is meant
    2. b) what happens is the opposite of what was expected
    3. c) the setting contrasts with the mood
    4. d) the reader knows something a character does not

Answer key · Close reading

English 30-1 · maddyhelps.com

  1. d) draw the reader in and make the argument feel concrete — Openings do work: an anecdote builds interest and grounds an abstract claim in something human. It is not proof, which is why the argument still needs evidence afterward.
  2. b) sarcastic — The words say blessed while the situation says the opposite, and that gap is verbal irony used sarcastically. Tone questions are usually settled by one or two loaded words.
  3. b) is supported by details in the text, even though it is never said outright — Suggests signals inference. The right answer is anchored in evidence you can point to; wrong answers are usually true-sounding generalizations that the text itself does not support.
  4. a) the feeling or association it carries beyond its dictionary meaning — Denotation is the definition; connotation is the baggage. Calling someone thrifty rather than cheap denotes the same behaviour and connotes something entirely different — which is exactly the sort of choice exam questions ask about.
  5. b) avoiding the letter — The dishes are already clean, so the washing is not about dishes — it is something to do instead of opening the letter. The unopened letter and the pointless task together imply avoidance.
  6. b) the writer's attitude toward the subject or audience — Tone belongs to the writer; mood belongs to the reader. A writer can adopt a bitter tone about a subject and create a mood of unease in you — two different things, often confused.
  7. d) imply a judgment about the town's priorities — Neither sentence states a criticism; the contrast between them does. Juxtaposition lets a writer make an argument without ever announcing it — recognizing that is an analysis-level skill.
  8. b) a conclusion the reader draws from evidence in the text plus reasoning — Inferring means reading what the text implies rather than states. A good inference can always be traced back to specific words on the page — that is what separates it from a guess.
  9. b) present a position and support it with appeals to the reader — Purpose shows up in choices: a persuasive text argues and appeals, an expository text explains, a narrative tells. Identifying purpose first makes every other question about the text easier.
  10. b) what happens is the opposite of what was expected — Verbal irony is saying the opposite; dramatic irony is the reader knowing more than the character; situational irony is the outcome contradicting the expectation.