Study Guide
Overview and Test Objectives
Field 002: English
Test Overview
| Format | Computer-based test (CBT) |
|---|---|
| Number of Questions | 100 multiple-choice questions |
| Time | 2 hours 30 minutes* |
| Passing Score | 220 |
*Does not include 15-minute CBT tutorial
Test Objectives
| Subarea | Range of Objectives | Approximate Percentage of Questions on Test | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Meaning and Communication | 001–006 | 20% |
| 2 | Literature and Understanding | 007–014 | 26% |
| 3 | Genre and Craft of Language | 015–023 | 30% |
| 4 | Skills and Processes | 024–030 | 24% |
Hover over each subarea for details of subtest content or see table above.
Sub area 1 20%, Sub area 2 26%, Sub area 3 30%, and Sub area 4 24%.
Subarea 1—MEANING AND COMMUNICATION
Objective 001—Understand the integrated nature of the English language arts.
Includes:
- understanding the integrated nature of listening, speaking, reading, writing, critical thinking, viewing, and visual representation
- understanding the relationships among oral, written, enacted, and visual texts
- understanding the benefits of using integrated English language arts skills to foster lifelong learning
- recognizing ways in which English language arts skills can be used to explore important issues in other disciplines and communities
Objective 002—Understand that English is a dynamic language shaped by cultural, social, and historical influences.
Includes:
- analyzing the development of the English language as influenced by historical and contemporary events
- relating English derivatives, borrowings, and slang terms to their origins in other languages and dialects
- analyzing regional and social variations in language in the United States
Objective 003—Understand concepts relating to the acquisition and use of language.
Includes:
- applying principles of language acquisition and use (e.g., language development in children, second language and dialect acquisition)
- recognizing the effects of the primary language on the development of English language skills
- recognizing the connection between language arts and the development of competence in other subject areas
Objective 004—Understand how language use reflects culture and affects meaning in all modes of communication.
Includes:
- analyzing how diction, dialect, and patterns of expression transmit culture and affect meaning in all modes of communication
- understanding the reciprocal relationship between language and concepts related to identity, customs, and daily life in various cultures
- understanding the sociopolitical uses of language, including issues of censorship
Objective 005—Understand the complementary nature of listening and speaking.
Includes:
- analyzing the effects of environmental and circumstantial factors on a listener's ability to understand a spoken message
- analyzing the role of critical-thinking skills in effective listening and speaking (e.g., selecting and evaluating supporting data, evaluating a speaker's point of view)
- recognizing the role of body language, gestures, and visual aids in communicating a point of view
- recognizing the effects of voice and intonation patterns in the presentation and interpretation of oral messages
Objective 006—Understand listening and speaking strategies used for effective communication for different purposes.
Includes:
- evaluating strategies of organization, selection of details, and delivery in relation to audience and purpose
- identifying various speaking strategies (e.g., enunciation, pauses) and their effect on meaning
- evaluating visual materials for use in oral presentations
- identifying elements of effective communication in various contexts (e.g., pacing, repetition, emotion)
- analyzing elements of effective listening and speaking in conversation (e.g., using clear and appropriate language, providing verbal and nonverbal responses to the speaker)
- analyzing elements of effective listening and speaking in small and large groups (e.g., paraphrasing to clarify, interpreting nonverbal cues to monitor reactions, applying discussion techniques)
Subarea 2—LITERATURE AND UNDERSTANDING
Objective 007—Understand the distinctive features of various genres and recognize recurrent themes in all genres.
Includes:
- applying literary terminology
- analyzing the characteristics of fiction (e.g., plot, character, setting) and the characteristics of types of fictional narratives (e.g., folk legend, fantasy, realistic novel)
- analyzing the characteristics of drama and dramatic structure
- analyzing the content and formal characteristics of various forms of poetry
- analyzing the characteristics of nonfiction genres (e.g., documentaries, biographies, essays, letters, informational texts, newspaper accounts of events)
- recognizing universal themes and substantive issues in all genres of literature (e.g., human interaction with the environment, conflict and change, relationships with others, self-discovery)
Objective 008—Understand the variety of purposes for studying literature.
Includes:
- understanding that literature can enrich the reader's appreciation of differences and similarities in culture, race, gender, religion, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and national heritage
- understanding that studying literature can enhance the reader's appreciation of the experiences of others from a historical perspective
- understanding that literature can enrich the reader's language skills
- recognizing that studying literature helps the reader to develop self-expression and understanding
- recognizing the benefits of a lifelong enjoyment of reading
Objective 009—Understand the historical, social, and cultural aspects of literature, including the ways in which literary works and movements both reflect and shape culture and history.
Includes:
- analyzing literary works as expressions of cultural values and ideas
- understanding the characteristics and cultural significance of mythology and folk literature
- evaluating literary responses of major writers to social conditions, historical events, and religious movements
- recognizing how an author's interests and background (e.g., gender, class, ethnicity, region) may influence his or her work
Objective 010—Understand various aspects of North American literature, including oral, written, enacted, and visual texts that reflect major themes, characteristics, trends, works, and writers.
Includes:
- analyzing the significance of writers, works, and movements to the development of North American literature
- analyzing changes in literary form and style in U.S. literature from the colonial period to the contemporary period
- analyzing the literary responses of North American writers to social conditions, patterns of inclusion and exclusion, historical events, and cultural movements
Objective 011—Understand various aspects of world literature in English, exclusive of North American literature, including oral, written, enacted, and visual texts that reflect major themes, characteristics, trends, works, and writers.
Includes:
- understanding the significance of major writers, works, and movements in the development of British literature from the Anglo-Saxon period through the twentieth century and other major writings in English from regions other than Great Britain (e.g., Ireland, the Caribbean, English-speaking Africa, India)
Objective 012—Understand various aspects of world literature in translation, including oral, written, enacted, and visual texts that reflect major themes, characteristics, trends, works, and writers.
Includes:
- understanding the significance of major literary forms, works, and writers associated with various world cultures from ancient times through the twentieth century and analyzing significant themes and characteristics of major world writers and literary movements
Objective 013—Understand the characteristics of literature written for children and adolescents.
Includes:
- understanding major genres, works, and writers in children's and adolescent literature
- applying criteria to evaluate works written for children and young adults
- analyzing themes of works written for young people
- applying strategies to select developmentally appropriate literature for children and adolescents
Objective 014—Understand varied critical approaches to textual analysis and criticism.
Includes:
- analyzing the significance of major figures and works of classical rhetoric (e.g., Aristotle's Poetics) and the theories associated with them
- recognizing the characteristics of neoclassicism and romanticism in literary theory as developed in major writings associated with each movement
- identifying concepts and individuals associated with principal movements in twentieth-century literary criticism and theory (e.g., New Criticism, deconstruction, post-colonialism)
- recognizing the interpretation of literature and other texts from given critical perspectives (e.g., formalist, feminist, archetypal)
Subarea 3—GENRE AND CRAFT OF LANGUAGE
Objective 015—Understand concepts relating to the structure of language.
Includes:
- distinguishing structural features of languages (e.g., phonological, morphological, syntactic, semantic) and understanding differences between descriptive and prescriptive conventions of usage
Objective 016—Apply approaches to reading for literary response.
Includes:
- interpreting literary devices
- analyzing a writer's use of ambiguity, connotation, and figurative language to convey ironic undertones, sensory impressions, or emotional effects
- interpreting the use of rhythm, rhyme, or imagery to evoke a response in the reader
- analyzing the use of language to portray character, develop plot, describe setting, or create a mood in a given passage
- recognizing universal themes
Objective 017—Understand the forms, techniques, and stylistic requirements of writing to impart and explain information.
Includes:
- evaluating thesis statements and supporting ideas in context
- recognizing organizational patterns for a formal essay or a research paper
- applying knowledge of writing techniques
- evaluating the appropriateness of language and formats for various expository writing products (e.g., business letter, news article, formal essay)
Objective 018—Understand the forms, techniques, and stylistic requirements of writing for literary response and analysis.
Includes:
- understanding strategies for writing a response to a literary or media selection by referring to the text, to other works, and to personal experience
- applying varied critical approaches in textual analysis
- relating ideas to supporting details in a clear and logical manner
- understanding strategies for writing an analysis of an author's use of literary elements (e.g., plot, character, setting, theme, point of view)
- identifying relevant examples from a selection to support a thesis analyzing an author's use of literary elements
Objective 019—Understand the forms, techniques, and stylistic requirements of persuasive writing.
Includes:
- analyzing the organization of an editorial or argumentative essay on a given topic
- distinguishing reasons, examples, or details that support a given argument or opinion
- understanding the effects of style, voice, and language choices
- recognizing the effective use of transitions to enhance the clarity of an argument
- analyzing fallacies in logic in a piece of persuasive writing
Objective 020—Understand the forms, techniques, and stylistic requirements of writing for personal and artistic expression and social interaction.
Includes:
- demonstrating an awareness of the aesthetic aspects of language (e.g., imagery, figurative language, rhythm, sentence variety)
- understanding the effects of style, voice, and language choices
- demonstrating awareness of connotation and figurative meaning when selecting language for a given expressive purpose
- judging effectiveness of alternative leads and endings
- identifying details appropriate for specific purposes (e.g., creating a mood, describing a setting, creating suspense, characterization)
- identifying passages that show rather than tell
- analyzing the effectiveness of narrative or descriptive materials and identifying appropriate revisions
- understanding uses and forms of expressive and creative writing (e.g., personal essay, short story, poem, dramatic monologue)
- applying strategies for composing personal notes and letters that entertain and interest the recipient
Objective 021—Understand the writing process.
Includes:
- applying strategies to generate ideas before writing (e.g., brainstorming, clustering, researching, discussing, questioning, reading, listing, viewing, drawing)
- evaluating the appropriateness of different writing forms for various purposes and audiences
- applying knowledge of research techniques, including the use of reference materials
- evaluating the appropriateness of given details to develop a main point
- recognizing details that interfere with the development of a main point
- revising problems related to text organization and content
Objective 022—Understand processes and purposes of revising and editing written texts.
Includes:
- understanding revision to address the writer's purpose and audience (e.g., reflecting, refocusing, clarifying, improving word choice, eliminating ambiguity and redundancy)
- understanding techniques for revising texts for clarity and economy of expression (e.g., revising sentences and passages to vary sentence structure, subordinate ideas, maintain parallel structure, and keep related ideas together)
- recognizing resources for revision (e.g., conferences with peers or teachers, reference materials and computers)
- applying copy-editing and proofreading principles
- understanding the processes involved in preparing texts for publication in various contexts
Objective 023—Understand the active and constructive nature of viewing and visually representing information.
Includes:
- identifying elements of visual language (e.g., symbols, shapes, composition)
- analyzing the contextual importance of cultural, social, economic, and historical factors to visual communication
- recognizing the role of viewers' prior experiences in their understanding of visual images
- understanding how to use visual, auditory, and technological media to explore and create print and nonprint texts
Subarea 4—SKILLS AND PROCESSES
Objective 024—Apply reading strategies for the acquisition, interpretation, and application of information.
Includes:
- applying knowledge of word structure and context to determine meaning
- distinguishing between general statements and specific details
- from a given passage, drawing conclusions, interpreting information, and providing a summary
Objective 025—Understand the use of metacognitive techniques in reading comprehension.
Includes:
- analyzing the purposes and characteristics of reading techniques and strategies (e.g., skimming, varying reading rate)
- applying strategies to determine the denotative and connotative meanings of words in given contexts (e.g., phonetic skills, context clues, structural analysis)
- analyzing methods for enhancing reading comprehension (e.g., recalling prior knowledge related to a topic, making predictions, generating questions to be answered from reading)
Objective 026—Apply techniques of critical analysis and evaluation.
Includes:
- identifying a writer's intended audience and purpose for a given passage
- recognizing the persuasive strategy used in a given passage
- distinguishing between fact and opinion in a given passage
- judging the relevance, importance, and sufficiency of support in a writer's argument
- assessing the credibility and objectivity of a source of information
- determining how the writer uses tone and style to present a particular message or point of view
- identifying and analyzing bias
- analyzing consumer information
- evaluating workplace and community documents for purpose, organization, accuracy, and relevance
Objective 027—Understand strategies for eliciting and using readers' responses to texts.
Includes:
- strategies such as using reading journals to record and share personal responses
- identifying methods used in relating texts to personal experiences
- comparing multiple interpretations of a text
Objective 028—Understand the connection between writing and learning across the curriculum.
Includes:
- examining the uses of a variety of written forms (e.g., journals, learning logs, dialogues, diaries, letters) to make connections across the curriculum, record progress, and reflect on completed tasks, and understanding how writing can be used to generate authentic questions for inquiry, reflect on content and the process of learning, and explore ideas and solve problems in all content areas
Objective 029—Understand the influence of the mode of representation on the content of communication.
Includes:
- identifying forms of visual communication (e.g., graphics, television, theater, film) and their characteristics
- recognizing alternative ways to communicate information
- interpreting contextual information presented in charts, graphs, tables, models, and cartoons
- evaluating and selecting appropriate print and electronic visual materials for a given purpose and audience
Objective 030—Understand techniques for the critical evaluation of information, media, and technology.
Includes:
- recognizing purposes (e.g., to entertain, persuade, inform) of media messages
- recognizing the influence of propaganda techniques (e.g., bandwagon, glittering generality, testimonial)
- identifying strategies for analyzing media messages based on various factors (e.g., content, nonverbal cues, objectivity)
- recognizing the mutual reinforcement of combined media (e.g., picture to clarify print, music to enhance visual images)
- analyzing the effect of visual and electronic media (e.g., posters, print, broadcasting) in shaping social attitudes