Close Reading of Informational Text — Practice · Grade 12 English

Chapter: Informational Reading & Media

What this practice covers

By the end of Close Reading of Informational Text you should be able to:

10 questions, written answer, each with a worked explanation.

Vocabulary used: evidence, interpretation, qualification.

Problem 1

Summarize without expanding the finding. Give a detail and explain its relevance.
Answer and explanation

Most interviewed users wanted a later route. The report recommends a trial but cannot show demand among people who were not interviewed.

Use the criteria to compare your reasoning, not to copy the model’s wording. A supported alternative interpretation may earn full credit.

Response criteria

  • Make an accurate, focused claim or revision.
  • Use a relevant detail or a clearly explained language choice.
  • Explain the relationship and recognize a relevant limit.

Problem 2

A learner writes: “The article proves that gardens are the best way to learn science.” Explain the problem and produce a better response.
Answer and explanation

The article supports a conditional benefit, not a comparison with every method. Preserve the maintenance condition and avoid “proves” when the evidence does not justify it.

Use the criteria to compare your reasoning, not to copy the model’s wording. A supported alternative interpretation may earn full credit.

Response criteria

  • Make an accurate, focused claim or revision.
  • Use a relevant detail or a clearly explained language choice.
  • Explain the relationship and recognize a relevant limit.

Problem 3

Compare what you must inspect in these two cases. What can transfer, and what must be checked again?
Answer and explanation

A central idea states what a nonfiction text develops about its topic. Supporting details explain, illustrate, qualify, or challenge it. The method transfers, but the particular detail, scope, and context must be read again. Most interviewed users wanted a later route. The report recommends a trial but cannot show demand among people who were not interviewed.

Use the criteria to compare your reasoning, not to copy the model’s wording. A supported alternative interpretation may earn full credit.

Response criteria

  • Make an accurate, focused claim or revision.
  • Use a relevant detail or a clearly explained language choice.
  • Explain the relationship and recognize a relevant limit.

Problem 4

Using an assigned reading or one exercise source, write a developed response applying close reading of informational text. Aim for 300–450 words; name the reading or reproduce the sentence you revise.
Answer and explanation

School gardens can support learning when maintenance is planned. The article contrasts two gardens to show how vacation care affects whether that opportunity lasts. A complete response supplies context, a focused claim, a brief supporting detail, explanation, and a relevant qualification. Do not simply repeat this model.

Use the criteria to compare your reasoning, not to copy the model’s wording. A supported alternative interpretation may earn full credit.

Response criteria

  • Make an accurate, focused claim or revision.
  • Use a relevant detail or a clearly explained language choice.
  • Explain the relationship and recognize a relevant limit.

Problem 5

Write two specific feedback comments on a response to this unit: one on accuracy or meaning and one on evidence or language. Then state a revision priority.
Answer and explanation

Check whether the response explains a central idea states what a nonfiction text develops about its topic. supporting details explain, illustrate, qualify, or challenge it. Ask for a relevant detail and the reason it supports the conclusion. Prioritize the mistaken assumption shown here: “The article proves that gardens are the best way to learn science.”

Use the criteria to compare your reasoning, not to copy the model’s wording. A supported alternative interpretation may earn full credit.

Response criteria

  • Make an accurate, focused claim or revision.
  • Use a relevant detail or a clearly explained language choice.
  • Explain the relationship and recognize a relevant limit.

Problem 6

Choose a fresh sentence or detail from the assigned selection. Explain how this unit’s method applies, and identify one uncertainty or limitation.
Answer and explanation

The contractor’s attractiveness rating does not establish faithful representation; the coalition identifies a possible distortion without measuring its frequency. The staffing memo supports a bounded review pilot with costs and limits clearly stated. The response must supply its own precise detail and explain it; copying the model without fresh evidence is insufficient.

Use the criteria to compare your reasoning, not to copy the model’s wording. A supported alternative interpretation may earn full credit.

Response criteria

  • Make an accurate, focused claim or revision.
  • Use a relevant detail or a clearly explained language choice.
  • Explain the relationship and recognize a relevant limit.

Problem 7

Record what the source explicitly states before interpreting it.
Answer and explanation

A report says that 14 of 20 interviewed bus users wanted a later route. It recommends a trial, noting that nonusers were not interviewed. These are the supplied words; conclusions about motives or causes need additional reasoning.

Use the criteria to compare your reasoning, not to copy the model’s wording. A supported alternative interpretation may earn full credit.

Response criteria

  • Make an accurate, focused claim or revision.
  • Use a relevant detail or a clearly explained language choice.
  • Explain the relationship and recognize a relevant limit.

Problem 8

Give a plausible alternative response and explain which source detail would help choose between responses.
Answer and explanation

Most interviewed users wanted a later route. The report recommends a trial but cannot show demand among people who were not interviewed. A different conclusion needs a source detail it explains at least as well; identify what would confirm or challenge it.

Use the criteria to compare your reasoning, not to copy the model’s wording. A supported alternative interpretation may earn full credit.

Response criteria

  • Make an accurate, focused claim or revision.
  • Use a relevant detail or a clearly explained language choice.
  • Explain the relationship and recognize a relevant limit.

Problem 9

Explain one choice in the model answer that makes it more accurate than the mistaken answer.
Answer and explanation

The article supports a conditional benefit, not a comparison with every method. Preserve the maintenance condition and avoid “proves” when the evidence does not justify it. The improved answer matches the source’s scope and meaning.

Use the criteria to compare your reasoning, not to copy the model’s wording. A supported alternative interpretation may earn full credit.

Response criteria

  • Make an accurate, focused claim or revision.
  • Use a relevant detail or a clearly explained language choice.
  • Explain the relationship and recognize a relevant limit.

Problem 10

Write a first response, obtain or generate a focused feedback question, and revise. Explain what changed and why.
Answer and explanation

Most interviewed users wanted a later route. The report recommends a trial but cannot show demand among people who were not interviewed. Record an original draft and a revision. A useful change clarifies the claim, adds evidence, or corrects meaning rather than merely swapping synonyms.

Use the criteria to compare your reasoning, not to copy the model’s wording. A supported alternative interpretation may earn full credit.

Response criteria

  • Make an accurate, focused claim or revision.
  • Use a relevant detail or a clearly explained language choice.
  • Explain the relationship and recognize a relevant limit.

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