ELA CAHSEE
Preparation
We will work
together and you
will
pass that test!
Bart Simpson Promises….
What should you know about the
English Language Arts section of the
CAHSEE?
You must pass
to graduate, but you
get many chances
72 multiple
choice questions
No time limit
ELA section of the
CAHSEE
350 to Pass;
Go for 370!
Vocabulary, Reading
Comprehension, Writing
Conventions,
And an essay
What Exactly is on the CAHSEE?
Approximately 72 multiple choice questions
about reading and writing strategies
One essay response question
The nitty-gritty: You have to be correct on a
little more than half of the questions (including
a passing essay score) in order to pass. You a
have to have about a 70% to be marked
“Proficient” on the test.
Reading on the CAHSEE
7 Vocabulary Questions
18 Reading Comprehension
Questions (read a passage and answer
questions)
20 Literary Response Questions
(read literature and answer questions)
Literary Response and Analysis
20 Multiple Choice Questions
These types of texts include
Poetry
Plays
Fiction
Essays
The Literary Response and Analysis section of the
CAHSEE asks you to read literature and answer
questions about it.
CAHSEE Writing
27 Multiple-Choice writing questions total
1 Essay Questions
There are three strands:
Writing Strategies
Writing Conventions
Writing Applications
CAHSEE Writing
Writing Strategies
•12 test questions that ask you to find and correct errors
and choose better words and phrases. They are based on a
rough draft of an essay or article. .
•In this section, you do not have to write any essays, but
you have to answer multiple choice questions about
editing and revising essays.
•Questions may begin, “which sentence would best begin
this essay” or “which of the following sentences do not fit
well in the paragraph”
Writing Conventions
15 test questions that test your
understanding of grammar
and your knowledge in the
mechanics of punctuation
(e.g. semicolons, colons, ellipses, hyphens).
You will also have to identify and use clauses and
understand sentence construction (parallel structure,
proper placement of modifiers, etc.).
CAHSEE Writing
Writing Application
On the writing portion of the
CAHSEE exam, you will be given a
“Writing Task” which is one essay question.
You may be asked to do one of the following:
Biographical Narrative
Response to Literature
Expository Essay
Persuasive Essay
Business Letter
Biographical Narrative
Tells the story from the life of a real
person.
Often, this type of CAHSEE essay
question will ask you to write about
someone who is important in your life.
Response to Literature
You read a (literature) text and are asked
to respond (write an essay) based on a
question regarding that passage.
This type of question asks that you first
comprehend the text, then write about it.
Expository Essay
Expository essays (also called
compositions) are most often nonfiction,
meaning that it deals with real people,
things, events and places.
The question may ask you to write about an
important moment in history or technology,
or a question about school.
Persuasive Essay
A persuasive essay (or composition) asks you to
defend a position or argue for your side of an
issue about which people disagree.
A sample question may ask you to write an essay for your school
paper in which you convince the readers of the importance of
volunteer hours as a graduation requirement or a convincing essay
about whether or not there should be art and music in school.
The readers want you to think about the other side of the argument and
keep that in mind as you defend your ideas
Business Letter
A Business Letter is a formal
correspondence about a business related
matter.
When you’re writing a business letter,
your purpose may be
•to apply for a job
• to complain
•to request information
•Etc.