State of Israel
Ministry of Education
English Inspectorate
Criteria
Content

Answer is relevant to the question.

Reference to the text is accurate.

Message is clear.
D e s c r i p t o r s

Answer is partially relevant to the question.

Reference to the text is partially accurate.

Message is partially clear.

Answer is not relevant to the question.

Reference to the text is not accurate.

Message is not clear.
8
Language

Correct use of language: grammar, spelling and punctuation
2
7-6

5
Two language errors
1
4-1

Four or more language errors

Deductions for language for questions worth 5 points, if there are more than two
0
0 language errors, deduct one point. Language includes: grammar, spelling, punctuation.

Grading the questions that require the student to explain their choice of thinking skills
(5 points) is as follows:

2 points for correlation between the choice of thinking skill and the explanation about why it was chosen.

2 points for relevant reference to the text.

1 point for comprehensible and mainly correct language.

Note that in these items there is more than one possible answer. Different thinking skills may be relevant, providing that the student matches the skill to the explanation.

The answers given are suggested answers. Other answers are possible if they answer the question appropriately.

Criteria
Content

All information is relevant and accurate.

Details/examples from the text are given to support the answer.

Student clearly shows connection between the new information and the text.

The answer is well organized.
24
Language

Correct use of basic language structures.

Mostly correct use of advanced language structures.
 Hardly any errors of spelling and, punctuation,
(capitalization, and runons.)
6
21
5
D e s c r i p t o r s

Most information is relevant and accurate.

Few details/examples are given to support the answer.

Student partially shows connection between the new information and the text.

The answer is fairly well organized
18

Mostly correct use of basic language structures.

Incorrect or no use of advanced language structures.

Some errors of spelling, punctuation, capitalization, and run-ons.
4
12
3-2

Most information is irrelevant and inaccurate.

No details/ examples are given to support the answer.

Student does not show connection between the new information and the text.

The answer is poorly organized.
6-0

Incorrect use of basic language structures.

Many errors of spelling, punctuation, capitalization, and run-ons.
0
There is no deduction for answers shorter/longer than recommended length (80-100 words).
2

State of Israel
Ministry of Education
English Inspectorate
PART I (35 points)
Answer questions for either (1) The Road Not Taken OR (2) A Summer’s Reading.
1.
The Road Not Taken / Robert Frost
Read the poem and answer the questions below (a – e).
15
20
5
10
The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
3

a.
In the first stanza of the poem (lines 1-5), what is the traveler’s dilemma?
He doesn’t know which road to take (at a crossroad) because the two roads are so similar he finds it difficult to decide which one to take.
(5 points) b.
In what ways are the roads in stanzas 1 and 2 (lines 1 – 10) similar? Give TWO ways.
The student can either copy from the poem or answer in his own words.
(1) The roads looked the same.
(2) No step had trodden black.
(3) Nobody had walked on either of the roads. OR
(4) Both roads were beautiful.
(5 points)
Read the quote and answer question c.
The speaker of the poem says, “Yet knowing how way leads on to way, / I doubted if
I should ever come back.”
Give the literal and symbolic meaning of these lines.
Literal meaning: Once you have taken one road, it leads to other roads. You are unlikely to go back to where you originally started.
Symbolic meaning: Decisions you make in life lead to other decisions. You can’t go backwards.
(See the Rubric for Content and Language in the General Guidelines, adjusting the point allocation to half e.g. instead of 8 points + 2 for language for a full grade, you would give
4 points + 1 point for language for each of the 2 parts of the question).
(10 points)
4

c.
Why does the speaker say he will “be telling this with a sigh /
Somewhere ages and ages hence”?
Thinking skill I chose: (See Appendix One for the list of Thinking Skills)
Uncovering Motives
Answer: The speaker will “be telling this with a sigh / Somewhere ages and ages hence” because he may be sorry about his decision/choice in the future. He will never know what would have happened if he had made a different decision.
( See the Rubric for Content and Language in the General Guidelines )
(10 points) d.
Explain why you chose this skill to answer question d.
I used Uncovering Motives to answer this question because it helped me work out
why the speaker says he will sigh.
(See General Guidelines)
(5 points)
Another option:
Thinking skill I chose: (See Appendix One for the list of Thinking Skills)
Different Perspectives
Answer: He says he will be telling about his decision with a sigh one day, when he is
old. The sigh might be one of regret about his choice or it might be that looking back
he will be satisfied with the choice he has made and his accomplishments.
( See the Rubric for Content and Language in the General Guidelines )
(10 points)
d. Explain why you chose this skill to answer question d.
Having different perspectives lets me understand the sigh in two different ways.
(See General Guidelines)
(5 points)
5

2. A Summer’s Reading / Bernard Malamud
Answer the questions below (a – e). a.
Describe the relationship between Mr. Cattanzara and George in the beginning of the story?
They were friends. OR Mr. Cattanzara was like a father to George.
(5 points)
Read the following quote and answer question b.
“I got a list of books in the library once, and now I’m gonna read them this summer.” b.
Who did George say this to and why?
George said this to Mr. Cattanzara because he wanted to impress him.
(4 points for content; 1 point for language)
(5 points)
Read the following quote and answer questions c – e.
"George knew he looked passable on the outside, but inside he was crumbling apart.
Unable to reply, he shut his eyes, but when - years later - he opened them, he saw that Mr. Cattanzara had, out of pity, gone away but in his ears he still heard the words he had said when he left 'George, don't do what I did.' " c.
Why did the author use the metaphor “crumbling” to describe George?
Key points in the answer:
Students have to:
 show that they understand the meaning of the word crumbling.
 connect this meaning (the metaphor) to the way George feels, mentioning why he feels this way
E.g. He feels he is breaking into pieces inside because Mr. Cattanzara has found out his secret, that he hasn’t really been reading books.
( See the Rubric for Content and Language in the General Guidelines )
(10 points)
6

d.
What do Mr. Cattanzara’s parting words, “… don't do what I did.” reveal about his feelings about his own life?
Thinking skill I chose: (See Appendix One for the list of Thinking Skills)
Cause and Effect
Answer: Mr. Cattanzara feels that he has wasted his potential/his life. He feels that he might have succeeded if he had acted differently. OR He regrets that he didn't complete his own education
( See the Rubric for Content and Language in the General Guidelines )
(10 points) e.
Explain why you chose this skill to answer question d.
I chose the skill of Cause and Effect because it helped me understand how Mr.
Cattanzara’s mistakes in life caused him to influence George to try and do better.
(See General Guidelines)
(5 points)
7

3. All My Sons / Arthur Miller
PART II (35 points)
Answer the questions (a – e) below.
Read the following quote and answer questions (a – b).
Chris: “I know you’re no worse than most men but I thought you were better.
I never saw you as a man. I saw you as my father.” (Act III)
Why did Chris say this to his father?
He said this to his father because he was upset/shocked about the crime his father had committed.
(5 points) e.
What effect did Larry’s letter have on Chris?
It made him tell his father that he has to go to jail, since his father is responsible for killing Larry and the other pilots.
(5 points)
Read the following quote and answer question c.
Jim: …In a peculiar way Frank is right - every man does have a star. The star of one's honesty. And you spend your life groping for it, but once it's out it never lights again. I don't think he went very far. He probably just wanted to be alone to watch his star go out. a.
What did the star symbolize for Chris and for Jim?
(For Chris) The star of his idealism / caring for other people / seeing the best in others/making sacrifices. b.
(For Jim) His star was his dream of doing research to help people.
(See the Rubric for Content and Language in the General Guidelines, adjusting the
point allocation to half e.g. instead of 8 points + 2 for language for a full grade, you
would give 4 points + 1 point for language for each of the 2 parts of the question).
(10 points)
8

Answer questions d – e. c.
How does the reader’s understanding of the title of the play change as the play progresses?
Thinking skill I chose: (See Appendix One for the list of Thinking Skills)
Parts and Whole
Answer: In the beginning, I thought it means Joe Keller’s sons. At the end of the play, I understood that All My Sons includes all the pilots that were killed because of the cracked cylinder heads.
( See the Rubric for Content and Language in the General Guidelines )
(10 points) d.
Explain why you chose this skill to answer question d.
The title makes sense only at the end of the play when Joe realizes that all the pilots
who died were "his sons".
(See General Guidelines)
(5 points)
Another option:
Thinking skill I chose: (See Appendix One for the list of Thinking Skills)
Different Perspectives
Answer: same as above
Explain why you chose this skill to answer question d.
The title makes sense only at the end of the play when Joe realizes that all the pilots who died were "his sons". This is in contrast to the beginning when I thought it referred only to his own sons.
( See the Rubric for Content and Language in the General Guidelines ) e.
Explain why you chose this skill to answer question d.
When I began to read the play I thought the title referred to only his family. Later my perspective changed and I realized it meant something different.
(See General Guidelines)
9

PART III (30 points)
Answer questions for either (4) Eveline OR (5) Richard Cory. (about 80-100 words)
4. Eveline / James Joyce
“The Dubliners, a collection of short stories published in 1914 which includes
Eveline , has as its central theme what Joyce, himself, called ‘moral paralysis’ of Ireland. Many of the central characters in these stories, and Eveline is typical of them, want to escape their prisons – but are unable to break out of social, cultural and religious traditions which tie them to the world of lower-middle-class life in the poorer parts of Dublin.” (Enav, Y.
1978. Everyman’s English Secondary Level. Eveline. Open University and Educational
Television. Tel-Aviv: Israel.)
How does this information add to your understanding of Eveline? Give examples from the story.
Note: the student must relate to the new information in the quote!
Answer: The answer should be written in a paragraph. For the Answer Key we have suggested possible points that the student might write about.

Eveline is unable to make a decision.
 Eveline’s promise to her mother of her duty to take care of the family.

Eveline is afraid of the unknown.

Eveline is leaving with a man she is not married to, which is again the Catholic religion.

Eveline is passive.

Eveline wants to escape her home which is like a prison.

Eveline decides not to go .
(See Rubric for Bridging Text and Context)
10

5. Richard Cory / Edwin Arlington Robinson
Edwin Arlington Robinson (1869-1935) is an American poet best known for his poems about the characters of Tilbury Town, a small, bleak Maine town like the one where
Robinson grew up. His characters suffer the ‘cruelties of life.’” (Shalvi, A. (Ed.). 1982,
EMT Reader. University Publishing Projects: Israel)
How does this information add to your understanding of Richard Cory? Give examples from the poem. Note: the student must relate to the new information in the quote!
Answer: The answer should be written in a paragraph. For the Answer Key we have suggested possible points that the student might write about.

The focus is on the townspeople and not on Richard Cory. / The poem is written from the perspective of the townspeople . These are people that the writer really knows well if he himself grew up in a poor and depressing place, as mentioned in the quote.

The townspeople in Richard Cory were poor, had difficult lives. The writer understands because he grew up in a similar depressing place
 The townspeople’s lives were bleak, difficult and not interesting. They just worked and could afford only basic food. These are the cruelties of life that the poet understands well from his hometown
(See Rubric for Bridging Text and Context)
11


Comparing/ Contrasting

Classifying

Making Connections

Parts and Whole

Different Perspectives

Sequencing

Uncovering Motives

Causal Explanations

Prediction

Generating Possibilities

Problem Solving

Synthesis

Application
12