Short Stories
Exam Review
Short story exam: Sampler
Although this specific question isn’t on the test, it is
typical of the multiple choice questions you’ll see:
(MARIGOLDS): Which of the following is NOT a reason
that annoying Miss Lottie is usually fun?
A. It breaks up the boredom
B. It hurts Miss Lottie’s feelings
C. It involves a little bit of danger
D. It gets a rise out of Miss Lottie
Short story exam: Sampler
(“Two Kinds”): The main external
conflict in this story is between:
A. The mother and her past
B. Jing-mei and the piano
C. Jing-mei and Waverly
D. Jing-mei and her mother
Short story exam: Sampler
 Know the authors of each story.
 Review vocab words from each story
for which we did a vocabulary
exercise.
 There will be matching component on
the test.
Short story exam: Sampler
Characterization: You’ll receive a description of a
character; you have to name the character
based on that description.
Example:A boy whose main concern was always
doing the right thing:
A. Scott
B. Mark
C. Jerry
D. Doodle
Short story exam: Sampler
Literary elements: These questions provide
specific passages from the stories, and you
have to identify which type of figurative
language is used.
Example: (From “Two Kinds”):
“I just played some nonsense that sounded
like a cat running up and down on top of
garbage cans.”
Short story exam: Sampler
 Short essay: Questions will require you to
explore a literary element (symbolism,
theme, etc.) in some of the stories we
covered.
 Be prepared to compare themes of two
stories to each other or to a new piece of
very short writing.
 In all of the non-multiple choice questions,
details will be essential. Too general = lost
points.
 HAVE to read directions carefully.
Short story exam: Sampler
 The title of a story is often a clue to
its theme. The title of “Two Kinds”
comes from the argument between
Jing-mei and her mother. Considering
the title, how do Jing-mei’s values
differ from her mother’s? Use
examples in your answer.
Short story exam: Sampler
 “Two Kinds” seems to mean that Jing-mei and her
mother have different opinions about values. Jing-mei
is the kind of girl who follows her own mind, while her
mother expects the other kind, an obedient daughter.
This certainly fuels the battle over the piano lessons.
A lot of this conflict is caused by their different
backgrounds. The mother has traditional Chinese
values that demand respect for parents. Jing-mei has
grown up in America. She has pride in being herself.
It seems that with almost every event, Jing-mei’s
strong will clashes with her mother’s demands for
obedience. So one theme for this story could be when
a parent has one set of values that she tries to force
on a child who has another set of values, the
relationship can be harmed for a long time.
Short story exam: Parts 1-2
 You will receive a two-page article to read.
 You then will be asked to identify six literary elements
in the story. So review the “Literary Elements”
PowerPoint.
 This is identical to what you did for “No Gray Areas.”
 In Part 2, you will be asked to compare themes and
symbols that appear in a new short story and a song,
which we will hear and view in a music video.
 So the objective is to draw similarities between two
pieces of text.
 Let’s practice, using another thinking map.