Reading-Focused Tests
50%of exam
Writing-Focused Tests
50%of exam
WritePlacer Essay
Not publishedof exam
Quick Facts
- Exam
- TSIA2 ELAR
- CRC
- 30 adaptive items
- Reading CRC
- 15 items
- Writing CRC
- 15 items
- Diagnostic
- 48 adaptive items
- Essay
- One 300–600-word response
- Timing
- Untimed
- Ready Route A
- CRC 945–990 + essay 5–8
- Ready Route B
- CRC <945 + diagnostic 5–6 + essay 5–8
- PAA
- Before initial testing
- Score Life
- Five years
- Blueprint
- v1.5, January 2023
Evidence Chain
Claim -> Evidence -> Reasoning
Claim: positionEvidence: supportReasoning: connection
Explicit vs Inference
Explicit
- Directly stated
- Match passage wording
- No logical leap
Inference
- Not directly stated
- Combine textual clues
- Minimal logical leap
Stated vs supported
Reading Answer Picker
- Asked explicit information→Locate exact wording(Do not infer)
- Asked inference→Combine supported clues(Smallest conclusion)
- Asked main idea→Cover whole passage(Avoid vivid details)
- Asked purpose→Identify intended effect(Use structure and tone)
- Asked vocabulary→Substitute within context(Preserve connotation)
- Asked paired texts→Compare same issue(Claims plus evidence)
- Asked evidence→Match exact claim(Relevant and sufficient)
- Asked tone→Track loaded language(Name attitude)
- Asked structure→Map paragraph jobs(Then name relationship)
Literary Analysis
- Explicit information
- Directly stated ideas
- Inference
- Evidence plus reasoning
- Author's craft
- Purpose, structure, perspective
- Point of view
- Narrator's information filter
- Character shift
- Track cause and development
- Theme
- Recurring central insight
- Vocabulary
- Meaning within context
Paired Passages
Issue -> Claim -> Evidence -> Relationship
Same issue firstClaims before detailsName rhetorical relationship
Main Idea vs Detail
Main Idea
- Covers whole passage
- Controls supporting ideas
- Broad but specific
Detail
- Covers one part
- Supports central idea
- Narrow and concrete
Whole vs part
Informational Analysis
- Main idea
- Whole passage's central claim
- Supporting detail
- Develops the main idea
- Inference
- Smallest supported conclusion
- Purpose
- Author's intended effect
- Audience
- Intended reader group
- Tone
- Author's attitude
- Structure
- Ideas' organizational relationship
- Context vocabulary
- Local meaning and connotation
Claim vs Evidence
Claim
- Arguable position
- Needs support
- May be qualified
Evidence
- Supports a claim
- Facts or examples
- Must be relevant
Position vs support
Paired Synthesis
- Shared issue
- Common question addressed
- Claim
- Author's arguable position
- Evidence
- Support for a claim
- Agreement
- Matching positions or reasons
- Disagreement
- Conflicting positions or reasons
- Commonality
- Shared feature or premise
- Counterclaim
- Opposing arguable position
Reading Structures
- Cause and effect
- Reason then result
- Compare and contrast
- Similarities and differences
- Problem and solution
- Issue then response
- Sequence
- Ordered events or steps
- General to specific
- Claim then details
- Claim and counterclaim
- Position then opposition
Clause Joiners
FANBOYS: For And Nor But Or Yet So
Comma + FANBOYSSemicolon aloneSemicolon + adverb + comma
Revision vs Editing
Revision
- Ideas and organization
- Development and focus
- Rhetorical language
Editing
- Grammar and usage
- Punctuation and mechanics
- Standard English
Meaning vs correctness
Revision Answer Picker
- Add a sentence→Fill exact gap(Develop current idea)
- Delete a sentence→Remove irrelevant repetition(Protect focus)
- Order sentences→Follow idea logic(Check transitions)
- Combine sentences→Preserve full meaning(Show relationship)
- Fix grammar→Find core structure(Ignore interrupting phrases)
- Fix punctuation→Count independent clauses(Choose legal boundary)
- Choose transition→Name the relationship(Contrast, cause, example)
- Revise conclusion→Reinforce central insight(Avoid simple repetition)
- Make concise→Remove repeated meaning(Keep necessary detail)
Essay Revision
- Development
- Add relevant explanation
- Organization
- Order ideas logically
- Effective language
- Precise rhetorical choices
- Focus
- Keep one controlling purpose
- Transition
- Name the logical relationship
- Concision
- Remove needless repetition
- Conclusion
- Synthesize the central insight
Fragment vs Run-on
Fragment
- Incomplete thought
- Missing independent clause
- Often dependent only
Run-on
- Multiple complete thoughts
- Missing proper boundary
- Includes comma splice
Too little vs improperly joined
Sentence Editing
- Fragment
- Incomplete independent clause
- Run-on
- Improperly joined clauses
- Agreement
- Subject matches verb
- Pronoun
- Clear antecedent and case
- Modifier
- Placed beside target
- Parallelism
- Matching grammatical forms
- Verb tense
- Consistent logical time
- Comparison
- Compare equivalent things
Semicolon vs Colon
Semicolon
- Joins complete clauses
- Ideas closely related
- No coordinating conjunction
Colon
- Complete clause before
- Explanation follows
- List may follow
Join vs introduce
Punctuation
- Comma + FANBOYS
- Joins independent clauses
- Semicolon
- Joins related independent clauses
- Colon
- Introduces explanation or list
- Introductory comma
- Closes opening element
- Paired commas
- Enclose nonessential material
- Apostrophe
- Possession or omitted letters
- Conjunctive adverb
- Semicolon before, comma after
Sentence Logic
- Logical completion
- Finish the intended idea
- Sentence combining
- Diagnostic only: merge effectively
- Transition choice
- Match contrast, cause, example
- Redundancy
- Repeats existing meaning
- Diction
- Precise context-appropriate word
- Idiom
- Conventional English expression
- Spelling + capitalization
- Diagnostic only: standard forms
- Purpose + organization
- Diagnostic only: audience decisions
Essay Six
Focus Organize Support Style Mechanics Think
Purpose + focusOrganization + structureDevelopment + supportSentence variety + styleMechanical conventionsCritical thinking
Example vs Analysis
Example
- Concrete support
- Specific observable case
- Answers what happened
Analysis
- Explains relevance
- Connects support to claim
- Answers why it matters
Show then explain
Essay Planning Flow
- Prompt asks position→State clear claim(Answer exact question)
- Claim needs reasons→Choose distinct reasons(Avoid overlap)
- Reason needs support→Add specific examples(Experience is allowed)
- After each example→Explain its relevance(Connect to claim)
- Paragraph starts drifting→Return to reason(Keep unity)
- Opposing view matters→Address it fairly(Then respond)
- Writing final paragraph→Synthesize central insight(Extend significance)
- Doing final scan→Fix sentence boundaries(Then agreement)
WritePlacer Traits
- Purpose and focus
- Unified direct response
- Organization and structure
- Ordered connected ideas
- Development and support
- Explained specific evidence
- Sentence variety and style
- Controlled vocabulary, voice, structure
- Mechanical conventions
- Standard Written English
- Critical thinking
- Reasoned relationships among ideas
Essay Build
- Position
- Answer the assignment directly
- Reason
- Distinct support for position
- Example
- Specific observable evidence
- Analysis
- Explain evidence's relevance
- Counterpoint
- Address a reasonable objection
- Paragraph unity
- One reason per paragraph
- Final insight
- Extend, never merely repeat
Official Blueprint
- Literary CRC
- One four-item set4 items
- Informational CRC
- Eleven discrete items11 items
- Paired synthesis CRC
- Two informational items2 items
- Essay revision CRC
- One four-item set4 items
- Sentence editing CRC
- Eleven discrete items11 items
- Reading diagnostic
- Twelve literary, twelve informational24 items
- Writing diagnostic
- Twelve revision, twelve sentence24 items
- WritePlacer
- Single constructed-response prompt1 prompt
Common Traps
Text vs outside knowledge
Passage controls the answer ≠ Ignore merely true choices
Possible vs supported
Possible is insufficient ≠ Choose strongest textual support
Vivid detail vs main idea
Memorable is not central ≠ Main idea covers everything
Same topic vs same claim
Topic can overlap ≠ Positions may still conflict
Transition polish vs logic
Grammar cannot rescue mismatch ≠ Name relationship before choosing
Comma vs clause boundary
Comma alone cannot join ≠ Use conjunction or semicolon
Example vs explanation
Evidence needs analysis ≠ Connect every example explicitly
CRC vs final readiness
CRC alone is insufficient ≠ Essay five remains required
Last Minute
- 1.CRC: 15 reading + 15 writing
- 2.Literary 4; informational 11
- 3.Essay revision 4; sentence 11
- 4.Use text, not outside knowledge
- 5.Paired texts: claims + evidence
- 6.Main idea covers whole passage
- 7.Check clause boundaries first
- 8.Transitions must name relationships
- 9.Essay needs claim + support
- 10.Explain every major example
- 11.College ready requires essay 5+
- 12.PAA precedes initial testing
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