The main idea is what the article is about. On GED test, the article will usually have several paragraphs each supporting the main idea in different ways. There will always be a question about the main idea.
Which of the following most accurately states the main idea of the passage?
What would be a good title for the passage
The primary purpose of the passage is to...
The passage is primarily concerned with which of the following?
The main point made by the passage is that
Another title for this piece would be
What does the author trying to convey in this article?
Listen to the video and read the lyrics. You may want to do this a couple of times. Try answering the questions below, just to get you thinking critically about the songs you hear.
Questions:
1. A "vision softly creeping" is what?
2. How do you know he still remembers his dream?
3. In his dream, was he walking in a city or in the country?
4. Was it warm or cold?
5. Who are the people, really?
6. Why didn't anyone disturb the sound of silence?
7. Did people listen to him?
8. Why does he stress that the neon god was made by the people.
9. What kind of god is the neon god? False or True
10. Are the words on the subway walls and tenement halls true?
11. Does it take more courage to write songs or to write graffiti, according to the author?
12. What are the sounds of silence?
1. Use commas to separate independent clauses when they are joined by any of these seven coordinating conjunctions: and, but, for, or, nor, so, yet.
2. Use commas after introductory a) clauses, b) phrases, or c) words that come before the main clause.
3. Use a pair of commas in the middle of a sentence to set off clauses, phrases, and words that are not essential to the meaning of the sentence. Use one comma before to indicate the beginning of the pause and one at the end to indicate the end of the pause.
4. Do not use commas to set off essential elements of the sentence, such as clauses beginning with that (relative clauses). That clauses after nouns are always essential. That clauses following a verb expressing mental action are always essential.
5. Use commas to separate three or more words, phrases, or clauses written in a series.
6. Use commas to separate two or more coordinate adjectives that describe the same noun. Be sure never to add an extra comma between the final adjective and the noun itself or to use commas with non-coordinate adjectives.
7. Use a comma near the end of a sentence to separate contrasted coordinate elements or to indicate a distinct pause or shift.
8. Use commas to set off phrases at the end of the sentence that refer back to the beginning or middle of the sentence. Such phrases are free modifiers that can be placed anywhere in the sentence without causing confusion.
9. Use commas to set off all geographical names, items in dates (except the month and day), addresses (except the street number and name), and titles in names.
10. Use a comma to shift between the main discourse and a quotation.
11. Use commas wherever necessary to prevent possible confusion or misreading.
Contributors:Dana Driscoll, Allen Brizee. Summary:
This resource offers a number of pages about comma use.
Click here for FULL ARTICLE The most dramatic feature of her “new” novel, “Go Set a Watchman” — written before “To Kill a Mockingbird” but published 55 years afterward — is the revelation that Atticus, the supposed paragon of probity, courage and wisdom, was a white supremacist. In the mid-1930s, when the events of “To Kill a Mockingbird” transpire, white dominance was so completely established that Finch could blithely disregard any political dissatisfactions blacks felt and still get credit from his adoring daughter — and from millions of readers — for defending an innocent man. ------------ But the conversation doesn’t end with Monroe Freedman’s complaint about Atticus Finch’s limitations or with Jean Louise’s disillusionment with her previously idolized father. After Lee sold the manuscript we’re now reading, she worked hard on revisions. At her editor’s urging, she shifted the novel’s time frame from the 1950s to the Depression, away from the messy adult problems of a young woman coming to understand the racism of her father, and back to childhood, where seen through Scout’s eyes, Atticus Finch could become the hero that millions of readers love. The editor’s shrewd suggestion belonged to a specific time and place, too. In America in 1960, the story of a decent white Southerner who defends an innocent black man charged with raping a white woman had the appeal of a fairy tale and the makings of a popular movie. Perhaps even more promising, though, was the novel Lee first envisioned, the story of Jean Louise’s adult conflicts between love and fairness, decency and loyalty. Fully realized, that novel might have become a modern masterpiece.
Click on the video below to watch a lesson on modifiers. These are important to understand for passing the GED and improving your reading and writing skills. Beneath the video is a Wikipedia article on modifiers. After watching the video, you may get more out of the article.
From Wikipedia
In grammar, a modifier is an optional element in phrase structure or clause structure.[1] A modifier is so called because it is said to modify (change the meaning of) another element in the structure, on which it is dependent. Typically the modifier can be removed without affecting the grammar of the sentence. For example, in the English sentence This is a red ball, the adjectivered is a modifier, modifying the nounball. Removal of the modifier would leave This is a ball, which is grammatically correct and equivalent in structure to the original sentence.
Other terms used with a similar meaning are qualifier (the word qualify may be used in the same way as modify in this context), attribute, and adjunct. These concepts are often distinguished from complements and arguments, which may also be considered dependent on another element, but are considered an indispensable part of the structure. For example, in His face became red, the word red might be called a complement or argument of became, rather than a modifier or adjunct, since it cannot be omitted from the sentence.
Modifiers may come either before or after the modified element (the head), depending on the type of modifier and the rules of syntax for the language in question. A modifier placed before the head is called apremodifier; one placed after the head is called a postmodifier.
The two principal types of modifiers are adjectives (and adjectival phrases and adjectival clauses), which modify nouns; and adverbs (and adverbial phrases and adverbial clauses), which modify other parts of speech, particularly verbs, adjectives and other adverbs, as well as whole phrases or clauses. (Not all adjectives and adverbs are necessarily modifiers, however; an adjective will normally be considered a modifier when usedattributively, but not when used predicatively – compare the examples with the adjective red at the start of this article.)
Another type of modifier in some languages, including English, is the noun adjunct, which is a noun modifying another noun (or occasionally another part of speech). An example is land in the phrase land mines given above.
Examples of the above types of modifiers, in English, are given below.
It was [a nice house]. (adjective modifying a noun, in a noun phrase)
[The swiftly flowing waters] carried it away. (adjectival phrase, in this case a participial phrase, modifying a noun in a noun phrase)
She's [the woman with the hat]. (adjectival phrase, in this case a prepositional phrase, modifying a noun in a noun phrase)
I saw [the man whom we met yesterday]. (adjectival clause, in this case a relative clause, modifying a noun in a noun phrase)
His desk was in [the faculty office]. (noun adjunct modifying a noun in a noun phrase)
[Put it gently in the drawer]. (adverb in verb phrase)
He was [very gentle]. (adverb in adjective phrase)
She set it down [very gently]. (adverb in adverb phrase)
[Even more] people were there. (adverb modifying a determiner)
It ran [right up the tree]. (adverb modifying a prepositional phrase)
[Only the dog] was saved. (adverb modifying a noun phrase)
In some cases, noun phrases or quantifiers can act as modifiers:
[A few more] workers are needed. (quantifier modifying a determiner)
She's [two inches taller than her sister]. (noun phrase modifying an adjective)
In the video below, I give a short lesson on developing strong reading comprehension skills in preparation for the GED and other high school equivalency exams. Click on the arrow to get started. Following that is a Wikipedia article defining reading comprehension.
From Wikipedia
Reading comprehension is defined as the level of understanding of a text/message. This understanding comes from the interaction between the words that are written and how they trigger knowledge outside the text/message.[1][2] Comprehension is a "creative, multifaceted process" dependent upon four language skills: phonology, syntax, semantics, and pragmatics.[3] Proficient reading depends on the ability to recognize words quickly and effortlessly.[4] It is also determined by an individual's cognitive development, which is "the construction of thought processes". Some people learn through education or instruction and others through direct experiences.[5]
There are specific traits that determine how successfully an individual will comprehend text, including prior knowledge about the subject, well developed language, and the ability to make inferences. Having the skill to monitor comprehension is a factor: "Why is this important?" and "Do I need to read the entire text?" are examples. Lastly, is the ability to be self-correcting to solve comprehension problems as they arise.[6]
Reading comprehension involves two levels of processing, shallow (low-level) processing and deep (high-level) processing. Deep processing involves semantic processing, which happens when we encode the meaning of a word and relate it to similar words. Shallow processing involves structural and phonemic recognition, the processing of sentence and word structure and their associated sounds. This theory was first identified by Fergus I. M. Craik and Robert S. Lockhart.[7]
Comprehension levels can now be observed through the use of a fMRI, functional magnetic resonance imaging. fMRIs' are used to determine the specific neural pathways of activation across two conditions, narrative-level comprehension and sentence-level comprehension. Images showed that there was less brain region activation during sentence-level comprehension, suggesting a shared reliance with comprehension pathways. The scans also showed an enhanced temporal activation during narrative levels tests indicating this approach activates situation and spatial processing.[8][edit]
An independent clause (or main clause) is a clause that can stand by itself as a simple sentence. An independent clause contains a subject and a predicate; it makes sense by itself and therefore expresses a complete thought.
Independent clauses can be joined by using a semicolon or by using a comma followed by a coordinating conjunction (for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so, however, etc...).
I am a doctor, and my wife is a lawyer. (This is a compound sentence made up of two independent clauses: I am a doctor and my wife is a lawyer.)
I want to be a nurse, but I need to receive my science degree. (compound sentence made up of two independent clauses: I want to be a nurse and I need to receive my science degree)
John walked to the park with his friend, Jim. (This is another simple sentence.)
