Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) English Language Arts / Literacy: Reading Comprehension Syllabus

English Language Arts / Literacy: Reading Comprehension syllabus — full chapter and topic list

Expand any chapter to see its topics and sub-topics. This is the whole examinable outline for English Language Arts / Literacy: Reading Comprehension in Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC), not a summary of it.

1. 1

   Reading Literature

   4 topics

   • Key Ideas and Details in Literary Texts
     • Citing textual evidence to support inferences
     • Determining theme and central ideas across a text
     • Analyzing character development, motivation, and interaction
     • Summarizing plot objectively
   • Craft and Structure
     • Figurative, connotative, and technical word meanings
     • Analyzing text structure and its effect on meaning
     • Point of view and narrator/speaker perspective
     • Author's stylistic choices
   • Integration of Knowledge and Ideas
     • Comparing text to audio, film, or staged versions
     • Analyzing how multiple texts treat similar themes
     • Drawing on source material adaptations
   • Range of Reading Complexity
     • Grade-band text complexity expectations
     • Stories, drama, and poetry across genres
2. 2

   Reading Informational Text

   4 topics

   • Key Ideas and Details in Informational Texts
     • Explicit evidence and supported inference
     • Central idea and its development
     • Analysis of events, individuals, and ideas
   • Craft and Structure in Nonfiction
     • Domain-specific and academic vocabulary
     • Paragraph and section structure
     • Author's purpose and point of view
   • Integration of Knowledge and Ideas
     • Evaluating arguments and claims for validity
     • Interpreting visual, quantitative, and print information
     • Comparing multiple authors' presentations of evidence
   • Reading Across Content Areas
     • History/social studies texts
     • Science and technical texts
3. 3

   Vocabulary Acquisition and Use

   3 topics

   • Context Clues and Word Solving
     • Sentence and paragraph-level context
     • Multiple-meaning words in passages
   • Word Relationships and Nuance
     • Connotation versus denotation
     • Figures of speech and idioms
   • Morphology and Word Parts
     • Roots, prefixes, and suffixes
     • Greek and Latin origins
4. 4

   Evidence-Based Reading Tasks

   3 topics

   • Two-Part Evidence-Based Selected Response (EBSR)
     • Answering an analysis question
     • Selecting the supporting evidence
   • Technology-Enhanced Constructed Response (TECR)
     • Drag-and-drop and selection-based items
     • Highlighting and hot-text evidence selection
   • Paired and Multi-Text Reading Sets
     • Synthesizing across two or more sources
     • Comparing perspectives and claims

English Language Arts / Literacy: Reading Comprehension flashcards for Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC)

23 of 50 cards from the English Language Arts / Literacy: Reading Comprehension deck — real questions with worked answers.

1. In reading comprehension, what is a "central idea" (or main idea) of a text?

   The most important point or unifying thought the author develops; what the text is mostly about, supported by details throughout.

2. What is a "theme" in a literary text?

   The underlying message, lesson, or insight about life or human nature that the author conveys, usually implied rather than stated.

3. How does a theme differ from a topic?

   A topic is the subject (a single word or phrase, e.g., "courage"), while a theme is a full statement of the author's message about that subject (e.g., "true courage means acting despite fear").

4. What is a textual inference?

   A logical conclusion the reader draws by combining explicit textual evidence with prior knowledge; reading "between the lines" to determine what the text implies.

5. What does it mean to "cite textual evidence"?

   To support an analysis or claim by quoting or paraphrasing specific words, phrases, or details directly from the text.

6. What is a character trait, and how is it shown through characterization?

   A trait is a quality describing a character's personality; characterization reveals it directly (stated) or indirectly through actions, speech, thoughts, appearance, and others' reactions.

7. How do you objectively summarize a literary text?

   Restate the key plot events, characters, conflict, and theme briefly and accurately, in your own words, without adding personal opinions or judgments.

8. In the domain Craft and Structure, what does "author's craft" refer to?

   The deliberate choices an author makes about word choice, sentence structure, figurative language, and form to create meaning, tone, and effect.

9. What is the difference between denotation and connotation?

   Denotation is a word's literal dictionary meaning; connotation is the emotional or cultural association the word carries (e.g., "childish" vs. "youthful").

10. What is the difference between an author's tone and the mood of a text?

    Tone is the author's attitude toward the subject or audience; mood is the feeling or atmosphere the text creates in the reader.

11. What is point of view, and name the three main narrative perspectives.

    Point of view is the vantage from which a story is told: first person ("I/we"), second person ("you"), and third person (limited or omniscient).

12. How does third-person limited differ from third-person omniscient point of view?

    Limited reveals the thoughts/feelings of only one character; omniscient reveals the inner lives of multiple or all characters.

13. What is text structure, and name common structural patterns.

    Text structure is how an author organizes ideas: chronological/sequence, cause and effect, compare and contrast, problem and solution, and description.

14. How does the structure of a stanza or scene contribute to meaning?

    Divisions like stanzas (poetry) or scenes/chapters (drama/prose) group ideas, control pacing, build tension, and signal shifts in time, focus, or emotion.

15. What is dramatic irony?

    When the audience or reader knows something important that a character does not, creating tension or suspense.

16. In Integration of Knowledge and Ideas for literature, what does it mean to compare a text to its media adaptation?

    To analyze how a film, audio, or staged version interprets the written text, noting what is emphasized, added, omitted, or changed and the effect of those choices.

17. What does it mean to analyze how an author draws on source material (e.g., a myth or earlier work)?

    To examine how a later text transforms, alludes to, or reshapes earlier material, and how that connection deepens meaning.

18. What is text complexity measured by in standards like PARCC's Range of Reading?

    Three factors: quantitative measures (e.g., Lexile/word length), qualitative measures (meaning, structure, language, knowledge demands), and reader-and-task considerations.

19. What does "reading a range of complexity" require of a student?

    Independently and proficiently comprehending texts across the grade-level complexity band, using strategies to work through challenging material.

20. What is a qualitative measure of text complexity?

    A judgment of difficulty based on levels of meaning, text structure, language conventionality/clarity, and knowledge demands.

21. In informational texts, what is a "main idea" versus a "supporting detail"?

    The main idea is the central point of a passage; supporting details are facts, examples, statistics, or explanations that develop and prove that point.

22. How do you trace how a central idea is developed over the course of an informational text?

    Identify the idea, then track how it is introduced, refined with details/examples, and shaped by specific sentences and paragraphs from beginning to end.

23. What is an objective summary of an informational text?

    A concise, fact-based restatement of the central idea and key supporting points, free of personal opinion or evaluation.

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