Guide for the Upcoming Literacy Test (OSSLT)

For those who do not know, the Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test (OSSLT) is taking place at IRHS tomorrow. Here are a few pointers to help you do some last minute preparation:

General Guidelines:

1. Be sure to get a good night’s sleep
2. Arrive early to your assigned classroom
3. Come prepared with pencils, erasers, highlighters and a sharpener
4. Highlight keywords or phrases as you read through the text
5. Make sure to budget your time accordingly. Don’t spend too much time on multiple choice questions. Instead dedicate more time to the open response questions
6. Be sure to use formal language (avoid slang) and to use correct spelling and grammatical conventions
7. Have a positive mindset and good luck!

Multiple Choice Section:

1. Read over the questions before reading the passage. This will help you filter out key information as you read and will help you save time for the time consuming open response sections  
2. Be sure to read and fully understand what the question is asking. It is recommended that you also try to determine what might be the answer to the question before reading the possible answers listed below.
3. Use the process of elimination. Cross out any answers that you are certain are wrong.
4. DO NOT LEAVE ANY QUESTIONS BLANK!!!!! If you are really unsure about a question, it is better to guess then to leave it blank.

Open Response Section:

1. Make sure to use all the space provided and do not write more lines than is provided
2. Before writing anything down, fully flesh out your response by rereading the text and brainstorm ideas using a web or map.
3. Be sure to use examples from the text to support your answer. The strongest proof is a direct quote from the text, so be sure to include a few in your answer. Beside the end of the quote, be sure to state the line number(s) of where the quote is located in the text(“This is a quote”(25)).
4. Read over and double check for spelling, grammatical errors and general sentence structure and flow.  

News Report Section:

1. Examine the picture and the heading provided and brainstorm possible ideas for content for the article (people, places, objects, interactions, etc.).
2. If you are having trouble formulating ideas, zone out and imagine yourself in the the place illustrated in the picture, interacting with the other people shown in the picture (if any) or the general environment
3. Be sure to follow the proper format for a newspaper article
4. Write in 3rd person and avoid the usage of first person pronouns (I, Me, etc.)
5. Make sure to answer the five W’s in the article (Who, What, Where, Why, and How)
6. Incorporate as much detail as you can in the article. Be sure to include fabricated dates, names, and places as it will give more depth and authenticity to the article
7. Be sure to leave enough time to proofread and check for sentence structure and flow. Also be sure to check for grammar or spelling errors