HSPT Language Skills : HSPT Language Skills
Study concepts, example questions & explanations for HSPT Language Skills
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Example Questions
Example Question #1 : Analyzing Relevance To Topic
Which of the following sentences would make sense in an article titled “Digital and Traditional Writing Methods: Which is Better?”
Writing on a computer has many advantages that are missing when you write with pen and paper: you can save multiple versions of your work, check it for spelling errors, and use features like copy, cut, and paste to reorganize large sections of text.
The ancient Egyptians wrote on scrolls of papyrus, some of which were preserved well enough that they can still be read today. They wrote using a system of hieroglyphics.
For many people, journaling allows them to keep a record of their thoughts and experiences while their memories and emotions are still fresh. Many famous people throughout history have kept personal journals that have become valuable sources of their particular perspective on major events.
Calligraphy, the art of decorative handwriting, is becoming a popular hobby, and all you need to get started is paper and a special type of pen.
Writing on a computer has many advantages that are missing when you write with pen and paper: you can save multiple versions of your work, check it for spelling errors, and use features like copy, cut, and paste to reorganize large sections of text.
The sentence that is most relevant to the topic is "Writing on a computer has many advantages that are missing when you write with pen and paper: you can save multiple versions of your work, check it for spelling errors, and use features like copy, cut, and paste to reorganize large sections of text." This sentence directly compares the process of writing on a computer with the process of writing using a pen and paper. The title of the article, "Digital and Traditional Writing Methods: Which is Better?" implicitly calls for these two methods to be compared. In order to figure out which one is better, it is necessary to compare them. The sentences about ancient Egyptian writing methods, journaling, and calligraphy are off-topic and do not mention both digital and traditional writing methods.
Example Question #2 : Analyzing Relevance To Topic
Which of the following sentences would make sense in an article titled "Deciphering Recyclable Materials”?
Currently, the task of separating paper from plastic most often falls on the individual recycler, though such sorting is occasionally performed at a plant after materials have been collected.
Most major cities in the United States have some sort of recycling program, and many smaller towns participate in programs as well.
You may see recyclable materials labeled with one of several different acronyms: "PET" or "PETE," both of which mean "post-consumer polyethylene terephthalate," or "HDPE," which indicates "high-density polyethylene."
Some cities have started to ban or tax various materials that are difficult or impossible to recycle, like takeout containers and plastic bags.
You may see recyclable materials labeled with one of several different acronyms: "PET" or "PETE," both of which mean "post-consumer polyethylene terephthalate," or "HDPE," which indicates "high-density polyethylene."
First, let's take a look at the topic of the (hypothetical) article that the correct answer choice will make sense under: "Deciphering Recyclable Materials." "Deciphering" means decoding or translating from a code into something someone can understand, and "recyclable materials" are things that can be recycled. With that in mind, let's look at the answer choices.
Each of these answer choices has to do with recycling, so we'll need to focus on what differentiates them. Only two of them focus on recyclable materials as opposed to the process of recycling:
"Currently, the task of separating paper from plastic most often falls on the individual recycler, though such sorting is occasionally performed at a plant after materials have been collected."
"You may see recyclable materials labeled with one of several different acronyms: 'PET' or 'PETE,' both of which mean "post-consumer polyethylene terephthalate," or 'HDPE,' which means 'high-density polyethylene.'"
Now we need to pick out the answer choice that makes the most sense in an article about "deciphering" these materials. The answer choice here listed first talks about the process of separating recyclable materials, but it doesn't seem to have much to do with "deciphering" anything. The answer choice here listed second, on the other hand, conveys information about what different acronym labels one might find on recyclable materials each mean. In this way, the sentence connects the topic of "deciphering" with recyclable materials, and this makes it the best answer choice.
Example Question #1 : Selecting Topic Sentences
Which of the following sentences makes the best topic sentence for the paragraph shown above?
Stegosaurus is named for the characteristic bony plates that stick up from its back, making it easily recognizable. Its name is a combination of “stagē,” Greek for covering—a reference to those bony plates—and “sauros,” Greek for lizard. On its tail, Stegosaurus had spikes that it could use to defend itself from predators. Its brain was about the size of a curled human fist.
Museums are great places to learn more about dinosaurs as well as other ancient animals like mammoths and saber-toothed cats.
Stegosaurus was a large herbivorous dinosaur that lived during the Late Jurassic period, the same period during which dinosaurs like Archaeopteryx, Pterodactylus, and Brontosaurus lived.
Dinosaurs have fascinated modern humans since we started uncovering their massive bones buried in the Earth.
Many carnivorous dinosaurs ate herbivores like Stegosaurus, Brontosaurus, and Apatosaurus to survive.
Stegosaurus was a large herbivorous dinosaur that lived during the Late Jurassic period, the same period during which dinosaurs like Archaeopteryx, Pterodactylus, and Brontosaurus lived.
The best answer choice is "Stegosaurus was a large herbivorous dinosaur that lived during the Late Jurassic period, the same period during which dinosaurs like Archaeopteryx, Pterodactylus, and Brontosaurus lived." This answer choice provides a general introduction of Stegosaurus that works well as a sentence preceding the details about Stegosaurus and its name found in the rest of the paragraph.
"Many carnivorous dinosaurs ate herbivores like Stegosaurus, Brontosaurus, and Apatosaurus to survive." - This answer choice introduces three dinosaurs, so it doesn't function as well as the correct answer does as an introductory sentence to a paragraph about Stegosaurus.
Dinosaurs have fascinated modern humans since we started uncovering their massive bones buried in the Earth." - This answer choice introduces the concept of dinosaurs in general, but is too general to serve as a good introduction to the rest of the paragraph's details about one particular kind of dinosaur.
"Museums are great places to learn more about dinosaurs as well as other ancient animals like mammoths and saber-toothed cats." - This sentence introduces the concept of museums as a location to learn about many types of ancient animals. It is far removed from the details about Stegosaurus found in the rest of the paragraph.
Example Question #1 : Relevance And Scope
[1] The Boston Tea Party was a protest that occurred in Boston during the buildup to the American Revolution. [2] The event was provoked by a period of tense relations between Britain and the British colonies that would eventually become the United States. [3] The colonists were angry that they had to pay taxes on items they imported from Britain, like tea, without having representatives in British government to voice their opinions and vote on whether or not to levy such taxes. [4] This was the issue summarized by the now-famous phrase, “No taxation without representation.” [5] If people don’t pay their taxes today, it is a crime called tax evasion, and they can get in big trouble with the government and go to jail. [6] Taxed tea was sent back to Britain in many colonies as a form of protest, but in Boston, the Governor refused to return the tea. [7] In response, Bostonians boarded a ship carrying taxable tea and dumped it into the harbor on December 16th, 1773. [8] Britain responded by tightening control of the colonies, but eventually, the country fought its colonies directly in the American Revolution after they declared independence.
Which of the following sentences would best conclude the paragraph?
It’s important to study patterns in history, not just individual events.
The Governor must have been really mad when his citizens dumped all that tea in the harbor!
In countries all over the world, people have developed different culturally significant ways of brewing and serving tea.
Events like the Boston Tea Party are important on their own, but take on extra significance when viewed as part of the chain of events that led to a revolution.
Events like the Boston Tea Party are important on their own, but take on extra significance when viewed as part of the chain of events that led to a revolution.
The sentence that would best conclude this paragraph is "Events like the Boston Tea Party are important on their own, but take on extra significance when viewed as part of the chain of events that led to a revolution." The paragraph as a whole discusses the causes and effects of the Boston Tea Party. The last sentence in the paragraph as it's presented focuses on how the Boston Tea Party was one of the causes of and events leading up to the American Revolution.
Example Question #2 : Selecting Concluding Sentences
[1] Before the printing press and moveable type were in use, copyists had to spend a great deal of time hand-printing books. [2] This made books time-consuming to produce, relatively rare, and very expensive. [3] Books printed using a printing press relied not on human writers to spell out their messages, but on arrangements of metal or wooden blocks with letters on them. [4] Printing a book was much faster than hand-copying it.
Which of the following sentences would best conclude the paragraph?
Lead type has a maximum letter size that it can print, but wooden type isn't subject to the same limit.
"Illuminated" manuscripts are those in which the copyist included visual art in the margins or in the form of heavily-embellished first letters of texts or sections.
Moveable type and the printing press had a huge effect on Europe and helped pave the way for the Scientific Revolution, which was in full swing in the seventeenth century.
Due to the way it decreased the time and effort involved in publishing and distributing a book, the printing press and moveable type together helped create a publishing boom in which books became more accessible than ever before in Europe.
Due to the way it decreased the time and effort involved in publishing and distributing a book, the printing press and moveable type together helped create a publishing boom in which books became more accessible than ever before in Europe.
The sentence about lead type vs. wooden type and and the sentence about illuminated manuscripts are related to the history of book publishing, but not to the contents of the paragraph specifically. If either were used as the concluding sentence for this paragraph, it would make for a confusing, irrelevant conclusion.
Both of the remaining answer choices shown below relate to the history of publishing and specifically to the invention of the printing press and moveable type, so we need to focus on how they differ.
"Moveable type and the printing press had a huge effect on Europe and helped pave the way for the Scientific Revolution, which was in full swing in the seventeenth century."
"Due to the way it decreased the time and effort involved in publishing and distributing a book, the printing press and moveable type together helped create a publishing boom in which books became more accessible than ever before in Europe."
The answer choice here listed first summarizes the effect that the invention of the printing press and moveable type had on Europe before considering how this event helped cause the Scientific Revolution. The Scientific Revolution isn't mentioned anywhere in the paragraph provided, so it is off-topic in this particular paragraph. This sentence would thus not make the best conclusion.
The best answer is the answer choice here listed second. This sentence summarizes the effect that the printing press and moveable type had on the European publishing industry at the time, which is much more closely related to the content of the provided paragraph.
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