{"id":1909,"date":"2022-11-26T14:59:12","date_gmt":"2022-11-26T14:59:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.kaptest.com\/blog\/prep\/?p=1909"},"modified":"2022-12-01T00:08:54","modified_gmt":"2022-12-01T00:08:54","slug":"psat-writing-and-language-passage-types","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wpapp.kaptest.com\/study\/psat\/psat-writing-and-language-passage-types\/","title":{"rendered":"PSAT Writing and Language: Passage Types"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>You will see four Writing &amp; Language passages on the PSAT, each of which will have 11 questions. Recognizing the text type of a <a title=\"PSAT Writing and Language Prep Lessons\" href=\"https:\/\/www.kaptest.com\/blog\/prep\/psat\/psat-writing-and-language-prep-lessons\/\">Writing &amp; Language<\/a> passage helps you focus on the questions as they relate to the passage\u2019s general purpose. Knowing the overarching aim of the passage will help you answer questions more efficiently and accurately.<\/p>\n<table cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td colspan=\"2\" valign=\"middle\"><b>Writing &amp; Language Passage Types<\/b><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td valign=\"middle\">1\u20132 Argumentative texts<\/td>\n<td valign=\"middle\">Author will advocate a point, idea, or proposal<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td valign=\"middle\">1\u20132 Informative\/Explanatory texts<\/td>\n<td valign=\"middle\">Author will explain, describe, or analyze a topic in order to impart information without necessarily advocating<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td valign=\"middle\">1 Nonfiction Narrative text<\/td>\n<td valign=\"middle\">Author will use a story-like approach to convey information or ideas<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p><div   class='hr hr-short hr-center   avia-builder-el-0  el_before_av_icon_box  avia-builder-el-first '><span class='hr-inner ' ><span class='hr-inner-style'><\/span><\/span><\/div><br><article  class=\"iconbox iconbox_left_content    avia-builder-el-1  el_after_av_hr  el_before_av_hr  \"  itemscope=\"itemscope\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/BlogPosting\" itemprop=\"blogPost\" ><div class=\"iconbox_icon heading-color\" aria-hidden='true' data-av_icon='\ue83f' data-av_iconfont='entypo-fontello'  ><\/div><div class=\"iconbox_content\"><header class=\"entry-content-header\"><h3 class='iconbox_content_title  '  itemprop=\"headline\"  >Remember!<\/h3><\/header><div class='iconbox_content_container  '  itemprop=\"text\"  ><p>The PSAT rewards critical thinking in context. Pay attention to the text type to answer Writing &amp; Language questions more efficiently.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><footer class=\"entry-footer\"><\/footer><\/article><br><div   class='hr hr-short hr-center   avia-builder-el-2  el_after_av_icon_box  el_before_av_heading '><span class='hr-inner ' ><span class='hr-inner-style'><\/span><\/span><\/div><br>Let\u2019s look at three short Writing &amp; Language passage excerpts (without errors) and see how a PSAT expert identifies the text type of each. The left column features the passage excerpt, while the right column demonstrates the <a title=\"PSAT Writing and Language: The Kaplan Method\" href=\"https:\/\/www.kaptest.com\/blog\/prep\/psat\/psat-writing-and-language-the-kaplan-method\/\">strategic thinking<\/a> a test expert employs when identifying Writing &amp; Language text types.<\/p>\n<p><div  style='padding-bottom:10px; ' class='av-special-heading av-special-heading-h3    avia-builder-el-3  el_after_av_hr  el_before_av_one_half  '><h3 class='av-special-heading-tag '  itemprop=\"headline\"  >Sample Argumentative Passage<\/h3><div class='special-heading-border'><div class='special-heading-inner-border' ><\/div><\/div><\/div><br><div class=\"flex_column av_one_half  flex_column_div first  avia-builder-el-4  el_after_av_heading  el_before_av_one_half  \" ><div   class='av_promobox  avia-button-no   avia-builder-el-5  avia-builder-el-no-sibling '>\t\t<div class='avia-promocontent'><p>It has long been believed that the best system of government is one in which everyone in a given society would vote on each and every law. Such a system of referendum would prevent corrupt politicians from serving their own self-interests when voting on a law. In the past, such a system could only be considered for small communities, as it would be impossible to execute efficiently on a large scale. However, the existence of modern technology renders this objection moot. If our society so desires it, all of us may one day cast votes on individual laws from the comfort of our homes.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><br><div class=\"flex_column av_one_half  flex_column_div   avia-builder-el-6  el_after_av_one_half  el_before_av_hr  \" ><p><strong>Strategic Thinking<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><em>&nbsp;What does the opening phrase, \u201cIt has long been believed,\u201d suggest?<\/em>&nbsp;The author might be challenging a belief or advocating something against that belief.<\/li>\n<li><em>What does the word \u201chowever\u201d indicate?<\/em>&nbsp;A change in direction in the passage<\/li>\n<li><em>What is the author advocating?<\/em> Voting from home<\/li>\n<li><em style=\"font-size: inherit;\">What text type is this?<\/em><span style=\"font-size: inherit;\">&nbsp;Argumentative<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div><br><div  style='height:50px' class='hr hr-invisible   avia-builder-el-7  el_after_av_one_half  el_before_av_heading '><span class='hr-inner ' ><span class='hr-inner-style'><\/span><\/span><\/div><br><div  style='padding-bottom:10px; ' class='av-special-heading av-special-heading-h3    avia-builder-el-8  el_after_av_hr  el_before_av_one_half  '><h3 class='av-special-heading-tag '  itemprop=\"headline\"  >Sample Informative\/Explanatory Passage<\/h3><div class='special-heading-border'><div class='special-heading-inner-border' ><\/div><\/div><\/div><br><div class=\"flex_column av_one_half  flex_column_div first  avia-builder-el-9  el_after_av_heading  el_before_av_one_half  \" ><div   class='av_promobox  avia-button-no   avia-builder-el-10  avia-builder-el-no-sibling '>\t\t<div class='avia-promocontent'><p>Some psychologists believe that humans have developed special nervous systems capable of recognizing subtle expressions out of necessity, due to the weight of such recognition in human communication. To test this theory, researchers showed photographs of people displaying emotions of joy, anger, and surprise to a group of trained pigeons. The birds were not only able to distinguish between expressions but were also able to match each correctly to the same expression displayed by photographs with different faces. While the experiment\u2019s results do not conclusively prove that the pigeons can comprehend the meaning of the&nbsp;tested expressions, it does cast doubt upon the theory proposed by the psychologists.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><br><div class=\"flex_column av_one_half  flex_column_div   avia-builder-el-11  el_after_av_one_half  el_before_av_hr  \" ><p><strong>Strategic Thinking<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><em>What does the introductory phrase, \u201cSome psychologists believe,\u201d indicate?<\/em> That the author is reporting on a behavior or phenomenon<\/li>\n<li><em>What other phrases indicate this \u201creporting\u201d approach?<\/em> \u201cTo test this theory, researchers&nbsp;.&nbsp;.&nbsp;.&nbsp;\u201d and \u201cWhile the experiment\u2019s results . . .\u201d<\/li>\n<li><em>What is the author describing in this passage?<\/em> A theory of expression recognition<\/li>\n<li><em>What text type is this?<\/em> Informative\/Explanatory<\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div><br><div  style='height:50px' class='hr hr-invisible   avia-builder-el-12  el_after_av_one_half  el_before_av_heading '><span class='hr-inner ' ><span class='hr-inner-style'><\/span><\/span><\/div><br><div  style='padding-bottom:10px; ' class='av-special-heading av-special-heading-h3    avia-builder-el-13  el_after_av_hr  el_before_av_one_half  '><h3 class='av-special-heading-tag '  itemprop=\"headline\"  >Sample Nonfiction Narrative Passage<\/h3><div class='special-heading-border'><div class='special-heading-inner-border' ><\/div><\/div><\/div><br><div class=\"flex_column av_one_half  flex_column_div first  avia-builder-el-14  el_after_av_heading  el_before_av_one_half  \" ><div   class='av_promobox  avia-button-no   avia-builder-el-15  avia-builder-el-no-sibling '>\t\t<div class='avia-promocontent'><p>When studying ancient history in this university many years ago, I had as a special subject \u201cGreece in the Period of the Persian Wars.\u201d I collected 15 or 20 volumes on my shelves and took it for granted that there, recorded in these volumes, I had all the facts relating to my subject. Let us assume\u2014it was very nearly true\u2014that those volumes contained all the facts about it that were then known, or could be known. It never occurred to me to inquire by what accident or process of attrition that minute selection of facts, out of all the myriad facts that must have once been known to somebody, had survived to become the facts of history. I suspect that even today one of the fascinations of ancient and medieval history is that it gives us the illusion of having all the facts at our disposal within a manageable compass: the nagging distinction between the facts of history and other facts about the past vanishes because the few known facts are all facts of history.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><br><div class=\"flex_column av_one_half  flex_column_div   avia-builder-el-16  el_after_av_one_half  avia-builder-el-last  \" ><p><strong>Strategic Thinking<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><em>How is this passage different from the previous two passages?<\/em> It is written in the first person.<\/li>\n<li><em>How do you know?<\/em> The author uses personal pronouns such as \u201cI\u201d and \u201cme.\u201d<\/li>\n<li><em>What text type is this?<\/em> Nonfiction narrative<\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div><\/p>\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Previous:<\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.kaptest.com\/blog\/prep\/psat\/psat-reading-vocab-in-context-questions\/\"> PSAT Reading: Vocab-in-Context Questions<\/a><br><strong>Next:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kaptest.com\/blog\/prep\/psat\/psat-writing-and-language-the-kaplan-method\/\">PSAT Writing &amp; Language: The Kaplan Method<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>You will see four Writing &amp; Language passages on the PSAT, each of which will have 11 questions. Recognizing the text type of a Writing &amp; Language passage helps you focus on the questions as they relate to the passage\u2019s general purpose. Knowing the overarching aim of the passage will help you answer questions more [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":41955,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[240],"tags":[195,329],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpapp.kaptest.com\/study\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1909"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpapp.kaptest.com\/study\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpapp.kaptest.com\/study\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpapp.kaptest.com\/study\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpapp.kaptest.com\/study\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1909"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/wpapp.kaptest.com\/study\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1909\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":41956,"href":"https:\/\/wpapp.kaptest.com\/study\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1909\/revisions\/41956"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpapp.kaptest.com\/study\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/41955"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpapp.kaptest.com\/study\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1909"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpapp.kaptest.com\/study\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1909"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpapp.kaptest.com\/study\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1909"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}