Tips for the Bagrut

exam
What you need to know in order to
succeed!
LOTS, HOTS and BRIDGING
QUESTIONS

Good Luck!
Pirchy Dayan
Based on the Literature Handbook (2013) and Bari
Nirenbergs presentations.

For each Summative

Assessment on a story,
poem or play you should
answer
answer: (LOTS)
basic understanding
questions. These are basic content
questions. Answers should be
short and to the point.
Analysis and interpretation (HOTS)
questions that may include
understanding of literary
techniques.

Extended

HOTS question where you:

a. name the HOTS you chose to
answer the question.
b. answer the question showing
appropriate use of the HOTS that
you have chosen. Use vocabulary
that is directly connected to the
chosen HOTS.
Bridging Text and Context question:

Students

are asked to make

connections between the text,
universal themes and new relevant
information and ideas from other
sources. These sources may include
the biography and personality of
the author, themes and /or aspects
of the historical, social and cultural
contexts of the text.
The connection must be both accurate
and explicit. Use 1-2 examples from
the text to support your point.

Inferring
Reading

"between the lines" to

understand information that is not
presented directly.
Drawing a conclusion from clues.
What do you think the character meant
when s/he said, ___?
What does ___s behavior suggest? What
is the purpose or function of this
information?
Whatdifferent meaningscanbe inferred
from this line in the poem?

Useful Vocabulary
Infer,

learn, conclude, read

between the lines, assume, clue,
hint, imply, probably, likely,
unlikely, evidence, what are the
consequences of this statement?

Sample Questions
When

George first meets Mr.

Cattanzara he lies to him about
reading books because he wants his
respect. Why is Mr. Cattanzara's
respect so important to George?
What is the importance of the setting
of the story? (any story)
"I shall be telling this with a sigh".
What TWO different meanings can we
infer from this line in The Road Not
Taken?

Comparing and
contrasting

Finding

what is similar/different
between two or more things.
Drawing conclusions based on
these similarities and differences.
Compare and contrast the
conflicts/ problems/dilemmas in
two stories or poems.
Compare and contrast characters
in a text.

Useful Vocabulary
like,

similar, also, similarly, in the

same way, likewise, again,
compared to, both, have in
common.

unlike,

in contrast with, different

than, opposite, (comparative
adjectives) on the contrary,
however, although, yet, even
though, still, nevertheless,
regardless, despite, while, on the
one handon the other hand.

Sample Questions
Compare

and contrast the TWO

roads in the poem The Road Not
Taken.
Compare and contrast Mr. Kelada
and the narrator.
Compare and contrast Joe's view of
family before and after he hears the
contents of Larry's letter. Support
your answer with information from
the play.

Explaining patterns
Identifying

and explaining different

patterns of behavior in a text;
Explaining why these patterns are
important.
Identifying and explaining different
patterns in a poem - for example: rhythm
and rhyme;
What behavior does the character
repeat?
Explain why certain lines/phrases/words
are repeated in a story/poem.

Useful Vocabulary
repeat,

repetition, repetitive,
routine, order, notice, noticeable,
significance, significant, similar,
recur, rule, follow a pattern,
pattern of behavior.

Sample Questions
The

relationship between Waverly and

her mother is like that of chess players.
Explain the pattern of their behavior.
What behavior does Mr. Kelada repeat
throughout the story? Why is his
behavior in the end surprising? Explain.
What behavior does George repeat in
the story? Based on his pattern of
behavior, is he going to read the books?
Explain.

Explaining cause and

effect

Identifying

reasons why things

happen (the cause);
Identifying and describing the result
(the effect) of actions and
circumstances;
Explaining the connection between
the two.
What were the results of ___s action?
What caused ___ to think that ___?

Useful Vocabulary
cause,

effect, result,
consequence, consequently,
outcome, as a result of, therefore,
if....then, in order to, due to,
because, thanks to, as a result
(of), encourage, persuade,
development, explanation, ___
leads to ____.

Sample Questions
What

caused the speaker in the poem

to choose the road less travelled by?
"He stayed in his room for almost a
week, except to sneak into the kitchen
when nobody was home." What caused
George to stay in his room for a week?
While Mr. Kelada is examining the
pearls, Mrs. Ramsay's face changes.
How does this affect Mr. Kelada?

Distinguishing different
perspectives
Identifying

different points of view

in a text;
Identifying different outlooks on life.
Identify how different characters
respond to a central event in the
story.
How does your understanding of the
characters actions/events in the
story change as you read?

Useful Vocabulary
perspective,

point of view,
attitude, differences, outside,
inside, looking from the side,
opinion, reader, narrator,
consider, identify, distinguish, tell
the difference,

however,

on the one hand, on the

other hand, outlook, standpoint,
perception, side, angle.

Sample Questions
How

do the narrator's feelings

about Mr. Kelada change from the
beginning to the end of the story?
How do Waverly and her mother
view Waverly's success in chess?
How does our opinion of Mrs.
Ramsay change at the end of the
story?

Uncovering Motives
Identify

motives that explain the

characters behavior and support
this
with evidence from the text.

Why

do you think that __ did __?

Support your answer.
What made ___ change his/her mind?
Give supporting details.

Useful Vocabulary
aim,

intention, purpose, goal,

cause, object, reason,
psychological, motivation,
motive, evidence, incentive,
drive, behavior.

Sample Questions
What

motivated Mr. Kelada to lie

about the pearls?
What motivated Mr. Catanzara to
lie and tell everyone that George
was reading 100 books?
Why does Keller say he is willing
to give Steve a job when he gets
out of jail?

Problem Solving
Identifying

a problem/dilemma and its

solution.
Identifying a problem and suggesting
a solution of your own based on what
you know about the characters, events
and circumstances.
Define the problem facing the
protagonist.
What is the central conflict in this text
and how is it resolved? Explain.
What dilemma does ___ face at this
point in the story?

Useful Vocabulary
find

out, solve, answer, explain,

difficulty, resolve, decipher,
predicament, trouble, crisis,
advantage / disadvantage, pros
and cons, choice, dilemma, deal
with, weighing possibilities.

Sample Questions
In

the first stanza of the poem

The Road Not Taken (lines 1-5),
what is the travelers dilemma?
How does he solve his dilemma?
What dilemma does Mr. Kelada
face when he examines the
pearls? How does he solve his
dilemma?

What is considered a
good answer?
The

information is relevant,
sufficient, well organized and
correct. The answer includes
examples/ supporting details from
the text. The message is clear.
There is correct use of grammar,
vocabulary, spelling and
punctuation.

- 80% is given for content and 20% for

grammar and spelling.

General Tips for

Success
Read the question carefully! You
may want to highlight key words in
the question to help you focus.
Make sure that your answer relates
to the entire question. Give
examples from the text to
support your point!
If you are given a quote, the answer
must reflect a general
understanding of the literary piece,
NOT just the quote.

If

there is a question about a literary

term, such as setting or metaphor,
you should show understanding of the
literary term in connection to the
text.
You should provide examples from the
text in your answer. When you are
asked to explain, you must support
your explanation with examples.
No examples means you lose at least
20% from what the question is worth.

Extended HOTS questions

For

the extended HOTS question:

A. answer the question as required.
B. choose ONE HOTS, name it and
show appropriate evidence of the
use of the chosen HOTS. That is,
use the relevant vocabulary
you have learned in your answer.
You will get up to 5 points for using
the correct vocabulary.

Bridging Text and Context

Tips
You need to write 80-100 words about
how certain information you are given is
related to the text you read, and
enhances (( your understanding of it.
Relate to the information / quote you
are given in YOUR OWN WORDS.
Explain how the background information
you are given is connected to an aspect
of the text.
Make connections between the new
information and the text by giving
explanations and 1-2 examples.

Give

ONLY relevant information!

Conclude your answer.
Use the following template to help
you organize your answer.
From this quote/information I learn
that ___________. (In addition, it
suggests that ______________.) This is
reflected in the story/poem/play (in
several ways). For example,
___________. (Also, ______________. )To
sum up, _______.