AEPA English Exam

The English test measures your knowledge according to the Arizona Academic Standards. Success on the test indicates that you are qualified to teach this subject in Arizona public schools. The test content is drawn from four subareas based on AEPA learning objectives: Reading (33% of the test); Writing (34% of the test); Listening and Speaking (22%); and Viewing and Presenting (11%). For the Reading subarea, test-takers should know reading strategies for acquiring, interpreting, applying, analyzing, and evaluating information, including metacognitive techniques in reading comprehension. The test also covers features of various genres (e.g., poetry and nonfiction) and considers literature in historical, social, and cultural contexts. Test-takers should know strategies and techniques for writing, listening, and speaking for diverse purposes (such as for analysis and personal expression) and in formal and informal contexts. They should know how to revise effectively and use visual and electronic media for communication, creative expression, entertainment, and to influence others.

---

AEPA English Practice Questions

Read the following poem, "For Each Ecstatic Instant" by Emily Dickinson, and answer the two questions that follow.

For each ecstatic instant
We must an anguish pay
In keen and quivering ratio
To the ecstasy.

For each beloved hour
Sharp pittances of years,
Bitter contested farthings
And coffers heaped with tears.

1. Which adjective best describes the tone of this poem?

A: hysterical
B: irate
C: rueful
D: tranquil

2. What is the best synonym for coffers as it is used in this poem?

A: baskets
B: wallets
C: gifts
D: collection plates

3. Which of the following is NOT a prewriting technique?

A: brainstorming
B: proofreading
C: clustering
D: freewriting

4. What is the name for a noun or pronoun positioned beside another noun or pronoun to describe or identify it?

A: appositive
B: gerundive
C: article
D: nominative

5. A(n) _____ modifier does not clearly or coherently describe a word or word group in an expression.

A: rambling
B: inconsistent
C: deleterious
D: dangling

---

Answer key

1. C. Dickinson gives the poem an atmosphere of regret: the joys of life must inevitably be tempered by sadness.
2. D. Dickinson uses the metaphor of the coffer to suggest that painful times are the required payment for moments of joy.
3. B. Proofreading is performed after the first draft is composed.
4. A. An example of a sentence with an appositive is The car, a sedan, rolled through the busy intersection. In this sentence, sedan is the appositive.
5. D. An example of a sentence with a dangling modifier is We saw the car looking down the street. Here, the writer mistakenly gives the impression that the car is doing the looking.