Poe process of elimination

P.O.E.Process of Elimination

Let’s Take a Look At HOW we answer questions….Process of Elimination

What do the directions say?Do you see anywhere in this question that asks you to pick the CORRECT answer? NO! It asks for the BEST possible answer!

So what does that mean?

It could meanMore than one answer might workWe must figure out which one is the BEST answer from the ones givenWe must eliminate the answers that are not best

So what is POE

It is very important to become familiar with the correct way to mark answers on the answer sheet.

You must read carefully, and I mean EVERYTHING. Then eliminate the answers one by one until you uncover the BEST POSSIBLE answer.

Let’s Practice

A POEM

Roses are Red

Violets are Blue

Sugar is Sweet

And so are you

Which of the following does this poem BEST show?a. Simile

b. Metaphor

c. Rhyme

d. Alliteration

Several of these could possibly be acceptable. So how do we decide. Watch

Let’s Practice

A POEM

Roses are Red

Violets are Blue

Sugar is Sweet

And so are you

I can eliminate answer choice ‘d’. I know alliteration is the repetition of consonant sounds at the beginning of words. I

don’t see any sounds that repeat in these words.

Let’s Practice

A POEM

Roses are Red

Violets are Blue

Sugar is Sweet

And so are you

I can eliminate answer choice ‘b’. I know a metaphor is a comparison of two UNLIKE things by calling one something

else. There is nothing like that here. Things are only described, not called a name.

So which is it?

Let’s Practice

A POEM

Roses are Red

Violets are Blue

Sugar is Sweet

And so are you

That leaves two things. Simile and Rhyme. I know a simile compares two unlike things using like or as. I know rhyme is when words have end sounds that are the same. Since I’m

not sure, I put a “?” beside those

Let’s Practice

A POEM

Roses are Red

Violets are Blue

Sugar is Sweet

And so are you

I need to go back and look at these two ideas more carefully. A simile compares two UNLIKE things using like or as. It says

SUGAR IS SWEET. Is that really a Simile? No, so I will eliminate it.

Let’s Practice

A POEM

Roses are Red

Violets are Blue

Sugar is Sweet

And so are you

That means my only correct answer is Rhyme. So, even if I wasn’t sure, that is the only answer left that I have decided

isn’t wrong.

Let’s see how this works…

even when we don’t know what the words mean

**note – there is a made up words in the next poem. Tobdklx is not a real word. But watch. With POE you

can still get a right answer – even when you don’t know a word!

Look carefully

The snake slithered across the grass.

I saw him and I froze with fear.

I could not tobdklx, move or pass.

As long as the snake was near.

Read the poem carefully. What best defines the word tobdklx?

a.Grass

b.Snake

c.Walk

d.Freeze

Let’s Use POE

The snake slithered across the grass.

I saw him and I froze with fear.

I could not tobdklx, move or pass.

As long as the snake was near.

Which can I eliminate first? Hmmm…. Grass. Because the sentence says “I could not”. That means it is something you can do. You can’t

GRASS.

Let’s Use POE

The snake slithered across the grass.

I saw him and I froze with fear.

I could not tobdklx, move or pass.

As long as the snake was near.

The same can be said for SNAKE. So I will eliminate that next.

Let’s Use POE

The snake slithered across the grass.

I saw him and I froze with fear.

I could not tobdklx, move or pass.

As long as the snake was near.

It is something you can do, so I can walk or freeze. So I put a “?”

Let’s Use POE

The snake slithered across the grass.

I saw him and I froze with fear.

I could not tobdklx, move or pass.

As long as the snake was near.

So which makes more sense in this poem?

Let’s Use POE

The snake slithered across the grass.

I saw him and I froze with fear.

I could not tobdklx, move or pass.

As long as the snake was near.

If you said WALK, you are right. That makes more sense in the sentence with the words move or pass.

Those are both action words. So is WALK

SO REMEMBER….…always use POE to help you figure out which is the best possible answer… not which is the right answer!

-Deborah Womble