Tips on Taking the Massachusetts Teaching Exam
Communication and Literacy Skills MTEL Overview for Teachers
Sep 29, 2008
Surprising, many find the general test harder than the subject matter test. Often, graduates are ready to face the subject matter exam since the material is fresh in their minds. Unless you are an English major, however, the communications and literary skills portion may be harder than you think without a review of basic reading, grammar, and writing skills.
Study or review the following areas before taking the communications and literacy exam:
Build Your Vocabulary
You will be given approximately five random words to define. These words are not as difficult as SAT words, but they are not everyday vocabulary either. Most likely, you will have an idea what these words mean. However, for full credit, you must also provide the part of speech when giving a definition. Start filling in the local paper crossword puzzles as practice.
Brush Up On Basic Grammar
Brush up on basic grammar, such as nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs, to help with the vocabulary section. Also, know grammar terminology for mechanics and editing purposes, such as fragment, subject-verb agreement, subject, predicate, conjunction, etc. You are asked to define several grammar terms, so be sure to visit Big Dog's Grammar to refresh your knowledge and to take self-tests.
Be Able to Edit
Many questions consists of sentences, and you must choose whether that sentence has:
- A. spelling error
- B. punctuation error
- C. capitalization error
- D. sentence correct
You must also be able to edit paragraphs and sentences for clarity and mechanics.
Read Non-Fiction for Main Idea
The reading portion of the exam consists of passages, often historical or scientific, and you must answer multiple choice questions on main idea. Start reading online news articles and be sure you can figure out the main idea and the author's purpose.
Write a Summary of a Non-Fiction Article
You will also be given a non-fiction article to summarize in approximately 200 words. Again, be able to find the main idea of an article and provide supporting details in your own words. Your summary will be graded on fidelity (accuracy of main idea paraphrased properly), conciseness (length and depth of response), organization, sentence structure (clarity of ideas), usage (accurate word choice), and mechanical conventions (grammar).
Write a Persuasive Essay
Finally, you are asked to compose a 300 to 600-word argument to a given topic. The hardest part of writing the persuasive essay is often the dryness of the provided topic. Your composition will be graded on appropriateness (correct tone for audience), mechanical conventions, usage, sentence structure, focus and unity (maintaining clear argument) , organization (logical flow of points),and development (topic and supporting examples).
Be sure to choose a side in your response. Essays that "ride the fence" and attempt to stay too objective are scored lower than essays which provide information from both sides but clearly favor one side over the other. Also, use specific details whenever possible.
On the day of your exam, relax and know you can always retest if you get overwhelmed. Many Massachusetts colleges also provide a crash course in prepping for the exam.
For more information on becoming a Massachusetts educator, see the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education website. Here you can also register for an exam and take sample tests online.
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