Ontario Secondary School

Literacy Test
March 2012

RELEASED SELECTIONS
AND TEST QUESTIONS
Please note: The format of
this booklet is different from
that used for the assessment.
The questions themselves
remain the same.

Section I: Writing

Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test

Writing a Series of Paragraphs

1 Task: Write a minimum of three paragraphs expressing an opinion on the

topic below. Develop your main idea with supporting details (proof, facts,
examples, etc.).

Purpose and
Audience: an adult who is interested in your opinion
Length: The lined space provided for your written work indicates the approximate
length of the writing expected.
Topic: Do teenagers place too much importance on what they wear?
Write your series of paragraphs on the lines provided on the following two pages.

Rough Notes
Use the space below for rough notes. Nothing you write in this space will be scored.

Section I: Writing

Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test

Do teenagers place too much importance on what they wear?

Continue writing your series of paragraphs on the next page.

3

Section I: Writing

Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test

End of Section I. Continue to Section II.

Section II: Writing

Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test

Multiple-Choice (Record the best or most correct answer on the Student Answer Sheet.)

1 Which sentence does not belong in the

3 Choose the sentence that is written correctly.

following paragraph?

a I was waiting Omar said. In the cold!

(1) The Olympic games are represented by a

flaming torch. (2) The torch is lit in Olympia,
Greece, to honour the ancient origins of the
games. (3) It travels through the participating
countries, representing international harmony.
(4) Twelve thousand torches were made for
the 2010 Vancouver games. (5) The Olympic
torch is a meaningful symbol.

b Wasnt it hot outside Oliver

responded?
c I was e-mailing, Sara exclaimed,
for three hours!
d I went to a scary movie, Maria said
At two oclock.

4 Choose the sentence that is written correctly.

a sentence 2

a Our family likes to hike, swim and

biking.

b sentence 3
c sentence 4

b The children like jumping, singing and

dancing.

d sentence 5

c The student likes drawing, painting and

to sculpt.

2 Choose the option that best combines all the

information in the sentences below.

Mikko and Paige were friends.

Mikko and Paige had known each other
since Grade 3.
Mikko and Paige attended the same college.

d The athletes like to train, to practise and

competing.

a Mikko and Paige, who were friends,

attended the same college since Grade 3.
b Mikko and Paige were friends known
since Grade 3 and attended the same
college.
c Mikko and Paige, friends who had known
each other since Grade 3, attended the
same college.
d Mikko and Paige attended the same
college and had known each other
and their friends since Grade 3.

End of Section II. Continue to Section III.

Section III: Reading

Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test

Read the selection below and answer the questions that follow it.

Farmer Sugar-Coats Crop

and Sweetens Family Business
In his barn-turned-assembly line, Paul Moyer
spots one caramel-and-chocolate-coated
Mutsu apple on a tray. Lines of dark chocolate
are artfully swirled around the fruit. To a
chocolate lover, it looks beautiful, but the
Vineland, Ontario, farmer sees it differently.
The way his employee applied the chocolate
is more time-consuming than the preferred
technique of drizzling it overtop of the apple.
That extra time cuts into profits. Paul may
need to curtail this employees artistry.

For the ninth-generation Niagara-region

farmer, every penny counts. Farmings been
tough the last 20 to 25 years, Paul said. Were getting the same amount for apples we
did 20 years ago. We thought, Is there any way we could do value-added things?

Value-added has become a familiar term for those trying to make a living on the family
farm. It means something extra is added to a product so you can increase its price and,
therefore, its profitability.

Paul wanted to turn apples from a crop he could barely break even on to something that
could sustain him and his family. In the mid-1990s, he began selling traditional sugarsyrup candy-coated apples at Ontario Place, a major tourist site in Toronto. Realizing the
potential of the tried-and-true treat, he began selling them wholesale to other customers:
Darien Lake Theme Park, the SkyDome (now Rogers Centre), Howells Pumpkin Farm in
Fonthill and Chudleighs Entertainment Farm in Milton.

But the apples shelf life, before they spoiled, was only three days. So, in 2005, Paul
revamped the operation by dipping apples in caramel and milk chocolate and finishing
them with enough white and dark chocolate drizzle to make chocoholics swoon. When
two western New York grocery-store giants and Canadas Loblaw Companies became
interested in his product, this entrepreneur seemed to have overcome the risks of farming.

Section III: Reading

Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test

However, Paul faced a new set of challenges. The demand for the caramel-chocolate
apples had grown larger than his ability to produce them. This is our facility, Paul said,
gesturing to his tiny 100-year-old barn, filled with the rather un-barnlike smell of caramel.
Pauls business needed to expand, but that would take more money.
Pauls 11-year-old daughter, Sabrina, suggested an answera reality television show on
which a panel of millionaires listens to entrepreneurs business plans and decides whether
to offer investment money for expansion. In the spring of 2008, the Moyers took a chance.
After three makeup touch-ups during eight-and-a-half hours waiting in a TV studio, Paul,
Sabrina and Pauls mother, Liivi, were finally able to make their pitch to five of Canadas
most successful names in business.
As youre walking across the top [of the set] and going down the stairs, you think, Wow,
this is it. . . . Youre excited to present to them, but they know their numbers and their
business. At the same time, I know my numbers and my business. They grilled us pretty
hard, but because I not only grow the apples and melt the chocolate and caramel and know
the [sales] . . . I believe I answered all their questions exactly the way I hoped, said Paul.
Pauls professionalism and his product samples had a positive impact. It was quite
inspiring to see that these people had come up with a spin-off business, said Dianne
Buckner, the shows host. The candy-apple business was really an original thing to do,
and they were basically taking their expertise and fashioning a new type of venture. It was
great to see that people are being adventurous and creative in a way that makes that
agricultural lifestyle work for them.
Thanks to the panels response, the 209-year-old Moyer family farm remains a successful
example of sustainable local agriculture.

Adapted from the article How sweet it is by Tiffany Mayer, published in the St. Catharines Standard, November 15, 2008.
Text and photo Sun Media. Reprinted with permission.

10

Section III: Reading

Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test

Multiple-Choice (Record the best or most correct answer on the Student Answer Sheet.)

1 What does paragraph 1 suggest is most

5 What is linked by the colon in paragraph 4?

important to Paul?

a cause and effect

a the creativity of the employee

b term and examples

b the speed of the decorating process

c opinion and support

c the uniform appearance of the apples

d problem and solution

d the amount of chocolate on each apple

6 Which word is closest in meaning to

2 For how long has Paul Moyers family been

revamped as used in paragraph 5?

farming?

a sped up

a 100 years

b modified

b 20 to 25 years

c simplified

c nine generations

d mechanized

d since the mid-1990s

7 Who is thinking Wow, this is it

3 Which product matches the definition of

(paragraph 8)?

value-added in paragraph 3?

a the host

a whole fish

b the reader

b leaf lettuce

c the farmer

c tomato soup

d the daughter

d green grapes

8 What does Paul Moyer think was the most

4 What happened first after Paul realized his

influential factor for the panel?

apple crop made insufficient profit?

a He brought his family to the show.

a Sabrina suggested the TV show to Paul.

b He knew all aspects of his business.

b Paul hired employees to decorate apples.

c He distributed free samples of his

product.

c Paul sold candy-coated apples at Ontario

Place.

d He had been an apple farmer for over

20 years.

d Paul expanded apple sales to large

grocery stores.

Section III: Reading

Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test

Multiple-Choice (Record the best or most correct answer on the Student Answer Sheet.)

9 How is paragraph 9 organized?

a problems and solutions
b opinion and supporting reasons
c series of events according to time
d from most to least important details

End of Section III. Continue to Section IV.

Section IV: Reading

Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test

Read the selection below and answer the questions that follow it.

Hearing him chortle, Rita turned toward Byron.

You rarely get a laugh from the newspaper these days.
Whats so funny? she asked.
A 23-year-old rapper named Roland Pemberton has been
made Poet Laureate of Edmonton.
A poet what?
A poet laureate celebrates official events by writing
about them. Byron paused. This is what Pemberton said
about the job: Poet Laureatewhoa. Getting heavy. Do
I need a staff and a big grey beard? Byron chuckled
again. Rita, you like hip hop music. Ever heard of him
by his stage name Cadence Weapon?
Yeah. Cadence released an album over the Internet, and he has at least two others. He
often raps about Edmonton. His first big hit, Oliver Square, is about an Edmonton mall.
Rita shook her head. Hes definitely skilled with words, but hes not someone youd
expect for that job.
Byron glanced up from the page. Pemberton is replacing someone you would expect
in the joba 74-year-old professor whos published 29 books and won the Governor
Generals Award for poetry.
The paper rustled as Byron brought it closer. But Pembertons got a point when he says
If people see me as representing Edmonton, maybe it will give them an overall different
perception. I think thats a positive thing. And its getting people talking.
His appointment must have ruffled a few feathers, said Rita.
Well, hes not worried if people are upset. He says hell challenge anyone to a poem
battle, a poem-off, as he calls it.

Written for EQAO, 2009. Photo: National Post/The Canadian Press.

10

1
2

4
5

10
11

Section IV: Reading

Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test

Multiple-Choice (Record the best or most correct answer on the Student Answer Sheet.)

1 What does Byrons chortle in paragraph 1

show about his reaction to the newspaper
article?

5 Which event would be most appropriate

for Pemberton to write about in his
new position?

a He thinks it is exciting.

a the election of a new premier in Alberta

b He thinks it is shocking.

b the naming of a national park in Nova

Scotia

c He thinks it is amusing.

c the signing of an international trade

agreement in Ottawa

d He thinks it is fascinating.

2 Which headline would be best for the news

d the donation of a painting to the Art

Gallery of Ontario

report Byron is reading?

a Young Audience Rejects Poet

b Hit Song Celebrates Edmonton
c Hip Hop Artist Wins Poem-Off

Turn the page to complete this section.

d Hip Hop Poet Hopes to Open Minds

3 What is indicated by the single quotation

marks around Oliver Square in paragraph 6?

a a song title
b Byrons words
c Ritas sarcasm
d a proper place name

4 What is the meaning of the phrase must

have ruffled a few feathers as used in
paragraph 10?

a Pembertons appointment must have

encouraged people to become poets.
b People must have been pleased that
Edmonton was maintaining a tradition.
c Some people must have considered
Pembertons appointment
unconventional.
d Pembertons appointment must have been
celebrated by the hip hop community.

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Section IV: Reading

Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test

Written Answer

6 What suggests Pemberton will be a good choice for the position of Poet Laureate of Edmonton? Use
specific details from the selection to support your answer.

7 Why is Pembertons appointment newsworthy? Use specific details from the selection to support
your answer.

Rough Notes
Use the space below for rough notes. Nothing you write in this space will be scored.

End of Section IV. Continue to Section V.

12

Section V: Writing

Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test

Short Writing Task (Answer in full and correctly written sentences.)

1 Suggest one improvement that could be made to your school building or its grounds. Use specific
details to explain why it would be an improvement.

Rough Notes
Use the space below for rough notes. Nothing you write in this space will be scored.

End of Section V. Continue to Section VI.

13

Section VI: Reading

Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test

Read the selection below and answer the questions that follow it.

New roof at Wimbledon

Concertina (accordion-fold) design
Divided into two sections. Takes
10 minutes to close
or open.

Wimbledon is the worlds oldest and most

prestigious tennis tournament. It takes
place in a suburb of London, England,
and is still played on the games
original surfacenatural grass.
A retractable roof, completed
in time for the 2009
championships, ended
a 132-year-old tradition
of open-air play.

Interior
Fully airconditioned.
Roof lighting will
allow play to carry
on late into evening.

Club Facility
No. 1 Court
Capacity
11 429.

Wimbledon
Museum

Roof material
5200 square metres
of flexible, translucent,
waterproof fabric allows
natural light to reach grass.

Centre Court: Capacity increased from

13 800 to 15 000. New, wider seats installed.

Broadcast
Centre

Millennium
Building

ROOF FACTS
Height 16 m above court
Can be deployed in winds
of up to 69 km/h
Weight 3000 tonnes
Estimated cost $35 million
Takes 30 minutes for internal
climate to stabilize after roof has
closed before play can resume
New Court 2: 4000 permanent
seats. Court surface sunk 3.5 m
below ground to reduce profile.
Built on the site of old Court 13.

Old Court 2: Capacity 3000.

Becomes Court 3. Other southern
courts renumbered in sequence.
No Court 13.

Adapted from The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club. Graphic News.

14

Steel
trusses
77 m-wide
arches run on
two parallel tracks,
folding or stretching roof
fabric as they move.

Section VI: Reading

Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test

Multiple-Choice (Record the best or most correct answer on the Student Answer Sheet.)

1 Why is the new roof considered retractable?

5 What is the purpose of the Roof Facts

section?

a It can be used in high winds.

a to summarize key information

b It can be opened and folded back.

b to advertise the new construction

c It is made of translucent, flexible fabric.

c to describe how the roof was built

d It allows the use of natural and artificial

light.

2 What idea links the information under

Concertina (accordion-fold) design and

Steel trusses?

d to explain how the roof opens and

closes

6 Which part of the facility is south of Court 5?

a Court 14

a time

b No. 1 Court

b weight

c new Court 2

c climate

d Millennium Building

d movement

3 Which part of the selection shows a spectators

view of Centre Court?

a the photograph labelled Interior

b the drawing in the top right corner
c the overall diagram of the club facility
d the diagram of Centre Court at the
bottom centre

4 What is the purpose of the illustration at the

top of the selection?

a to show why a new roof was needed

b to explain how the roof system works
c to compare the old roof with the new
roof
d to emphasize the weight and cost of the
new roof

15

Unreleased Items
The following 2012 OSSLT questions are not being released this year:

Components

Questions

News Report (Reading)

16

Writing Multiple-Choice Items

710

Short Writing

11

Long Writing (News Report)

12

Information Paragraph (Reading)

1319

16

The information in this booklet is being collected under the authority of clause 4 (1) (b) and subsection 9 (6)
of the Education Quality and Accountability Office Act, 1996, for the purposes of administering and scoring
tests of pupils in secondary schools and evaluating the quality and effectiveness of secondary education, in
accordance with section 3 of the Act. Inquiries regarding this collection should be directed to the Senior
Policy Analyst, EQAO, 2 Carlton Street, Suite 1200, Toronto, ON M5B 2M9 1-888-327-7377.
Student responses in this booklet may be used as examples for the scoring of the test, and may be
included without attribution in public reports.
2012 Queens Printer for Ontario.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or
transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, or otherwise, without the prior express
written permission of the Education Quality and Accountability Office.