Unit 1
What is a definition of the word misconception?
An incorrect conclusion.
If you use a dictionary to look up the word exacerbate, what definition are you most likely to find?
Worsen
Which words are synonyms of succinct?
Brief or concise
Read the sentences.
Once my mother made up her mind, she never wavered for a second. Predictably, she was _[blank]_ about her decision to convert our house to solar energy.
resolute
If you look in a thesaurus to find synonyms for the word anarchy, which words are you most likely to find?
Chaos, disorder
Read the sentence.
As the weather turned to pouring rain, we yelled, "Carpe diem!" and decided to play outside in the little streams that were collecting on the sidewalk.
The words carpe diem are a Latin phrase that means "seize the day." In the context of the sentence, which is the best definition of carpe diem?
enjoy the present
Read the sentence.
The lineman grabbed the quarterback's helmet, which was a _[blank]_ violation of the rules intended to protect players. All the referees immediately threw their penalty flags.
What best completes the sentence to convey the idea that the lineman's action was extreme?
flagrant
Read the excerpt from "How Much Can Electric Cars Impact Climate Change?"
Just two months before international climate talks begin in Paris, a new report from energy and environmental groups predicts greenhouse gases can plunge 77 percent in 2050 by electrifying more than half the nation's cars, trucks and forklifts.
What text structure is used in the excerpt?
cause-and-effect
Read the passage.
The bank clerk was clearly frustrated by the customer's repeated questions. The clerk's [blank]_ at being polite didn't fool anyone
Pretense
In Riley v. California, which fact helped the court determine that this case's search and seizure was unreasonable?
Cell phones do not pose an immediate physical to police officers; therefore, this search and seizure action was a violation of Fourth Amendment rights.
Which would be the best format to use to request a raise in pay?
A formal letter
You have been asked to write a research paper based on this prompt:
Several recent reports indicate that although women are studying engineering in greater and greater numbers, many quit engineering during or after school. Women are leaving the profession in vastly higher numbers than men and are choosing to enter other fields.
Based on the prompt, which research question most effectively demonstrates an appropriate focus and scope for your research paper?
What could be causing women to drop out of jobs and programs in engineering?
For an informative essay, you are researching different kinds of plastic recycling programs across the US. Your teacher recommended that you choose online resources that are applicable to your chosen topic.
Which questions would you ask yourself to evaluate whether a source contains relevant information about your topic?
How is the information in the source presented?
What is the research focus of the source?
When was the information in the source written?
Which suffix would you add to the noun critic to create a related adjective?
-Al
How can writers vary syntax in their writing?
by including descriptive phrases and clauses
by using a combination of simple and complex sentences
Read the paragraph from "Cyber-psychopathy: What Goes On in a Hacker's Head."
While public appearances by Mitnick and his ilk may fascinate (he is certainly not regarded as one of the "bad guys" by the admirers who flock for his autograph), the fact that such events are something of a media circus can obscure more serious analysis of his personality traits and psychological profile. What happens when someone like the young Mitnick applies for a job with a conventional employer? Where does their motivation lie, and what can employers do if they suspect they've put a hacker on the payroll?
What potential concerns would be in this text?
Hiring a hacker might mean jeopardizing a company's well-being.
You have found an excellent source for your essay on sleep deprivation, and this source contains all the information you need to support your claim.
What are the best reasons to use additional sources as support in your essay?
Using multiple sources demonstrates a more diverse and likely more accurate range of evidence.
Using multiple sources helps you develop your own original ideas for your essay.
Read the opening of "Everyday Survival."
Long ago I believed that survival meant having a pack full of equipment that would allow me to make fire and build shelter and trap varmints to eat in the wilderness. But then I kept coming across cases in which someone had survived without any equipment or had perished while in possession of all the right tools. Obviously something else was at work here.
Which elements does the author use to draw readers' interest?
an anecdote that includes intriguing information
a memory about his "long ago" beliefs about survival
Read the excerpt from "Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address."
Neither party expected for the war the magnitude or the duration which it has already attained. Neither anticipated that the cause of the conflict might cease with or even before the conflict itself should cease. Each looked for an easier triumph, and a result less fundamental and astounding. Both read the same Bible and pray to the same God, and each invokes His aid against the other. It may seem strange that any men should dare to ask a just God's assistance in wringing their bread from the sweat of other men's faces, but let us judge not, that we be not judged. The prayers of both could not be answered. That of neither has been answered fully. The Almighty has His own purposes.
President Lincoln's purpose in the excerpt is to emphasize how both sides had underestimated the length and effects of the war.
How does Lincoln achieve his purpose by using irony as a rhetorical feature in the excerpt?
Although Lincoln's overall point is that both sides in the war follow the same religion, he is able to include an ironic jab at the rebels by noting, "It may seem strange that any men should dare to ask a just God's assistance in wringing their bread from the sweat of other men's faces ..."
Read the excerpt from "US Supreme Court: Ingraham v. Wright."
Elimination or curtailment of corporal punishment would be welcomed by many as a societal advance. But when such a policy choice may result from this Court's determination of an asserted right to due process, rather than from the normal processes of community debate and legislative action, the societal costs cannot be dismissed as insubstantial.
Which option best explains how this information fits into the chain of legal reasoning?
It is part of the analysis in the case, because it considers whether local regulations could be limited if the court finds that students' rights were violated.
What textual evidence from "Cyber-psychopathy: What Goes On in a Hacker's Head" supports the idea that, at times, a successful hack requires more than just breaking complex computer codes?
(anything along these lines)
If, however, you exploit the human emotion of people wanting to help their fellow humans, then when you call-up the headquarters of a major company, name-drop a few key people within the organisation, and "chat-up the other person," it becomes relatively easy to extract nuggets of information that can be used as bait to persuade other people to reveal additional information.
From there, for example, people will then believe you when you say you are "out in the field" and need access to a password that is sitting on your desk at the office. Mitnick, of course, finessed his actions constantly: this allowed him to gain access to everything from birth certificates to top-secret source code for the mobile phones of the 1980s and 1990s.
Read the excerpt from "The Panic Attack" section of "Among Teens, Sleep Deprivation an Epidemic," which quotes 16-year-old Chloe Mauvais.
"I have difficulty remembering events of that year, and I think it's because I didn't get enough sleep," she said. "The lack of sleep rendered me emotionally useless. I couldn't address the stress because I had no coherent thoughts. I couldn't step back and have perspective. ... You could probably talk to any teen and find they reach their breaking point. You've pushed yourself so much and not slept enough and you just lose it."
Chloe uses the words "had no coherent thoughts" in explaining her issues. This means lack of sleep kept her thoughts from being _[blank]_.
clear and rational
reasonable and consistent
You are researching issues with plastic debris in the Pacific Ocean. Your teacher recommended that you choose and read online resources carefully because when using information in a research report, you need to make sure the information is accurate.
Which options identify effective strategies for assessing the accuracy of your sources?
Select all that apply.
Analyze a topic to determine if it needs to be changed because information in the sources leads to a different topic. Conduct research to determine whether the sources of information listed can be verified in another source. Determine if the information in the source is written well and free of grammatical errors.
Your teacher requires that you write an argumentative essay on the subject of privacy. You have narrowed the topic and created your claim:
Personal lives of celebrities and politicians should be kept private.
Which evidence would provide the most relevant support for your claim?
Anecdotes from victims explaining how public attention has negatively impacted their mental health.
How can writers vary syntax in their writing?
by including descriptive phrases and clauses
by using a combination of simple and complex sentences