Unit 1
What is a correct definition of the word misconception?
an incorrect conclusion
Which word are you most likely to find listed in a thesaurus as a synonym of the word emulate?
imitate
If you used a thesaurus to look up antonyms of the word biodegradable, which word would you most likely find?
imperishable
If a law is intended to establish an equitable system for taxing citizens, what is it likely to do?
The law is likely to ensure that everyone pays a fair share of tax.
Which options provide correct details about the word fervently?
A synonym of fervently is “passionately.”
The audacity of that person, to stand up in the middle of a movie and walk around talking on a cell phone, incensed the other audience members.
What does the word audacity mean as it is used in this sentence?
arrogant disregard
Read the sentence from a book review.
Jack Winston’s new book about political conflict advises people to nurture an attitude of tolerance toward those with different opinions.
Which is a synonym for nurture as it is used in the sentence?
encourage
Read the dictionary entries.
gibe n. an insulting or taunting remark
jibe v. to fit, be in accord with, agree
jive n. jazz music; the jargon of jazz musicians or fans
Which sentence uses gibe correctly?
An unhappy spectator yelled a gibe at the goalkeeper.
You look up the word anarchy in the dictionary so you can make sure to correctly explain its meaning to your sister.
Which definitions are you most likely to give her as you explain this word?
A society without a government is in anarchy.
Which suffix would you add to the noun satire to create a related adjective?
-ical
So we started looking around for new, innovative teaching methods, but what we found was quite disappointing. We saw that books were being turned into e-books, blackboards were being turned into YouTube videos and lecture hall monologues were being turned into MOOCs—massive online open courses. And if you think about it, all we’re really doing here is taking the same content and the same format, and bringing it out to more students—which is great, don’t get me wrong, that is really great—but the teaching method is still more or less the same, no real innovation there.
In this paragraph, which idea is implied but not directly stated?
There is an inherent lack of originality in the way that content is taught to students.
Read the excerpt from “Everyday Survival.”
This bears repeating: Survival is not about equipment and training alone. It’s about what’s in your mind and your emotional system. Living in a low-risk environment dulls our abilities. We must make a conscious effort to learn new things, to force ourselves out of our comfort zones.
How does the author’s tone enhance the rhetorical effect of the text?
Everyday Survival
The authoritative tone calls attention to the importance of breaking out of old patterns, reminding readers to constantly strive for growth.
Read the text that Marcia sent to a friend.
I had to come up with a service project as part of my grade in social studies, so I did a food drive in the spring. Everyone does them at the holidays, right?
Which option shows how Marcia could best revise this information to use in an application for a summer leadership program?
When I devised my service project for social studies, I chose to conduct a food drive in late March, since food banks often run low on supplies after the winter holidays.
Read the sentence.
The Canary Islands are a popular vacation spot for people from Finland, a chain of seven islands off the coast of Africa.
What is the best way to rewrite the sentence?
The Canary Islands, a chain of seven islands off the coast of Africa, are a popular vacation spot for people from Finland.
Read the excerpt from the TED Talks presentation “I Am the Son of a Terrorist.”
So why would I out myself and potentially put myself in danger? Well, that’s simple. I do it in the hopes that perhaps someone someday who is compelled to use violence may hear my story and realize that there is a better way, that although I had been subjected to this violent, intolerant ideology, that I did not become fanaticized.
Which option most accurately explains Zak Ebrahim’s purpose in including this passage?
I Am the Son of a Terrorist
to share with the public the idea that those raised with violence can choose to reject it and to act with tolerance
What textual evidence from “This Virtual Lab Will Revolutionize Science Class” supports the inference that virtual simulation can prompt young students to realize their potential?
This Virtual Lab Will Revolutionize Science Class
Now, imagine if we could bring Ivy League, million-dollar virtual laboratories out to all these students just like Jack, all over the world, and give them the latest, greatest, most fancy machines you can imagine that would quite literally make any scientist in here jump up and down out of pure excitement. And then imagine how that would empower and inspire a whole new generation of young and bright scientists, ready to innovate and change the world.
In “Everyday Survival,” what key word or phrase must readers know to understand the part that deals with mental mapping of surrounding?
Everyday Survival
hippocampi
Which statement best describes how Figure 3 and the information in “Natural Beauty at Risk” show the impact of climate change on Yellowstone National Park?
Natural Beauty at Risk
High-resolution images show changes within individual sections of Yellowstone National Park. These images show that climate changes will cause Rocky Mountain Subalpine Conifer Forest to be replaced with Great Basin Conifer Woodland within the next 100 years. This is a huge change to the primary vegetation in Yellowstone.
Read the excerpt from Shirley Chisholm’s speech “Equal Rights for Women.”
Let me note and try to refute two of the commonest arguments that are offered against this amendment. One is that women are already protected under the law and do not need legislation. Existing laws are not adequate to secure equal rights for women. Sufficient proof of this is the concentration of women in lower paying, menial, unrewarding jobs and their incredible scarcity in the upper level jobs. If women are already equal, why is it such an event whenever one happens to be elected to Congress?
An argument that Chisholm establishes is that legal workplace protections for women have not created substantial change in women’s daily realities.
Which option best evaluates how effectively Chisholm uses an anticipated counterclaim to support her argument?
Equal Rights for Women
Chisholm predicts her opposition’s argument that women already have legal protections, which successfully helps Chisholm discredit her opposition’s claims by countering them in advance.
Which answer correctly defines diction as a rhetorical feature?
using emotional or striking language to emphasize an argument
Which sentence is written in a formal style and uses an objective tone?
Increasing the availability of books to children can help improve their reading skills.
Which is the most important reason why a writer should avoid relying heavily on one source in an informational text?
The writer should synthesize information from various sources in order to convey original ideas.
Read the excerpt from “Natural Beauty at Risk.”
By combining these climate projections with information about topography and soil moisture and composition, Jantz and Rogers are exploring how the suitability of habitats may change for 40 eastern tree species. Their modeled projections are based in part on extensive field observations collected by the U.S. Forest Service. Rogers and Jantz are combining all of this information into a comprehensive vulnerability assessment, aimed at land managers, that is designed to facilitate planning and decision making.
Which technical phrase in the excerpt best describes the scientific findings that Rogers and Jantz would put into a report?
Natural Beauty at Risk
comprehensive vulnerability assessment
Read the excerpt from the article “Gun Debate? What Gun Debate?”
After all, I’ve been told by some gun-rights advocates that reasonable restrictions on gun ownership will undoubtedly send us down a slippery slope to the abolition of all guns in America. And if we didn’t have unfettered access to guns, think about what would happen: We would be overrun by a foreign power; our government would assume totalitarian control and burn the Constitution; and criminal gangs, the only people left with guns, would run roughshod over all law-abiding citizens.
Which response most effectively evaluates the argument put forth in the excerpt?
The author illustrates how the argument used by some gun-rights proponents—that “reasonable restrictions on gun ownership will undoubtedly send us down a slippery slope to the abolition of all guns in America”—is illogical.
Read the excerpt from the TED Talks presentation “I Am the Son of a Terrorist.”
For the victims of terrorism, I will speak out against these senseless acts and condemn my father’s actions. And with that simple fact, I stand here as proof that violence isn’t inherent in one’s religion or race, and the son does not have to follow the ways of his father. I am not my father.
Zak Ebrahim ends this section with the simple statement “I am not my father.”
Which is the most accurate explanation of the effect Ebrahim achieves with this simple syntax?
I Am the Son of a Terrorist
He highlights and consolidates his core message into a single, memorable idea.