all the columns
Question 34
(E) Bringing in the stereotype of lazy teenagers, even if just to refute it, is not necessary or helpful in developing the argument. In fact, just referencing this stereotype may alienate a teen reader who is put off by it or may become defensive about the biased language in the sentence.
Question 3
(C) The author identifies workshops as “rented audiences” that can give aspiring writers their unbiased opinions about a piece of writing. While these responses may be unpleasant, they are essential to learning the impact of the writing on other people.
Question 43
(C) This sentence accurately contrasts infrastructure with and without sensors for data collection, which fulfills the writer’s stated purpose. In this case, the passage indicates that conventional infrastructure is built to last long periods of time whereas smart infrastructure needs regular maintenance and updating.
Question 19
(E) The author mentions the lack of warning systems in the areas most affected by the 2004 tsunami to amplify his point that people living in some geographical areas “find themselves in continuing jeopardy” while people living in other geographical areas do not. This point in turn serves the author’s broader argument about the continuing relevance of the places where people live in the modern world.
Question 40
(D). Sentence 16 does not fit with the line of reasoning in the passage. The conclusion that teens should enter the workforce is not logical in light of the evidence presented in the passage, which indicates that teens can gain necessary soft skills and experience by pursuing other opportunities.
YOU FOUND THE ONLY SQUARE THAT ISN'T A MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTION!
It's about the poem "Let America Be America Again." Hughes spoke for a LOT of different oppressed Americans who prove that America has NEVER been as "great" or equal/fair/free as advertised. But... [this oppressed group] is noticeably absent from his poem.
Who are:
- women ?
- Asian Americans ?
- [possibly another answer, up to teacher's discretion]
Question 45
(A). A narrative giving a specific example of smart infrastructure breaking down quickly would effectively illustrate the argument of this paragraph, which concerns the ways that the advanced technology of smart city infrastructure increases its vulnerability.
Question 32
(D) This sentence unites the two controlling ideas of the passage with “there are both negative and positive aspects to coexisting with mayflies.” In addition, it connects back to the writer’s acknowledgement of a shift in personal perspective from thinking only negatively about mayflies to recognizing their positive attributes.
Question 44
(B) The information provided in the added clause helps the audience understand technology that may be unfamiliar by contrasting it with a technology that is likely to be more familiar to most of the audience. The additional information clarifies the idea being developed in this section of the passage.
Question 38
(A) While it’s true that part-time jobs provide opportunities to develop soft skills, the development of these skills is not guaranteed. This selection is the best way to qualify the claim that part-time jobs aid in the development of soft skills because this option points out that it is not all part-time work but rather a subset of part-time jobs that may provide this benefit. There is no guarantee that a teen scooping ice cream will develop a better work ethic and other desirable soft skills.
Question 9
(C). The sixth paragraph challenges the value of inspiration, and the seventh paragraph challenges the value of talent. By repeating the word “forget” in both paragraphs, she draws attention to the similar flaws in both concepts.
Question 14
(A). Although the author does briefly explain the “flat world” thesis that he devotes most of the passage to criticizing, he makes many passing references to elements of this thesis—“free trade rules,” “migration is ubiquitous”—that suggest an assumption that his audience is already familiar with the broad outlines of this thesis and the rhetoric that accompanies it.
Question 18
(C) The author argues that because certain communities gather in environmentally endangered areas, they are at higher risk than other communities are. The author also provides the example of the 2004 tsunami as evidence of these dangers.
Question 5
(E). Using clauses that repeatedly identify times that could be used for writing, the author emphasizes how many opportunities there are for aspiring writers to practice their craft.
Question 20
(B) The phrase “international community” is commonly used in discussions of globalization, but in paragraph 3, sentence 9, the author places the phrase in quotation marks to signal his skepticism that such a community actually exists. The author makes his skepticism clear when he goes on to emphasize the powerlessness of this supposed community, which “stands by without effective intervention” for natural disasters.
(E) Without the words “the vast majority of,” the author’s claim would be broadened to include all people instead of being qualified by the acknowledgement that it does not apply to some people.
Question 17
(E) The author acknowledges that the “near-global diffusion of various forms of English” is promoting the kind of “cultural convergence” that the flat-Earth thesis predicts, though he generally argues that specific differences related to place contradict the flat-Earth thesis. By conceding that another argument is true in one respect, the author demonstrates that he is carefully considering the perspectives of others.
Question 37
(D) Strategically selected anecdotal evidence can strengthen the reasoning of an argument, but this example does nothing to further the main point of the paragraph or of the passage overall. The paragraph pursues an answer to the question of why teens have not been working as much in recent years, and the main argument of the passage concerns the development of soft skills through other means besides part-time employment. The writer’s experience of numerous teens seeking part-time employment is thus irrelevant to the reasoning and potentially confusing for the audience. For these reasons, the sentence should be deleted.
Question 12
(D) . The author draws a contrast between “persistence” and “stubbornness” to point out that aspiring writers need to be consistent in some aspects of their work—for example, in finishing, polishing, and returning to their writing—and flexible in others—particularly in regard to writing habits and writing projects that aren’t working.
(B). The author has a variety of advice about publication that runs from practical suggestions about research to personal suggestions about how to manage feelings arising from submission and rejection. Because the author’s advice varies, it is logical to conclude that she anticipates an audience that is relatively inexperienced with publication and needs a variety of advice.
Question 13
(D) The exigence is the part of a rhetorical situation that inspires, stimulates, provokes, or prompts writers to create texts. In the first paragraph, the author indicates that many people have come to believe that cultural differences and geographical separation have been diminished so much that the world has been rendered “flat.” The author does not completely agree with this view and has been prompted to write this text by his belief that this “flat world” view should receive greater scrutiny.
Question 22
(D) At this point in the passage, the author has led the reader through the perspective of “the new flat-world proponents” and explained why they believe that the world has become interconnected in ways that reduce the relevance of particular places. At this point in the development of his line of reasoning, he explains his own thesis that the “forces of flattening” are not ubiquitous for various and formidable reasons, and that therefore “progress toward convergence” between different geographical regions “is countered by stagnation, even setbacks.”
Question 24
(B) The author uses the reference to Friedman and Friedman’s own concession that the “world is not flat” but rather in the “process of ‘flattening’” to emphasize that the flat-world argument is indeed complex and worth debating.
Question 15
(A) Both the short clauses that make absolute claims and the author’s word play on the idea that his entire field of study, geography, is “history” (no longer relevant) convey the author’s doubt that such sweeping statements are really true. The author continues to cast doubt on such claims throughout the rest of the passage.
Question 23
(A) Writers sometimes use design features such as italics to place emphasis on a particular word. In this case, the author uses italics to indicate a departure from his main argument about the continuing importance of place to concede that the global playing field actually is leveling in some respects. The author italicizes the word “is” to emphasize the fact that he is conceding that the counterargument is true in certain respects.