The Reading and Writing Process
1. Please read the following excerpt from an essay, and answer the question that follows.
After Sean was arrested for breaking into a pawnshop, I began to wonder. Why did some kids from my neighborhood end up in trouble while most of us didn't? I started out with a question: What causes young people to make bad choices? Now, after two years of research, I've arrived at the conclusion that there is no simple answer. There is no one reason why good kids go bad, but there are typical reasons.
According to my research, teenagers are most likely to get into trouble if they hang out with a bad crowd. That's because people learn their values from the people they associate with. So a very big reason for bad behavior is imitating one's peers. But there are other important factors as well. Kids who get in trouble are often school dropouts. Also, kids being raised by a single mother are more likely to get in trouble than kids raised in an intact family. Substance abuse also plays a role, especially when it comes to alcohol and legal or illegal drugs.
What method of organization is used by the writer?
A. Chronological
B. Spatial
C. Most-to-least
D. Least-to-most
2. When you write, the tone, vocabulary, and type of information you choose should vary depending on your
A. biases.
B. audience.
C. values.
D. education.
3. If you're creating an opening paragraph and you present supporting details in the beginning, your topic sentence is most likely to be
A. in the next paragraph.
B. in the second sentence.
C. at the end of the paragraph.
D. in the first sentence.
4. The _______ of an introduction to an essay establishes how you feel about your topic and the relationship with your readers.
A. focus
B. tone
C. topic
D. point of view
5. Paddy and Clare are writing effective conclusions. Paddy's conclusion will summarize his main point and reaffirm his theses statement. Clare's conclusion will take the readers beyond the scope of her essay. Who is writing an effective conclusion?
A. Only Clare
B. Only Paddy
C. Both Paddy and Clare
D. Neither Paddy nor Clare
6. A _______ should make clear what the paragraph is about and express a view about the subject matter.
A. title
B. conclusion
C. thesis statement
D. topic sentence
7. One strategy for writing an effective conclusion to an essay is to
A. directly restate your thesis.
B. Introduce the conclusion with a signaling phrase, such as "In conclusion," or "To sum things up."
C. remind readers of the relevance of the topic.
D. introduce new supporting evidence that wasn't included in the body.
8. As Felipe narrows his topic using the _______ method, he discovers that the topics change from words and phrases to statements of ideas.
A. analyzing
B. questioning
C. branching
D. drafting
9. A well-developed paragraph provides
A. general statements to be explained later in the body of an essay.
B. vocabulary that challenges the reader to seek for more information within the essay.
C. examples, explanations, and/or details to flesh out ideas that support the topic sentence.
D. a reassertion of the thesis statement.
10. One of the methods of narrowing a topic involves posing
A. writing the first paragraph.
B. drafting an outline of the essay.
C. creating a thesis statement.
D. who, what, where, when, why, and how questions.
11. Deciding whether to express yourself, inform others, or persuade readers are issues are related to the _______ of writing an essay.
A. medium
B. point of view
C. audience
D. purpose
12. Using _______ to support your thesis enhances your credibility and demonstrates to readers that you've taken the time to investigate and become knowledgeable about the topic.
A. examples drawn from personal experience
B. various assertions
C. opinions offered by experts in the topic
D. a variety of evidence
13. Carmen asserts that a strong conclusion to an essay should look ahead and present a call for action. Carl agrees, except he also insists that a strong conclusion should restate the thesis verbatim. Who is correct?
A. Only Carl is correct.
B. Neither Carmen nor Carl is correct.
C. Both Carmen and Carl are correct.
D. Only Carmen is correct.
14. Which of the following transitional expressions would be used to signal items in a series?
A. Daily
B. Meanwhile
C. Nearby
D. Furthermore
15. Please read the following paragraph. The sentences are numbered to help you respond to the question that follows.
(1) I never set out to become a Buddhist. (2) It happened by accident one afternoon when I stumbled into a lecture given by a Tibetan lama. (3) In fact, according a Pew Research Study conducted a few years ago there are close to 500 million Buddhists worldwide. (4) The lama spoke so gently and thoughtfully about the need for compassion, especially in this day and age when violence is exploding everywhere, politics creates more problems than solutions, and more people seem to be interested in "selfies" than selflessness. (5) I had always wanted to go to Tibet, though. (6) The lama spoke about his own experiences during the invasion of his homeland, and how the sense of deep compassion he'd developed during his years of monastic training helped him to avoid feeling hatred toward the invaders.
Which of the sentences detracts from the unity of the paragraph?
A. 5 and 6
B. 3 and 5 C. 5
D. 3
16. In a well-structured essay, each topic sentence should help to explain or support
A. the title.
B. the topic sentence of the next paragraph.
C. the concluding sentence of the previous paragraph.
D. the thesis.
17. In evaluating a thesis statement, it's important to bear in mind that it should
A. focus on at least two or three points.
B. be general rather than specific.
C. make an assertion.
D. serve as an announcement regarding what the essay is about.
18. When a paragraph begins with a transition, the topic sentence is usually placed
A. at the end of the paragraph.
B. immediately after the transitional sentence or sentences.
C. immediately before the transitional sentence or sentences.
D. immediately after the example or evidence indicated by the transitional sentence.
19. The introduction to an essay should not only engage the reader's attention, but also
A. defend your approach to the topic.
B. state your conclusions about the topic.
C. present a call to action.
D. present your thesis statement and your approach.
20. A well-developed paragraph consists of a topic sentence, supporting details, and a
A. summary of the points discussed in the paragraph.
B. restatement of the thesis statement.
C. restatement of the topic sentence.
D. concluding or transitional sentence.