(1) After Sean was arrested for breaking into a pawnshop, I began to wonder. (2) Why did some kids from my neighborhood end up in trouble while most of us didn't? (3) I started out with a question: What causes young people to make bad choices? (4) Now, after two years of research, I've arrived at the conclusion that there is no simple answer. (5) There is no one reason why good kids go bad, but there are typical reasons. (6) According to my research, teenagers are most likely to get into trouble if they hang out with a bad crowd. (7) That's because people learn their values from the people they associate with. (8) So a very big reason for bad behavior is imitating one's peers. (9) But there are other important factors as well. (10) Kids who get in trouble are often school dropouts. (11) Also, kids being raised by a single mother are more likely to get in trouble than kids raised in an intact family. (12) Substance abuse also plays a role, especially when it comes to alcohol and legal or illegal drugs. In which sentence or sentences do you find the thesis statement in this excerpt? A. 2 B. 4 and 5 C. 3 D. 5 2. Lillian is looking for ideas to write about, and she decides to make a list of everything she can think of that relates to the topic of teenage romance. Which concept best describes Lillian's strategy? A. Free association B. Mapping C. Outlining D. Brainstorming 3. To narrow a general topic you've selected, which pair of techniques is most likely to be effective? A. Questioning and choosing an issue that interests you B. Freewriting and questioning C. Using a branching diagram and consulting your journal D. Branching diagram and questioning 4. According to your textbook, which statement about learning styles is most accurate? A. If you're a verbal learner, you can still experiment with spatial diagrams. B. To write more effectively, you shouldn't experiment with unfamiliar learning styles. C. Pragmatic learners are almost never creative, but they're usually emotional. D. Concrete learners tend to focus on the big picture. 5. One of the nine ways, or patterns, of developing an essay is A. disputation. B. editing. C. process. D. elaboration. 6. What is the most likely purpose of the essay from which the following passage was taken? Having been raised on a dairy farm in rural Minnesota, Lorie Ann Kline was having trouble adjusting to life in the city and to Central High School. In a conference with her parents, the school guidance counselor explained that Lorie Ann avoided talking to her fellow students and sat by herself in the lunchroom. Perhaps most disturbing, her grades were not what one would expect given her high scholastic aptitude scores. Mrs. Kline agreed that Lorie Ann was often shy around strangers. A solemn Mr. Kline explained that his daughter had been severely bullied by two older children who had lived at the farm for a short time. The guidance .

1. (1) After Sean was arrested for breaking into a pawnshop, I
began to wonder. (2) Why did some kids from my neighborhood
end up in trouble while most of us didn't? (3) I started out with
a question: What causes young people to make bad choices? (4)
Now, after two years of research, I've arrived at the conclusion
that there is no simple answer. (5) There is no one reason why
good kids go bad, but there are typical reasons.
(6) According to my research, teenagers are most likely to get
into trouble if they hang out with a bad crowd. (7) That's
because people learn their values from the people they associate
with. (8) So a very big reason for bad behavior is imitating
one's peers. (9) But there are other important factors as well.
(10) Kids who get in trouble are often school dropouts. (11)
Also, kids being raised by a single mother are more likely to get
in trouble than kids raised in an intact family. (12) Substance
abuse also plays a role, especially when it comes to alcohol and
legal or illegal drugs.
In which sentence or sentences do you find the thesis statement
in this excerpt?
A.
2
B.
4 and 5
C.
3
D.

2. 5
2.
Lillian is looking for ideas to write about, and she decides to
make a list of everything she can think of that relates to the
topic of teenage romance. Which concept
best
describes Lillian's strategy?
A.
Free association
B.
Mapping
C.
Outlining
D.
Brainstorming
3.
To narrow a general topic you've selected, which pair of
techniques is
most
likely to be effective?
A.

3. Questioning and choosing an issue that interests you
B.
Freewriting and questioning
C.
Using a branching diagram and consulting your journal
D.
Branching diagram and questioning
4.
According to your textbook, which statement about learning
styles is
most
accurate?
A.
If you're a verbal learner, you can still experiment with spatial
diagrams.
B.
To write more effectively, you shouldn't experiment with
unfamiliar learning styles.
C.
Pragmatic learners are almost never creative, but they're usually
emotional.
D.
Concrete learners tend to focus on the big picture.

4. 5.
One of the nine ways, or patterns, of developing an essay is
A.
disputation.
B.
editing.
C.
process.
D.
elaboration.
6.
What is the
most
likely purpose of the essay from which the following passage
was taken?
Having been raised on a dairy farm in rural Minnesota, Lorie
Ann Kline was having trouble adjusting to life in the city and to
Central High School. In a conference with her parents, the
school guidance counselor explained that Lorie Ann avoided
talking to her fellow students and sat by herself in the
lunchroom. Perhaps most disturbing, her grades were not what
one would expect given her high scholastic aptitude scores.
Mrs. Kline agreed that Lorie Ann was often shy around
strangers. A solemn Mr. Kline explained that his daughter had

5. been severely bullied by two older children who had lived at the
farm for a short time. The guidance counselor nodded in
understanding.
A.
To inform people about the work of guidance counselors
B.
To point out the harm done by bullies
C.
To tell the life story of Lorie Ann Kline
D.
To argue for urban over rural life
7.
An active reader who is assigned an essay to read will begin by
A.
reading the entire essay.
B.
previewing specific parts of the essay.
C.
skimming the entire essay.
D.
researching the subject of the essay.

6. 8. Please read the following excerpt from an essay, and answer
the question that follows. In the
passage, the sentences are numbered to help you respond to the
question.
(1) Biologically, adolescence is marked by hormonal changes
that produce secondary sexual characteristics. (2) These include
breast development in females and beard growth in males. (3)
Psychologically, however, adolescence is a concept that applies
only to modern industrial societies. (4) In fact, in most
preliterate or tribal societies, the modern American idea of
adolescence simply does not exist. (5) In such societies, the
social roles of adulthood are to be learned during childhood. (6)
Then, around the time of biological puberty, a child becomes an
adult through a ritual anthropologists call a rite of passage. (7)
By contrast, in American society, adolescence amounts to a sort
of social and cultural limbo. (8) Informally, the end of
childhood is often marked by one's thirteenth birthday. The
child is now a "teenager." (9) More formally, the end of
adolescence is marked by legal strictures that vary irrationally.
(10) In a given state the age of sexual consent may be 16 for
girls and 18 for boys. (11) An 18-year-old may vote or enlist to
die for his country, but, until he reaches age 21, he may not
legally purchase alcoholic beverages.
In which sentence of the paragraph do you find a transitional
word or phrase that shows a time connection?
A.
Sentence 7

7. B.
Sentence 4
C.
Sentence 3
D.
Sentence 6
9.
You're reading an essay on the relationship between education
and income. The
most
effective graphic visual in such an essay is likely to be a
A.
comparative graph.
B.
sketch of an educated person.
C.
summary of opposing points of view.
D.
photograph.
10.
Which of the following statements

8. best
identifies a learning style that's creative, verbal, and
independent?
A.
Cameron loves to diagram the different aspects or meanings of
an idea.
B.
Bart enjoys sitting in public places with his brother analyzing
people, especially when he is trying to come up with a plot for a
short story.
C.
Loren writes poetry because she enjoys experimenting with
words to evoke emotions.
D.
Karen loves sorting out facts, especially when she can help her
classmates visualize them in novel and interesting ways.
11.
What is the dominant pattern of development in this passage?
Having been raised on a dairy farm in rural Minnesota, Lorie
Ann Kline was having trouble adjusting to life in the city and to
Central High School. In a conference with her parents, the
school guidance counselor explained that Lorie Ann avoided
talking to her fellow students and sat by herself in the

9. lunchroom. Perhaps most disturbing, her grades were not what
one would expect given her high scholastic aptitude scores.
Mrs. Kline agreed that Lorie Ann was often shy around
strangers. A solemn Mr. Kline explained that his daughter had
been severely bullied by two older children who had lived at the
farm for a short time.
The guidance counselor nodded in understanding.
A.
Narration
B.
Process
C.
Description
D.
Comparison and contrast
12.
Which of the following types of figurative language can be used
to make something that is unpleasant seem better?
A.
Denotation
B.
Inference

10. C.
Opinion
D.
Euphemism
13.
When you write, the tone, vocabulary, and type of information
you choose should vary depending on your
A.
values.
B.
education.
C.
audience.
D.
biases.
14.
Leila says that a thesis statement is like a promise to a reader.
Lucas says a thesis statement expresses
the writer's point of view. Who is
correct?

11. A.
Only Lucas is correct.
B.
Both Leila and Lucas are correct.
C.
Only Leila is correct.
D.
Neither Leila nor Lucas is correct.
15. Please read the following excerpt from an essay, and answer
the question that follows.
I've never actually met a real live humorist. Well, not in person
at any rate. However, one summer, having a lot of time on my
hands, I discovered unexpected treasures lurking in the local
public library. Among the nuggets I unearthed in those musty
stacks was a book by humorist Robert Benchley. To this day I
remember one of his quips. He wrote, "There are two kinds of
people in this world; those who divide the world into two kinds
of people and those who don't." After laughing out loud, I
became pensive. I wondered why the quip was so funny. A year
or so later, I formed a theory. Humor is based on the
unexpected.(br)In the passage above, the topic sentence and the
thesis are one and the same.

12. What makes the last sentence effective as a thesis statement?
A.
Specific detail
B.
Simplicity
C.
Assertion
D.
Humor
16.
Your topic is courtesy, and you're writing from the point of
view of a caring mentor. Which of the
following sentences is
most
persuasive for an audience of high school graduates from a
working-class
neighborhood?
A.
Courtesy is the oil that lubricates the machinery of discourse.
B.
Courtesy to others shows self-respect as much as it does respect

13. for others.
C.
Courtesy yields profits to the impecunious as well as to the
wealthy.
D.
Remember that you can catch more flies with honey than with
vinegar.
17. Please read the following excerpt from an essay. The
sentences are numbered to help you
respond to the question that follows.
(1) After Sean was arrested for breaking into a pawnshop, I
began to wonder. (2) Why did some kids from my neighborhood
end up in trouble while most of us didn't? (3) I started out with
a question: What causes young people to make bad choices? (4)
Now, after two years of research, I've arrived at the conclusion
that there is no simple answer. (5) There is no one reason why
good kids go bad, but there are typical reasons. (6) According to
my research, teenagers are most likely to get into trouble if they
hang out with a bad crowd. (7) That's because people learn their
values from the people they associate with. (8) So a very big
reason for bad behavior is imitating one's peers. (9) But there
are other important factors as well. (10) Kids who get in trouble
are often school dropouts. (11) Also, kids being raised by a
single mother are more likely to get in trouble than kids raised
in an intact family. (12) Substance abuse also plays a role,
especially when

14. it comes to alcohol and legal or illegal drugs.
Sentence 7 of the excerpt is an example of
A.
a supporting explanation.
B.
random evidence.
C.
a conclusion.
D.
an opinion.
18.
One of the benefits to highlighting key points is that
A.
it sorts the good ideas from the bad ideas.
B.
it ensures active reading.
C.
it eliminates note taking.

15. D.
you can skim, rather than read every word.
19.
As a general rule, where in your essay is it
best
to place your thesis statement?
A.
In the first, introductory paragraph of the essay
B.
At the end of the essay, as part of the conclusion
C.
Anywhere at all, because the best thesis statement is implied,
not specified
D.
In the second or third paragraph of the body of the essay
20. 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

16. 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.
Spatial
B.
Chronological
C.
Most-to-least
D.
Least-to-most