6
QuizMultiple Choice

Choosing Language

Question 6 • ELA 11B-CR

Read this excerpt from Rudolfo Anaya’s essay “Take the Tortillas Out of Your Poetry.”Tortillas and poetry. They go hand in hand. Books nourish the spirit, bread nourishes our bodies. Our distinct cultures nourish each one of us, and as we know more and more about the art and literature of the different cultures, we become freer and freer. . . . I don’t know anyone who doesn’t like to sample different ethnic foods, the breads of many many groups; just as many of us enjoy sampling books from different areas of the world. I travel to foreign countries, and I know more about myself as I learn more about my fellow human beings. Censorship imposes itself in my path of knowledge, and that activity can be justified by no one. Which of these changes would make this excerpt more argumentative?

Answer
A
using words that affect the audience’s sense of trust
B
using less repetition of certain words and phrases
C
including words that address logic and reason
D
including words that are charged with emotion

Explanation

The excerpt mainly uses comparisons between food, books, and cultural knowledge to express the author’s view that censorship is harmful. To make it more argumentative, it would need stronger appeals to logic and reason, such as evidence or clear cause-and-effect reasoning supporting the claim. Therefore, including words that address logic and reason is the best change; emotional language alone would not provide that support.

AI-written and checked against the verified answer.

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