Research Workshop: Writing and Presenting the Argumentative Essay, Part 1 — Cumulative exam Answers

Read the paragraph from a research-based essay.Humor is part of everyday life, but what each individual thinks is funny differs. In one study, Dr. Sara Reed found that "each person’s taste in humor is based on their own real-life experiences. Humor derives from one’s unique background knowledge.” This means that what makes me laugh may not make you laugh.

Use the following definitions to answer the question.evade:1. (verb) to cleverly escape somebody or something, to avoidinvade:1. (verb) to enter by force, to enterWhich sentence contains correct word usage?

Read the excerpt from "Mother Tongue."Lately, I’ve been giving more thought to the kind of English my mother speaks. Like others, I have described it to people as “broken” or “fractured” English. But I wince when I say that. It has always bothered me that I can think of no other way to describe it other than “broken,” as if it were damaged and needed to be fixed, as if it lacked a certain wholeness and soundness. How does Tan build a central idea of her story in the excerpt?

Study the image from Art Spiegelman’s Maus.How does Spiegelman’s visual representation of the Holocaust aid with comprehension?

Read the excerpt from Their Eyes Were Watching God.To her way of thinking all these things set her aside from Negroes. That was why she sought out Janie to friend with. Janie’s coffee-and-cream complexion and her luxurious hair made Mrs. Turner forgive her for wearing overalls like the other women who worked in the fields.What does the phrase “to friend with” mean?

Read this excerpt from "Not a Dove, But No Longer a Hawk." Despite these misgivings, I do not see how we can do anything but continue to prosecute the war. We can and should limit the violence and the suffering being inflicted on the civilians as much as possible, but for whatever reasons, successive Administrations in Washington have carried the commitment in Vietnam to the point where it would be very difficult to prevent any precipitate retreat from degenerating into a rout. If the United States were to disengage from Vietnam under adverse conditions, I believe that the resulting political and psychological shockwaves might undermine our entire position in Southeast Asia. Which statement best describes the paradox in this excerpt?

Which sentence best describes George Bergeron’s characterization in "Harrison Bergeron"?

Study the chart of definitions.WordDefinitioncondolencesexpressions of sadness for another persondolefulnessfeeling of sadnessdolorouscausing misery or sadnessindolentpainless, without effort, lazy

In Art Spiegelman’s Maus, the events of the Holocaust are relayed from the perspective of

Read the excerpt from "Mother Tongue."Lately, I’ve been giving more thought to the kind of English my mother speaks. Like others, I have described it to people as “broken” or “fractured” English. But I wince when I say that. It has always bothered me that I can think of no other way to describe it other than “broken,” as if it were damaged and needed to be fixed, as if it lacked a certain wholeness and soundness. What can be inferred from the excerpt?

Read this excerpt from "Not a Dove, But No Longer a Hawk." I remember distinctly the thrill of climbing aboard a U.S. Army helicopter in the cool of the morning and taking off across the rice fields with a South Vietnamese battalion for a day’s jousting with the Vietcong guerillas. I was proud of the young American pilots sitting at the controls in the cockpit and I was grateful for the opportunity to witness this adventure and to report it. We are fighting now, I used to think, and some day we will triumph and this will be a better country. Based on this excerpt, it can be inferred that

Read the excerpt from "What Educated Women Can Do” by Indira Gandhi. I am one of those who always believe that education needs a thorough overhauling. But at the same time, I think that everything in our education is not bad, that even the present education has produced very fine men and women, specially scientists and experts in different fields, who are in great demand all over the world and even in the most affluent countries. Many of our young people leave us and go abroad because they get higher salaries, they get better conditions of work.

Read the paragraph.Our school is considering mandating school uniforms next year. The student government supports school uniforms for a number of reasons. First, school uniforms save time. Students will not have to figure out what they will wear and thus will have more time to devote to their studies. They will be more focused on learning and less on appearance. Second, although there are up-front costs, uniforms will ultimately save families money. Finally, uniforms will promote a sense of equality because students are dressed the same regardless of economic status. This will encourage a greater sense of community at our school.What strategy does the author use in her choice of language to convey her message?

What is the difference between a metaphor and a simile?

Read the sentence.The president of the company was attending the mandatory sales meeting.Which type of phrase or clause is underlined in the sentence?

Read the excerpt from Neil deGrasse Tyson’s “Death by Black Hole.”If you stumbled upon a black hole and found yourself falling feet-first toward its center, then as you got closer, the black hole’s force of gravity would grow astronomically. Curiously, you would not feel this force at all because, like anything in free fall, you are weightless. What you do feel, however, is something far more sinister. While you fall, the black hole’s force of gravity at your two feet, they being closer to the black hole’s center, accelerates them faster than does the weaker force of gravity at your head. The difference between the two is known officially as the tidal force, which grows precipitously as you draw nearer to the black hole’s center. For Earth, and for most cosmic places, the tidal force across the length of your body is minuscule and goes unnoticed. But in your feet-first fall toward a black hole the tidal forces are all you notice.Which sentence from the excerpt best supports the idea that falling into a black hole would be excruciatingly painful?

What is meant by the term “intelligent planet” as it is used in "The Intelligent Planet"?

What is the speaker in "The Weary Blues" attempting to convey in his description of the scene?

Read the excerpt from Dr. Martin Luther King’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail.”The other force is one of bitterness and hatred, and it comes perilously close to advocating violence. It is expressed in the various black nationalist groups that are springing up across the nation.Why does the author include these sentences?

Read the excerpt from Neil deGrasse Tyson’s “Death by Black Hole.”But there is more bad news.All parts of your body are moving toward the same spot—the black hole’s center. So while you’re getting ripped apart head to toe, you will also extrude through the fabric of space and time, like toothpaste squeezed through a tube.To all the words in the English language that describe ways to die (e.g., homicide, suicide, electrocution, suffocation, starvation) we add the term “spaghettification.”In this excerpt, Tyson conveys his complex ideas by