Cumulative Exam 1 Answers

The writer is considering adding the following sentence after sentence 1.Yet some of the most historically significant, world-changing documents were written in cursive, including the US Constitution, the Declaration of Independence, and the Magna Carta.

In sentence 3 (reproduced below), which version of the underlined text best maintains the tone of the passage?The main argument for abandoning cursive writing instruction is that it is yesterday’s news and a big waste of teachers’ time.

The writer intends the passage to be read by a general audience. Which of the following sentences, if added after sentence 3, would best aid a reader’s understanding of the passage?

In sentence 8 (reproduced below), the writer wants to provide descriptive details that appeal to the audience’s emotions and experiences.Arguably, cursive does have benefits.

The writer wants to illustrate the point made in sentence 9 (reproduced below) by adding evidence to the end of the sentence, adjusting the punctuation as needed.The National Education Association, for example, notes that cursive writing helps students.

In the context of the passage, which of the following versions of the underlined text is the most effective way to introduce the evidence provided in sentence 11 (reproduced below)? Cursive writing’s advantages are not limited to younger students, either: Dr. Laura Dinehart, an associate professor at Florida International University, remarked that studies on note-taking have shown that "college students who are writing on a keyboard are less likely to remember and do well on the content than if writing it by hand.”

The writer is considering adding the following sentence to the passage after sentence 13.In an article on printing vs. cursive writing, Berninger noted that "no clear research evidence supports one being better than the other.”

The writer wants to add a phrase at the beginning of sentence 14 (reproduced below), adjusting the capitalization as needed, to set up a comparison with the idea discussed in sentence 13.According to research cited in the New York Times, "block printing, cursive and typing each elicit distinctive neurological patterns."

The writer has found new evidence (reproduced below) and wants to add it to the passage without affecting the current line of reasoning.In fact, handwriting may help children acquire reading skills. Karin James and Laura Engelhardt (professors in the field of psychological and brain sciences) have found that "handwriting is important for the early recruitment in letter processing of brain regions known to underlie successful reading.”

The writer is working on a revision of the passage and has written the following thesis statement for it.But based on evidence cited in the New York Times, the current debate has a clear solution.