Read the excerpt from Up from Slavery by Booker T. Washington. The wisest among my race understand that the agitation of questions of social equality is the extremest folly, and that progress in the enjoyment of all the privileges that will come to us must be the result of severe and constant struggle rather than of artificial forcing. No race that has anything to contribute to the markets of the world is long in any degree ostracized. It is important and right that all privileges of the law be ours, but it is vastly more important that we be prepared for the exercises of these privileges. The opportunity to earn a dollar in a factory just now is worth infinitely more than the opportunity to spend a dollar in an opera-house. Read the excerpt from The Souls of Black Folk by W. E. B. Du Bois. In answer to this, it has been claimed that the Negro can survive only through submission. Mr. Washington distinctly asks that black people give up, at least for the present, three things,— First, political power, Second, insistence on civil rights, Third, higher education of Negro youth,—and concentrate all their energies on industrial education, and accumulation of wealth, and the conciliation of the South. This policy has been courageously and insistently advocated for over fifteen years, and has been triumphant for perhaps ten years. As a result of this tender of the palm-branch, what has been the return? In these years there have occurred: 1. The disfranchisement of the Negro. Which statement best compares the two arguments?
Read the excerpt from "Dylan's Nobel Prize Settles Debate: Rock Lyrics Are Poetry." Dylan is of course enormously influential. Springsteen, who referred to him as "The Father of My Country” in his new Born To Run memoir , is one of many who were once known as "New Dylans.” Every singer-songwriter with a personal story to tell owes him a debt, and hearing the above lines read or sung aloud, with their knack for internal rhyme, call up inevitable parallels to the dense playful language of rap. The Nobel is given for a body of work, and comes with a prize of 8 million Swedish kronor, which translates into approximately $900,000. Which evidence in this paragraph supports the idea that Dylan is extremely influential? Choose three correct answers.
Read the excerpt from "A Genetics of Justice” by Julia Alvarez. My mother must have been intrigued. She knew nothing of the horrid crimes of the dictatorship, for her parents were afraid to say anything—even to their own children—against the regime. So, as a young girl, my mother must have thought of El Jefe as a kind of movie star. She must have wanted to meet the great man. What is the central idea in this paragraph?
Read the excerpt from "A Genetics of Justice” by Julia Alvarez. My father and mother were once again trapped in a police state. They laid low as best they could. Now that they had four young daughters, they could not take any chances. For a while, that spark which has almost cost my father his life and which he had lighted in my mother seemed to have burnt out. Periodically, Trujillo would demand a tribute, and they would acquiesce. A tax, a dummy vote, a portrait on the wall. To my father and other men in the country, the most humiliating of these tributes was the occasional parade in which women were made to march and turn their heads and acknowledge the great man as they passed the review stand. What is the central idea in this paragraph?
Read the excerpt from "Water Flowing from Toilet to Tap May Be Hard to Swallow." As California scrambles for ways to cope with its crippling drought and the mandatory water restrictions imposed last month by Gov. Jerry Brown, an array of ideas that were long dismissed as too controversial, expensive or unpleasant are getting a second look. One is to conserve more water; another is to turn nearby and abundant sources of water, like the Pacific Ocean, into drinking water through desalination. Yet another is to recycle the water Californians have already used. And therein lies a marketing challenge that can be even greater than the technological one. Which statement best summarizes the writer’s claim?
Read the excerpt from Justice Sotomayor's speech "A Latina Judge's Voice." For me, a very special part of my being Latina is the mucho platos de arroz, gandules y pernir —rice, beans and pork—that I have eaten at countless family holidays and special events. My Latina identity also includes, because of my particularly adventurous taste buds, morcilla , pig intestines; patitas de cerdo con garbanzo , pigs' feet with beans; and Ia lengua y orejas de cuchifrito , pigs' tongue and ears. I bet the Mexican-Americans in this room are thinking that Puerto Ricans have unusual food tastes. Some of us, like me, do. How does the speaker’s use of Spanish names for food most affect the tone and meaning of this excerpt?
Read the excerpt from "A Latina Judge's Voice" by Hon. Sonia Sotomayor. First, as Professor Martha Minnow has noted, there can never be a universal definition of wise . Second, I would hope that a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experiences would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male who hasn't lived that life. What is the purpose of Sotomayor's use of the word wise ?
Read the sentence. Gregor watched, assessing how Sasha reacted to his news . Which statement best explains how the underlined clause conveys meaning?
Karol is writing an argumentative essay for his high school paper. Read his claim. Student Work Classes should not begin before 9 a.m. Which statements provide the best evidence to support his claim? Choose two correct answers.
What is a claim in an argument?
Read the sentence. Sami especially enjoyed the brownies, which were chewy, chocolatey, and jam-packed with crunchy walnuts . Which statement best explains how the underlined clause conveys meaning?
What kind of evidence should be presented in an argument? Choose two correct answers.
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