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English 30-2 Diploma study materials
English 30-2 Diploma study resources

English 30-2 Diploma practice questions

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Question 1Part A: Written Response

In the Personal Response to Texts assignment of the English 30-2 Part A examination, a writer is primarily expected to

  1. state a viewpoint on an idea raised by a text and support it with experience and reasoning Correct answer.
  2. identify and name every literary device that the author uses in the provided texts
  3. compare the provided texts using a formal works-cited list at the end of the essay
  4. summarize each of the provided texts accurately, one after another, in the order in which they appear

Explanation

The personal response asks for a defensible viewpoint developed from the writer's own experience, reading, and observations in relation to a text or idea. It is not a summary exercise or a device-spotting test, and it does not require a formal reference list.

Question 2Part A: Written Response

A student wants to argue that smartphones have shortened teenagers' attention spans. Which sentence would work best as the thesis of that essay?

  1. Smartphones are bad for young people and should be banned for everyone everywhere.
  2. This essay will look at smartphones, teenagers, and attention in the modern world today.
  3. Constant smartphone use leaves teenagers less able to sustain attention on reading or conversation. Correct answer.
  4. Smartphones are used every single day by a great many teenagers across the country and around the world.

Explanation

A thesis must be a debatable claim that a reader could reasonably dispute and that the essay can support with evidence. The third option makes a specific claim about cause and effect that gives the essay a clear direction.

Question 3Part A: Written Response

Which sentence works best as the topic sentence of a body paragraph arguing that a character's guilt drives his decisions?

  1. In chapter four, the narrator travels to the coast and visits the old house where his brother once lived.
  2. Guilt is a complicated emotion that people feel in many different situations throughout their lives.
  3. The narrator's guilt over abandoning his brother dictates nearly every choice he makes. Correct answer.
  4. Many novels explore guilt in interesting and memorable ways that readers find compelling.

Explanation

A topic sentence names the paragraph's claim and links it to the essay's argument so the reader knows what the evidence will prove. Only the second option makes a specific, arguable claim about this text.

Question 4Part A: Written Response

Which sentence integrates a quotation most effectively into an argument about Dickinson's poem?

  1. "Hope is a thing with feathers" (Dickinson).
  2. The author says a lot about hope in this poem. "Hope is a thing with feathers."
  3. Hope as a bird that "perches" in the soul suggests something fragile yet persistent. Correct answer.
  4. Hope is a thing with feathers, which is a metaphor that the poet uses in the opening line.

Explanation

Effective integration embeds the borrowed words inside the writer's own sentence and immediately interprets them. The fourth option both frames the quotation and explains its significance to the argument.

Question 5Part A: Written Response

Which transition word best signals that the next paragraph will contradict the point just made?

  1. Similarly
  2. Furthermore
  3. However Correct answer.
  4. Consequently

Explanation

Contrast and concession are signalled by adversative transitions such as however, nevertheless, and on the other hand. The other choices signal addition, result, or comparison.

Question 6Part A: Written Response

A student is writing a letter to a school board proposing a later start to the school day. Which choice best adjusts the writing to that audience?

  1. Telling a long personal story about the writer's family with no link to school policy at all
  2. Using casual slang and emojis so that board members see the writer as friendly and approachable
  3. Citing relevant research and addressing practical concerns such as bus schedules and cost Correct answer.
  4. Accusing the board of not caring about students and ignoring their requests for years

Explanation

Audience awareness means supplying the kinds of evidence and answering the kinds of objections a particular reader will find persuasive. A school board responds to research, feasibility, and cost.

Question 7Part A: Written Response

Which approach makes the most effective conclusion to a critical/analytical essay?

  1. Introducing a new argument that the body paragraphs never discussed or supported
  2. Ending with a fresh quotation that has not been explained or connected to the thesis
  3. Restating the thesis in light of the evidence and closing with its broader significance Correct answer.
  4. Copying the introduction word for word so that the essay feels symmetrical and complete

Explanation

A conclusion should synthesize rather than introduce material, showing what the essay has established and why it matters. Restating the thesis in light of the evidence achieves exactly that.

Question 8Part A: Written Response

When quoting a phrase from a printed story that appears in the examination booklet, the standard practice in an English 30-2 essay is to

  1. give the page number in parentheses after the quotation Correct answer.
  2. write a full works-cited entry inside the sentence that contains the quotation
  3. rely on footnotes at the bottom of the page to identify the source
  4. omit any acknowledgement because quotation marks already show the words are borrowed

Explanation

Borrowed wording must be both marked with quotation marks and attributed, usually with a page number in parentheses or the author named in the sentence. Quotation marks alone do not identify where the words came from.

Question 9Part A: Written Response

Paraphrasing is usually the better choice than direct quotation when

  1. the original sentence is unusually powerful and its precise wording carries the meaning
  2. the writer wants to change the author's meaning so that it fits a different argument
  3. the idea matters more than the exact wording, and the phrasing is not distinctive Correct answer.
  4. the writer wants to avoid having to acknowledge the source at all in the essay

Explanation

Paraphrase restates a source's idea in the writer's own words and is best when the content, rather than the phrasing, is what the essay needs. Distinctive or memorable wording is normally quoted directly.

Question 10Part A: Written Response

Read this sentence: "The council's decision to pave the wetland was, once again, a triumph of convenience over common sense." The tone of the sentence is best described as

  1. nostalgic
  2. flatly neutral
  3. reverent
  4. ironic and critical Correct answer.

Explanation

The phrase "a triumph of convenience" is sarcastic, since the writer clearly believes the decision was a failure, and "once again" adds exasperation. Irony combined with criticism captures that mixture.

Question 11Part A: Written Response

A source is most likely to be biased when it

  1. includes statistics, dates, and a long list of references
  2. is published by a university press with a formal editorial board
  3. presents evidence drawn from several different and opposing viewpoints and perspectives
  4. relies on emotionally loaded language and ignores contrary evidence Correct answer.

Explanation

Bias appears when a source's presentation is skewed by loaded language or by the selective omission of contrary evidence. Balance, editorial review, and documented data are signs of the opposite.

Question 12Part A: Written Response

Read this paragraph: "For years the town library opened seven days a week. Last spring, budget cuts reduced it to four days. Within months, attendance had fallen by half, and the after-school homework club lost its meeting space. Residents now argue that the savings were a false economy." Which sentence states the main idea?

  1. The library was once open to the public every day of the week.
  2. Cutting the library's hours may have cost more than it saved. Correct answer.
  3. Residents disagree strongly about the town budget.
  4. The homework club needs a new meeting space.

Explanation

Every detail in the paragraph builds toward the residents' conclusion that the savings were "a false economy," which is the central point. The other choices are supporting details or an inaccurate summary.

Question 13Part A: Written Response

Read this passage: "Mr. Alcott kept the shop's account book in the top drawer and never let anyone else open it. When the auditor asked to see the last two years of entries, he said the books had been damaged in the flood-though the flood, as everyone in town remembered, had reached only the ground floor, and the shop's office was on the third." What can a reader most reasonably infer?

  1. The auditor has come to the shop on a routine visit.
  2. Mr. Alcott's office suffered serious water damage.
  3. Mr. Alcott is avoiding scrutiny of the account book. Correct answer.
  4. The town has recently experienced several floods.

Explanation

The detail that the flood could not have reached a third-floor office exposes the excuse as false, and the earlier detail about his secrecy supports the inference that he is hiding something. A sound inference follows from clues in the text rather than being stated outright.

Question 14Part A: Written Response

Which detail from a story would best support the claim that the narrator is unreliable?

  1. The narrator's name appears in the story's title.
  2. The narrator says he slept through the night but reports conversations from that night. Correct answer.
  3. The narrator mentions that the story takes place in the 1920s.
  4. The narrator describes the weather on the morning of the journey in careful and vivid detail.

Explanation

An unreliable narrator is one whose account cannot be trusted, so the strongest evidence is a contradiction within that account. Claiming to have slept while reporting detailed dialogue is exactly such a contradiction.

Question 15Part A: Written Response

The Critical/Analytical Response to Literary Texts assignment asks the writer to

  1. describe the writer's own childhood and family history in as much detail as possible
  2. develop a thesis about a text and support it with evidence and analysis Correct answer.
  3. rank the provided texts from best to worst and justify the ranking
  4. list the literary devices found in a poem without commenting on their effects

Explanation

This assignment is an analytical essay: it requires a defensible thesis about a text and support drawn from the text itself, explained rather than merely listed. Personal narrative and ranking are not the task.

Question 16Part A: Written Response

Read these two sentences about a novel. A: "After the funeral, Ruth walks to the station and buys a ticket." B: "Ruth's purchase of a ticket immediately after the funeral shows that she grieves by fleeing rather than by mourning." Which statement best explains the difference between them?

  1. A is stronger because it is shorter and easier for the reader to follow.
  2. B is weaker because it uses the character's name twice in one sentence.
  3. The two sentences are equally analytical and differ only in style and word choice.
  4. B interprets the event; A only reports it. Correct answer.

Explanation

Analysis explains what a detail means for the argument, while summary simply reports what happens. Sentence B draws a conclusion from the detail, which is what an analytical essay requires.

Question 17Part A: Written Response

A body paragraph that retells the events of three chapters without commenting on them weakens an essay because

  1. it contains too many direct quotations from the text it discusses
  2. it offers no debatable claim and no interpretation of the events Correct answer.
  3. it is written in the third person rather than the first person
  4. it names characters instead of referring to them by their roles

Explanation

Plot summary merely reports events, while an analytical paragraph must make a claim and explain how the evidence supports it. Without commentary the details stay disconnected from the thesis.

Question 18Part A: Written Response

Which revision best removes the unclear pronoun reference? Original: "When Maya met with Priya's sister, she said the project was behind schedule."

  1. When Maya met up with the sister of Priya, it was said the project was behind schedule.
  2. When Maya met with Priya's sister, she said that she was behind schedule.
  3. When Maya met with Priya's sister, Maya said the project was behind schedule. Correct answer.
  4. When Maya met with Priya's sister, they said the project was behind schedule.

Explanation

The pronoun "she" could refer to either Maya or Priya's sister, so the fix is to replace it with a specific noun. The fourth option names Maya as the speaker and leaves no ambiguity.

Question 19Part A: Written Response

Which sentence best combines these two ideas while showing their logical relationship? "The team practised daily. They lost the final."

  1. The team practised daily, and nevertheless they lost the final match.
  2. The team practised daily; therefore they lost the final.
  3. The team practised daily, so they lost the final.
  4. Although the team practised daily, they lost the final. Correct answer.

Explanation

Concession is the intended relationship: daily practice would normally lead to success, so the loss is surprising. "Although" expresses that contrast accurately.

Question 20Part A: Written Response

Which thesis is the most defensible for a short analytical essay?

  1. The novel is about a family, and it is also about several other things as well, which makes it complex.
  2. Though the father seems a victim, his refusals to speak make him the source of the family's silence. Correct answer.
  3. This novel is unquestionably the greatest literary work of the entire twentieth century.
  4. Every single character in the novel is selfish, and not one of them ever changes at all.

Explanation

A defensible thesis is specific, arguable, and narrow enough to be supported within the essay's length. The fourth option makes a precise interpretive claim that textual evidence could confirm or challenge.

Question 21Part A: Written Response

When a written response must address a visual text such as an advertisement, the most effective approach is to

  1. ignore the image entirely and discuss only the accompanying text and caption
  2. state whether the writer personally likes the image and finds it convincing
  3. describe everything visible in the image carefully, moving from left to right
  4. explain how image, wording, and layout shape the audience's response Correct answer.

Explanation

Responding to a visual text means interpreting how its design choices create meaning and persuade. Detailed description or personal preference is not analysis.

Question 22Part A: Written Response

In a personal response, first-person pronouns such as "I" are appropriate mainly because

  1. they allow the writer to avoid supporting any claim with evidence at all
  2. they make the writing longer, fuller, and more detailed for the reader
  3. formal academic essays forbid the use of any other point of view
  4. the task asks writers to build a viewpoint from their own experience Correct answer.

Explanation

The personal response is designed to elicit the writer's own thinking, so first person matches the purpose of the assignment. Evidence and reasoning are still required.

Question 23Part A: Written Response

In a formal essay, which sentence punctuates and formats a title correctly?

  1. In the short story the tell-tale heart, the unnamed narrator confesses to a murder.
  2. In the short story The Tell-Tale Heart, Poe's narrator confesses to murder.
  3. In the short story "The Tell-Tale Heart," Poe's narrator confesses to murder. Correct answer.
  4. In the short story 'The Tell-Tale Heart', Poe's narrator confesses to murder.

Explanation

Titles of short stories take capital letters and double quotation marks, while titles of book-length works are italicized. The second option follows both conventions and places the comma inside the closing quotation mark.

Question 24Part A: Written Response

Which of these sentences states an opinion rather than a fact?

  1. The school day begins at 8:15 a.m. on every weekday morning without exception.
  2. The school has 612 students enrolled in the current year.
  3. The school library opens at 7:45 a.m. on school days.
  4. School should start later because teenagers need more sleep. Correct answer.

Explanation

An opinion expresses a judgement or recommendation that reasonable people could dispute, often signalled by words such as "should." The other choices report details that could be verified.

Question 25Part A: Written Response

The main job of an essay's introduction is to

  1. engage the reader and establish the topic, context, and thesis Correct answer.
  2. list every source the writer consulted while preparing the essay
  3. summarize the plot of the text in full before any analysis begins
  4. present the strongest quotation the writer found during research

Explanation

An introduction orients the reader by setting up the topic and context and by stating the claim the essay will develop. Quotations and plot summary belong in the body where they can be analysed.

Question 26Part A: Written Response

The Personal Response to Texts assignment primarily asks a student to

  1. support a personal position on an issue raised by the texts Correct answer.
  2. catalogue the literary devices used by each of the texts
  3. survey several published critics' readings of a single literary text
  4. summarize the plots of the texts supplied in the booklet

Explanation

A personal response asks the writer to take a position on an issue raised by the readings and to support it with evidence from the texts and from personal experience or observation. The assignment is argumentative and reflective rather than summary or technical analysis.

Question 27Part A: Written Response

When a body paragraph opens with a clear topic sentence, the reader can

  1. identify the single idea the paragraph will develop Correct answer.
  2. assume the paragraph contains no supporting evidence
  3. predict the essay's conclusion without reading it
  4. expect the writer to change subject in mid-paragraph

Explanation

A topic sentence states the one claim the paragraph will develop, so readers know what to expect from the sentences that follow. It does not forecast the essay's conclusion or determine whether evidence appears.

Question 28Part A: Written Response

Which sentence is punctuated correctly?

  1. The characters motives are never made clear in the novels final chapter.
  2. The characters' motives are never made clear in the novels' final chapter.
  3. The character's motives are never made clear in the novels final chapter.
  4. The characters' motives stay unclear in the novel's final chapter. Correct answer.

Explanation

A plural noun ending in -s takes an apostrophe after the s (characters'), while a singular noun takes apostrophe-s (novel's). Both possessives are required here, so only the version with characters' and novel's is correct.

Question 29Part A: Written Response

Which group of words is a complete sentence?

  1. The narrator withholds key details until the final page. Correct answer.
  2. The narrator, who withholds key details until the final page.
  3. Because the narrator withholds key details until the final page.
  4. Withholding key details until the final page, the narrator.

Explanation

A complete sentence needs a subject and a finite verb that is not introduced by a subordinating word. 'The narrator withholds key details until the final page' has both; the other choices are a dependent clause, a relative-clause fragment, and a participial phrase.

Question 30Part A: Written Response

Which word is most appropriate in a formal literary essay?

  1. totally proves
  2. demonstrates Correct answer.
  3. makes it super clear
  4. shows off

Explanation

'Demonstrates' is a neutral, academic verb suited to formal analysis. The other choices rely on colloquial phrasing or conversational intensifiers that lower the register of the essay.

Question 31Part A: Written Response

When writing about a text for a marker who has not read it, the student should

  1. assume the marker knows the plot and skip all context
  2. supply enough context for each quotation to make sense Correct answer.
  3. avoid naming characters in case the names are wrong
  4. quote at length so the marker can reconstruct the story

Explanation

An outside reader needs brief context for a quotation to be meaningful, so the writer supplies the situation, speaker, and significance in the writer's own words. Assuming knowledge or quoting at length shifts the interpretive work onto the reader.

Question 32Part A: Written Response

The words 'thrifty' and 'stingy' describe similar behaviour but differ in

  1. whether they can modify a noun
  2. the tense they indicate
  3. the attitude they carry Correct answer.
  4. the part of speech they share

Explanation

Denotation is a word's dictionary meaning; connotation is the attitude or judgement it carries. 'Thrifty' and 'stingy' denote similar behaviour but carry approving and disapproving attitudes respectively.

Question 33Part A: Written Response

The word 'however' signals that the idea that follows

  1. restates the previous idea in different words
  2. draws a conclusion from the previous idea
  3. contrasts with the previous idea Correct answer.
  4. adds an example of the previous idea

Explanation

Transition words signal the logical relationship between ideas. 'However' marks contrast, telling the reader that the next idea runs against the previous one.

Question 34Part A: Written Response

After inserting a quotation into an analytical paragraph, the writer should

  1. explain how the quotation supports the claim Correct answer.
  2. immediately introduce a second quotation
  3. let the quotation speak for itself
  4. restate the quotation in the following sentence

Explanation

Evidence never argues for itself; the writer must connect the quotation to the paragraph's claim in the writer's own words. Without that commentary, the reader is left to guess how the quotation is relevant.

Question 35Part A: Written Response

Read this paragraph: "The boarding house is described as clean but cheerless. Its windows are washed, its floors scrubbed, yet no pictures hang on its walls. Vera's room holds a bed, a chair, and a Bible. The landlord, Mr. Pym, was born in a village two hundred miles away." Which sentence should be removed to improve the paragraph's unity?

  1. the last sentence Correct answer.
  2. the third sentence
  3. the first sentence
  4. the second sentence

Explanation

Every sentence in a unified paragraph should develop the paragraph's controlling idea, here the cheerlessness of the boarding house. The detail about the landlord's birthplace is unrelated and should be cut.

Question 36Part A: Written Response

Which sentence contains a dangling modifier?

  1. Ruth, walking home, notices the lamps are already lit.
  2. Walking home, Ruth notices the lamps are already lit.
  3. Walking home, the lamps were already lit. Correct answer.
  4. As Ruth walks home, she notices the lamps are already lit.

Explanation

An introductory participial phrase must modify the subject of the main clause. In 'Walking home, the lamps were already lit,' the lamps appear to be walking, so the modifier dangles.

Question 37Part A: Written Response

Original: "The decision to close the mill was made by the owners without consulting the workers." Which revision is clearest and most direct?

  1. The owners closed the mill without consulting the workers. Correct answer.
  2. The closing of the mill was made by the owners in the absence of consultation with the workers.
  3. The mill's closure was decided upon by the owners without the workers being consulted.
  4. Without consulting the workers, the mill was closed by the owners.

Explanation

Active voice names the actor as the subject, which makes the sentence shorter and clearer: 'The owners closed the mill.' The other revisions keep the action in an abstract noun or a passive construction, obscuring who acted.

Question 38Part A: Written Response

Which sentence avoids unnecessary repetition?

  1. The surprising surprise at the end surprised the readers.
  2. The final outcome at the end resulted in a surprising conclusion.
  3. Each of the readers were all of them surprised by the ending.
  4. The ending surprised the readers. Correct answer.

Explanation

Concise writing removes words that repeat meaning already stated, such as 'final outcome at the end' or 'resulted in a conclusion.' 'The ending surprised the readers' conveys the same idea without duplication.

Question 39Part A: Written Response

Which sentence uses parallel structure?

  1. The job required being patient, to be accurate, and reliability.
  2. The job required patience, accuracy, and reliability. Correct answer.
  3. The job required patience, accuracy, and being reliable.
  4. The job required patience, accuracy, and to be reliable.

Explanation

Items in a series must share the same grammatical form. 'Patience, accuracy, and reliability' are three parallel nouns, while the other options mix nouns, gerunds, and infinitives.

Question 40Part A: Written Response

Which option correctly repairs the comma splice in "The rain stopped, the crowd returned to the square"?

  1. The rain stopped, the crowd returned, to the square.
  2. The rain stopped the crowd returned to the square.
  3. The rain stopped, therefore, the crowd returned to the square.
  4. The rain stopped; the crowd returned to the square. Correct answer.

Explanation

Two independent clauses cannot be joined by a comma alone. A semicolon correctly separates them, whereas the other options either drop the punctuation, misplace it, or keep the splice with a conjunctive adverb.

Question 41Part A: Written Response

A student argues that a story's setting expresses the narrator's isolation. Which detail would best support that claim?

  1. The narrator's sister visits twice in the course of the story.
  2. The narrator describes her father's trade as a cooper.
  3. The narrator's house stands at the end of a road found on no map. Correct answer.
  4. The story is set in a country that gained independence in 1962.

Explanation

Relevant evidence bears directly on the claim being made. A house at the end of an unmapped road supports the idea of isolation, while details about a trade, a country's history, or a sister's visits do not.

Question 42Part A: Written Response

Including the sentence "Some readers may argue that Ruth acts out of loyalty rather than fear" is effective because it

  1. acknowledges an opposing reading and lets the writer refute it Correct answer.
  2. supplies a statistic that supports the essay's argument
  3. replaces the need for textual evidence later in the paragraph
  4. softens the essay's thesis to the point of vagueness

Explanation

Naming an opposing reading shows the writer has considered alternatives, and the essay can then explain why its own reading is stronger. The sentence supplies no data, and handled well it sharpens rather than blurs the thesis.

Question 43Part A: Written Response

Which transition best completes the sentence? "The scene lasts barely a page; ____, it is the most important scene in the novel."

  1. however Correct answer.
  2. for instance
  3. in the same way
  4. therefore

Explanation

The second clause contradicts the expectation set by the first: a scene lasting barely a page would not normally be the most important. 'However' signals that contrast.

Question 44Part A: Written Response

Read this sentence: "The kitchen clock had stopped sometime in the night, and no one had thought to wind it." The detail of the stopped clock most likely functions to

  1. provide comic relief after a tense scene
  2. establish the exact time of the story's climax
  3. show that the family cannot afford repairs
  4. suggest a household out of step with time Correct answer.

Explanation

A stopped clock that no one winds suggests neglect and a household cut off from ordinary time. The detail carries thematic weight rather than supplying chronology, comedy, or information about money.

Question 45Part A: Written Response

When a student refers to a critic's interpretation in a literary essay, the student should

  1. link the critic's idea to the student's own evidence Correct answer.
  2. let the critic's words replace the student's textual evidence
  3. paraphrase the critic and omit any acknowledgement
  4. quote the critic at length to fill a paragraph

Explanation

A critic's view should support, complicate, or extend the student's own argument, and the student must still supply textual evidence and make the connection explicit. Sources that replace the student's analysis or go unacknowledged weaken the essay.

Question 46Part A: Written Response

Which approach best narrows the broad topic "technology and teenagers" into an essay-sized subject?

  1. Argue that technology is either good or bad for young people.
  2. Write about all the ways technology has changed since 1990.
  3. Examine how one school's phone ban changed lunchtime behaviour. Correct answer.
  4. Discuss the history of the telephone from its invention onward.

Explanation

An essay-sized topic can be argued in detail within the assigned length. A single school's phone ban allows close analysis, whereas sweeping surveys or either/or claims cannot be supported adequately.

Question 47Part A: Written Response

Which sentence maintains a consistent formal tone in an otherwise academic paragraph?

  1. The narrator's grief is, like, the whole point of chapter four.
  2. The narrator's grief dominates the fourth chapter. Correct answer.
  3. Chapter four is where the narrator totally loses it.
  4. The narrator's grief is pretty much the entire chapter four, honestly.

Explanation

Formal academic prose avoids slang, filler intensifiers, and conversational tags. 'The narrator's grief dominates the fourth chapter' is the only sentence free of these informal markers.

Question 48Part A: Written Response

A student writes: "When Ruth tells her brother the house is 'not hers to sell,' she is not refusing the money but refusing the role of grateful daughter." This sentence is effective because it

  1. states a fact that no reader could dispute
  2. introduces a second text for comparison
  3. offers a debatable reading grounded in a specific detail Correct answer.
  4. summarizes the plot of the chapter accurately

Explanation

Strong analytical writing pairs a debatable interpretive claim with a specific detail from the text, which gives the reader something to test and the writer something to develop. Summary and undisputed facts do not advance an argument.

Question 49Part A: Written Response

In an essay comparing two characters, the most effective organization is usually to

  1. organize the comparison around shared points Correct answer.
  2. describe the first character fully, then the second
  3. confine the comparison to the conclusion
  4. alternate between characters sentence by sentence

Explanation

Organizing by points of analysis keeps the two subjects in direct relation and makes the basis of each comparison visible. Block-by-block description tends to become summary, and deferring the comparison leaves the body undeveloped.

Question 50Part A: Written Response

A student claims that a story's repeated image of a locked gate represents the narrator's inability to face her past. Which consideration most strengthens this interpretation?

  1. The narrator mentions the gate only once, in passing.
  2. The gate frames the story, appearing in the first and last scenes. Correct answer.
  3. The gate is described with a single adjective, "green."
  4. Another character notices the gate but says nothing.

Explanation

An interpretation is strengthened when the pattern it identifies recurs at structurally significant points in the text. A single passing mention, one adjective, or another character's silence offers little support for a claim about the narrator's psychology.