4.2 Wrtg. Rhetorical Situation

1. Which of the following sentences, if placed before sentence 1, would best orient the audience and provide an engaging introduction to the topic of the first paragraph?

• A. The process of domestication varies by species.

• B. As any pet owner knows, dogs and cats are very different.

• C. Domestication is the taming of an animal and then keeping it as a pet or as a farm animal.

• D. The natural instincts of dogs and cats toward one another are usually antagonistic, but pet owners can help foster friendly relationships between their pets.

• E. The personalities of cat owners and dog owners are as different as the personalities of the pets they prefer.

Tags

CCSS.RI. 9-10.2

CCSS.RI.11-12.2

CCSS.RL.11-12.2

CCSS.RL.8.2

CCSS.RL.9-10.2

2. Which of the following versions of sentence 3 best previews the line of reasoning in the passage?

• A. (As it is now)

• B. However, because cats and dogs are so dissimilar in their behaviors, many people prefer one animal to the other.

• C. Yet when we look further back in their history, both cats and dogs share a common ancestor: a mammal of the order Carnivora.

• D. While dogs may be the oldest companion species of humans, this does not necessarily mean that cats are less thoroughly domesticated than dogs are.

• E. Obtaining access to a steady supply of food is crucial to the story of domestication for both species.

3. In sentence 14 (reproduced below), the writer wants to provide descriptive details that appeal to the audience’s emotions and experiences....

  

Which of the following versions of the underlined text best achieves this purpose?

• A. (as it is now)

• B. food, although without agriculture, the development of civilization would never have been possible

• C. food, the history of which is equally as fascinating as the history of the domestication of dogs and cats

• D. food; farmers continue to struggle with the problems of pests to this day, but the technology at their disposal is far greater than anything these early farmers could have imagined

• E. food: it also brought us those graceful, warm, furry creatures who snooze contentedly in our homes and delight us with their playful antics

Tags

CCSS.RI.11-12.5

CCSS.RI.6.5

CCSS.RI.7.5

CCSS.RI.8.5

CCSS.RI.9-10.5

4. In sentence 10 (reproduced below), the writer wants to compare a specific difference between making pennies now and making pennies at an earlier time...

 

Which of the following versions of the underlined text most effectively accomplishes this goal?

• A. (as it is now)

• B. the cost has soared to 1.8 cents per penny

• C. economists worry that the penny is unsustainable

• D. the United States Mint has looked into less expensive metals

• E. the penny is made of only 2.5% copper

5. In sentence 19 (reproduced below), the writer wants to change the conclusion by adding a direct quotation that both reinforces the main argument of the passage and places that argument in a broader context....

 

Which version of the underlined text best accomplishes this purpose?

• A. penny, saying, “We remember our piggy banks and counting out all the pennies and then taking them in and getting a dollar bill or a couple of dollars from it.”

• B. penny and argued that discontinuing the penny “is not going to be a huge savings for government.”

• C. penny but argued that the coin is a sign of government inefficiency, calling it “a good metaphor for some of the larger problems that we’ve got.”

• D. penny and, in an interview, said that the issue is “one of those things where I think people get attached emotionally to the way things have been.”

• E. penny and, when asked why the penny hasn’t been withdrawn from circulation yet, replied, “I don’t know.”