English Language and Composition

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?

• The process of domestication varies by species.

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

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

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

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

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

Though so different, both species domesticated themselves by joining humans for their own benefit and providing benefits in return, thus ensuring their places beside humans.

• (As it is now)

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

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

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

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

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

The recent discovery at the site of a 5,500-year-old Chinese farming village of cultivated millet isotopes in the bones of both rodents (who ate the millet) and cats (who ate the rodents) proves that agriculture brought us more than just food.

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

• (as it is now)

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

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

• 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

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

In sentence 5 (reproduced below), the writer wants to provide further evidence to refute the claim that the domestication of dogs occurred when humans captured and raised wolf pups as pets.

Although some argue that domestication took place when humans captured and raised wolf pups as pets, far more likely is that some wolves began to follow human hunters.

Which of the following versions of the underlined text best accomplishes this goal?

• hunters, though always careful not to get too close to these hunters

• hunters, who led a nomadic lifestyle

• hunters, drawn by the smell of cooking meat and the chance to scavenge

• hunters, sometimes for extended periods

• hunters, who sometimes inhabited caves or constructed shelters out of wood

Reading 2. Click when you're done!

• done!

• Not done.

The writer is considering deleting the underlined independent clause in sentence 7 (reproduced below), adjusting the punctuation as necessary.

In a classic experiment, students who watched their schools compete in a football game subsequently remembered the adversary’s team performing worse than their own: confirmation bias caused the students, who already believed in their own school’s superiority, to interpret what they had seen as support for their preexisting beliefs.

Should the writer keep or delete the underlined text?

• Keep it, because it suggests that certain groups of people may be more susceptible than others to confirmation bias.

• Keep it, because it provides an example that explains how confirmation bias affects memory.

• Keep it, because it contains a personal story about confirmation bias that appeals to a wide audience.

• Delete it, because it interferes with the flow of the paragraph by introducing evidence that is not relevant.

• Delete it, because it contradicts the claim made earlier in the sentence.

The writer wants to combine sentences 11 and 12 (reproduced below) into a single sentence.

But when the stakes are high, the risks of making biased decisions are simply too great. An example of a high-stakes situation would be when jurors are deliberating a defendant’s fate.

Which of the following revisions to the underlined portion of sentences 11 and 12 most effectively accomplishes this goal?

• high, then the risks of making biased decisions—one example of which would be when jurors are deliberating a defendant’s fate—are simply too great

• high, one good example of which is a defendant having his or her fate being deliberated by jurors, the risks of making biased decisions are simply too great

• high (for example, when jurors are deliberating a defendant’s fate, the stakes would be high), the risks of making biased decisions are simply too great

• high, such as when jurors are deliberating a defendant’s fate, the risks of making biased decisions are simply too great

• high—like a defendant whose fate is being deliberated by jurors—the risks of making biased decisions are simply too great

The writer is considering adding the following sentence to the passage after sentence 3.

Though the phenomenon has been observed throughout history by philosophers, historians, and novelists, the term “confirmation bias” itself wasn’t invented until the 1960s by British psychologist Peter Wason.

Should the writer add this sentence after sentence 3?

• Yes, because it provides contextualizing information that is necessary for the audience to understand the writer’s argument.

• Yes, because it contains an important insight into the exigence that prompted the writer to write the passage.

• Yes, because it offers an effective appeal to the audience’s sense of logic by detailing the long history of confirmation bias.

• No, because it fails to give enough details about Peter Wason’s credentials to establish his credibility with the audience.

• No, because it gives evidence that is not relevant to the passage’s overall line of reasoning and therefore does not strengthen the validity of the writer’s argument.

In sentence 13 (reproduced below), the writer wants to include a piece of relevant evidence that will help convince the reader to accept the techniques used by Warren Buffet as credible.

Fortunately, there are techniques, like those used by Warren Buffett (born in Omaha, Nebraska, in1930) when he makes his financial decisions that can minimize the risks of confirmation bias.

Which of the following versions of the underlined portion of sentence 13 best accomplishes this goal?

• (as it is now)

• whose ability to tell a story is legendary

• one of the most successful investors in history

• a noted philanthropist

• whose father was a member of the United States Congress

Which of the following sentences in the passage can best be described as the writer’s thesis statement?

• Sentence 1

• Sentence 5

• Sentence 8

• Sentence 11

• Sentence 15