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Writing and Language Test
35 MINUTES, 44 QUESTIONS
Turn to Section 2 of your answer sheet to answer the questions in this section.
DIRECTIONS
Each passage below is accompanied by a number of questions. For some questions, you
will consider how the passage might be revised to improve the expression of ideas. For
other questions, you will consider how the passage might be edited to correct errors in
sentence structure, usage, or punctuation. A passage or a question may be accompanied by
one or more graphics (such as a table or graph) that you will consider as you make revising
and editing decisions.
Some questions will direct you to an underlined portion of a passage. Other questions will
direct you to a location in a passage or ask you to think about the passage as a whole.
After reading each passage, choose the answer to each question that most effectively
improves the quality of writing in the passage or that makes the passage conform to the
conventions of standard written English. Many questions include a “NO CHANGE” option.
Choose that option if you think the best choice is to leave the relevant portion of the
passage as it is.
1
Questions 1-11 are based on the following passage.
A) NO CHANGE
B) in search of
The Pioneers of the Great Exodus
C) with a look for
D) to the discovery of
At the end of the Reconstruction era that followed
the American Civil War, tens of thousands of black
former slaves left the southern United States 1 for
2
finding social and economic opportunity in the western
states and territories. The movement was known as the
A) NO CHANGE
B) his or her
Great Exodus, and 2 their participants came to be
C) its
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D) one’s
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called exodusters. 3 During this time, travel from one
3
Which choice provides the most appropriate context
for the discussion that follows in the passage?
part of the country to another took days or even weeks,
and the dangers wild animals posed were not to be
A) NO CHANGE
underestimated.
B) Settlers from Kentucky, Tennessee, and Missouri
were part of the Great Exodus.
C) The Great Exodus has parallels to large-scale
migrations that occurred in the United States
during the twentieth century.
The most popular destination was Kansas, in part
because of its role as an early stronghold of the
movement to abolish slavery. One settlement in that state
D) Drawn by the promise of farming on their own
land rather than sharecropping for a landlord,
exodusters founded dozens of communities in
the West in the 1870s and 1880s.
was Nicodemus, a town in northwestern Kansas that
drew more than 300 settlers to make the long journey
from Kentucky in 1877. 4 Real estate agents
5 mentioned Nicodemus in brochures and newspapers,
4
but the reality that exodusters confronted on arrival was
At this point, the writer is considering adding the
following sentence.
less appealing. For one early settler of Nicodemus,
Between 1870 and 1879, approximately 10,000
exodusters entered Kansas.
Willianna Hickman, the flat, empty landscape contrasted
starkly with the forested hills where she grew up—
Should the writer make this addition here?
Hickman recalled bursting into tears when she first saw
A) Yes, because it sheds light on an aspect of the
settlers’ backgrounds.
her new home.
B) Yes, because it provides a historical context for
the discussion of the Great Exodus.
C) No, because it contradicts information in the
previous paragraph.
D) No, because it digresses from the discussion of
the settlement of Nicodemus.
5
Which choice most effectively sets up the
information that follows in the paragraph?
A) NO CHANGE
B) wrote songs and slogans to attract settlers,
C) advertised the location and characteristics of
Nicodemus,
D) promised plentiful harvests and abundant
wildlife,
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6
Some exodusters returned to the familiar
A) NO CHANGE
6 expanse of their home 7 states: but others—
B) terrain
C) spread
including Hickman and her husband, Daniel, decided to
stay in their new farming villages. These farmers faced
D) locale
many difficulties. In Nicodemus, the lack of trees for
home construction or fuel forced settlers to build houses
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out of sod and burn materials such as sunflowers for heat.
A) NO CHANGE
Possessing less wealth than settlers from Europe or other
B) states—but others
C) states; but, others
D) states, but others,
parts of the United States, 8 horses or farm implements
could not be afforded by many exodusters, who had to do
agricultural work with inadequate hand tools. In the first
8
years, many could not raise enough crops to sustain
A) NO CHANGE
themselves and had to seek aid from neighbors or state
B) affording horses or farm implements was
impossible for many exodusters, who
C) many exodusters could not afford horses or farm
implements and
governments.
D) the lack of affordability of horses or farm
implements meant many exodusters
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9
The prosperity of exoduster settlements depended on
A) NO CHANGE
the yields of their farms. 9 Eventually, harvests in
B) Still,
C) Rather,
Nicodemus grew, which allowed residents to purchase
lumber for their houses and attracted 10 banks, grocery
D) Next,
stores, and other businesses. But the challenges of smallscale farming, 11 exacerbated and made worse by
10
economic volatility, slowed the Great Exodus. By the
A) NO CHANGE
twentieth century, Nicodemus had stopped growing, with
B) banks, grocery, stores
C) banks; grocery stores,
D) banks; grocery stores
many businesses moving away, and other exoduster
communities had disappeared altogether. As settlers left
the region, Nicodemus became the only original
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exoduster town to endure to the present day. It remains,
A) NO CHANGE
in the words of a 1996 congressional bill establishing it as
B) exacerbated and worsened
C) exacerbated
a National Historic Site, “symbolic of the pioneer spirit of
D) made worse by exacerbation
African Americans who dared to leave the only region
they had been familiar with to seek personal freedom and
the opportunity to develop their talents and capabilities.”
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12
Questions 12-22 are based on the following passage.
Which choice most effectively combines the
sentences at the underlined portion?
Debunking Myths of the Dodo
A) bird that was endemic to the Indian Ocean island
of Mauritius and
Julian Hume, a paleontologist at the Natural History
B) bird, a bird that was endemic to the Indian
Ocean island of Mauritius and that
C) bird, which was endemic to the Indian Ocean
island of Mauritius; here the dodo
Museum in Hertfordshire, United Kingdom, has long
been troubled by the misunderstandings surrounding the
scientific community’s knowledge of the dodo (Raphus
D) bird endemic to the Indian Ocean island of
Mauritius—one that on this island
cucullatus), a large, flightless 12 bird. This was a bird
that was endemic to the Indian Ocean island of Mauritius
and likely went extinct by the year 1693.
13
13 Consequently, the dodo has been depicted as an
A) NO CHANGE
unintelligent, oddly shaped animal with tiny wings and a
B) Traditionally,
clumsy demeanor—a veritable buffoon of a bird.
C) Therefore,
D) Similarly,
14 However, Hume and others have shown that the
dodo was much more capable than such depictions
14
would suggest.
The writer is considering revising the underlined
portion to the following.
However, using cutting-edge techniques to
analyze skeletal specimens,
Should the writer make this revision?
A) Yes, because it introduces information that is
developed later in the passage.
B) Yes, because it gives details that reinforce the
description in the previous sentence.
C) No, because it adds an idea that is not directly
related to the passage’s main discussion.
D) No, because it contradicts information provided
in the concluding paragraph.
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15
[1] Hume was part of a team of paleontologists that
A) NO CHANGE
employed 3-D laser scanning to produce high-resolution
B) pelvis—
C) pelvis;
images of each bone from two nearly complete dodo
specimens. [2] The team used the images to reconstruct a
D) pelvis,
more streamlined model of dodo skeletal structure; they
also evaluated the individual bone images. [3] Hume
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noted that the robust kneecaps of R. cucullatus, along
A) NO CHANGE
with its thick leg bones and broad 15 pelvis would have
B) it
C) these
D) that
provided 16 them with the strength and maneuverability
to easily navigate the rocky and densely forested
landscape of Mauritius. [4] The prominence of these
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features suggests a well-developed musculature,
The writer wants to add the following sentence to the
paragraph.
indicating that the wings, while small in size relative to
The team also argued for the anatomical
significance of the ridges and indentations in the
dodo’s wing bones.
the rest of the body, likely enhanced the dodo’s speed and
agility. 17
To make the paragraph most logical, the sentence
should be placed
A) after sentence 1.
B) after sentence 2.
C) after sentence 3.
D) after sentence 4.
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Another team of scientists, 18 being a team that was
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A) NO CHANGE
overseen and led by comparative biologist Eugenia Gold,
B) led
C) a team led
then a graduate student working at the American
Museum of Natural History, focused on the dodo’s
D) overseen and also led
capacity for cognition. They used computed tomography
scanning on a well-preserved R. cucullatus skull to create
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a virtual endocast, a 3-D model of the brain cavity. The
A) NO CHANGE
team created similar models for eight of the dodo’s
B) also they
C) and
D) DELETE the underlined portion.
presumed closest relatives, including several extant
species, 19 they calculated the ratio of brain volume to
total body mass for each specimen. The ratio for the dodo
20
was comparable to that of a modern bird possessing
capacity for learning. 20 While brain volume is not an
The writer wants to acknowledge a potential
objection to the means by which Gold and her team
reached their conclusion. Which choice most
effectively accomplishes this goal?
infallible indicator of intelligence, Gold’s team concluded
A) NO CHANGE
that the dodo was not all that dimwitted.
B) Comparing dodos to Neanderthals, another
underestimated extinct species,
considerable navigational and visual skills and a vaunted
C) Despite the fact that the dodo is extinct,
D) Since the dodo’s brain volume was correlated to
its body size,
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21 Hume and Gold’s results’, obtained with more
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A) NO CHANGE
comprehensive data than previously available and with
B) Humes’ and Gold’s results,
C) Hume’s and Gold’s result’s,
the aid of improved analytical techniques, offer a
necessary revision of the dodo’s reputation. The dodo
D) Hume’s and Gold’s results,
may not have been the most graceful of birds or an avian
Einstein, but neither 22 was it the clownish creature that
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is so often imagined.
A) NO CHANGE
B) will it be
C) is it being
D) will it have been
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Questions 23-33 are based on the following passage
and supplementary material.
A) NO CHANGE
B) mulled over her future plans and decided
C) made a choice, deciding
VISTA Offers New Perspectives
D) decided
Considering her options after graduation, college
student Shauntia Dyson 23 thought about what she
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might do and decided that she wanted to use her skills to
A) NO CHANGE
help people struggling with the challenges of poverty. A
B) Georgia; where,
search for such opportunities led her to the AmeriCorps
C) Georgia, where:
D) Georgia; where
VISTA (Volunteers in Service to America) program. Each
VISTA member works full time for one year at a private
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nonprofit or public agency in a low-income community.
A) NO CHANGE
In 2016, Dyson began her VISTA service at the Forsyth
B) its
C) her
Farmers’ Market in Savannah, 24 Georgia, where, in
exchange for a modest salary and benefits, she supports
D) one’s
the organization in its mission of offering locally
produced food options to people in the Savannah area.
Dyson and 25 their fellow VISTA members, or VISTAs,
have made an excellent decision, one that will benefit
them now and in the future.
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VISTAs’ salaries may be low, but the VISTA
A) NO CHANGE
experience is very rewarding in other ways. The
B) thankful
C) satisfactory
program’s dedication to assisting people in need makes
the work especially 26 reassuring to those who, like
D) gratifying
Dyson, find joy in serving and helping others.
27 However, VISTAs’ responsibilities tend to be at a
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higher level than those found in private-sector jobs.
A) NO CHANGE
VISTAs are typically not hired to offer direct services
B) To that end,
C) What’s more,
D) Nevertheless,
such as delivering 28 food, rather they use their talents
on big-picture initiatives such as building the capacity
and improving the financial health of the organizations
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that employ them. Dyson enthusiastically 29 explains
A) NO CHANGE
that: her role at the farmers’ market involves, “enhancing
B) food, rather,
C) food; rather,
the organization’s reach and visibility” as well as
D) food, rather:
“increasing and diversifying financial and in-kind
resources.”
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A) NO CHANGE
B) explains that her role at the farmers’ market
involves:
C) explains, that her role at the farmers’ market
involves
D) explains that her role at the farmers’ market
involves
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2
The program also assists VISTAs in 30 preparing
30
Which choice provides the most effective
introduction to the paragraph?
for their future careers. A 2015 study asked VISTA
alumni to rate the program’s success in helping them
A) NO CHANGE
build various career-specific skills. Five of these skills—
communicating in writing, conducting oneself
B) learning to meet deadlines.
C) determining what they want to do for a living.
professionally, working independently, meeting
D) furthering their commitment to public service.
deadlines, and prioritizing tasks—were grouped under
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the heading “Managing Self and Work.” The data are
Which choice most effectively uses information from
the graph to support the writer’s argument for
VISTA service?
persuasive: 31 30% of alumni rated VISTA service as
having improved their management of self and work
A) NO CHANGE
“somewhat,” while a mere 4% said the program improved
B) 66% of alumni rated VISTA service as having
improved their management of self and work “a
great deal,”
their skills in this area “very little or not at all.”
Additionally, 32 most VISTA alumni surveyed, about
C) more VISTA alumni reported that the program
had improved their management of self and
work than reported that it had not done so,
three-fourths, agreed or strongly agreed with the claim
that VISTA was a worthwhile experience in furthering
D) of the VISTA alumni who responded to the
survey, some thought the program had improved
their management of self and work,
their professional goals.
Results from 2015 Survey of
VISTA Alumni
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Which choice most effectively uses information from
the graph to support the main idea of the paragraph?
Percent indicating that VISTA helped build skills
in the area of managing self and work
66%
30%
a great deal
A) NO CHANGE
4%
B) many VISTA alumni surveyed, about half,
agreed with
somewhat very little
or not at all
C) only about one-fourth of VISTA alumni
surveyed disagreed with
D) virtually all VISTA alumni surveyed either
agreed with or were neutral regarding
Percent indicating that VISTA was a worthwhile
experience in furthering professional goals
48%
28%
24%
strongly agree
agree
neutral or
disagree
Adapted from “AmeriCorps Alumni Outcomes Summary Report.”
Corporation for National and Community Service. Published in 2015.
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By joining VISTA, Shauntia Dyson is following in the
A) NO CHANGE
footsteps of hundreds of thousands of people, over the
B) have helped
C) will have helped
program’s fifty-year history, who 33 are helping
improve both their communities and their career
D) would have helped
prospects. More US students should consider devoting a
year as a volunteer in service to America.
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Questions 34-44 are based on the following passage.
A) NO CHANGE
B) Greece, granting
C) Greece, it granted
Where Do the Parthenon Sculptures Belong?
In 1801 British nobleman Thomas Bruce, the Earl of
D) Greece and granting
Elgin, arrived in Athens, Greece, to document the
beautiful marble sculptures that decorated the Parthenon,
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a temple built in the fifth century BCE. Elgin arrived with
The writer is considering revising the underlined
portion to the following.
a permit from officials of the Ottoman Empire, which
intentions: to them, it seemed that Elgin was
stealing rather than protecting an important part
of Greek culture.
then occupied 34 Greece. Granting him permission to
make drawings and casts of the sculptures; the permit
Should the writer make this revision here?
also allowed him to “take away any pieces of stone with
A) Yes, because it clarifies the opinions of the public
figures in a way that helps establish the focus of
the passage.
inscriptions or figures.” After finding that many of the
Parthenon sculptures had been harmed and that others
B) Yes, because it suggests that Greek culture was
able to thrive within the Ottoman Empire.
were being sold to tourists, Elgin decided to take full
advantage of the permit and arranged to take many of the
C) No, because it disrupts the passage’s narrative
about the Parthenon sculptures by giving loosely
related information.
sculptures to Britain. Some public figures—including the
poet Lord Byron and the politician Sir John Newport—
D) No, because it merely records uncredited hearsay
about the actions of Elgin.
immediately questioned the legitimacy of Elgin’s
seemingly good 35 intentions.
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36
Following an investigation, a British parliamentary
“asylum” to the sculptures. 36 In 1823 Lord Byron sailed
Which choice provides the most effective transition
between the discussion of the committee’s
investigation and the next event in the narrative?
to Greece to support the Greek quest for independence
A) NO CHANGE
from the Ottoman Empire. After Greece gained
B) The concept of asylum typically applies to
situations involving political refugees.
C) They were installed in the British Museum that
same year.
committee concluded in 1816 that Britain should give
independence in 1832, however, some argued that the
agreement Elgin had made with the Ottoman
D) They no longer had the vivid colors applied by
ancient Greek artisans.
government was 37 now totally bogus and that the
sculptures should be returned. In 1925 a series of
newspaper debates brought the issue to popular
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A) NO CHANGE
attention, and Greece has 38 razed the question of the
B) no longer valid
sculptures’ repatriation with almost every British
C) not OK anymore
ambassador ever since.
D) henceforth bereft of legitimacy
38
A) NO CHANGE
B) appraised
C) upraised
D) raised
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39
Officials from the British Museum have long argued
A) NO CHANGE
that the expertise of their curators 39 has protected the
B) have protected
C) are protecting
sculptures from the elements. In support of their
argument, they note that the sculptures that Elgin did not
D) were protecting
remove have suffered from pollution. In an effort to
40 beautify Athens, the Greek government constructed a
40
large, state-of-the-art museum, which opened in 2009, to
Which choice provides the most effective explanation
for the action described in the sentence?
house the Parthenon sculptures that remain in the
A) NO CHANGE
country. This 41 museums facility’s would also be
B) generate more revenue from tourism,
capable of housing the sculptures that are currently in
C) prove its commitment to the sculptures’
well-being,
Britain should they be returned.
D) attract more art enthusiasts to its collection of
antiquities,
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A) NO CHANGE
B) museum’s facilities
C) museum facilities
D) museums’ facility
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42 Regardless of the controversy, the Parthenon
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Which choice most effectively introduces the
sentence that follows in the paragraph?
sculptures deserve a wide audience. Some argue that
cultural artifacts belong in the country where they were
A) NO CHANGE
created, while others still say that a large international
B) The debate over the ultimate fate of the
Parthenon sculptures continues to this day.
C) Many questions remain about the construction
of the Parthenon sculptures.
institution like the British Museum is best suited to house
objects that are significant to human history. In 2015 the
D) The argument about the Parthenon sculptures is
one of many arts-related controversies.
Greek government decided not to pursue legal action
against 43 Britain. It opted instead for continued
diplomatic efforts. As of 2018, it remains uncertain where
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44 the Parthenon sculptures in the British Museum will
Which choice most effectively combines the
sentences at the underlined portion?
ultimately reside?
A) Britain instead of opting
B) Britain; instead, the Greek government opted
C) Britain, which opted instead
D) Britain, opting instead
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A) NO CHANGE
B) the Parthenon sculptures in the British Museum
will ultimately reside.
C) will the Parthenon sculptures in the British
Museum ultimately reside?
D) will the Parthenon sculptures in the British
Museum ultimately reside.
STOP
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Do not turn to any other section.
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