“I’m like a woodcarver staring at a block of
wood… in the story of Pinocchio, that block of wood
turned into a real boy. If you just keep working,
you'll reach a point when the story starts coming to
life. That's what a writer lives for! From that point
on, you're hearing conversations in your head,
you're seeing things happen, and you're just writing
it all down.” According to Will Hobbs, this is how
great stories like Downriver are created. Hobbs
explains that the inspiration and success of
Downriver came from his personal experiences
white-water rafting, from the people who inspired
his characters and from not being afraid to try an
idea even if it failed.
Hobbs has quite a bit of experience whitewater rafting, which helped him greatly while writing
Downriver. His observations during the ten rafting
trips he has taken in the Grand Canyon helped him
describe the setting and create conflict. The poison
ivy, for example, is really where Jessie describes it
being. The River of Blue is the Little Colorado and the
1. The quote at the beginning of the essay is an
example of
A. transition
B. hook
C. claim
D. evidence
2. Which of the following sentences presents the
claim of this essay?
A. “If you just keep working, you'll reach a
point when the story starts coming to life.
That's what a writer lives for!”
B. “From that point on, you're hearing
conversations in your head, you're seeing
things happen, and you're just writing it all
down.”
C. According to Will Hobbs, this is how great
stories like Downriver are created.
D. Hobbs explains that the inspiration and
success of Downriver came from his
personal experiences white-water rafting,
from the people who inspired his characters
and from not being afraid to try an idea even
if it failed.
3. What part of the TREC format is represented in
the underlined portion?
A. T
B. R
C. E
D. C
characters had the same reaction Hobbs did when
he first saw it. In addition, some of Hobbs’ plot
events really happened to him. For instance, the
scene where the teens are cooking breakfast at their
tiny camp below the walls of the inner gorge, and a
thunderstorm breaks and sends waterfalls and rocks
into their camp, is something that happened to
Hobbs. His group had to throw everything onto the
rafts as quickly as possible and get out on the river
where they would be safe from falling debris and
cascading water. ____________________________
______________________________All in all, Hobbs’
experience rafting the Colorado River helped
Downriver come to life.
4. Which of the following sentences should be
inserted where the underlined portion appears?
A. This event helped Hobbs effectively create
a conflict in Downriver.
B. The River of Blue is one of Hobbs’ favorite
attractions in the Grand Canyon.
C. This event was one of my favorite events in
the book and I am glad Hobbs used it.
D. Hobbs lives a life of danger and excitement.
_________, the characters in Downriver
were inspired by the many students Hobbs taught as
a reading teacher, along with the friends and family
that joined him on his white-water rafting
adventures. As a reading teacher, Hobbs was able to
meet many teenagers and often thinks about the
various personalities he has encountered while
crafting characters for his novels. Hobbs remembers
working with students similar to Troy. Reading
teachers sometimes become writers. Hobbs quickly
realized that a character who was as charismatic,
manipulative and complex as Troy would create a
complex plot. Moreover, the actions of the people
who Hobbs has adventured with have supplied him
with great ideas for his novels. Hobbs’ brother-inlaw, for example, once brought a scorpion in a blue
5. Which of the following transitions would best
fit on the line?
A. In summary,
B. First,
C. Likewise,
D. Finally,
6. Which sentence should be removed from this
section of the paragraph?
A. As a reading teacher, Hobbs was able
to meet many teenagers and often
thinks about the various personalities
he has encountered while crafting
characters for his novels.
B. Hobbs remembers working with
students similar to Troy.
C. Reading teachers sometimes become
writers.
D. Hobbs quickly realized that a character
who was as charismatic, manipulative
and complex as Troy would create a
complex plot.
plastic soap dish into camp. Hobbs immediately
recognized the potential of such an action in his
novel. In summary, ___________________________
________________________________________.
7. The example underlined is used to support what
claim?
A. Hobbs brother-in-law was as foolish as
Adam.
B. Hobbs’ family members have helped
inspire events in his novels.
C. Scorpions are dangerous and can kill
people.
D. Hobbs enjoys danger in his life.
8. Which of the following sentences would best
function as a concluding sentence for this
paragraph?
A. Troy is the most interesting character in
the novel.
B. Hobbs writes successful stories for
teenagers.
C. rafting the Grand Canyon can be
challenging and full of adventure.
D. Hobbs effectively uses his real-life
experiences with the people around him
in his stories.
Furthermore, Hobbs made many changes to
Downriver before it was complete; he was never
afraid to try new ideas when it comes to creative
writing. Hobbs made a major plot change even after
he had completed the entire first draft! For example,
in the first draft the teens… _________________
________________________________________
This, of course, required quite a bit of revision
because the group was experiencing the Grand
Canyon without any guide. Similarly, Hobbs first
draft did not include Jessie as the narrator. In fact,
she did not appear until the third draft. Hobbs wrote
the story through the eyes of three different firstperson narrators. _________________________
And what happened to the other narrators? Hobbs
wrote them out of the story. Once he found his
narrator, he no longer needed those characters.
Clearly, Hobbs was not afraid to take chances and
experiment with plot and character while writing
Downriver.
_____________, Hobbs success with his
novel Downriver came from a variety of places. His
experience rafting the Colorado River of the Grand
Canyon, the people he has met in his life and his
ability to take risks and revise his ideas has helped
him become the successful writer he is today. To
read more about Jessie and her friends, check out
the sequel to Downriver… River Thunder!
13. What three elements are primarily discussed to
help the author fully develop the claim in this
essay?
A. Troy, Hobbs’ brother-in-law and Jessie
B. Hobbs’ personal experiences, people he
knows and his willingness to revise his
writing
C. Troy, Hobbs’ personal experiences and his
students
D. Hobbs’ personal experiences, his family and
his willingness to revise
9. Which of the following examples
would best fit in the underlined portion?
A. … never ditched Al. Consequently,
Hobbs felt this version lacked tension
and drama. Once he decided to have the
group ditch Al in his second draft, the
teens had to rely more on each other
and the conflicts quickly emerged.
B. …did not raft the Grand Canyon, but
the San Juan River. Consequently,
Hobbs felt this version lacked imagery.
The original setting of the San Juan
mountains was simply not as beautiful
as the Grand Canyon.
C. …rafted the Grand Canyon with
Heather. She was too annoying though
as a character, so Hobbs simply did not
include her in draft two. It was easy to
have her decide to bail.
D. … never stopped at the store to get
food. This addition really changed the
direction of the plot and increased
tension within the group.
10. Which piece of evidence best fits in the
underlined portion?
A. Two out of four writers prefer to write
in first-person point of view, while
third-person omniscient is the least
common type of point of view.
B. Hobbs explains, “the voice of the
storyteller is so important—it really
needs to sound authentic… [u]ntil I
landed on Jessie, I didn't have a
narrator who would jump off the page
and come to life.”
C. Hobbs explains, “You get better by
[writing often]. Get a rough draft
written that you can work with, and
revise it later.”
D. Unfortunately, Hobbs wasted three
drafts searching for the perfect narrator.
11. Which transition best fits in the underlined
portion?
A. Furthermore,
B. On the other hand,
C. Certainly,
D. For example,
12. What is the purpose of the last paragraph that
appears in the box?
A. it is the conclusion
B. it is the final body paragraph
C. it is a flashback
D. it is the claim