1984 AP M/C
1. In context, the word "despotisms" in the last paragraph most nearly means:
A. erroneous thoughts
B. governments with absolute power
C. Big Brother and the Brotherhood
D. traitors like Jones, Aaronson, and Rutherford
E. those who work in the Ministry of Truth
2. The primary speaker finds fault with the regimes of the past for all of the following reasons EXCEPT:
A. They killed their enemy in the open, while they were still unrepentant.
B. The men they killed became martyrs.
C. They annihilated their victims in the past as well as in the future.
D. The glory belonged to their victims.
E. The victims' degradation was forgotten.
3. The tone of the passage can best be described as:
A. measured indignation
B. cautious admonition
C. incredulous bewilderment
D. unapologetic explanation
E. irreverent sarcasm
4. The major claim of the last paragraph is most clearly stated in the following sentence:
A. "By the time we had finished with them they were only shells of men. There was nothing left in them
except sorrow for what they had done, and love of Big Brother."
B. "In the old days the heretic walked to the stake still a heretic, proclaiming his heresy, exulting in it."
C. "Even the victim in the Russian purges could carry rebellion locked up in his skull as he walked down
the passage waiting for the bullet."
D. "Even those miserable traitors in whose innocence you once believed--Jones, Aaronson, and Rutherford-in the end we broke them down."
5. In the last paragraph, the line "You are a stain that must be wiped out" is an example of which of the
following?
A. anaphora
B. oxymoron
C. allusion
D. archaism
E. metaphor
6. In context, the word "posterity" in paragraph 1 most nearly means:
A. future generations
B. Julia
C. unity
D. discourse
E. petition
7. The lines, "Thou shalt not," "Thou shalt," and "Thou art" are examples of:
A. anadiplosis
B. oxymoron
C. euphemism
D. archaism
E. metaphor
8. References to the Inquisition and Nazis are examples of:
A. anaphora
B. oxymoron
C. allusion
D. archaism
E. asyndeton
9. The sentence, "We convert him, we capture his inner mind, we reshape him" is an example of:
A. anaphora
B. allusion
C. asyndeton
D. anaphora and asyndeton
E. allusion and anaphora
10. The primary mode of composition (discourse) of the passage is:
A. narration
B. description
C. argument
D. exposition
Allusion: a brief and indirect reference to a person, place, thing or idea of
historical, cultural, literary or political significance.
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“Don’t act like Romeo in front of her.” – “Romeo” is a reference to Shakespeare’s
Romeo, a passionate lover of Juliet, in “Romeo and Juliet”.
The rise in poverty will unlock the Pandora’s box of crimes. – This is an allusion
to one of Greek Mythology’s origin myth, “Pandora’s box”.
“This place is a Garden of Eden.” – This is a biblical allusion to the “garden of
God” in the Book of Genesis.
Anadiplosis: ("doubling back") the rhetorical repetition of one or several words;
specifically, repetition of a word that ends one clause at the beginning of the
next.
*Men in great place are thrice servants: servants of the sovereign or
state; servants of fame; and servants of business. Francis Bacon
Anaphora: the repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive
phrases, clauses or lines.
*We shall not flag or fail. We shall go on to the end. We shall fight in
France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with
growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our
island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall
fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets,
we shall fight in the hills. We shall never surrender. Churchill.
Archaism: use of an older or obsolete word form.
Upon yonder hill, I didst thou see.
Asyndeton: lack of conjunctions between coordinate phrases, clauses, or words.
*We shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardships, support
any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of
liberty. J. F. Kennedy, Inaugural
*But, in a larger sense, we cannot dedicate, we cannot consecrate, we
cannot hallow this ground. Lincoln, “Gettysburg Address”
Euphemism: substitution of an agreeable or at least non-offensive expression
for one whose plainer meaning might be harsh or unpleasant.
Restroom for toilet or bathroom
Passed away for died
Correctional facility for prison
Metaphor: implied comparison achieved through a figurative use of words; the
word is used not in its literal sense.
My dad is a mountain, immovable, impressive and rugged.
Oxymoron: apparent paradox achieved by the juxtaposition of words, which
seem to contradict one another.
*I must be cruel only to be kind. Shakespeare, Hamlet
The Traditional Four Modes of Discourse
Exposition is the most commonly used of the traditional modes of discourse.
Expository writing sets out to present ideas in a clear, straight forward, objective
manner. The most commonly used methods of development in expository writing
are analogy, cause and effect, classification, comparison and contrast, definition,
illustration, and process analysis.
Argument attempts to persuade a reader to accept the writer’s viewpoint or
position. Logical argument appeals to the reason or intellect of the reader while
persuasive argument appeals primarily to the reader’s emotions and often elicits a
call to action or a change in a reader’s belief. Logical argument uses three methods
to develop a position: induction, deduction, and analogy.
Narration tells a story or presents a sequence of events which occurred over a
period of time. If the story is significant in itself, it is narration. If a story illustrates
a point in exposition or argument, it may be called illustrative narration. If a story
outlines a process step-by-step, it is designated as expository narration.
Description presents factual information about an object or experience (objective
description) or reports an impression or evaluation of an object or experience
(subjective description). Most description combines two purposes.
It was a frightening night (an evaluation with which others might disagree).
The wind blew the shingles off the north side of the house and drove the rain under
the door (two facts about which there can be little disagreement).