Q set 3 ("Many people think of the desert...")

Passage I (Many people think of the desert...)

1. C - We want the choice that suggests negating the opinion. Disposes is close, but the meaning is too strong. 

2. J - Past tense

3. B - The sentence begins with "Situated in Southern California..." This is a phrase that needs to modify whatever comes right after it, so what comes after needs to be something that is situated in southern Cal. The only possibility is valley, which makes the right answer B. When the thing after the comma can't be modified by the phrase, we call it a dangling modifier. 

4. H - It completes the comparison "as many as."

5. B - Has (present perfect tense) suggests the lake is currently in the state of drying up.

6. J - It's redundant (we already have "Called"; that's often the reason for omitting the portion).

7. A - Just simple past tense

8. H

9. C

10. H - This is both stylistically best (it flows) and grammatically correct (the other options have either verb problems or, with choice F, a dangling modifier. 

11. A

12. J

13. A

14. G - The phrase "extending . . . October" is non-essential to the sentence, meaning it's parenthetical. You can take it out and it doesn't change the meaning and focus of the sentence. In that case you want commas around it. If removing the phrase alters the sentence's meaning, then leave out the commas.

15. C - The other choices add unnecessary wording.

SAT Prompt 2 "Why Literature Matters"

Just like last week...

1. Read the essay below. If it helps, print it up and make notes on the text. You can do that during your ACT or SAT test, and it can help you organize your thoughts.

2. Write an essay that responds to the prompt. Be sure to stick to the prompt. You can write a Pulitzer Prize worthy essay, but if it's not on topic, it will earn you nothing from your SAT or ACT reader.

3. Type your writing. We won't worry about the 50 minute limit this time.

4. 600 words minimum (there is a correlation between high score on these essays and word count; the highest scoring essays average 600-700 words. The lowest 25% average 250 words. 

5. Be sure to quote the text and use specific details to support your analysis.

6. Proof it carefully.  

Prompt

As you read the passage below, consider how Dana Gioia uses

• evidence, such as facts or examples, to support claims.
• reasoning to develop ideas and to connect claims and evidence.
• stylistic or persuasive elements, such as word choice or appeals to emotion, to add power to the ideas expressed.

---

Adapted from Dana Gioia, “Why Literature Matters” ©2005 by The New York Times Company. Originally published April 10, 2005.

[A] strange thing has happened in the American arts during the past quarter century. While income rose to unforeseen levels, college attendance ballooned, and access to information increased enormously, the interest young Americans showed in the arts—and especially literature—actually diminished.

According to the 2002 Survey of Public Participation in the Arts, a population study designed and commissioned by the National Endowment for the Arts (and executed by the US Bureau of the Census), arts participation by Americans has declined for eight of the nine major forms that are measured....The declines have been most severe among younger adults (ages 18–24). The most worrisome finding in the 2002 study, however, is the declining percentage of Americans, especially young adults, reading literature.

That individuals at a time of crucial intellectual and emotional development bypass the joys and challenges of literature is a troubling trend. If it were true that they substituted histories, biographies, or political works for literature, one might not worry. But book reading of any kind is falling as well.

That such a longstanding and fundamental cultural activity should slip so swiftly, especially among young adults, signifies deep transformations in contemporary life. To call attention to the trend, the Arts Endowment issued the reading portion of the Survey as a separate report, “Reading at Risk: A Survey of Literary Reading in America.”

The decline in reading has consequences that go beyond literature. The significance of reading has become a persistent theme in the business world. The February issue of Wired magazine, for example, sketches a new set of mental skills and habits proper to the 21st century, aptitudes decidedly literary in character: not “linear, logical, analytical talents,” author Daniel Pink states, but “the ability to create artistic and emotional beauty, to detect patterns and opportunities, to craft a satisfying narrative.” When asked what kind of talents they like to see in management positions, business leaders consistently set imagination, creativity, and higher-order thinking at the top.

Ironically, the value of reading and the intellectual faculties that it inculcates appear most clearly as active and engaged literacy declines. There is now a growing awareness of the consequences of nonreading to the workplace. In 2001 the National Association of Manufacturers polled its members on skill deficiencies among employees. Among hourly workers, poor reading skills ranked second, and 38 percent of employers complained that local schools inadequately taught reading comprehension.

The decline of reading is also taking its toll in the civic sphere....A 2003 study of 15- to 26-year-olds’ civic knowledge by the National Conference of State Legislatures concluded, “Young people do not understand the ideals of citizenship… and their appreciation and support of American democracy is limited.”

It is probably no surprise that declining rates of literary reading coincide with declining levels of historical and political awareness among young people. One of the surprising findings of “Reading at Risk” was that literary readers are markedly more civically engaged than nonreaders, scoring two to four times more likely to perform charity work, visit a museum, or attend a sporting event. One reason for their higher social and cultural interactions may lie in the kind of civic and historical knowledge that comes with literary reading....

The evidence of literature’s importance to civic, personal, and economic health is too strong to ignore. The decline of literary reading foreshadows serious long-term social and economic problems, and it is time to bring literature and the other arts into discussions of public policy. Libraries, schools, and public agencies do noble work, but addressing the reading issue will require the leadership of politicians and the business community as well....

Reading is not a timeless, universal capability. Advanced literacy is a specific intellectual skill and social habit that depends on a great many educational, cultural, and economic factors. As more Americans lose this capability, our nation becomes less informed, active, and independent-minded. These are not the qualities that a free, innovative, or productive society can afford to lose.

---

Write an essay in which you explain how Dana Gioia builds an argument to persuade his audience that the decline of reading in America will have a negative effect on society. In your essay, analyze how Gioia uses one or more of the features in the directions that precede the passage (or features of your own choice) to strengthen the logic and persuasiveness of his argument. Be sure that your analysis focuses on the most relevant features of the passage.

Your essay should not explain whether you agree with Gioia’s claims, but rather explain how Gioia builds an argument to persuade his audience.

SAT prompt 1 "Let There Be Dark"

SAT essay review...
Before you begin, look carefully at the prompt and at the writing assignment described in the last paragraph. This language does NOT change from test to test, and it asks you to consider specific things. Look at what I've highlighted before you start reading the essay. These should be the building blocks of your writing. 

So here's your work:

1. Read the essay below. 

2. Write an essay that responds to the prompt. 

3. 600 words minimum (there is a correlation between high score on these essays and word count; the highest scoring essays average 600-700 words. The lowest 25% average 250 words. Yes, you can write a terrible 700 word essay, but it's impossible to write an excellent 200 word essay.  

4. Be sure to include these main parts:
    
    In the intro... 
            author, title of persuasive piece
            what is being argued for
            your three points of development (the SAT gives you your three points in the  
               prompt's intro. Look at the highlighted bullet points.)
    In the body paragraphs...
            clear topic sentences that correlate to your three points. Quote the text often!
    In the conclusion...
            bring it all back to what is being argued for.

5. Proof it carefully. 

The Prompt (Everything below, except the highlighting, has been taken directly from the SAT test.)

As you read the passage below, consider how Paul Bogard uses

• evidence, such as facts or examples, to support claims.
• reasoning to develop ideas and to connect claims and evidence.
• stylistic or persuasive elements, such as word choice or appeals to emotion, to add power to the ideas expressed.

---

Adapted from Paul Bogard, “Let There Be Dark.” ©2012 by Los Angeles Times. Originally published December 21, 2012.

At my family’s cabin on a Minnesota lake, I knew woods so dark that my hands disappeared before my eyes. I knew night skies in which meteors left smoky trails across sugary spreads of stars. But now, when 8 of 10 children born in the United States will never know a sky dark enough for the Milky Way, I worry we are rapidly losing night’s natural darkness before realizing its worth. This winter solstice, as we cheer the days’ gradual movement back toward light, let us also remember the irreplaceable value of darkness.

All life evolved to the steady rhythm of bright days and dark nights. Today, though, when we feel the closeness of nightfall, we reach quickly for a light switch. And too little darkness, meaning too much artificial light at night, spells trouble for all.

Already the World Health Organization classifies working the night shift as a probable human carcinogen, and the American Medical Association has voiced its unanimous support for “light pollution reduction efforts and glare reduction efforts at both the national and state levels.” Our bodies need darkness to produce the hormone melatonin, which keeps certain cancers from developing, and our bodies need darkness for sleep. Sleep disorders have been linked to diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular disease and depression, and recent research suggests one main cause of “short sleep” is “long light.” Whether we work at night or simply take our tablets, notebooks and smartphones to bed, there isn’t a place for this much artificial light in our lives.

The rest of the world depends on darkness as well, including nocturnal and crepuscular species of birds, insects, mammals, fish and reptiles. Some examples are well known—the 400 species of birds that migrate at night in North America, the sea turtles that come ashore to lay their eggs—and some are not, such as the bats that save American farmers billions in pest control and the moths that pollinate 80% of the world’s flora. Ecological light pollution is like the bulldozer of the night, wrecking habitat and disrupting ecosystems several billion years in the making. Simply put, without darkness, Earth’s ecology would collapse....

In today’s crowded, louder, more fast-paced world, night’s darkness can provide solitude, quiet and stillness, qualities increasingly in short supply. Every religious tradition has considered darkness invaluable for a soulful life, and the chance to witness the universe has inspired artists, philosophers and everyday stargazers since time began. In a world awash with electric light...how would Van Gogh have given the world his “Starry Night”? Who knows what this vision of the night sky might inspire in each of us, in our children or grandchildren?

Yet all over the world, our nights are growing brighter. In the United States and Western Europe, the amount of light in the sky increases an average of about 6% every year. Computer images of the United States at night, based on NASA photographs, show that what was a very dark country as recently as the 1950s is now nearly covered with a blanket of light. Much of this light is wasted energy, which means wasted dollars. Those of us over 35 are perhaps among the last generation to have known truly dark nights. Even the northern lake where I was lucky to spend my summers has seen its darkness diminish. 

It doesn’t have to be this way. Light pollution is readily within our ability to solve, using new lighting technologies and shielding existing lights. Already, many cities and towns across North America and Europe are changing to LED streetlights, which offer dramatic possibilities for controlling wasted light. Other communities are finding success with simply turning off portions of their public lighting after midnight. Even Paris, the famed “city of light,” which already turns off its monument lighting after 1 a.m., will this summer start to require its shops, offices and public buildings to turn off lights after 2 a.m. Though primarily designed to save energy, such reductions in light will also go far in addressing light pollution. But we will never truly address the problem of light pollution until we become aware of the irreplaceable value and beauty of the darkness we are losing.

---

Write an essay in which you explain how Paul Bogard builds an argument to persuade his audience that natural darkness should be preserved. In your essay, analyze how Bogard uses one or more of the features in the directions that precede the passage (or features of your own choice) to strengthen the logic and persuasiveness of his argument. Be sure that your analysis focuses on the most relevant features of the passage. Your essay should not explain whether you agree with Bogard’s claims, but rather explain how Bogard builds an argument to persuade his audience

ACT Prompt #4

Just like last week: 500 words minimum.

Ads

For most people， advertisements are nearly impossible to avoid. Whether watching TV, surfing a web, playing a video game or even reading an e-book, we are subjected to a near-constant wave of advertisements. Some advertisements, such as commercials on TV or the radio, are direct and overt. Other types of advertising more subtle, such as product placement, where the company pays to have its product featured prominently in TV or a video game. Given advertising's many forms and its consistent presence in outlive, it is worthwhile considering the influence of advertisements on the individual.

Perspective one

Without ads, it would be difficult for us to make informed purchasing decisions: Ads not only tell us what products exist; it helps us choose the products that best suit our needs.

Perspective two

The presence of advertisements is the reflection of our own values. If we were not materialistic, commercials will not be effective.

Perspective three

Ads distort our sense of what is valuable and desirable. They create within us a false need and convince us that the way to fulfill that need is to buy the advertised products.

Essay Task

Write a cohesive, logical essay in which you evaluate multiple perspectives on net neutrality. In your essay, be sure to: 

• examine and assess the perspectives given

• declare and explain your own perspective on the issue

• discuss the relationship between your perspective and those given

Your perspective may be in full or partial agreement, or in total disagreement, with any of the others. Whatever the case, support your ideas with logical reasoning and detailed, persuasive examples.

Plan and Write Your Essay

Consider the following as you compose your essay:

     What are the strengths and weaknesses of the three perspectives provided?

•        Identify the insights they present and what they fail to consider.

•        Ascertain why a given perspective might persuade or fail to persuade.

     How can you apply your own experience, knowledge, and values?

•        Express your perspective on the issue, identifying the perspective's strengths and       

          weaknesses.

•        

          Formulate a plan to support your perspective in your essay.

ACT Prompt #3

• 500 words minimum this time!
• Notice the instruction language after the perspectives is the same as the last two ACT essay prompts. Remember that going into your test. You don't have to waste time going over it. You know it already. 

Intelligent Machines

Many of the goods and services we depend on daily are now supplied by intelligent, automated machines rather than human beings. Robots build cars and other goods on assembly lines, where once there were human workers. Many of our phone conversations are now conducted not with people but with sophisticated technologies. We can now buy goods at a variety of stores without the help of a human cashier. Automation is generally seen as a sign of progress, but what is lost when we replace humans with machines? Given the accelerating variety and prevalence of intelligent machines, it is worth examining the implications and meaning of their presence in our lives.

Read and carefully consider these perspectives. Each suggests a particular way of thinking about the increasing presence of intelligent machines. 

PERSPECTIVE 1 — What we lose with the replacement of people by machines is some part of our own humanity. Even our mundane daily encounters no longer require from us basic courtesy, respect, and tolerance for other people. 

PERSPECTIVE 2 — Machines are good at low-skill, repetitive jobs, and at high-speed, extremely precise jobs. In both cases they work better than humans. This efficiency leads to a more prosperous and progressive world for everyone. 

PERSPECTIVE 3 — Intelligent machines challenge our long-standing ideas about what humans are or can be. This is good because it pushes both humans and machines toward new, unimagined possibilities.

Essay Task

Write a cohesive, logical essay in which you evaluate multiple perspectives on intelligent machines. In your essay, be sure to: 
• examine and assess the perspectives given

• declare and explain your own perspective on the issue

• discuss the relationship between your perspective and those given

Your perspective may be in full or partial agreement, or in total disagreement, with any of the others. Whatever the case, support your ideas with logical reasoning and detailed, persuasive examples.

Plan and Write Your Essay

Consider the following as you compose your essay:

What are the strengths and weaknesses of the three perspectives provided?

•        Identify the insights they present and what they fail to consider.

•        Ascertain why a given perspective might persuade or fail to persuade.

How can you apply your own experience, knowledge, and values?

•        Express your perspective on the issue, identifying the perspective's strengths and weaknesses.

•        Formulate a plan to support your perspective in your essay.

ACT Prompt #2

Net Neutrality   

While no one owns the Internet, service providers own the pathways by which individuals access web-based content. Many of those providers have considered offering a tiered system, wherein higher-paying companies would have priority on the information superhighway. Simply put, certain websites would become faster and easier to load for consumers based on whether the company that owned them paid the Internet service provider for priority access. Some argue, however, that a tiered system like this would contradict the essence of the Internet itself, which they believe should be a neutral space where all content is treated equally and thus delivered at the same speed. Given the increasing role the internet plays in both social and business lives, it is worth exploring the significance of net neutrality.  

Read and carefully consider these perspectives. Each suggests a particular way of thinking about neutrality of access to Internet content.

Perspective One - Internet providers should be regulated in a way that ensures customers are able to access any and all content at the same speed. The providers should not be able to give preference to some companies or sites over others, but instead should offer an even playing field for all.

Perspective Two - Companies that provide Internet services have a right to tailor their services in the way they deem best for their business. If an Internet service provider wants to give preference to some content over others, they should be allowed.

Perspective Three – Internet service providers should be mandated to offer a base level of speed and accessibility to all web content. Once that level is met, if providers want to prioritize certain sites or offer even faster speeds for customers willing to pay more, they should be able to do that.

Essay Task

Write a cohesive, logical essay in which you evaluate multiple perspectives on net neutrality. In your essay, be sure to: • examine and assess the perspectives given

• declare and explain your own perspective on the issue

• discuss the relationship between your perspective and those given

Your perspective may be in full or partial agreement, or in total disagreement, with any of the others. Whatever the case, support your ideas with logical reasoning and detailed, persuasive examples.

Plan and Write Your Essay

Consider the following as you compose your essay:

What are the strengths and weaknesses of the three perspectives provided?

•        Identify the insights they present and what they fail to consider.

•        Ascertain why a given perspective might persuade or fail to persuade.

How can you apply your own experience, knowledge, and values?

•        Express your perspective on the issue, identifying the perspective's strengths and weaknesses.

•        Formulate a plan to support your perspective in your essay.

ACT Prompt #1

The following is a recent ACT essay prompt. It will present the issue, several perspectives on that issue, your task, and suggestions on how to plan the writing. You'll see each of these things when you sit for the actual ACT. 

One of the big differences between what we're doing and the ACT essay experience is timing. You'll only have 40 minutes to plan and write your essay during the actual ACT. I'm not concerned with timing yet. I want you to become familiar with the process first. 

So for this prompt follow these guidelines:
1. 600 - 800 words
2. Use opening context and an ending word or phrase that frames it. 
3. Proof it as a final draft. 
4. Organization is entirely up to you. Just read through all parts of the prompt carefully so that you understand the task. 


ACT Essay Prompt: School Start Times

Many studies have suggested that sleep deprivation is a widespread problem among children and teenagers. Teens in particular struggle to fully engage both mentally and physically at early hours. Moreover, later sleep time shave been shown to improve brain and physical development within that cohort. Today’s early school start times, however, are based on traditional schedules that are focused more on historical precedent than recent discoveries in human cognitive development. Basing their opinion on the studies, some feel that schools should adjust their schedules to conform to the findings of this research. Given the growing awareness of the crucial nature of sleep in not only physical but also intellectual and emotional development, it is worthwhile to explore this issue.

Read and carefully consider these perspectives. Each suggests a particular way of thinking about adjusting school start times.

Perspective One - To maximize the effectiveness of the learning process, school start times should be pushed back an hour or more across the board to improve the sleep kids get and help them do better in their studies.

Perspective Two - Because children have evolving sleep patterns as they age, school start times should get steadily later as kids develop, with primary school students starting earlier than high school students.

Perspective Three - Due to extracurricular activities such as athletics, music, and even jobs, a later school start time is not realistic. If school starts later, it will also end later, giving less time for students to pursue important activities after school.

Essay Task

Write a cohesive, logical essay in which you evaluate multiple perspectives on when school should start in the morning. In your essay, be sure to:

• examine and assess the perspectives given
• declare and explain your own perspective on the issue
• discuss the relationship between your perspective and those given

Your perspective may be in full or partial agreement, or in total disagreement, with any of the others. Whatever the case, support your ideas with logical reasoning and detailed, persuasive examples.

Plan and Write Your Essay

Consider the following as you compose your essay:

What are the strengths and weaknesses of the three perspectives provided?

• Identify the insights they present and what they fail to consider.
• Ascertain why a given perspective might persuade or fail to persuade.

How can you apply your own experience, knowledge, and values?

•        Express your perspective on the issue, identifying the perspective's strengths and weaknesses.
•        Formulate a plan to support your perspective in your essay.