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2018 Handbook

2018 Test A English

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Question 1 of 57

2018 Test A English, question 1

Question

Read this sentence.

During a nightly news segment about a cooking contest, a reporter talked to some people who did the best in the contest.

Which revision uses the most precise language for the words talked to some people who did the best in the contest?

  • Aconversed with some of the people who won the contest
  • Bspoke to the three contestants who did well
  • Cdiscussed the contest with some of the winners
  • Dinterviewed the top three contestants
Show the answer

Correct answer: D

This is the answer.(D)

The question asks for the most precise revision for the words “talked to some people who did the best in the contest.”

Option D is the correct response because the revision precisely states both the reporter’s action (“interviewed”) and whom the reporter interviewed (“the top three contestants”).

Option A is an incorrect response because the revision does not provide precise information about the number of people interviewed.

Option B is an incorrect response because the revision uses the imprecise phrase “who did well.”

Option C is an incorrect response because the revision does not provide precise information about the number of people interviewed.

Question analysis

This revising question gives one sentence about a news report on a cooking contest and asks which rewrite of a vague phrase uses the most precise language. The tricky part is that several choices sound more formal or add one specific detail while staying vague about something else.

NYS standards
  • 7L3a precise and concise language
Grade level
Grade 7 reading and task
Compared with grade 7
Below grade 7 Choosing precise wording is a grade 7 language skill, but this item is one short sentence with everyday words and a single comparison to make. Typical grade 7 revision work asks for the same judgment inside a longer paragraph.
Estimated difficulty
Routine: one familiar step, little to misread.
What makes it hard
Evidence
Answered from one sentence or line
Reading level
Question and choices: about grade 5, 77 words.
Students, last 30 days
Not enough answers yet to show (it takes 10).
Why it is hard, traps and wrong answers (shows the answer)

Why it is hard

This is a quick item once a student tests two things in every rewrite: what the reporter did and exactly who was involved. Points are lost by stopping at the first concrete detail, such as the number three, or by mistaking a formal verb like “conversed” for a precise one. It rewards checking each rewrite all the way through.

  1. Every choice must be checked minor Choosing the answer

    Each rewrite repairs a different piece of “talked to some people who did the best”, so all four have to be checked for both the action and the people. (Embretson & Wetzel, 1987)

Strategy: Ask two things of each revision: does it say exactly what the reporter did, and exactly whom the reporter spoke with? Keep a revision only if it is specific on both counts.

Traps

  • Wordy, vague or informal: A revision is grammatical but wordy, imprecise or too casual for the passage.
  • Half right: One half of a two-part choice is right and the other is not.

The wrong answers, classified

How the questions are analyzed, and the research behind it

Working it out, step by step

  1. Figure out what the question asks

    This question asks you to make a phrase more precise. Precise language is exact. It tells the reader exactly what happened and exactly who was there. For example, a big dog is vague, but a 90-pound sheepdog is precise. You need to fix the words “talked to some people who did the best in the contest.”

  2. Find what is vague now

    The words are vague in two ways. First, “talked to” is a plain verb. On the news, a reporter who asks people questions is doing an interview. Second, “some people who did the best” does not say who or how many. So a good fix must sharpen both parts: the action and the people.

  3. Test each choice on both parts

    • A uses “conversed with,” which is just a fancy word for “talked.” And “some of the people” is still vague.
    • B gives a number, “the three contestants.” But “spoke to” and “who did well” are still loose.
    • C says “some of the winners,” which still gives no number. “Discussed the contest with” is wordier, not clearer.
    • D says “interviewed,” the exact action. “The top three contestants” says exactly who.

    Watch out: Choice B is tempting because it has a number. Many students stop there. But it fixes only one part.

  4. Pick the answer

    Only one choice is exact about both the action and the people. The new sentence reads: During a nightly news segment about a cooking contest, a reporter interviewed the top three contestants. So the answer is D, “interviewed the top three contestants.”

Why this answer and not the closest wrong one

Choice B is the closest wrong answer. Like D, it names three contestants. But “spoke to” is as plain as “talked to,” and “who did well” is vaguer than “top.” D is exact about what the reporter did and about whom, so it is the most precise.

More questions like this

The original DOE question
Question 1 as printed on page 46 of the DOE handbook.
As printed in the DOE’s Specialized High Schools Student Handbook 2018–2019, page 46, question 1. Open page 46 of the handbook (PDF)

Question 2 of 57

2018 Test A English, question 2

Question

Read this paragraph.

(1) When coal was used to heat homes, it frequently left soot stains on the walls. (2) Brothers Cleo and Noah McVicker, who owned a cleaning product company created a doughy substance to help people remove this soot. (3) Over time, as natural gas becomes more common, people had little need for soot cleansers, and the McVickers’ family company struggled to stay in business. (4) Then one day Joe McVicker, Cleo’s son, learned that his sister-in-law had been using the substance for art projects in her classroom, so he remarketed the product as the toy known today as Play-Doh.

Which pair of revisions need to be made in the paragraph?

  • A

    Sentence 1: Delete the comma after homes.

    Sentence 3: Change becomes to became.

  • B

    Sentence 1: Delete the comma after homes.

    Sentence 4: Change remarketed to had remarketed.

  • C

    Sentence 2: Insert a comma after company.

    Sentence 3: Change becomes to became.

  • D

    Sentence 2: Insert a comma after company.

    Sentence 4: Change remarketed to had remarketed.

Show the answer

Correct answer: C

This is the answer (C)

The question asks for the pair of revisions needed to correct the errors in the paragraph, which appear in sentence 2 and sentence 3.

Option C is correct because it is the only choice that revises the errors in both sentence 2 and sentence 3.

In sentence 2 (Option C and Option D), a comma needs to follow the word “company” to set off the phrase “who owned a cleaning product company.” A comma is necessary because the phrase is a nonrestrictive clause: the phrase provides extra information about Cleo and Noah McVicker’s line of work, but the phrase is not necessary in order to understand the meaning of the sentence.

The second error is in sentence 3 (Option A and Option C), which incorrectly shifts the verb into the present tense. The clause “as natural gas becomes more common” should be “as natural gas became more common.”

The comma after the word “homes” in sentence 1 (Option A and Option B) is necessary for separating the subordinate clause “When coal was used to heat homes” from the main clause.

In sentence 4 (Option B and Option D), the word “remarketed” is in the past tense established in the rest of the paragraph and should not change to the past perfect tense “had remarketed.”

Question analysis

This editing question gives a short paragraph about how a soot cleaner became the toy Play-Doh and asks which pair of revisions it needs. Students must check comma use and verb tense, and because each choice pairs two edits, one correct fix can hide a wrong one.

NYS standards
  • 7L1 grammar and usage conventions
  • 7L2 capitalization, punctuation, and spelling
Grade level
Grade 6 reading and task
Compared with grade 7
At grade 7 Comma rules and verb tense are taught by grade 6, but here the student must judge four separate edits and accept a choice only if both of its edits are needed, which matches grade 7 demand.
Estimated difficulty
Moderate: several steps, or a close reading with one strong distractor.
Evidence
Answered from one paragraph or stanza
Reading level
Question and choices: about grade 7, 155 words.
Students, last 30 days
Not enough answers yet to show (it takes 10).
Why it is hard, traps and wrong answers (shows the answer)

Why it is hard

The paragraph holds two errors of different kinds, an unclosed “who” clause and a slip into present tense, and the other two proposed edits change text that is already correct. Students who catch the tense shift but not the comma are left between two pairs, and many then delete the sound comma after the opening “When” clause. The question rewards finding both errors in the paragraph before reading the pairs.

  1. A rule that doesn't sound wrong moderate Working it out

    The “who owned a cleaning product company” clause opens with a comma but never closes, and sentence 2 still reads smoothly aloud, so the missing comma after “company” is easy to miss. (Connors & Lunsford, 1988)

  2. A very close wrong answer moderate Choosing the answer

    The right pair and the pair that deletes the comma after “homes” share the “becomes” to “became” fix, so only the comma edit, after “company” or after “homes”, tells them apart. (Embretson & Wetzel, 1987; Gorin & Embretson, 2006; Ascalon et al., 2007)

  3. Every choice must be checked minor Choosing the answer

    The four pairs draw on four possible edits in four sentences, so each edit has to be judged on its own and a pair accepted only when both are needed. (Embretson & Wetzel, 1987)

Strategy: Find the errors yourself before looking at the pairs: check whether each comma is needed or missing, and check that each verb's tense fits when its event happened.

Traps

  • Punctuation: A comma, semicolon, colon, dash or apostrophe used where it does not belong, or missing where it does.
  • Verb tense or form: The wrong tense, an inconsistent shift of tense, or a wrong verb form.
  • Fixes what isn't broken: Changes a part of the sentence that was already correct, while the real error stays; or, where the question asks which sentence has an error or should go, picks one that is correct and belongs.

The wrong answers, classified

How the questions are analyzed, and the research behind it

Working it out, step by step

  1. Figure out what the question asks

    Each choice is a pair of edits. You need the pair where both edits are needed. If even one edit in a pair changes something that was already right, that pair is wrong. The best plan is to find the errors yourself first. Then look for the pair that fixes them.

  2. Check the comma in sentence 2

    Sentence 2 says “Brothers Cleo and Noah McVicker, who owned a cleaning product company created a doughy substance.” The part “who owned a cleaning product company” is extra information. The sentence still makes sense without it. Extra information in the middle of a sentence needs a comma on both sides. Example: My aunt, who lives in Ohio, sent me a card. Sentence 2 has the first comma but not the second. So you need to add a comma after “company.”

  3. Check the comma in sentence 1

    Sentence 1 starts with “When coal was used to heat homes.” That part is a dependent clause (a group of words with a verb that can’t stand alone as a sentence). When a sentence starts with one, a comma goes after it. Example: When the bell rang, we ran outside. So the comma after “homes” is correct. Deleting it would add an error. That rules out choices A and B.

  4. Check the verb in sentence 3

    Verb tense tells when something happens. This paragraph tells a story from the past, so its verbs should stay in the past. Sentence 3 says “as natural gas becomes more common.” The word “becomes” is present tense. But the same sentence uses “had” and “struggled,” which are past tense. So change “becomes” to became.

  5. Check the verb in sentence 4

    Sentence 4 says Joe learned about the art projects, so he “remarketed” the product. Remarketed means sold it again in a new way. The form had remarketed is for something that happened before another past event. But Joe remarketed the product after he learned about the art projects. So the plain past “remarketed” is right. No change is needed.

  6. Find the pair that matches

    The two needed edits are: add a comma after “company,” and change “becomes” to “became.”

    • A fixes the verb but deletes a correct comma.
    • B makes two changes that are not needed.
    • D adds the comma but changes a verb that was already right.
    • C makes exactly the two needed edits.

    So the answer is C.

Why this answer and not the closest wrong one

Choice A is the closest wrong answer, because it has the same “becomes” to “became” fix. But A also deletes the comma after “homes,” and that comma belongs after an opening “When” clause. Only C fixes both real errors and changes nothing that was already right.

More questions like this

The original DOE question
Question 2 as printed on page 47 of the DOE handbook.
As printed in the DOE’s Specialized High Schools Student Handbook 2018–2019, page 47, question 2. Open page 47 of the handbook (PDF) The handbook letters this question’s choices E–H; here they are A–D (E = A, F = B, G = C, H = D).

Question 3 of 57

2018 Test A English, question 3

Question

Read this paragraph.

(1) Walking dogs, cleaning kennels, hand-feeding newborn kittens, and supporting the pet-adoption process, the animal shelter is looking for volunteers to help with a variety of tasks. (2) Working at the animal shelter is a great way for young people, especially those who aspire to care for and protect animals, to gain valuable work experience. (3) In addition to hands-on training with animal care, volunteers will learn important job skills, such as punctuality, responsibility, and personal initiative. (4) Caring for animals can also help volunteers develop empathy, which is the awareness and understanding of the feelings of others.

Which sentence contains an error in its construction and should be revised?

  • Asentence 1
  • Bsentence 2
  • Csentence 3
  • Dsentence 4
Show the answer

Correct answer: A

The answer is (A)

The question asks for the identification of the sentence in the paragraph that has an error in its construction and should be revised.

Option A (sentence 1) is the correct response because sentence 1 contains a structural error. The sentence begins with a list of modifying phrases: “Walking dogs, cleaning kennels, hand-feeding newborn kittens, and supporting the pet-adoption process.” As written, this list modifies the closest noun phrase, “the animal shelter,” which is illogical because the list describes tasks at the animal shelter, not the shelter itself. The list should follow the word “tasks” at the end of the sentence, so that it is closer to the word that it modifies.

Option B, Option C, and Option D are incorrect responses because sentence 2, sentence 3, and sentence 4 do not contain structural errors.

For Option B, the phrase “especially those who aspire to care for and protect animals” in sentence 2 correctly modifies “young people.”

For Option C, the structure of sentence 3 allows the words “In addition to hands-on training with animal care” to correctly modify “volunteers will learn.”

For Option D, the phrase “which is the awareness and understanding of the feelings of others” in sentence 4 correctly modifies the word “empathy.”

Question analysis

This editing question gives a paragraph inviting young people to volunteer at an animal shelter and asks which sentence is built incorrectly and should be revised. The error is in sentence structure, not spelling or punctuation, and every sentence contains long descriptive phrases, so students must check what each phrase actually describes.

NYS standards
  • 7L1 grammar and usage conventions
Grade level
Grade 7 reading and task
Compared with grade 7
At grade 7 Spotting a misplaced or dangling modifier is the grade 7 grammar skill tested here. The faulty sentence reads smoothly and the correct sentences also hold long modifying phrases, so it matches a careful grade 7 editing task.
Estimated difficulty
Moderate: several steps, or a close reading with one strong distractor.
Evidence
Answered from one paragraph or stanza
Reading level
Question and choices: about grade 10, 113 words.
Students, last 30 days
Not enough answers yet to show (it takes 10).
Why it is hard, traps and wrong answers (shows the answer)

Why it is hard

The faulty sentence is the first one and the smoothest-sounding, because the mind supplies the missing volunteers who walk the dogs. Students who judge by ear pass over it and then flag a correct sentence that merely sounds busy. The question rewards asking, for every opening phrase, which noun it actually attaches to.

  1. A rule that doesn't sound wrong major Working it out

    Sentence 1's opening list, “Walking dogs, cleaning kennels, hand-feeding newborn kittens”, grammatically describes “the animal shelter”, an error that sounds natural because readers know volunteers will do those tasks. (Connors & Lunsford, 1988)

  2. Every choice must be checked moderate Choosing the answer

    The stem names no kind of error, so all four sentences must be checked, and sentences 2, 3 and 4 each contain a long phrase that could look misplaced. (Embretson & Wetzel, 1987)

  3. Complex sentences minor Understanding the question

    Every sentence carries a lengthy modifier, from the interrupting “especially those who aspire to care for and protect animals” to the closing definition of empathy, so the faulty one does not stand out. (Abedi & Lord, 2001; Freedle & Kostin, 1993; Messick, 1989)

Strategy: In each sentence, find every descriptive phrase and ask which noun sits next to it. Any phrase placed beside a noun it cannot logically describe marks the sentence to revise.

The wrong answers, classified

How the questions are analyzed, and the research behind it

Working it out, step by step

  1. Figure out what the question asks

    This asks which sentence is built wrong. The words may be fine, but the parts are in the wrong order or don’t fit together. The question doesn’t say what kind of error to look for. So you need to check all four sentences.

  2. Learn the rule about describing phrases

    A modifier is a word or phrase that describes something. It must sit right next to the thing it describes. If it sits next to the wrong word, the sentence says something silly. Example: Barking loudly, the mail carrier ran from the dog. This says the mail carrier was barking! Fix: The mail carrier ran from the dog, which was barking loudly.

  3. Test sentence 1

    Sentence 1 begins with a list: “Walking dogs, cleaning kennels, hand-feeding newborn kittens, and supporting the pet-adoption process.” Right after the comma comes “the animal shelter.” So the sentence says the shelter is walking dogs and feeding kittens. A shelter is a place. It can’t do those things. The list really describes the “tasks” at the end of the sentence. One fix moves the list after that word: …volunteers to help with a variety of tasks, such as walking dogs, cleaning kennels…

  4. Test sentences 2, 3, and 4

    • Sentence 2: “especially those who aspire to care for and protect animals” comes right after “young people.” It describes them, so it is in the right place. (To aspire means to hope or aim.)
    • Sentence 3: “In addition to hands-on training with animal care” leads straight into “volunteers.” The volunteers get the training, so it fits.
    • Sentence 4: “which is the awareness and understanding of the feelings of others” comes right after “empathy.” It explains that word, so it fits.

    Watch out: Sentence 3 also starts with a phrase and a comma, so choice C can look like sentence 1. Ask who gets the training. The volunteers do.

  5. Pick the answer

    Only sentence 1 puts a describing phrase next to the wrong noun. So the answer is A, sentence 1.

Why this answer and not the closest wrong one

Sentence 3 is the closest trap, because it also opens with a phrase and a comma. But the word after its comma is “volunteers,” and the volunteers really do get the training. In sentence 1, the words after the comma are “the animal shelter,” and a shelter can’t walk dogs.

More questions like this

The original DOE question
Question 3 as printed on page 47 of the DOE handbook.
As printed in the DOE’s Specialized High Schools Student Handbook 2018–2019, page 47, question 3. Open page 47 of the handbook (PDF)

Question 4 of 57

2018 Test A English, question 4
Passage Moving through Mountains

Moving through Mountains

(1) An age-old proverb says that necessity is the mother of invention. (2) Centuries of human ingenuity in the face of obstacles prove this to be true. (3) For many years the Swiss Alps, a mountain range spanning southern Switzerland and northern Italy, were such an obstacle. (4) Roads and railways had to navigate around the mountains or through winding tunnels inside the mountains, making the transportation of people and goods difficult and time consuming. (5) In 2016 these burdens were eased with the completion of the Gotthard Base Tunnel.

(6) Construction of the high-speed railway tunnel began in 1996. (7) The tunnel was created through the use of tunnel-boring machines, which are giant drills with a flat rotating head called a cutter head. (8) Each of the tunnel-boring machines used during the construction of the tunnel was about the length of four football fields arranged end-to-end. (9) During the seventeen-year construction period, 28 million tons of rock were removed, enough to rebuild the Great Pyramid of Giza five times. (10) This massive construction project is reported to have cost $12 billion. (11) After that, 4 million cubic meters of concrete, or enough concrete to build eighty-four Empire State Buildings, were used to construct and support the tunnel.

(12) By 2020 the high-speed railway will carry more than 250 freight trains and 55 passenger trains a day, with most traveling at speeds of around 100 to 125 miles per hour. (13) It will be faster for people to travel between northern and southern Europe. (14) The travel time between the European cities of Zurich, Switzerland, and Milan, Italy, will be reduced by an hour. (15) Many European leaders compare the Gotthard Base Tunnel to the Channel Tunnel, a 33-mile underwater tunnel that connects the United Kingdom and France. (16) While there is no roadway in the Channel Tunnel, people can drive their cars onto special trains that will carry vehicles through to the other side.

(17) Just as traffic congestion in major cities led to the construction of underground local transportation, natural formations, such as mountain ranges, have also sent people underground for faster, easier, and cheaper methods of transportation across larger areas. (18) There is renewed interest in constructing innovative methods of transportation that will help eliminate problems associated with traveling to and from certain areas.

Question

Which sentence should be added after sentence 5 to introduce the main topic of the passage?

  • AThe construction of the Gotthard Base Tunnel was approved by Swiss voters in 1992 and was funded by tolls, fuel taxes, and government loans.
  • BLeaders from several European countries attended the opening ceremonies for the Gotthard Base Tunnel, a Swiss tunnel.
  • CThe Gotthard Base Tunnel is the world’s longest and deepest railway tunnel, stretching 35.5 miles straight through the base of the Swiss Alps.
  • DThe Gotthard Base Tunnel continues to help reduce the number of freight trucks on the roadways in the Swiss Alps.
Show the answer

Correct answer: C

The Answer is (C)

The question asks which sentence should be added to the end of the first paragraph in order to introduce the topic of the passage, which is the description, construction, and use of the Gotthard Base Tunnel.

Option C correctly presents and describes the Gotthard Base Tunnel.

Option A is incorrect because it offers overly detailed information about the funding used to build the Gotthard Base Tunnel, and it does not provide a description of the tunnel.

Option B is incorrect because it gives details about the opening ceremony of the tunnel, and it does not provide a description of the tunnel.

Option D is incorrect because it offers a result of completing the Gotthard Base Tunnel, rather than offering an introductory statement presenting and describing the tunnel.

Question analysis

This revising question uses a short informational passage about the Gotthard Base Tunnel through the Swiss Alps and asks which sentence best introduces the main topic at the end of the first paragraph. Several choices offer true-sounding facts about the tunnel, so students must tell an introduction apart from a supporting detail.

NYS standards
  • 7W2a introducing and organizing a topic
Grade level
Grade 7 reading and task
Compared with grade 7
At grade 7 Choosing a sentence that introduces a topic and previews what follows is standard grade 7 writing work. The passage is short and factual, and the wrong choices are related details, much like a classroom revision exercise.
Estimated difficulty
Straightforward: two steps or one careful reading.
Evidence
Answered from the whole text
Reading level
Passage: about grade 11, 362 words; question and choices: about grade 9, 97 words.
Students, last 30 days
Not enough answers yet to show (it takes 10).
Why it is hard, traps and wrong answers (shows the answer)

Why it is hard

Most students find the descriptive sentence once they ask what a reader needs right after the tunnel is first named. Points are lost to sentences that follow on smoothly from the word “completion” or that name a real benefit, but which set up a passage about something else. The right sentence even adds facts the passage never states, so students should judge fit rather than hunt for repeated words.

  1. Evidence in several places moderate Working it out

    The topic the new sentence must introduce only emerges across all four paragraphs: what the Gotthard Base Tunnel is, how it was dug, and what it will do for travel. (Kirsch & Mosenthal, 1990; Gorin & Embretson, 2006)

  2. How sentences fit together minor Working it out

    The added sentence follows sentence 5, which names the tunnel only as what eased the burdens, so it should present the tunnel itself before paragraph 2 turns to its construction. (Halliday & Hasan, 1976)

Strategy: Skim the first sentence of each paragraph to see what the passage as a whole covers, then pick the sentence that would prepare a reader for all of it.

Traps

  • Too narrow: A single detail offered as the central idea or a summary, or a summary that keeps minor details and leaves out an essential part.
  • Off the point: Adds or keeps something that does not support the paragraph's or the passage's focus, or an introduction or conclusion that misses the main point.

The wrong answers, classified

How the questions are analyzed, and the research behind it

Working it out, step by step

  1. Figure out what the question asks

    The new sentence goes at the end of paragraph 1, right after sentence 5. It must introduce the main topic, which is what the whole passage is mostly about. So first you need to know what the whole passage covers.

  2. Skim the passage for its topic

    Sentence 5 ends paragraph 1: “In 2016 these burdens were eased with the completion of the Gotthard Base Tunnel.” Paragraph 2 tells how the tunnel was built. Paragraph 3 tells how it will make travel faster. Paragraph 4 tells why people build tunnels like it. So the passage is about the Gotthard Base Tunnel: what it is, how it was built, and what it does.

  3. See what sentence 5 leaves out

    Sentence 5 names the tunnel, but it doesn’t say what the tunnel is. A reader doesn’t yet know how long it is or what makes it special. Then paragraph 2 jumps right into building it. So the new sentence should describe the tunnel itself. That gets the reader ready for the rest.

  4. Check each choice

    • A is about voters and money from tolls and taxes. The passage never discusses how the tunnel was paid for.
    • B is about an opening ceremony. The passage never describes one.
    • C says what the tunnel is: “the world’s longest and deepest railway tunnel,” running “straight through the base of the Swiss Alps.”
    • D gives one result, fewer trucks on the roads. That is a detail, not an introduction.

    Watch out: D links back to the slow roads in sentence 4, so it seems to fit. But it is one benefit, and the passage never mentions trucks.

  5. Pick the answer

    Choice C presents the tunnel and tells what makes it special. So the answer is C.

Why this answer and not the closest wrong one

Choice D is the closest wrong answer. It is about the tunnel, and it ties back to the hard travel in sentence 4. But it gives a result before the reader even knows what the tunnel is. C describes the tunnel itself, and that is what an introduction needs.

More questions like this

The original DOE question
Question 4 as printed on page 49 of the DOE handbook.
As printed in the DOE’s Specialized High Schools Student Handbook 2018–2019, page 49, question 4. Open page 49 of the handbook (PDF) The handbook letters this question’s choices E–H; here they are A–D (E = A, F = B, G = C, H = D).
The passage “Moving through Mountains” as printed (page 48)The passage “Moving through Mountains” as printed on page 48 of the DOE handbook.

Question 5 of 57

2018 Test A English, question 5

Uses the passage above: “Moving through Mountains”.

Question

Which sentence should be added to follow and support sentence 7?

  • AThe tunnel-boring machine is helpful to tunnel builders in the modern era and has been an improvement over dynamite.
  • BThese enormous tunnel-boring machines function somewhat like a cheese grater, with the cutter head grinding slowly through rock and stone.
  • CEngineers had considered making a tunnel under the mountains for many years, but it was impossible to do without modern tunnel-boring machines.
  • DDifferent types of cutter heads are used with tunnel-boring machines depending on the geology of the area where the tunnel is being created.
Show the answer

Correct answer: B

This is the answer (B)

The question asks for a sentence that provides additional details about the tunnel-boring machines used to build the Gotthard Base Tunnel in order to support the description of the machines in sentence 7.

Option B is correct because it offers specific details about how tunnel-boring machines, such as the ones used to create the Gotthard Base Tunnel, drill through rock.

Option A is incorrect because it offers information about how tunnel-boring machines were an improvement over previous methods but does not include information about how the machines work.

Option C is incorrect because it presents the idea that the tunnel could not be built until advances were made in tunnel-boring machine technology and does not describe how the machines function.

Option D is incorrect because, though it explains that there are different types of cutter heads used for different geologies, the geology of the tunnel area is not discussed in sentence 7, nor in the rest of the paragraph.

Question analysis

This revising question asks which new sentence should follow and support a description of the tunnel-boring machines used to dig the Gotthard Base Tunnel. Every choice is about the machines, so students must decide which one actually develops the sentence before it rather than drifting to a related topic.

NYS standards
  • 7W2b developing a topic
Grade level
Grade 7 reading and task
Compared with grade 7
At grade 7 Adding a detail that supports a given sentence is a regular grade 7 writing task. The demand is typical: a short paragraph, plain vocabulary, and wrong choices that stay on the subject of the machines but serve other purposes.
Estimated difficulty
Moderate: several steps, or a close reading with one strong distractor.
What makes it hard
Evidence
Answered from one paragraph or stanza
Reading level
Passage: about grade 11, 362 words; question and choices: about grade 11, 94 words.
Students, last 30 days
Not enough answers yet to show (it takes 10).
Why it is hard, traps and wrong answers (shows the answer)

Why it is hard

All four choices are about tunnel-boring machines, so topic alone settles nothing. The right sentence shows how the machines work and leads into their size in sentence 8, while the strongest wrong one wanders into geology. Some students also distrust the cheese-grater comparison as too casual, though a vivid analogy is exactly the kind of support a definition needs.

  1. How sentences fit together moderate Working it out

    The new sentence sits between sentence 7, which defines the machines, and sentence 8, which gives their size, so it has to keep describing the machines that dug this tunnel. (Halliday & Hasan, 1976)

Strategy: Reread sentence 7 and note exactly what it describes, then test each choice by asking whether it tells the reader more about that same thing or starts a new point.

Traps

  • Off the point: Adds or keeps something that does not support the paragraph's or the passage's focus, or an introduction or conclusion that misses the main point.
  • Wordy, vague or informal: A revision is grammatical but wordy, imprecise or too casual for the passage.

The wrong answers, classified

How the questions are analyzed, and the research behind it

Working it out, step by step

  1. Figure out what the question asks

    You need a sentence to go right after sentence 7. It must support sentence 7. That means it should tell more about the same thing sentence 7 is about.

  2. Read sentence 7 closely

    Sentence 7 says: “The tunnel was created through the use of tunnel-boring machines, which are giant drills with a flat rotating head called a cutter head.” So sentence 7 is about the machines and how they dig. Now look ahead. Sentence 8 tells how long each machine was. So the new sentence sits between two sentences about the machines.

  3. Make sense of the key words

    To bore means to drill a hole. A tunnel-boring machine is a huge drill that digs a tunnel. The cutter head is the spinning front part that cuts the rock. A good supporting sentence will help you picture how this machine works.

  4. Check each choice

    • B compares the machine to a cheese grater, “with the cutter head grinding slowly through rock and stone.” It shows how the machine works.
    • A says the machine is “helpful to tunnel builders in the modern era.” That is praise, with no detail about how it works.
    • C is about why the tunnel could not be built earlier. That is a new topic.
    • D is about different cutter heads for different kinds of rock. The paragraph never talks about kinds of rock.

    Watch out: D repeats the words “cutter heads,” so it seems connected. But it starts a subject the paragraph never comes back to.

  5. Pick the answer

    Choice B keeps describing the machines from sentence 7 and leads well into sentence 8. So the answer is B.

Why this answer and not the closest wrong one

D is the closest wrong answer, because it uses the term “cutter heads” from sentence 7. But it is about choosing heads for different rock, which the paragraph drops at once. B explains how the cutter head of these machines works, and that is exactly what sentence 7 set up.

More questions like this

The original DOE question
Question 5 as printed on page 49 of the DOE handbook.
As printed in the DOE’s Specialized High Schools Student Handbook 2018–2019, page 49, question 5. Open page 49 of the handbook (PDF)

Question 6 of 57

2018 Test A English, question 6

Uses the passage above: “Moving through Mountains”.

Question

Where should sentence 11 be moved in order to improve the organization of the second paragraph (sentences 6–11)?

  • Ato the beginning of the paragraph (before sentence 6)
  • Bbetween sentences 6 and 7
  • Cbetween sentences 8 and 9
  • Dbetween sentences 9 and 10
Show the answer

Correct answer: D

The Answer is (D)

The question asks where sentence 11, which completes the detailed steps of how the tunnel was built, should be moved within the second paragraph in order to improve the organization of the paragraph.

Option D, placing the sentence between sentences 9 and 10, is correct because placing the sentence there helps the reader understand the full sequence of steps performed in constructing the tunnel before the cost of the project is introduced.

Option A, placing the sentence at the beginning of the paragraph (before sentence 6), is incorrect because it would not make sense since the process of building the tunnel has not yet been introduced.

Similarly, Option B is incorrect because placing the sentence after sentence 6 would not make sense given that adding concrete would have to happen after the rock was broken down and removed from the tunnel.

Option C, placing the sentence between sentences 8 and 9, would also be incorrect because the use of concrete did not take place before the removal of “28 million tons of rock” (sentence 9).

Question analysis

This revising question asks where to move a sentence about the concrete used to support the Gotthard Base Tunnel so the second paragraph is better organized. Students must follow the order of the construction steps and notice what the sentence's opening words refer back to, since several positions sound acceptable at a glance.

NYS standards
  • 7W2a introducing and organizing a topic
  • 7W2d transitions in informative writing
Grade level
Grade 7 reading and task
Compared with grade 7
At grade 7 Ordering sentences logically is a grade 7 writing skill. Here the student follows a sequence of construction steps and a time-order signal word, a short, typical grade 7 revision task with four nearby positions to compare.
Estimated difficulty
Moderate: several steps, or a close reading with one strong distractor.
Evidence
Answered from one paragraph or stanza
Reading level
Passage: about grade 11, 362 words; question and choices: about grade 7, 33 words.
Students, last 30 days
Not enough answers yet to show (it takes 10).
Why it is hard, traps and wrong answers (shows the answer)

Why it is hard

The question turns on two signal phrases: what “After that” must follow, and what “This massive construction project” sums up. Students who see only that the concrete belongs with the digging often park it beside the machine details, before the rock has been cleared. Those who try each position in context see that lining the tunnel can only follow removing the rock.

  1. How sentences fit together major Working it out

    Sentence 11 opens with “After that”, so it must follow the rock removal in sentence 9, while “This massive construction project” in sentence 10 reads best as the paragraph's close. (Halliday & Hasan, 1976)

  2. A very close wrong answer moderate Choosing the answer

    Moving the sentence between sentences 8 and 9 differs from the right spot, between 9 and 10, by a single sentence, and only seeing that sentence 9's rock removal must come first tells them apart. (Embretson & Wetzel, 1987; Gorin & Embretson, 2006; Ascalon et al., 2007)

  3. Much to keep track of minor Working it out

    The construction steps, from the 1996 start through the machines, the 28 million tons of rock and the concrete, have to be kept in order across six sentences. (Sweller, 1988; Carpenter, Just & Shell, 1990)

  4. Every choice must be checked minor Choosing the answer

    Each of the four positions has to be tried by rereading the paragraph with the concrete sentence in place, since several sound acceptable at a glance. (Embretson & Wetzel, 1987)

Strategy: Look at the signal words that open sentence 11 and ask what event they must follow. Then read the paragraph with the sentence in each position to check the order of events.

Traps

The wrong answers, classified

How the questions are analyzed, and the research behind it

Working it out, step by step

  1. Figure out what the question asks

    Sentence 11 is in the wrong spot. You need to move it so paragraph 2 tells events in the right order. Paragraph 2 is sentences 6 to 11.

  2. Look at the clue words in sentence 11

    Sentence 11 says: “After that, 4 million cubic meters of concrete, or enough concrete to build eighty-four Empire State Buildings, were used to construct and support the tunnel.” “After that” is a transition, a word or phrase that links ideas. It tells you the concrete came after some other event. You need to find that event.

  3. Put the building steps in order

    Think about how you build a tunnel. First you dig out the rock. Then you line the hole with concrete to hold it up.

    • Sentence 6: work began in 1996.
    • Sentences 7 and 8: the machines that did the digging.
    • Sentence 9: “28 million tons of rock were removed.”
    • Sentence 10: the project cost $12 billion.

    The concrete must come after the rock is removed. So sentence 11 belongs right after sentence 9.

  4. Read the paragraph in the new order

    Sentence 9 removes the rock. “After that,” the concrete is poured. Then sentence 10 sums up “This massive construction project” and its cost. The cost makes a good last point. Right now, sentence 11 comes after the cost. So “After that” seems to mean after paying. That makes no sense.

  5. Check each choice

    • A, before sentence 6: “After that” would point back to sentence 5, after the tunnel was finished.
    • B, after sentence 6: the concrete would come before any digging.
    • C, between 8 and 9: the tunnel would be lined before the rock was removed.
    • D, between 9 and 10: the concrete comes right after the rock is removed.

    Watch out: C is only one spot away from D. Ask yourself: is the rock gone yet? In C, it isn’t.

  6. Pick the answer

    So the answer is D, between sentences 9 and 10.

    Now the paragraph goes: start, machines, digging, concrete, cost.

Why this answer and not the closest wrong one

Choice C is close because it puts the concrete after the machines. But sentence 9 is where the rock is removed, and you can’t line a tunnel that is still full of rock. Only D puts “After that” right after the rock removal.

More questions like this

The original DOE question
Question 6 as printed on page 49 of the DOE handbook.
As printed in the DOE’s Specialized High Schools Student Handbook 2018–2019, page 49, question 6. Open page 49 of the handbook (PDF) The handbook letters this question’s choices E–H; here they are A–D (E = A, F = B, G = C, H = D).

Question 7 of 57

2018 Test A English, question 7

Uses the passage above: “Moving through Mountains”.

Question

Which sentence presents information that shifts away from the main topic of the third paragraph (sentences 12–16) and should be removed?

  • Asentence 13
  • Bsentence 14
  • Csentence 15
  • Dsentence 16
Show the answer

Correct answer: D

The answer is (D)

The question asks which sentence should be removed because it presents an idea that shifts away from the main idea of the third paragraph, which is about the transportation benefits of the Gotthard Base Tunnel.

Option D (sentence 16) is the correct response because, even though the sentence provides additional information about the Channel Tunnel, it does not help the reader understand the benefits of the Gotthard Base Tunnel, so it should be removed.

Option A (sentence 13) is incorrect because the idea of faster travel times is important to the development of the main idea of the paragraph.

Option B (sentence 14) is incorrect because the sentence provides a specific example of decreased travel time between two cities when traveling through the Gotthard Base Tunnel, supporting the development of ideas in the paragraph.

Option C (sentence 15) is incorrect because the sentence compares the Gotthard Base Tunnel to another tunnel that provides an important connection between places, and the sentence supports the idea that transportation innovations are beneficial.

Question analysis

This revising question looks at the paragraph describing what the Gotthard Base Tunnel will do for travel in Europe and asks which sentence shifts away from that topic and should be removed. Every sentence is related to tunnels and travel, so students must judge which one no longer serves the paragraph's main point.

NYS standards
  • 7W2b developing a topic
Grade level
Grade 6 reading and task
Compared with grade 7
Below grade 7 Cutting a sentence that strays from a paragraph's focus is practiced from grade 6. The paragraph is five sentences of plain facts with one clear topic, so this asks less than a typical grade 7 revision task.
Estimated difficulty
Straightforward: two steps or one careful reading.
Evidence
Answered from one paragraph or stanza
Reading level
Passage: about grade 11, 362 words; question and choices: about grade 6, 24 words.
Students, last 30 days
Not enough answers yet to show (it takes 10).
Why it is hard, traps and wrong answers (shows the answer)

Why it is hard

The paragraph drifts gradually, which makes this harder than a plain hunt for the odd sentence out. The Channel Tunnel arrives in sentence 15 as a comparison that still concerns the Gotthard tunnel's importance, and only the next sentence leaves the Gotthard tunnel behind entirely. Students who cut at the first mention of the other tunnel lose the point, so it pays to ask which sentence says nothing about the Gotthard tunnel or the travel it speeds up.

  1. A very close wrong answer moderate Choosing the answer

    Sentence 15 is the first to mention the Channel Tunnel, so it looks like the shift, but it still compares that tunnel with the Gotthard; sentence 16 is wholly about car trains under the Channel. (Embretson & Wetzel, 1987; Gorin & Embretson, 2006; Ascalon et al., 2007)

  2. How sentences fit together minor Working it out

    The paragraph's focus, the faster travel the Gotthard tunnel will bring, has to be held while each of sentences 13 through 16 is tested against it. (Halliday & Hasan, 1976)

Strategy: State the paragraph's topic in a few words, then check each listed sentence against it. The sentence to cut is the one that talks about something other than that topic.

The wrong answers, classified

How the questions are analyzed, and the research behind it

Working it out, step by step

  1. Figure out what the question asks

    Every sentence in a paragraph should support its main topic. One sentence in paragraph 3 drifts to a different topic. You need to find it so it can be cut.

  2. Find the paragraph’s main topic

    Paragraph 3 is sentences 12 to 16. Sentence 12 says the railway will carry many trains at high speeds. Sentence 13 says: “It will be faster for people to travel between northern and southern Europe.” So the topic is how the Gotthard Base Tunnel will make travel faster.

  3. Test each sentence against the topic

    • Sentence 13 states the topic: faster travel.
    • Sentence 14 gives an example. The trip between Zurich and Milan will be an hour shorter.
    • Sentence 15 compares the Gotthard Base Tunnel to the Channel Tunnel. It still talks about the Gotthard tunnel.
    • Sentence 16 says “people can drive their cars onto special trains” in the Channel Tunnel. It says nothing about the Gotthard tunnel.

  4. Watch for the trap

    Watch out: Sentence 15 is the first to name the Channel Tunnel. So it can look like the place where the paragraph shifts. But it compares that tunnel with the Gotthard tunnel. That keeps it tied to the topic. Sentence 16 leaves the Gotthard tunnel behind completely.

  5. Pick the answer

    Sentence 16 is only about car trains in the Channel Tunnel. So the answer is D, sentence 16.

Why this answer and not the closest wrong one

Choice C, sentence 15, is the closest wrong answer, since it brings in the Channel Tunnel. But it still talks about the Gotthard Base Tunnel by comparing the two. Sentence 16 talks only about the Channel Tunnel, so it is the one that shifts away.

More questions like this

The original DOE question
Question 7 as printed on page 49 of the DOE handbook.
As printed in the DOE’s Specialized High Schools Student Handbook 2018–2019, page 49, question 7. Open page 49 of the handbook (PDF)

Question 8 of 57

2018 Test A English, question 8

Uses the passage above: “Moving through Mountains”.

Question

Which transition phrase should be added to the beginning of sentence 18?

  • AAlthough the Gotthard Base Tunnel is mainly for freight trains
  • BWith the Gotthard Base Tunnel taking ten years to complete
  • CBecause of the successful completion of the Gotthard Base Tunnel
  • DAs the number of trains using the Gotthard Base Tunnel increases
Show the answer

Correct answer: C

The answer is (C)

The question asks for a transition that bridges the ideas between sentences 17 and 18 and accurately presents the relationship.

Option C is correct because it bridges the sentences by referring to the Gotthard Base Tunnel as a solution to the problems described in sentence 17 and logically introducing sentence 18.

Option A is incorrect because the use of the word “although” and the mention of freight trains suggest that sentence 18 will be about other types of vehicles that use the Gotthard Base Tunnel, and the transition phrase does not logically precede the sentence.

Option B is incorrect because the reference to the amount of time it took to build the tunnel does not help lead into the idea presented in sentence 18.

Option D is incorrect because it suggests that sentence 18 is related to the increasing number of trains using the Gotthard Base Tunnel, which is not accurate.

Question analysis

This revising question asks which introductory phrase should begin the last sentence of a passage about the Gotthard Base Tunnel, linking it to the idea before it. All four phrases are grammatical and mention the tunnel, so students must work out the logical relationship between the two sentences and check each phrase against the facts given earlier.

NYS standards
  • 7W2d transitions in informative writing
Grade level
Grade 7 reading and task
Compared with grade 7
At grade 7 Choosing a transition that shows how two ideas relate is a core grade 7 writing skill. The two sentences involved are short and the vocabulary is plain, so this is typical classroom revision work.
Estimated difficulty
Straightforward: two steps or one careful reading.
Evidence
Answered from one paragraph or stanza
Reading level
Passage: about grade 11, 362 words; question and choices: about grade 6, 52 words.
Students, last 30 days
Not enough answers yet to show (it takes 10).
Why it is hard, traps and wrong answers (shows the answer)

Why it is hard

The task is to see that renewed interest is a result, which calls for an opener that names a cause. Phrases that are merely true of the tunnel, or that tie interest to growing traffic, read smoothly and slip past students who do not test the logic. One opener also gives the construction time as ten years, which careful readers can reject against the seventeen-year period in sentence 9.

  1. How sentences fit together moderate Working it out

    Sentence 17 widens the view from this tunnel to tunnels in general, and sentence 18 reports renewed interest, so the opener has to name what caused that interest. (Halliday & Hasan, 1976)

  2. Every choice must be checked minor Choosing the answer

    All four openers are grammatical and name the Gotthard Base Tunnel, so each has to be read into sentence 18 and checked against facts given earlier in the passage. (Embretson & Wetzel, 1987)

Strategy: Read sentences 17 and 18 together and decide how they are connected: by contrast, by time, or by cause. Then choose the opening that expresses that link and fits facts already stated.

Traps

  • Wrong transition: A connecting word or phrase that signals the wrong relationship, such as contrast where the idea continues.

The wrong answers, classified

How the questions are analyzed, and the research behind it

Working it out, step by step

  1. Figure out what the question asks

    A transition is a word or phrase that links two ideas. Some show contrast, like although. Some show time, like then. Some show cause, like because. You need the opening for sentence 18 that shows how it links to sentence 17.

  2. Read sentences 17 and 18 together

    Sentence 17 says mountain ranges “have also sent people underground for faster, easier, and cheaper methods of transportation across larger areas.” Sentence 18 says: “There is renewed interest in constructing innovative methods of transportation.” Renewed interest means people care about something again. Innovative means new and creative.

  3. Decide how the ideas connect

    Why would people care about new kinds of travel again? Because the whole passage just showed a tunnel that worked. It solved the mountain problem. So sentence 18 is a result. The opening should name the cause.

  4. Check each choice

    • C, “Because of the successful completion of the Gotthard Base Tunnel,” names the cause. The tunnel’s success led to new interest.
    • A starts with “Although,” which signals a contrast. Nothing in sentence 18 goes against the tunnel being for freight.
    • B gives the building time, which doesn’t explain new interest. It is also wrong. Sentence 9 says the work took seventeen years, not ten.
    • D names more trains as the cause. The passage never makes that link.

    Watch out: D also sounds like a cause, so it is the most tempting wrong choice.

  5. Pick the answer

    The new sentence reads: Because of the successful completion of the Gotthard Base Tunnel, there is renewed interest in… So the answer is C.

Why this answer and not the closest wrong one

D is the closest wrong answer, because it also gives a cause. But the passage never says the number of trains made people interested. The tunnel’s success is what the whole passage builds up to, so C links the ideas best.

More questions like this

The original DOE question
Question 8 as printed on page 50 of the DOE handbook.
As printed in the DOE’s Specialized High Schools Student Handbook 2018–2019, page 50, question 8. Open page 50 of the handbook (PDF) The handbook letters this question’s choices E–H; here they are A–D (E = A, F = B, G = C, H = D).

Question 9 of 57

2018 Test A English, question 9

Uses the passage above: “Moving through Mountains”.

Question

Which concluding sentence should be added after sentence 18 to support the topic presented in the passage?

  • AThere is proof that underground tunnels such as the Gotthard Base Tunnel are beneficial to the economy of the surrounding area.
  • BThe Gotthard Base Tunnel is an extraordinary example of how human ingenuity and persistence can overcome great obstacles.
  • CThe completion of the Gotthard Base Tunnel shows that people can work together to achieve important goals.
  • DThe Swiss government is confident that the economic impact of the Gotthard Base Tunnel will be worth its construction cost.
Show the answer

Correct answer: B

The answer is (B)

The question asks for a concluding sentence that supports key ideas about the topic developed earlier in the passage.

Option B is correct because it supports the points made in the introductory paragraph by affirming the idea that the Gotthard Base Tunnel is an example of a way people have improved life by overcoming obstacles.

Option A is incorrect because the economies of surrounding areas were never mentioned in the passage.

Option C is incorrect because, although the construction of the Gotthard Base Tunnel appears to have required many people to work together, the passage does not explicitly mention people or groups working together.

Option D is incorrect because it focuses on the cost of the Gotthard Base Tunnel, which is referred to only in sentence 10 of the passage.

Question analysis

This revising question asks which concluding sentence should end the passage about building the Gotthard Base Tunnel. Students must recognize the passage's overall point and choose a conclusion that sums it up, avoiding sentences that sound reasonable but add claims the passage never supports.

NYS standards
  • 7W2e concluding informative writing
Grade level
Grade 7 reading and task
Compared with grade 7
At grade 7 Picking a concluding sentence that reflects a passage's central idea is standard grade 7 writing work. Students must keep the whole short passage in mind and reject conclusions that bring in claims it never makes.
Estimated difficulty
Moderate: several steps, or a close reading with one strong distractor.
What makes it hard
Evidence
Answered from the whole text
Reading level
Passage: about grade 11, 362 words; question and choices: about grade 12, 92 words.
Students, last 30 days
Not enough answers yet to show (it takes 10).
Why it is hard, traps and wrong answers (shows the answer)

Why it is hard

The conclusion has to return to the idea the passage opened with, which sits at the far end of the text from where the new sentence goes. Students who have forgotten the proverb about necessity tend to choose by tone, and three choices sound like fitting final lessons or benefits. What the question rewards is matching the conclusion to the opening's own words, ingenuity and obstacles.

  1. Evidence in several places moderate Working it out

    The passage's point is set out in sentences 1 to 3, the proverb about necessity and “human ingenuity in the face of obstacles”, about fifteen sentences before the spot where the conclusion goes. (Kirsch & Mosenthal, 1990; Gorin & Embretson, 2006)

  2. A very close wrong answer moderate Choosing the answer

    The right conclusion and the teamwork one share a frame, the tunnel as proof of what people can do, and differ only in the lesson: ingenuity against obstacles, from sentences 1 to 3, or teamwork, which the passage never mentions. (Embretson & Wetzel, 1987; Gorin & Embretson, 2006; Ascalon et al., 2007)

Strategy: Say in one sentence what the whole passage is about, then choose the conclusion that restates that idea without adding claims the passage never makes.

Traps

  • Off the point: Adds or keeps something that does not support the paragraph's or the passage's focus, or an introduction or conclusion that misses the main point.
  • Too narrow: A single detail offered as the central idea or a summary, or a summary that keeps minor details and leaves out an essential part.

The wrong answers, classified

How the questions are analyzed, and the research behind it

Working it out, step by step

  1. Figure out what the question asks

    You need a last sentence for the passage. A good conclusion sums up the main idea. It often goes back to the point made at the start. It should not add new claims that the passage never made.

  2. Find the main idea at the start

    Sentence 1 says: “An age-old proverb says that necessity is the mother of invention.” Sentence 2 says: “Centuries of human ingenuity in the face of obstacles prove this to be true.” Sentence 3 says the Swiss Alps “were such an obstacle.”

  3. Put the main idea in plain words

    A proverb is an old saying. Necessity is the mother of invention means that when people really need something, they find a clever way to get it. Ingenuity means cleverness. An obstacle is something in the way. So the passage says people use cleverness to get past what blocks them. The tunnel is the example.

  4. Check each choice

    • B says the tunnel shows “how human ingenuity and persistence can overcome great obstacles.” This repeats the opening idea. Persistence means not giving up.
    • A is about the economy, meaning money and jobs, of nearby areas. The passage never discusses that.
    • C is about people working together. The passage never mentions teamwork.
    • D is about the cost and the government’s opinion. The cost comes up only once, in sentence 10.

    Watch out: C sounds like a fine life lesson for an ending. But a conclusion must match this passage, and teamwork is not its point.

  5. Pick the answer

    Choice B restates the passage’s main idea without adding anything new. It ties the ending back to the beginning. So the answer is B.

Why this answer and not the closest wrong one

C is the closest wrong answer, because it also uses the tunnel to teach a lesson. But teamwork never comes up in the passage. B uses the passage’s own words, “human ingenuity” against “obstacles,” so it closes the passage the way it opened.

More questions like this

The original DOE question
Question 9 as printed on page 50 of the DOE handbook.
As printed in the DOE’s Specialized High Schools Student Handbook 2018–2019, page 50, question 9. Open page 50 of the handbook (PDF)

Question 10 of 57

2018 Test A English, question 10
Passage An Early Warning

An Early Warning

One of the books that has done the most to alert the world to the dangers of environmental degradation is George Perkins Marsh’s Man and Nature. Its message—that Western society is in the process of causing irreparable harm to the environment—greatly influenced ecologists during the beginning of the modern environmentalist movement in the 1960s. Marsh was not, however, part of this movement. Surprisingly, Man and Nature was first published in 1864.

Marsh first observed the environmentally destructive effects of human activities while growing up in Vermont in the early nineteenth century. The heavy demand for firewood had depleted the forests, and extensive sheep grazing had stripped the land. The result was flooding and soil erosion. Furthermore, streams were fouled by wastes dumped from numerous mills and dye houses.

Much later in his life, after careers in law, business, farming, and politics, Marsh served as ambassador to Italy. There he noticed land abuse similar to what he had seen in Vermont. Overgrazing and forest mismanagement had rendered areas that had been productive farmland since the days of the Roman Empire desolate. Marsh attributed this to what he called “man’s ignorant disregard for the laws of nature.”

In Italy, Marsh began to organize his observations and theories. He wrote in a way intended to educate readers about the impact of industrial and agricultural practices on the environment. In Man and Nature, he evaluated the important relationships between animals and plants, discussed forestry practices in great detail, and analyzed the ways natural water supplies are affected by human use.

Man and Nature challenged the popular belief that nature can heal any damage that people inflict upon it. Marsh argued that people may use and enjoy, but not destroy, the riches of the earth.

Furthermore, he asserted that everything in nature is significant and that even the tiniest organism affects the fragile environmental balance. His belief that drastic alteration of this balance would be dangerous is now accepted as a fundamental principle of modern environmental science.

Although he pointed out environmental damage caused by irresponsible human activities, Marsh did not oppose every human alteration to the environment. To him, the goal was proper management, not a return to wilderness conditions. People should consider the consequences of their actions, he wrote, and become “co-worker[s] with nature.” Marsh praised the Suez Canal, the human-made waterway between the Mediterranean Sea and the Gulf of Aden, as “the greatest and most truly cosmopolite physical improvement ever undertaken by man.” He believed that the advantages of the canal— improved transportation and commerce—would outweigh any environmental damage. Yet he also warned of possible unintended consequences, such as destructive plants and animals spreading from one body of water to the other.

Marsh was considered a radical thinker during his lifetime. By the late nineteenth century, however, his writings, along with those of John Muir, Henry David Thoreau, and others, had inspired what became known as the conservation movement. The conservationists of that time sought to educate the public that wilderness areas were worth preserving and were responsible for creating the National Park Service and the National Forest Service.

Question

Which statement best describes the central idea of the passage?

  • AMarsh’s experience growing up on a farm allowed him to witness firsthand how human demands on nature can lead to problems, and as an adult he wrote one of the first books about conservation.
  • BMarsh challenged the notion that nature can repair the damage people cause to it, but he also supported human-made modifications to nature that improve transportation and commerce.
  • CMarsh’s ideas about the environment were considered radical in his lifetime, but they later gained popularity during the environmental movement in the twentieth century.
  • DMarsh was a radical thinker who believed that people’s actions could dramatically affect nature, and his writings are considered foundational to the conservation movement.
Show the answer

Correct answer: D

The answer is (D)

The question asks for the statement that best illustrates the central idea of the passage. Paragraphs 2 through 5 focus on Marsh’s personal experiences and his ideas about nature, and paragraph 8 explains how his ideas are the basis for the conservation movement. These two aspects comprise the central idea of the passage and are best stated in Option D.

Option A is incorrect because it focuses mainly on Marsh’s early life and does not address his influence.

Option B is incorrect because, while it describes specific details about Marsh’s beliefs, it does not explain who he was or how he affected the conservation movement.

Option C is incorrect because it emphasizes that Marsh’s ideas were radical and influential but does not provide any information about what Marsh’s beliefs were.

Question analysis

This reading question asks for the central idea of an informational passage about George Perkins Marsh and his 1864 book Man and Nature, an early warning about environmental damage. Most choices state something true about Marsh, so students must judge which one sums up the whole passage instead of a single part of it.

NYS standards
  • 7R2 theme or central idea
Grade level
Grade 8 reading and task
Compared with grade 7
Above grade 7 Finding a central idea is a grade 7 standard, but this passage uses dense, abstract vocabulary and most choices are accurate about Marsh. Typical grade 7 tasks offer one clearly complete summary; here completeness must be weighed.
Estimated difficulty
Hard: combines ideas, needs a plan, and has more than one tempting wrong answer.
Evidence
Answered from the whole text
Reading level
Passage: about grade 12, 523 words; question and choices: about grade 14, 119 words.
Students, last 30 days
Not enough answers yet to show (it takes 10).
Why it is hard, traps and wrong answers (shows the answer)

Why it is hard

Each wrong statement is a fair summary of one stretch of the passage, so the question is really about completeness. Students lose the point by picking the summary of the part they remember best, whether his Vermont boyhood, his views on nature and canals, or his reputation over time. The right statement joins what Marsh believed to his lasting influence, the two halves that the opening and closing paragraphs frame.

  1. A very close wrong answer major Choosing the answer

    The right statement and the one calling his ideas “considered radical in his lifetime” share the radical-then-influential shape; only the right one adds what Marsh believed, that people's actions could dramatically affect nature. (Embretson & Wetzel, 1987; Gorin & Embretson, 2006; Ascalon et al., 2007)

  2. Every choice must be checked moderate Choosing the answer

    Every statement draws on real parts of the passage, Vermont, the Suez Canal, the 1960s, so each must be tested for whether it covers the whole text. (Embretson & Wetzel, 1987)

  3. A lot to read moderate Understanding the question

    Eight paragraphs move from Vermont to Italy, the book's contents, its claims, the Suez Canal and the conservation movement, so the whole arc has to be held at once. (Kintsch, 1998; Gorin & Embretson, 2006; Freedle & Kostin, 1993)

  4. Hard words minor Understanding the question

    Words such as “degradation”, “irreparable”, “desolate” and “cosmopolite” slow the reading of a passage whose central idea depends on the details they carry. (Perfetti, 2007; Freedle & Kostin, 1993)

Strategy: Before reading the choices, sum up the whole passage in one sentence of your own, then pick the statement that covers its beginning, middle and end rather than one section.

Traps

  • Too narrow: A single detail offered as the central idea or a summary, or a summary that keeps minor details and leaves out an essential part.

The wrong answers, classified

How the questions are analyzed, and the research behind it

Working it out, step by step

  1. Figure out what the question asks

    The central idea is the main point of the whole passage. A good statement of it covers the beginning, the middle, and the end. A choice that covers only one part is too narrow, even if it is true.

  2. Sum up each part of the passage

    • Paragraph 1: Marsh’s book Man and Nature warned that people were “causing irreparable harm to the environment.” It came out in 1864, long before the 1960s.
    • Paragraphs 2 to 7: what Marsh saw in Vermont and Italy, and what he believed.
    • Paragraph 8: Marsh “was considered a radical thinker during his lifetime.” But his writings “inspired what became known as the conservation movement.”

  3. Put the big idea in plain words

    Irreparable means it can’t be fixed. A radical thinker has ideas that seem extreme or very new for the time. Conservation means protecting nature and using it wisely. So the passage says: Marsh had a bold idea that people can badly harm nature. Later, that idea helped start a movement.

  4. Check each choice

    • D says what Marsh believed, that people could “dramatically affect nature.” It also says his writings are “foundational,” or a base, for the conservation movement. It covers the whole passage.
    • A is mostly about his early life. It leaves out his main beliefs and his influence.
    • B gives two of his views, from paragraphs 5 and 7. It leaves out how he shaped a movement.
    • C tells how people saw his ideas over time. It never says what his ideas were.

    Watch out: C has the same shape as D: radical then, important later. Check that a choice also says what Marsh believed.

  5. Pick the answer

    Only D covers both what Marsh believed and the effect his ideas had. So the answer is D.

Why this answer and not the closest wrong one

C is the closest wrong answer. Like D, it says Marsh’s ideas seemed radical but mattered later. But C never says what those ideas were. D adds his key belief, that people’s actions could badly change nature. So D covers the whole passage.

More questions like this

The original DOE question
Question 10 as printed on page 53 of the DOE handbook.
As printed in the DOE’s Specialized High Schools Student Handbook 2018–2019, page 53, question 10. Open page 53 of the handbook (PDF) The handbook letters this question’s choices E–H; here they are A–D (E = A, F = B, G = C, H = D).
The passage “An Early Warning” as printed (page 52)The passage “An Early Warning” as printed on page 52 of the DOE handbook.

Question 11 of 57

2018 Test A English, question 11

Uses the passage above: “An Early Warning”.

Question

Marsh believed that the people of his time caused harm to the environment because

  • Athey assumed that future generations would solve any environmental problems.
  • Bthey thought industrial progress was more important than protecting nature.
  • Cthey were unwilling to change farming and waste-disposal practices.
  • Dthey lacked knowledge of nature and natural processes.
Show the answer

Correct answer: D

The answer is (D)

The question asks for the specific reason Marsh believed people caused harm to the environment. Marsh credited the land abuse he observed in Vermont and Italy to people’s lack of understanding, or ignorance, of nature (paragraph 3) and “the popular belief that nature can heal any damage that people inflict upon it” (paragraph 5). This concept is stated in Option D.

Option A is incorrect because, although people are currently working to improve the environment, the passage does not state that Marsh believed that people in his time expected future generations to solve environmental problems.

Option B is incorrect because, while the people of Marsh’s time made advances in industry, Marsh did not indicate that he believed that people thought industrial progress outweighed efforts to protect the environment.

Option C is incorrect because, while many people at the time participated in “environmental degradation” (paragraph 1), none of the evidence in the passage suggests that Marsh believed that people were unwilling to change their practices.

Question analysis

This reading question asks why George Perkins Marsh thought people of his time were harming the environment, based on a passage about his book Man and Nature. The reason appears in Marsh's own words, but several choices offer causes that sound reasonable for the nineteenth century without being what the passage says.

NYS standards
  • 7R1 textual evidence and inferences
Grade level
Grade 7 reading and task
Compared with grade 7
At grade 7 Locating the reason a text gives for a person's belief is ordinary grade 7 reading. The passage's vocabulary is heavy for grade 7, but the answer rests on one short phrase that students need to interpret.
Estimated difficulty
Straightforward: two steps or one careful reading.
What makes it hard
Evidence
Answered from several paragraphs or stanzas
Reading level
Passage: about grade 12, 523 words; question and choices: about grade 9, 51 words.
Students, last 30 days
Not enough answers yet to show (it takes 10).
Why it is hard, traps and wrong answers (shows the answer)

Why it is hard

The answer rests on one quoted phrase in paragraph 3, but that phrase has to be read as a reason. A student who takes “disregard” to mean stubborn refusal will prefer reasons about unwillingness or about valuing industry, which feel like natural explanations for the damage in Vermont and Italy. Reading “ignorant” in its literal sense, not knowing, settles it.

  1. The right answer is reworded moderate Choosing the answer

    The right choice turns “man's ignorant disregard for the laws of nature” into “lacked knowledge”, while wrong choices reuse the passage's own words “industrial”, “farming” and “waste”. (Freedle & Kostin, 1993; Kirsch & Mosenthal, 1990)

  2. Hard words minor Understanding the question

    “Ignorant disregard” can be heard as deliberate neglect rather than not knowing, which pushes readers toward reasons about unwillingness or misplaced priorities. (Perfetti, 2007; Freedle & Kostin, 1993)

Strategy: Look for the words Marsh himself used to explain the damage he saw in Italy, and check them against the popular belief described in paragraph 5.

Traps

  • Reads too much in: A reasonable-sounding conclusion that goes further than the text allows.
  • Outside knowledge: A choice is plausible in the real world but not supported by this text.

The wrong answers, classified

How the questions are analyzed, and the research behind it

Working it out, step by step

  1. Figure out what the question asks

    This asks for a reason. Why did Marsh think people of his time hurt the environment? You need the cause the passage says Marsh gave, not a cause that just sounds likely.

  2. Find Marsh’s own words

    In paragraph 3, Marsh sees ruined farmland in Italy. He blames it on what he called “man’s ignorant disregard for the laws of nature.” Paragraph 5 adds that his book challenged “the popular belief that nature can heal any damage that people inflict upon it.”

  3. Work out what the words mean

    Ignorant means not knowing. Here it does not mean rude. Disregard means not paying attention to something. The laws of nature are the ways nature works. So Marsh said people harmed the land because they did not understand how nature works. Paragraph 5 shows one thing they got wrong. They thought nature could fix any damage.

  4. Check each choice

    • D: “they lacked knowledge of nature and natural processes.” This matches “ignorant,” which means not knowing.
    • A: the passage never says people expected future generations to fix things.
    • B: the passage mentions “industrial and agricultural practices.” But it never says Marsh blamed people for caring more about industry.
    • C: the passage describes sheep grazing and mill waste. But it never says people refused to change.

    Watch out: “Ignorant disregard” can sound like people knew better and didn’t care. That reading pulls you toward C. But ignorant means they didn’t know.

  5. Pick the answer

    Marsh’s own word, “ignorant,” points to a lack of knowledge. So the answer is D.

Why this answer and not the closest wrong one

C is the closest wrong answer. Paragraph 2 does describe harmful grazing and mill waste. But nothing says people were unwilling to change. Marsh blamed “ignorant” behavior, which means people didn’t know how nature works. That matches D.

More questions like this

The original DOE question
Question 11 as printed on page 53 of the DOE handbook.
As printed in the DOE’s Specialized High Schools Student Handbook 2018–2019, page 53, question 11. Open page 53 of the handbook (PDF)

Question 12 of 57

2018 Test A English, question 12

Uses the passage above: “An Early Warning”.

Question

What is the most likely reason the author uses the word “surprisingly” in paragraph 1?

  • Ato argue that Marsh’s ideas are more applicable in the present than they were during his lifetime
  • Bto show that Marsh introduced ideas a century before they became widely accepted
  • Cto emphasize that Marsh was unaware that his ideas would help begin a conservation movement
  • Dto prove that there would be fewer issues with the environment today if people had accepted Marsh’s ideas earlier
Show the answer

Correct answer: B

The answer is (B)

The question asks for the reason the word “surprisingly” was used in paragraph 1. The beginning of paragraph 1 leads the reader to expect that Marsh was part of the modern environmental movement that began in the 1960s. Therefore, the fact that Marsh’s influential book was published one hundred years earlier is surprising, and so Option B is correct.

Option A is incorrect because, while Marsh’s ideas have had a resurgence in popularity since the 1960s (paragraph 1), Marsh’s observations about deforestation in Vermont (paragraph 2) and land mismanagement in Italy (paragraph 3) indicate that his ideas were just as applicable in his time as they are today.

Option C is incorrect because, while Marsh could not have been aware that his ideas would lead to the start of a conservation movement, paragraph 1 indicates that Marsh introduced the principles of the environmentalist movement before it became popular.

Option D is incorrect because, while it is possible that a greater awareness of human impact on the environment during Marsh’s time could have prevented certain environmental issues today, this idea is conjecture and does not explain the author’s reason for using the word “surprisingly.”

Question analysis

This reading question asks why the author of a passage about the environmental thinker George Perkins Marsh uses the word surprisingly in the opening paragraph. Students must see what the earlier sentences lead a reader to expect and how the next fact contrasts with it, while avoiding choices that read too much into one word.

NYS standards
  • 7R5 structure and genre features
  • 7R4 word meaning and choice
Grade level
Grade 7 reading and task
Compared with grade 7
At grade 7 Explaining why an author chose a particular word is common grade 7 reading work. This one rests on reading the first paragraph closely and noticing what the word contrasts, a typical grade 7 demand.
Estimated difficulty
Moderate: several steps, or a close reading with one strong distractor.
What makes it hard
Evidence
Answered from one paragraph or stanza
Reading level
Passage: about grade 12, 523 words; question and choices: about grade 10, 78 words.
Students, last 30 days
Not enough answers yet to show (it takes 10).
Why it is hard, traps and wrong answers (shows the answer)

Why it is hard

Students have to reconstruct the expectation that the word overturns, and the paragraph sets it up quietly by naming the 1960s first. Most errors come from attaching the surprise to the wrong sentence, Marsh's absence from the movement, or from turning one adverb into a broad argument about past and present. The question rewards rereading the sentences around the word and asking which fact is unexpected.

  1. Reading between the lines moderate Working it out

    The surprise is never explained; the reader must see that the first two sentences lead one to place Marsh in the 1960s, so the date 1864 breaks that expectation. (Graesser, Singer & Trabasso, 1994; Kintsch, 1998)

  2. How, not what moderate Working it out

    The question asks why the author chose the single word “surprisingly”, a judgment about the effect of a word rather than a fact the paragraph states. (Anderson & Krathwohl, 2001)

Strategy: Reread the sentences just before the word and ask what a reader would expect at that point. The surprise is whatever breaks that expectation.

Traps

  • Wrong purpose or structure: Names a purpose, structure or effect that the part does not serve, or describes what a part says when the question asks what it does.
  • Too broad or too strong: A choice overstates, generalizes, or uses absolute words the text does not support.
  • Reads too much in: A reasonable-sounding conclusion that goes further than the text allows.

The wrong answers, classified

How the questions are analyzed, and the research behind it

Working it out, step by step

  1. Figure out what the question asks

    This asks why the author chose one word, “surprisingly.” A word like this tells you the next fact is not what you’d expect. So find what a reader expects, and then find the fact that breaks it.

  2. Read what comes before the word

    Paragraph 1 says the book’s message “greatly influenced ecologists during the beginning of the modern environmentalist movement in the 1960s.” Ecologists are scientists who study how living things and nature fit together. Then it says: “Marsh was not, however, part of this movement.” After reading this, you might guess Marsh wrote in the 1960s, or just a bit before.

  3. Find the surprise

    The next sentence is: “Surprisingly, Man and Nature was first published in 1864.” From 1864 to the 1960s is about 100 years, or a century. So Marsh had these ideas a whole century before most people accepted them. That is the surprise.

  4. Check each choice

    • B: Marsh introduced ideas “a century before they became widely accepted.” This matches the gap from 1864 to the 1960s.
    • A: the paragraph never says his ideas fit today better than in his own time.
    • C: the paragraph says nothing about what Marsh knew or expected.
    • D: the paragraph never says we would have fewer problems if people had listened sooner. That is only a guess.

    Watch out: C seems linked to the sentence just before, about Marsh not being in the movement. But “surprisingly” comes right before a date, 1864.

  5. Pick the answer

    The surprise is how early Marsh’s ideas came, about a hundred years ahead of the movement. So the answer is B.

Why this answer and not the closest wrong one

C is the closest wrong answer, because it also links Marsh to the later movement. But the surprising fact is a date, not something Marsh knew or didn’t know. B explains the surprise: his ideas came about a century before they caught on.

More questions like this

The original DOE question
Question 12 as printed on page 53 of the DOE handbook.
As printed in the DOE’s Specialized High Schools Student Handbook 2018–2019, page 53, question 12. Open page 53 of the handbook (PDF) The handbook letters this question’s choices E–H; here they are A–D (E = A, F = B, G = C, H = D).

Question 13 of 57

2018 Test A English, question 13

Uses the passage above: “An Early Warning”.

Question

Which evidence supports the accuracy of Marsh’s theories about nature?

  • Athe details about Marsh’s observations of environmental degradation
  • Bthe details about how Marsh’s writing inspired a conservation movement
  • Cthe details about how Marsh’s ideas are essential to modern environmental science
  • Dthe details about Marsh’s opinions on human alterations to the environment
Show the answer

Correct answer: C

The answer is (C)

The question asks for evidence that supports Marsh’s theories about nature, based on the passage. The passage states that ideas from Marsh’s book are now considered basic knowledge in the field of environmental science (paragraph 6). This statement supports the idea that his theories about nature were accurate, making Option C correct.

Option A is incorrect because, while Marsh made observations of the harm that people were causing to the environment (paragraphs 2 and 3), the details about his observations do not provide evidence that his theories were accurate.

Option B is incorrect because, while Marsh’s writing did inspire a conservation movement (paragraph 8), these details do not call attention to the accuracy of his ideas.

Option D is incorrect because it refers to Marsh’s personal opinions (paragraph 7), not his theories.

Question analysis

This reading question asks which details in a passage about George Perkins Marsh and Man and Nature support the accuracy of his theories about nature. Every choice points to real content in the passage, so students must think carefully about what kind of evidence shows that ideas were correct.

NYS standards
  • 7R1 textual evidence and inferences
  • 7R8 evaluating arguments and claims
Grade level
Grade 8 reading and task
Compared with grade 7
Above grade 7 Grade 7 students judge whether evidence supports a claim, but here the choices are abstract descriptions of passage content, and the student must decide which kind of detail could actually show a theory to be correct, a step beyond typical grade 7 work.
Estimated difficulty
Hard: combines ideas, needs a plan, and has more than one tempting wrong answer.
Evidence
Answered from several paragraphs or stanzas
Reading level
Passage: about grade 12, 523 words; question and choices: about grade 12, 51 words.
Students, last 30 days
Not enough answers yet to show (it takes 10).
Why it is hard, traps and wrong answers (shows the answer)

Why it is hard

The choices are labels for kinds of detail, not quotations, so the student has to translate each one back into the passage and then ask a harder question: does it show the ideas were right? Influence and firsthand observation both feel like proof, and they separate students who confuse popularity or origin with confirmation from those who do not. Only acceptance by modern science judges the theories after the fact.

  1. A very close wrong answer moderate Choosing the answer

    The right choice and the one about inspiring a conservation movement are worded alike, details about how Marsh's ideas fared later, and differ only in whether they show acceptance by science or mere influence. (Embretson & Wetzel, 1987; Gorin & Embretson, 2006; Ascalon et al., 2007)

  2. Reading between the lines moderate Working it out

    The student must work out what kind of fact could show a theory accurate, later acceptance by a science, and then spot it in paragraph 6's “fundamental principle of modern environmental science”. (Graesser, Singer & Trabasso, 1994; Kintsch, 1998)

  3. Evidence in several places moderate Working it out

    The four kinds of detail sit in different paragraphs, observations in 2 and 3, science in 6, opinions in 7 and the movement in 8, and each must be found. (Kirsch & Mosenthal, 1990; Gorin & Embretson, 2006)

Strategy: Decide first what kind of fact would prove a theory accurate, then test each choice against that standard rather than against whether it is true of Marsh.

Traps

  • Supports only part of the claim: In a question about evidence: a line that backs one half of the claim but not the other, or a related point rather than the claim itself.
  • Reads too much in: A reasonable-sounding conclusion that goes further than the text allows.
  • True but not the answer: A choice says something accurate about the text that does not answer this question.

The wrong answers, classified

How the questions are analyzed, and the research behind it

Working it out, step by step

  1. Figure out what the question asks

    This asks what shows that Marsh’s theories were accurate, or correct. A theory is an idea that tries to explain how something works. So you need a detail that shows his ideas turned out to be true. A detail that is just true about Marsh is not enough.

  2. Decide what counts as proof

    How can you show an idea is correct? A strong way is when experts study it later and agree with it. Being popular does not make an idea correct. And the facts that gave someone an idea can’t also prove that idea.

  3. Find that proof in the passage

    Paragraph 6 says: “His belief that drastic alteration of this balance would be dangerous is now accepted as a fundamental principle of modern environmental science.” A drastic alteration is a big change. A fundamental principle is a basic rule. So scientists today treat Marsh’s idea as a basic truth. That supports its accuracy.

  4. Check each choice

    • C: Marsh’s ideas are “essential to modern environmental science.” This matches paragraph 6.
    • A: his observations in Vermont and Italy are what he built his theories on. They don’t show the theories were right.
    • B: inspiring a movement shows his ideas were popular. Popular is not the same as correct.
    • D: his opinions about changing nature, such as praising a canal, are more of his views. They are not proof.

    Watch out: A is tempting because the damage Marsh saw was real. But it came before his theories, so it can’t test them.

  5. Pick the answer

    Only C shows experts in a science accepting Marsh’s ideas as true. So the answer is C.

Why this answer and not the closest wrong one

B is close because it is also about how Marsh’s ideas did later. But many people can follow an idea that is wrong. C shows that scientists, who test ideas, now accept his belief as a basic rule. That is evidence of accuracy, not just of popularity.

More questions like this

The original DOE question
Question 13 as printed on page 53 of the DOE handbook.
As printed in the DOE’s Specialized High Schools Student Handbook 2018–2019, page 53, question 13. Open page 53 of the handbook (PDF)

Question 14 of 57

2018 Test A English, question 14

Uses the passage above: “An Early Warning”.

Question

Which detail about Marsh provides support for the author’s statement in paragraph 5?

  • Ahis reputation as a radical thinker
  • Bhis contribution to the conservation movement
  • Chis experience working as an ambassador
  • Dhis approval of beneficial human-made projects in nature
Show the answer

Correct answer: D

The answer is (D)

The question asks for a specific detail that supports the author’s statement in paragraph 5. In paragraph 5, the author states that “Marsh argued that people may use and enjoy, but not destroy, the riches of the earth.” Marsh’s approval of the Suez Canal shows that Marsh did not oppose certain human innovations, because the advantages—improved transportation and commerce—enriched human life and outweighed environmental damage (paragraph 7). Option D describes that idea.

Option A is incorrect because it is not relevant to the statement in question.

Option B is incorrect because, while it acknowledges Marsh’s contributions to the conservation movement, it does not relate to his attitudes about certain alterations to the environment.

Option C is incorrect because it relates to a time when Marsh observed environmental degradation in Italy.

Question analysis

This reading question asks which detail about George Perkins Marsh supports a statement the author makes in paragraph 5 of a passage about his book Man and Nature. Students must pin down the exact claim first, then find the detail elsewhere in the passage that illustrates it, since all four choices are true facts about Marsh.

NYS standards
  • 7R1 textual evidence and inferences
  • 7R8 evaluating arguments and claims
Grade level
Grade 8 reading and task
Compared with grade 7
Above grade 7 Matching a supporting detail to a claim is grade 7 work, but here the student must first decide which statement in paragraph 5 is meant and then connect it to a detail elsewhere, with choices given as brief labels.
Estimated difficulty
Hard: combines ideas, needs a plan, and has more than one tempting wrong answer.
What makes it hard
Evidence
Answered from several paragraphs or stanzas
Reading level
Passage: about grade 12, 523 words; question and choices: about grade 11, 38 words.
Students, last 30 days
Not enough answers yet to show (it takes 10).
Why it is hard, traps and wrong answers (shows the answer)

Why it is hard

Paragraph 5 contains two statements, and the question does not say which one it means, so a student must settle that first. Anchored to the first sentence, the radical-thinker detail looks like a fit; anchored to “use and enjoy, but not destroy”, only the approval of the Suez Canal works. The brief labels hide which paragraph each detail comes from, so every one has to be traced.

  1. Evidence in several places moderate Working it out

    The claim is in paragraph 5 but its support, Marsh's praise of the Suez Canal, is two paragraphs later, and the choices are brief labels that must be traced back. (Kirsch & Mosenthal, 1990; Gorin & Embretson, 2006)

  2. Reading between the lines moderate Working it out

    Praise for a canal does not mention the earth's riches; the student must see that approving a useful human-made change shows “use and enjoy” in practice. (Graesser, Singer & Trabasso, 1994; Kintsch, 1998)

Strategy: Restate paragraph 5's claim in your own words, then ask of each detail whether it shows Marsh holding that view, rather than simply being true about him.

Traps

  • Supports only part of the claim: In a question about evidence: a line that backs one half of the claim but not the other, or a related point rather than the claim itself.
  • True but not the answer: A choice says something accurate about the text that does not answer this question.

The wrong answers, classified

How the questions are analyzed, and the research behind it

Working it out, step by step

  1. Figure out what the question asks

    First find the author’s statement in paragraph 5. Then find the detail about Marsh that backs it up, or shows it is true.

  2. Find the statement in paragraph 5

    Paragraph 5 says: “Marsh argued that people may use and enjoy, but not destroy, the riches of the earth.” The riches of the earth are nature’s gifts, like land, water, and forests. In plain words: it is fine to use nature, as long as you don’t wreck it.

  3. Look for that view in action

    Paragraph 7 says: “Marsh did not oppose every human alteration to the environment.” He praised the Suez Canal, a waterway people dug so ships could pass. He believed its benefits, “improved transportation and commerce,” would outweigh any harm. Commerce means trade, or buying and selling. So Marsh was fine with people using nature in a helpful way.

  4. Check each choice

    • D: his approval of helpful human-made projects shows “use and enjoy” in action.
    • A: he was a radical thinker, but that says nothing about how people should use nature.
    • B: he helped inspire the conservation movement, but that doesn’t show his view on using nature.
    • C: his job in Italy explains where he saw land damage. It says nothing about how to use the earth.

    Watch out: Paragraph 5 says Marsh’s book challenged a “popular belief,” which can make you think of “radical.” But A doesn’t show the use-but-don’t-destroy idea.

  5. Pick the answer

    Praising a useful canal shows Marsh believed people may use nature. So the answer is D.

Why this answer and not the closest wrong one

A is the closest wrong answer. Marsh was a radical thinker, and paragraph 5 does say his book challenged a popular belief. But being radical doesn’t show that people may use nature. Praising a useful canal does, so D gives real support.

More questions like this

The original DOE question
Question 14 as printed on page 54 of the DOE handbook.
As printed in the DOE’s Specialized High Schools Student Handbook 2018–2019, page 54, question 14. Open page 54 of the handbook (PDF) The handbook letters this question’s choices E–H; here they are A–D (E = A, F = B, G = C, H = D).

Question 15 of 57

2018 Test A English, question 15

Uses the passage above: “An Early Warning”.

Question

Which of Marsh’s ideas most influenced the environmental movement of the 1960s?

  • ASome human alterations to the environment are necessary.
  • BPeople lack an understanding of the environment.
  • CHuman activities could damage the environment.
  • DEnvironmental degradation has been occurring for many years.
Show the answer

Correct answer: C

The answer is (C)

The question asks for the idea Marsh had that was the most influential on the movement in the 1960s. Marsh’s main contribution to the modern environmental movement—the idea that Western society is causing irreversible harm to the environment—is given in paragraph 1, making Option C correct.

Option A is incorrect because, while Marsh did believe that some human alterations to the environment are necessary (paragraph 7), the negative impact of human activity was his most influential idea.

Option B is incorrect because, while Marsh believed that people lacked an understanding of nature (paragraph 3), this belief is a detail in support of his overall claim.

Option D is incorrect because, while Marsh observed firsthand that environmental degradation had been occurring for many years (paragraph 3), that was not the focus of his most influential idea.

Question analysis

This reading question asks which of George Perkins Marsh's ideas most influenced the environmental movement of the 1960s, according to a passage about his book Man and Nature. All four choices are ideas the passage connects to Marsh, so students must find the one the text links to that later movement.

NYS standards
  • 7R1 textual evidence and inferences
  • 7R3 plot elements and ideas
Grade level
Grade 7 reading and task
Compared with grade 7
At grade 7 Identifying an idea that a text says shaped later events is routine grade 7 reading. Each choice is one of Marsh's real ideas, so the demand is matching the question to the passage's exact statement, not interpretation.
Estimated difficulty
Straightforward: two steps or one careful reading.
Evidence
Answered from one paragraph or stanza
Reading level
Passage: about grade 12, 523 words; question and choices: about grade 12, 41 words.
Students, last 30 days
Not enough answers yet to show (it takes 10).
Why it is hard, traps and wrong answers (shows the answer)

Why it is hard

The link to the 1960s is stated outright in the second sentence of the passage, so a student who goes back to it can answer quickly. Points are lost by answering from memory, since every choice is a genuine Marsh idea, including his view that people misunderstand nature. Matching the paraphrase rather than the familiar wording is the whole task.

  1. The right answer is reworded moderate Choosing the answer

    The right choice restates paragraph 1's message, “causing irreparable harm to the environment”, in plain words, while wrong ones echo “environmental degradation” and “human alteration to the environment”. (Freedle & Kostin, 1993; Kirsch & Mosenthal, 1990)

  2. Every choice must be checked minor Choosing the answer

    All four choices are ideas the passage connects to Marsh, so recognizing one as his is not enough; each must be checked for a link to the 1960s. (Embretson & Wetzel, 1987)

Strategy: Find where the passage mentions the movement of the 1960s and read exactly what it says influenced it, then match that wording to a choice.

Traps

  • True but not the answer: A choice says something accurate about the text that does not answer this question.
  • Word match: Repeats striking words or phrases from the text, so it looks supported, but its meaning does not fit the question.

The wrong answers, classified

How the questions are analyzed, and the research behind it

Working it out, step by step

  1. Figure out what the question asks

    All four choices are ideas linked to Marsh. You need the one the passage says shaped the environmental movement of the 1960s. So find where the passage talks about the 1960s.

  2. Find the 1960s in the passage

    Paragraph 1 says: “Its message—that Western society is in the process of causing irreparable harm to the environment—greatly influenced ecologists during the beginning of the modern environmentalist movement in the 1960s.”

  3. Put the sentence in plain words

    “Its message” means the book’s main point. Irreparable means it can’t be repaired. Western society means the countries of Europe and North America. So the message was: people are doing damage to nature that can’t be undone. That message is what influenced the 1960s ecologists.

  4. Check each choice

    • C: “Human activities could damage the environment.” This says the same thing in simpler words.
    • A: Marsh did accept some changes, like the Suez Canal (paragraph 7). But the passage doesn’t link that to the 1960s.
    • B: Marsh did blame “man’s ignorant disregard for the laws of nature” (paragraph 3). But that is a reason for the harm, not the message that shaped the 1960s.
    • D: “environmental degradation,” or damage, appears in paragraph 1. But saying damage has gone on for years is only an observation.

    Watch out: B is a real belief of Marsh’s, so it feels right. Make sure a choice answers this question, about the 1960s.

  5. Pick the answer

    The passage directly says the message about harm influenced the 1960s. So the answer is C.

Why this answer and not the closest wrong one

B is the closest wrong answer, because Marsh really did think people didn’t understand nature. But paragraph 1 says the message that influenced the 1960s was about harm: people were “causing irreparable harm to the environment.” C states that idea.

More questions like this

The original DOE question
Question 15 as printed on page 54 of the DOE handbook.
As printed in the DOE’s Specialized High Schools Student Handbook 2018–2019, page 54, question 15. Open page 54 of the handbook (PDF)

Question 16 of 57

2018 Test A English, question 16
Passage Champion of the Channel

Champion of the Channel

In 1926 an editor at the London Daily News predicted that Gertrude Ederle, an American swimmer with eighteen world records and three Olympic medals, would fail in her attempt to swim across the English Channel. He claimed that “even the most uncompromising champion of the rights and capacities of women must admit that in contests of physical skill, speed and endurance they must remain forever the weaker sex.” Yet, at only nineteen years old, Ederle not only became the first woman to accomplish this feat, she also broke the men’s record by two hours. Gertrude Ederle’s triumphant swim across the English Channel was a testimony to her determination, innovative spirit, and passion for swimming.

Crossing the English Channel is a daunting task for any swimmer. At its narrowest point, the channel measures twenty-one miles across. Its icy waters hover around sixty degrees Fahrenheit, and its unruly tides and currents toss swimmers about like bobbing corks. Stinging jellyfish, seaweed, and floating debris from shipwrecks and lost cargoes present added hazards.

For decades the channel’s perils have defeated countless swimmers. Ederle, too, failed in her first attempt to cross the channel in 1925. Just six miles short of finishing, she became ill, and her coach had to haul her out of the water. Undeterred, Ederle decided to try again. Ederle knew that if she did not complete the challenge this time, she might never get the opportunity to set this record, because a rival female swimmer was preparing to make her second attempt at the crossing as well.

To prepare for the marathon swim, Ederle found ways to improve her equipment. She and her sister Meg discovered that melted candle wax perfectly sealed goggle edges, effectively waterproofing Ederle’s goggles against hammering waves. The sisters also designed a two-piece silk swimsuit for Ederle. During her first channel-crossing attempt she had worn a standard one-piece swimsuit that, after the lengthy hours of swimming across the channel, had stretched out, filling with water and creating drag, making an already challenging task almost insurmountable. Unlike the cumbersome typical bathing suit, this silk invention weighed little and allowed for easy movement.

On August 6, 1926, Ederle waded into the channel near Cape Gris-Nez, France. At first she shivered in the bone-chilling water even though she had covered her body in eight layers of grease for insulation. Her limbs felt stiff. Her strokes were irregular. Driving forward, she fought to clear her mind and find what she called her “sphere,” a place where the sea became her only companion and the shrieks of gulls and the humming of boat engines faded away. Using a new overhand stroke called the American crawl, Ederle eventually settled into a steady pace, briskly breaking through waves.

Throughout Ederle’s swim, two tugboats accompanied her. One carried newspaper reporters who wired dispatches of her progress to shore. The other, displaying a sign that read “This way, ole kid!” with an arrow pointing forward, transported her coach, family, and friends. Her coach played songs, such as “Yes, We Have No Bananas,” on a phonograph so that Ederle could time her strokes to the rhythm. Using a net, her coach also passed her baby bottles of broth for nourishment.

For hours Ederle swam, dodging debris with an amused smile. However, as she neared the English shore, a sudden fierce storm erupted. The tides and waves forced Ederle backward, and she fought the stubborn swells for several hours. The salty water caused her tongue to swell and inflamed her ears. Yet Ederle felt indescribably happy as she churned through the sea. Finally, as she neared the English shore, the storm abated, and the tide turned. No longer fighting against her, the sea pushed her toward the shore and victory.

After fourteen hours and thirty-one minutes, Ederle, on wobbly legs, stepped onto the English shore. The waiting crowd roared, honked their automobile horns, blasted their tugboat whistles, and set off flares that flashed in the sky. Ederle had swum into history.

When Ederle returned to New York, she received a parade, where thousands of people shouted “Trudy!” Not only were everyday American citizens proud of Ederle, but she also inspired them to be more active. Over the next few years, more than 60,000 people credited her with motivating them to earn their American Red Cross swimming certificates. Gertrude Ederle’s accomplishment proved to the world that with determination and passion, it was possible for a person to achieve his or her goals.

SOLO SWIMS ACROSS THE ENGLISH CHANNEL

Earliest Speed Records
Year Swimmer Time
1875 Matthew Webb (M) 21 hours, 45 minutes
1923 Enrico Tiraboschi (M) 16 hours, 33 minutes
1926 Gertrude Ederle (F) 14 hours, 31 minutes
1926 Arnst Vierkotter (M) 12 hours, 38 minutes
Current Speed Records
Year Swimmer Time
2012 Trent Grimsey (M) 6 hours, 55 minutes
2006 Yvetta Hlavacova (F) 7 hours, 25 minutes

Question

Read this sentence from paragraph 1.

In 1926 an editor at the London Daily News predicted that Gertrude Ederle, an American swimmer with eighteen world records and three Olympic medals, would fail in her attempt to swim across the English Channel.

What does the editor’s comment reveal about the challenges Ederle faced in attempting her feat?

  • ARegardless of her ability, being an American put Ederle at a serious disadvantage over a Londoner, who would be more familiar with the English Channel.
  • BAt the time, Ederle still needed more training in order to succeed in the daunting task of swimming the English Channel.
  • CWhile Ederle could participate in athletic competition, some people were not comfortable with her attempt to swim the channel because no woman had ever attempted it before.
  • DIn spite of her previous achievements, Ederle still experienced social as well as physical obstacles in attempting to swim the channel.
Show the answer

Correct answer: D

This is the answer (D)

The question asks what the sentence reveals about Ederle’s challenges leading up to her attempt to swim across the channel.

Option D is correct because the sentence implies a lack of social support since many people believed that a woman, no matter how skilled a swimmer, did not have the strength to overcome the physical challenges that the dangerous channel waters presented (paragraph 1: “He claimed that ‘even the most uncompromising champion of the rights and capacities of women must admit that in contests of physical skill, speed and endurance they must remain forever the weaker sex.’”).

Option A is incorrect because the idea that Ederle was at a disadvantage because she was American rather than English, and thus less familiar with the channel, was not the basis for the newspaper editor’s prediction about the outcome of her swim.

Option B is incorrect because the passage establishes that Ederle was a highly accomplished swimmer who had won major world competitions (paragraph 1: “. . . Gertrude Ederle, an American swimmer with eighteen world records and three Olympic medals . . .”).

Option C is incorrect; the newspaper editor’s point was that it would be impossible for Ederle to complete the swim because she was a woman, not because people were uncomfortable with the idea since no woman had attempted it before.

Question analysis

This reading question quotes a 1926 newspaper editor's prediction that swimmer Gertrude Ederle would fail to cross the English Channel and asks what it reveals about the challenges she faced. Students must infer what lay behind the editor's prediction, and one tempting choice gets the attitude partly right but the reason wrong.

NYS standards
  • 7R1 textual evidence and inferences
  • 7R6 point of view and author position
Grade level
Grade 7 reading and task
Compared with grade 7
At grade 7 Inferring what a quoted opinion reveals is standard grade 7 work. The demand is typical, though the editor's full reasoning, with words like uncompromising, comes in the sentence after the one quoted in the question.
Estimated difficulty
Moderate: several steps, or a close reading with one strong distractor.
Evidence
Answered from one paragraph or stanza
Reading level
Passage: about grade 9, 790 words; question and choices: about grade 13, 148 words.
Students, last 30 days
Not enough answers yet to show (it takes 10).
Why it is hard, traps and wrong answers (shows the answer)

Why it is hard

The quoted sentence on its own suggests only that someone doubted Ederle, so students who stay inside it guess at why. Those who read the editor's next sentence find the reason, his belief that women are the weaker sex, and can see social prejudice as an obstacle. The near miss gets the prejudice right but invents its cause, and the right answer adds the physical challenge that the second paragraph details.

  1. Reading between the lines moderate Working it out

    The quoted sentence gives only a prediction; its reason, women as “the weaker sex”, comes in the next sentence and must be read as a social obstacle alongside the channel's physical ones. (Graesser, Singer & Trabasso, 1994; Kintsch, 1998)

  2. A very close wrong answer moderate Choosing the answer

    The right choice and the one about people being uncomfortable both find a social obstacle in spite of her ability, and they part only on its cause: the editor's view of women, or no woman having tried. (Embretson & Wetzel, 1987; Gorin & Embretson, 2006; Ascalon et al., 2007)

  3. Complex sentences minor Understanding the question

    The editor's claim is one long, formal sentence beginning “even the most uncompromising champion of the rights and capacities of women”, with its point delayed to the end. (Abedi & Lord, 2001; Freedle & Kostin, 1993; Messick, 1989)

Strategy: Read the editor's full claim in the sentence that follows, then ask what his reasoning was based on and what it suggests about the challenges she faced.

Traps

  • Half right: One half of a two-part choice is right and the other is not.
  • Outside knowledge: A choice is plausible in the real world but not supported by this text.

The wrong answers, classified

How the questions are analyzed, and the research behind it

Working it out, step by step

  1. Figure out what the question asks

    The editor predicted that Ederle would fail. You need to work out what his prediction shows about the challenges she faced. This is an inference: a smart guess based on clues in the text.

  2. Read the editor’s reason

    The very next sentence gives his reason. He said that “even the most uncompromising champion of the rights and capacities of women must admit that in contests of physical skill, speed and endurance they must remain forever the weaker sex.”

  3. Put his words in plain English

    A champion here means a supporter of a cause. Uncompromising means not giving in at all. Capacities means abilities. So he said: even the strongest supporter of women must admit that women will always be weaker in sports. He expected her to fail just because she was a woman.

  4. See the two kinds of challenge

    The editor ignored her skill. She had “eighteen world records and three Olympic medals.” So she faced a social obstacle, one that comes from what other people think. People doubted her because she was a woman. She also faced physical obstacles. Paragraph 2 describes the icy water, the tides, and the jellyfish.

  5. Check each choice

    • D: in spite of her past wins, she faced “social as well as physical obstacles.” This matches.
    • A: the editor never mentions her being American or knowing the channel.
    • B: her records show she was well trained. Training was not the editor’s reason.
    • C: people did doubt her, but not because no woman had tried. Ederle herself had tried in 1925 (paragraph 3).

    Watch out: C spots the social problem but gives the wrong reason for it.

  6. Pick the answer

    The editor’s view of women was a social obstacle, added to the hard swim itself. So the answer is D.

Why this answer and not the closest wrong one

C is the closest wrong answer, since it also points to a social problem. But the editor’s reason was that women are “the weaker sex,” not that no woman had tried. In fact, Ederle tried in 1925. D names the real social obstacle and the physical ones too.

More questions like this

The original DOE question
Question 16 as printed on page 57 of the DOE handbook.
As printed in the DOE’s Specialized High Schools Student Handbook 2018–2019, page 57, question 16. Open page 57 of the handbook (PDF) The handbook letters this question’s choices E–H; here they are A–D (E = A, F = B, G = C, H = D).
The passage “Champion of the Channel” as printed (pages 56–57)The passage “Champion of the Channel” as printed on page 56 of the DOE handbook.The passage “Champion of the Channel” as printed on page 57 of the DOE handbook.

Question 17 of 57

2018 Test A English, question 17

Uses the passage above: “Champion of the Channel”.

Question

Which sentence is the best summary of the steps that Ederle took to prepare for her second attempt to swim across the English Channel?

  • AWorking with her sister, Ederle waterproofed her goggles using melted candle wax to seal the edges and designed a two-piece silk bathing suit that was lightweight and would not stretch out during the long swim.
  • BEderle covered her body in numerous layers of grease for insulation and focused on finding her “sphere” during her swim.
  • CEderle began training with her coach, who played music while she swam to help her time her strokes to the music.
  • DEderle focused on developing better equipment than the standard swimsuit that proved cumbersome during her first attempt to cross the channel.
Show the answer

Correct answer: A

The answer is (A)

The question asks for the best summary of Ederle’s steps to prepare for her second attempt to swim across the English Channel. Ederle’s preparation is outlined in paragraph 4.

Option A is correct because it acknowledges the idea that Ederle involved her sister in this process, and it details the efforts the two took to improve Ederle’s equipment, including waxing her goggles and designing a better swimsuit.

Option B is incorrect because it focuses on Ederle’s actions in the moments before (covering her body with grease for insulation) and during her swim (finding her “sphere”), not her overall preparation methods.

Option C is incorrect because it refers to a practice that was employed to help Ederle keep her strokes in rhythm during her swim.

Option D is incorrect because it does not refer to the series of steps that Ederle took to prepare for her swim but rather to just one of the efforts made (improving equipment) without acknowledging her sister’s contributions.

Question analysis

This reading question asks for the best summary of the steps swimmer Gertrude Ederle took to prepare for her second attempt to cross the English Channel. The passage describes many things Ederle and her helpers did, so students must sort out which ones were preparation and which summary covers them most completely.

NYS standards
  • 7R2 theme or central idea
Grade level
Grade 6 reading and task
Compared with grade 7
Below grade 7 Summarizing the steps described in one paragraph is a grade 6 skill; grade 7 summaries usually cover a whole text and how it develops. The demand here is a careful match between details and choices.
Estimated difficulty
Straightforward: two steps or one careful reading.
Evidence
Answered from one paragraph or stanza
Reading level
Passage: about grade 9, 790 words; question and choices: about grade 12, 121 words.
Students, last 30 days
Not enough answers yet to show (it takes 10).
Why it is hard, traps and wrong answers (shows the answer)

Why it is hard

The preparation is confined to paragraph 4, but the passage keeps describing things Ederle and her team did, so students must separate getting ready from the swim itself. The grease is the trickiest, since she put it on before entering the water. Between the two equipment summaries, the one that lists the goggles, the suit and her sister's help is the fuller account.

  1. A very close wrong answer moderate Choosing the answer

    The right summary and the one about better equipment than the standard swimsuit describe the same work, and only the waxed goggles and Meg's help, missing from the shorter one, tell them apart. (Embretson & Wetzel, 1987; Gorin & Embretson, 2006; Ascalon et al., 2007)

  2. Every choice must be checked minor Choosing the answer

    Two choices take real details from the swim itself, the grease and the phonograph, so each must be placed in time, before the swim or during it. (Embretson & Wetzel, 1987)

Strategy: Find the paragraph that describes how Ederle got ready, list its steps in order, and choose the summary that matches that list most completely.

Traps

  • Wrong part of the text: A choice is true of another paragraph, stanza or speaker than the one asked about.
  • Too narrow: A single detail offered as the central idea or a summary, or a summary that keeps minor details and leaves out an essential part.

The wrong answers, classified

How the questions are analyzed, and the research behind it

Working it out, step by step

  1. Figure out what the question asks

    A summary tells the main points in a short way. This asks for the steps Ederle took to get ready for her second try. So focus on what she did before the swim, not during it.

  2. Find the paragraph about getting ready

    Paragraph 4 begins: “To prepare for the marathon swim, Ederle found ways to improve her equipment.” That word “prepare” tells you this is the paragraph you need.

  3. List the steps in paragraph 4

    • She and her sister Meg found that “melted candle wax perfectly sealed goggle edges.” That kept water out of her goggles.
    • The sisters “designed a two-piece silk swimsuit” for her.
    • Her old suit had “stretched out, filling with water and creating drag.” Drag is a pull that slows you down.
    • The new suit “weighed little and allowed for easy movement.”

  4. Check each choice

    • A names her sister, the waxed goggles, and the light silk suit. It covers every step.
    • B: the grease and her “sphere” come from paragraph 5, the day of the swim itself.
    • C: her coach played music on a phonograph, an old record player, during the swim (paragraph 6). The passage never describes training sessions.
    • D is about better gear, but it mentions only the swimsuit.

    Watch out: D is true, but it leaves out the goggles and Meg’s help. A summary of the steps should name the steps.

  5. Pick the answer

    Choice A matches the full list of steps from paragraph 4, with nothing missing. So the answer is A.

Why this answer and not the closest wrong one

D is the closest wrong answer, because better equipment is the main idea of paragraph 4. But D tells only about the swimsuit. It leaves out the waxed goggles and her sister Meg. A includes every step, so it is the best summary.

More questions like this

The original DOE question
Question 17 as printed on page 58 of the DOE handbook.
As printed in the DOE’s Specialized High Schools Student Handbook 2018–2019, page 58, question 17. Open page 58 of the handbook (PDF)

Question 18 of 57

2018 Test A English, question 18

Uses the passage above: “Champion of the Channel”.

Question

Read this sentence from paragraph 3.

Ederle knew that if she did not complete the challenge this time, she might never get the opportunity to set this record, because a rival female swimmer was preparing to make her second attempt at the crossing as well.

How does this sentence fit into the overall structure of the passage?  

  • AIt emphasizes that Ederle’s attempt to swim across the channel led other female swimmers to attempt the challenge.
  • BIt presents the reason why Ederle prepared to cross the channel again immediately after her initial failure.
  • CIt shows Ederle’s realization that she had to rethink her methods if she wanted to be the first woman to cross the channel.
  • DIt indicates that Ederle had learned from her mistakes and was working to fix them before her next attempt.
Show the answer

Correct answer: B

The answer is (B)

The question asks how the sentence from paragraph 3 fits into the overall structure of the passage.

Option B is correct because it explains that Ederle’s awareness of another female swimmer preparing to make an attempt to swim the channel directly influenced Ederle’s decision to make her second attempt as quickly as possible. Ederle wanted to be the first woman to successfully swim across the channel.

Option A is incorrect because the passage does not provide information about other female swimmers who were inspired by Ederle to swim across the channel.

Option C is incorrect because, although Ederle did rethink her methods between her first and second attempts, the sentence does not show any sort of realization nor does it address her reasoning for rethinking her methods.

Option D is incorrect because the sentence is not related to Ederle’s process for learning from her mistakes.

Question analysis

This reading question quotes a sentence about a rival swimmer from a passage on Gertrude Ederle's English Channel swim and asks how it fits the passage's overall structure. Students must see how the sentence connects her failed first attempt to what came next, and the choices differ in small but important ways.

NYS standards
  • 7R5 structure and genre features
  • 7R3 plot elements and ideas
Grade level
Grade 8 reading and task
Compared with grade 7
Above grade 7 Explaining how one sentence fits a passage's structure is a grade 7 standard, but the choices differ by shades of meaning and the sentence must be read against the paragraphs on either side, which goes beyond typical grade 7 work.
Estimated difficulty
Hard: combines ideas, needs a plan, and has more than one tempting wrong answer.
What makes it hard
Evidence
Answered from several paragraphs or stanzas
Reading level
Passage: about grade 9, 790 words; question and choices: about grade 10, 133 words.
Corrected from the DOE handbook
  • The handbook’s answer key was corrected, because its own explanation supports a different choice.
Students, last 30 days
Not enough answers yet to show (it takes 10).
Why it is hard, traps and wrong answers (shows the answer)

Why it is hard

The sentence sits at a hinge, right before a paragraph about new goggles and a new swimsuit, so it is easy to read that paragraph's content back into it. What the sentence itself offers is a motive, the rival's plans, for trying again without delay. Students who paraphrase the sentence before reading the choices avoid the trap; those who match choices to the surrounding story fall into it.

  1. A very close wrong answer major Choosing the answer

    The right choice and the rethinking-methods one both tie the sentence to her next attempt and to being first across; only the sentence's silence about methods separates them, and even the DOE handbook keyed the wrong one. (Embretson & Wetzel, 1987; Gorin & Embretson, 2006; Ascalon et al., 2007)

  2. How, not what moderate Working it out

    The question asks what the sentence does in the passage, bridging the failed 1925 attempt and the new equipment of paragraph 4, rather than what it says. (Anderson & Krathwohl, 2001)

  3. Reading between the lines moderate Working it out

    The “because” clause gives a motive for urgency, a rival preparing her second attempt, which the student must connect to Ederle's decision to try again. (Graesser, Singer & Trabasso, 1994; Kintsch, 1998)

Strategy: Reread the sentence along with the two sentences before it, put what this sentence itself says into your own words, and only then compare the choices with it.

Traps

The wrong answers, classified

What was corrected from the DOE handbook, and why

  • Answer key: The handbook keys this question G (C on this site). But its explanation of the correct answer, that knowing a rival was preparing her own attempt made Ederle decide to make her second attempt as quickly as possible, describes F (B here), and its reason for rejecting F, that the sentence shows no realization about rethinking her methods, describes G (C here). The quoted sentence gives a reason for urgency and says nothing about her methods, which the passage turns to in paragraph 4. The key is now B, and the explanation’s option letters were swapped to match its reasoning.

How the questions are analyzed, and the research behind it

Working it out, step by step

  1. Figure out what the question asks

    This asks what job the sentence does in the passage. It’s not just what the sentence says, but why it is there. So look at what comes right before it and right after it.

  2. Read the sentence in its place

    Paragraph 3 says Ederle failed in 1925. Then: “Undeterred, Ederle decided to try again.” Undeterred means not discouraged. Next comes the sentence: “Ederle knew that if she did not complete the challenge this time, she might never get the opportunity to set this record, because a rival female swimmer was preparing to make her second attempt at the crossing as well.”

  3. Put it in your own words

    A rival is someone trying to reach the same goal. Another woman was getting ready to try again too. If she made it first, Ederle could never be the first woman across. So Ederle had to try again, and soon. The sentence gives the reason she hurried to try again.

  4. Notice what the sentence leaves out

    The sentence says nothing about her goggles, her swimsuit, or her methods. It doesn’t mention any mistakes she made. Those ideas come later, in paragraph 4. So any choice about fixing her methods goes beyond this sentence.

  5. Check each choice

    • B: it gives the reason she got ready to cross again so soon. A rival might beat her.
    • A has it backward. Here the rival’s plan pushes Ederle, not the other way around. Nothing says Ederle led other women to try.
    • C is about rethinking her methods. The sentence never mentions methods.
    • D is about learning from mistakes. The sentence never mentions mistakes either.

    Watch out: C is the trickiest. It gets her goal right, to be the first woman across. But “rethink her methods” is not in this sentence.

  6. Pick the answer

    The sentence explains why Ederle rushed to try again after she failed. So the answer is B.

Why this answer and not the closest wrong one

C is the closest wrong answer. Ederle did improve her gear later, and she did want to be first. But this sentence never says she needed new methods. It gives only her reason to hurry: a rival was about to try again. That is exactly what B says.

More questions like this

The original DOE question
Question 18 as printed on page 58 of the DOE handbook.
As printed in the DOE’s Specialized High Schools Student Handbook 2018–2019, page 58, question 18. Open page 58 of the handbook (PDF) The handbook letters this question’s choices E–H; here they are A–D (E = A, F = B, G = C, H = D). This is the DOE’s version, before the corrections listed in the analysis.

Question 19 of 57

2018 Test A English, question 19

Uses the passage above: “Champion of the Channel”.

Question

Which sentence best supports the idea that Ederle succeeded in swimming across the channel because of her innovative approach to the challenge?

  • A“Yet, at only nineteen years old, Ederle not only became the first woman to accomplish this feat, she also broke the men’s record by two hours.” (paragraph 1)
  • B“At first she shivered in the bone-chilling water even though she had covered her body in eight layers of grease for insulation.” (paragraph 5)
  • C“Using a new overhand stroke called the American crawl, Ederle eventually settled into a steady pace, briskly breaking through waves.” (paragraph 5)
  • D“No longer fighting against her, the sea pushed her toward the shore and victory.” (paragraph 7)
Show the answer

Correct answer: C

The answer is (C)

The question asks for the best support for the idea that Ederle’s swim across the channel was successful because of her innovative approach to the challenge.

Option C is correct because the sentence from paragraph 5 explains that Ederle employed a newly developed type of stroke that allowed her to maintain her pace through the rough water.

Option A is incorrect because the sentence from paragraph 1 shows that her performance was groundbreaking but not necessarily creative.

Option B is incorrect because the layers of grease primarily served to help maintain Ederle’s body temperature in the water, and there is nothing in the passage to suggest that this was an innovative practice.

Option D is incorrect because the sentence from paragraph 7 simply states that Ederle fought against the waves and completed her swim, and it does not describe how Ederle employed innovative techniques.

Question analysis

This reading question asks which quoted sentence best supports the idea that Gertrude Ederle crossed the English Channel because of an innovative approach. Each quotation describes a real moment of her story, so students must test each one against what innovative actually means.

NYS standards
  • 7R1 textual evidence and inferences
Grade level
Grade 7 reading and task
Compared with grade 7
At grade 7 Choosing the sentence that best supports an idea is a core grade 7 reading task. The quotations come with paragraph numbers, so the demand is a careful check of each against the key word innovative, as in typical grade 7 practice.
Estimated difficulty
Straightforward: two steps or one careful reading.
What makes it hard
Evidence
Answered from several paragraphs or stanzas
Reading level
Passage: about grade 9, 790 words; question and choices: about grade 12, 108 words.
Corrected from the DOE handbook
  • A wrong paragraph number in the explanation was corrected.
Students, last 30 days
Not enough answers yet to show (it takes 10).
Why it is hard, traps and wrong answers (shows the answer)

Why it is hard

The claim has two parts, success and an innovative cause, and only one quotation shows both. The record-breaking sentence proves the success but says nothing about method, while the grease is a technique the passage never calls new and that did not keep her from shivering. The word “new” in the crawl sentence is the signal careful readers use.

  1. Every choice must be checked minor Choosing the answer

    Each quotation shows a real part of the swim, so each must pass two tests: it shows something new that Ederle did, and that thing helped her finish. (Embretson & Wetzel, 1987)

Strategy: Pin down what innovative means in your own words, then ask of each quoted sentence whether it shows an innovative approach of Ederle's at work and helping her succeed.

Traps

  • Reads too much in: A reasonable-sounding conclusion that goes further than the text allows.
  • Supports only part of the claim: In a question about evidence: a line that backs one half of the claim but not the other, or a related point rather than the claim itself.

The wrong answers, classified

What was corrected from the DOE handbook, and why

  • Explanation: The handbook says the sentence in choice D comes from paragraph 6. The choice itself and the passage place it in paragraph 7 (“No longer fighting against her, the sea pushed her toward the shore and victory.”), so the explanation now says paragraph 7.

How the questions are analyzed, and the research behind it

Working it out, step by step

  1. Figure out what the question asks

    Innovative means new and creative, a fresh way of doing something. You need a sentence that shows two things. First, Ederle used something new. Second, that new thing helped her succeed.

  2. Look for something new

    • A says she was the first woman across and beat the men’s record. That shows she succeeded, but not how.
    • B says she wore grease “for insulation,” a layer that keeps heat in. The passage never calls the grease new.
    • C says she used “a new overhand stroke called the American crawl” (paragraph 5). Here is the word “new.”
    • D says the sea pushed her to shore. That is the tide changing, not something Ederle did.

  3. Check that it helped her

    Choice C goes on: she “eventually settled into a steady pace, briskly breaking through waves.” A stroke is the way you move your arms to swim. Briskly means quickly and with energy. So the new stroke gave her a steady, quick pace. That helped her get across.

  4. Rule out the grease

    Watch out: B can seem clever, since the grease was meant to keep her warm. But the same sentence says she still “shivered in the bone-chilling water.” So the passage does not call it new, and it does not show it helping her win.

  5. Pick the answer

    Only C shows a new method that helped her succeed. So the answer is C.

Why this answer and not the closest wrong one

B is the closest wrong answer, because grease for warmth sounds smart. But the passage never says it was new, and she shivered anyway. C has both parts: the word “new” and a result, a “steady pace” through the waves.

More questions like this

The original DOE question
Question 19 as printed on page 58 of the DOE handbook.
As printed in the DOE’s Specialized High Schools Student Handbook 2018–2019, page 58, question 19. Open page 58 of the handbook (PDF) This is the DOE’s version, before the corrections listed in the analysis.

Question 20 of 57

2018 Test A English, question 20

Uses the passage above: “Champion of the Channel”.

Question

In paragraph 4, the word “insurmountable” is used to highlight

  • Ahow the bathing suit made it impossible for Ederle to make it across the channel.
  • Bhow Ederle and her sister decided to improve Ederle’s swimming equipment in a creative way.
  • Cthat the flaws in Ederle’s bathing suit made a difficult task even more complicated.
  • Dthat the swimming equipment Ederle used needed to be custom made for her attempt.
Show the answer

Correct answer: C

The answer is (C)

The question asks about the effect of the word “insurmountable,” which means “incapable of being overcome,” in paragraph 4.

Option C is correct because the suit Ederle wore during her first attempt to swim the channel “stretched out, filling with water and creating drag” (paragraph 4), which likely contributed to her failed attempt to swim across the channel.

Option A is incorrect; Ederle did not complete her first swim because she became ill (paragraph 3: “Just six miles short of finishing, she became ill, and her coach had to haul her out of the water.”), not because the suit made it impossible for Ederle to complete her swim.

Option B is incorrect because the author uses the word “insurmountable” to draw attention to the increased difficulty caused by the swimsuit, not to draw attention to the sisters’ creativity in solving the problem.

Option D is incorrect because the passage does not address whether the original swimsuit was custom made, simply that the swimsuit created additional difficulties for Ederle in a situation that was already difficult.

Question analysis

This vocabulary-in-context question asks what the author highlights by using the word insurmountable in a passage about Gertrude Ederle's English Channel swim. Students must read the word as it is used in its sentence about her first swimsuit and decide what point it stresses, which takes close attention to the surrounding words.

NYS standards
  • 7R4 word meaning and choice
  • 7L4a context clues
Grade level
Grade 7 reading and task
Compared with grade 7
At grade 7 Working out the effect of a difficult word from its context is standard grade 7 work. The word is advanced, but the sentence around it explains the situation clearly, so the overall demand is typical.
Estimated difficulty
Moderate: several steps, or a close reading with one strong distractor.
What makes it hard
Evidence
Answered from one sentence or line
Reading level
Passage: about grade 9, 790 words; question and choices: about grade 9, 67 words.
Students, last 30 days
Not enough answers yet to show (it takes 10).
Why it is hard, traps and wrong answers (shows the answer)

Why it is hard

Knowing what insurmountable means is necessary but not sufficient, because the phrase is “almost insurmountable” and the point is how much harder the old suit made a hard swim. The commonest error takes the word at full strength and blames the suit for a failure that paragraph 3 attributes to illness. Choices about the sisters' fix describe the paragraph's next move rather than what this word stresses.

  1. Hard words moderate Understanding the question

    The question turns on “insurmountable”, impossible to overcome, and on the “almost” in front of it, which turns impossible into extremely hard. (Perfetti, 2007; Freedle & Kostin, 1993)

  2. Complex sentences moderate Understanding the question

    The word ends a 38-word sentence whose “that” clause is interrupted by “after the lengthy hours of swimming across the channel”, so its link to the swimsuit is easy to lose. (Abedi & Lord, 2001; Freedle & Kostin, 1993; Messick, 1989)

  3. A very close wrong answer moderate Choosing the answer

    The right choice and the one saying the suit made crossing impossible make the same point about the old suit and differ only in degree, which turns on the word “almost”. (Embretson & Wetzel, 1987; Gorin & Embretson, 2006; Ascalon et al., 2007)

Strategy: Read the whole sentence containing the word, along with the sentences around it, then ask what point about the old swimsuit the author is stressing.

Traps

The wrong answers, classified

How the questions are analyzed, and the research behind it

Working it out, step by step

  1. Figure out what the question asks

    This asks why the author used the word “insurmountable.” First you need to know what the word means. Then you need to see what point it helps the author make.

  2. Find the word in its sentence

    Paragraph 4 says her old suit “had stretched out, filling with water and creating drag, making an already challenging task almost insurmountable.” Drag is a pull that slows you down in the water.

  3. Work out what the word means

    To surmount something means to get over it, like climbing over a wall. So insurmountable means impossible to get over or beat. But the author wrote “almost insurmountable.” Almost means not quite. Also notice “already challenging.” The swim was hard to begin with. So the suit made a hard job even harder. It did not make it fully impossible.

  4. Check each choice

    • C: the suit’s flaws made “a difficult task even more complicated.” This matches “already challenging” plus “almost insurmountable.”
    • A says the suit made the swim “impossible.” That ignores “almost.” Also, paragraph 3 says her first try ended because “she became ill.”
    • B: the sisters’ creative fix is in other sentences. This word describes the problem, not the fix.
    • D: the passage never says her gear had to be custom made.

    Watch out: A uses the dictionary meaning of the word. But always read the words around it, like “almost.”

  5. Pick the answer

    The word stresses how much harder the old suit made the swim. So the answer is C.

Why this answer and not the closest wrong one

A is the closest wrong answer, because it uses the word’s full meaning, impossible. But the author wrote “almost,” and Ederle’s first try ended when she got sick, not because of her suit. C keeps the right amount: a hard task made even harder.

More questions like this

The original DOE question
Question 20 as printed on page 59 of the DOE handbook.
As printed in the DOE’s Specialized High Schools Student Handbook 2018–2019, page 59, question 20. Open page 59 of the handbook (PDF) The handbook letters this question’s choices E–H; here they are A–D (E = A, F = B, G = C, H = D).

Question 21 of 57

2018 Test A English, question 21

Uses the passage above: “Champion of the Channel”.

Question

Which statement describes how the author’s use of problem-and-solution in paragraph 5 contributes to the development of ideas in the passage?

  • ADetailing the challenges that the cold channel waters presented highlights how effective Ederle’s training was.
  • BDescribing Ederle’s physical difficulties during her swim provides evidence of the team effort required in order to ensure her safety.
  • CExplaining the difficulties that arose early in the effort helps predict the additional problems that occurred during Ederle’s attempt.
  • DIllustrating Ederle’s process of blocking out her discomfort shows that swimming the channel was both a mental and a physical challenge.
Show the answer

Correct answer: D

The answer is (D)

The question asks how a problem-and-solution structure in paragraph 5 contributes to the ideas presented in the passage.

Option D is correct because the paragraph describes how the water’s temperature made Ederle uncomfortable and made it difficult for her to regulate her stroke. The paragraph continues with the explanation of how she overcame these issues by focusing her mind on the sea and tuning out the distractions in her surroundings (paragraph 5: “. . . the sea became her only companion and the shrieks of gulls and the humming of boat engines faded away.”).

Option A is incorrect because the details in paragraph 5 do not provide a connection between the cold temperature of the water and the effectiveness of Ederle’s training.

Option B is incorrect because the difficulties Ederle encountered were only partially relieved by her team, and her team’s efforts to ensure Ederle’s safety are not explained in the passage.

Option C is incorrect because the paragraph does not focus on the relationship between the problems Ederle encountered at the start of her swim and the problems she encountered during or near the end of her swim.

Question analysis

This reading question asks how the problem-and-solution structure of one paragraph about Gertrude Ederle's English Channel swim helps develop the passage's ideas. Students must identify the difficulties she faced at the start of the swim and how she overcame them, then judge which abstract statement describes that pattern without adding details the paragraph lacks.

NYS standards
  • 7R5 structure and genre features
  • 7R3 plot elements and ideas
Grade level
Grade 8 reading and task
Compared with grade 7
Above grade 7 Analyzing how a paragraph's structure develops ideas is grade 7 content, but the choices are abstract claims about purpose, the paragraph's problems and solutions must be identified first, and every choice mentions real difficulties, more than typical grade 7 work.
Estimated difficulty
Hard: combines ideas, needs a plan, and has more than one tempting wrong answer.
Evidence
Answered from one paragraph or stanza
Reading level
Passage: about grade 9, 790 words; question and choices: about grade 14, 95 words.
Corrected from the DOE handbook
  • A grammar slip in the explanation was corrected.
Students, last 30 days
Not enough answers yet to show (it takes 10).
Why it is hard, traps and wrong answers (shows the answer)

Why it is hard

The first halves of the choices are all true, which pushes the whole judgment onto what each says the paragraph accomplishes. The paragraph's solution is mental, clearing her mind until the noise faded, so a reading that sees only physical problems reaches for training, teamwork or foreshadowing. Students who list the problems and the fixes before reading the choices see that only one statement accounts for both.

  1. How, not what major Working it out

    The question asks how a problem-and-solution pattern in paragraph 5 develops the passage's ideas, so the student must name the pattern's effect, not retell the cold and the stiffness. (Anderson & Krathwohl, 2001)

  2. Every choice must be checked moderate Choosing the answer

    Every choice opens with an accurate phrase about paragraph 5's difficulties, the cold water or the early struggle, so only each choice's second half can be tested. (Embretson & Wetzel, 1987)

  3. Figurative or literary language minor Understanding the question

    The solution is told in images, finding her “sphere”, where “the sea became her only companion”, which must be read as a mental strategy. (Graesser, Singer & Trabasso, 1994; Kintsch, 1998)

Strategy: List the problems paragraph 5 names and how Ederle got past each one, then choose the statement that accounts for the problems and the solutions alike.

Traps

  • Wrong purpose or structure: Names a purpose, structure or effect that the part does not serve, or describes what a part says when the question asks what it does.
  • Outside knowledge: A choice is plausible in the real world but not supported by this text.
  • Wrong part of the text: A choice is true of another paragraph, stanza or speaker than the one asked about.

The wrong answers, classified

What was corrected from the DOE handbook, and why

  • Explanation: The handbook reads “her team’s efforts to ensure Ederle’s safety is not explained”. It now reads “are not explained”, since the subject is “efforts”.

How the questions are analyzed, and the research behind it

Working it out, step by step

  1. Figure out what the question asks

    In a problem-and-solution pattern, the author shows a problem and then how someone deals with it. You need to say what this pattern in paragraph 5 adds to the passage. So first find the problems. Then find the solutions.

  2. Find the problems

    At first Ederle “shivered in the bone-chilling water.” Then: “Her limbs felt stiff. Her strokes were irregular.” Limbs are arms and legs. Irregular means uneven. These are problems with her body.

  3. Find the solutions

    Next, “she fought to clear her mind” and find her “sphere.” Her sphere was “a place where the sea became her only companion and the shrieks of gulls and the humming of boat engines faded away.” That is a calm place in her mind. She shut out the noise and her discomfort. Then, with the American crawl, she “settled into a steady pace.”

  4. Decide what the pattern shows

    The problems are in her body: cold, stiff, and uneven. Much of the solution is in her mind: focusing and shutting out the world. So the paragraph shows that the swim tested both her body and her mind.

  5. Check each choice

    • D: blocking out her discomfort shows the swim was “both a mental and a physical challenge.” Mental means of the mind.
    • A: paragraph 5 never mentions her training.
    • B: the team on the tugboats is in paragraph 6. Paragraph 5 is about Ederle alone.
    • C: paragraph 5 doesn’t use the early trouble to hint at later problems. It shows her getting past it.

    Watch out: A storm does come later, in paragraph 7, so C can seem right. But paragraph 5 ends with her solving the problem, not with a warning.

  6. Pick the answer

    Only D explains both the problems and the way she solved them. So the answer is D.

Why this answer and not the closest wrong one

C is the closest wrong answer, because more trouble does come later, in the storm. But paragraph 5 doesn’t hint at the storm. It ends with Ederle “briskly breaking through waves.” D explains the whole pattern: body problems solved partly by the mind.

More questions like this

The original DOE question
Question 21 as printed on page 59 of the DOE handbook.
As printed in the DOE’s Specialized High Schools Student Handbook 2018–2019, page 59, question 21. Open page 59 of the handbook (PDF) This is the DOE’s version, before the corrections listed in the analysis.

Question 22 of 57

2018 Test A English, question 22

Uses the passage above: “Champion of the Channel”.

Question

Paragraph 7 contributes to the development of the central idea of the passage by

  • Aillustrating that Ederle’s physical strength and mental fortitude allowed her to stay focused on her goal.
  • Bconveying that Ederle pushed herself to the edge of her physical capabilities in order to complete the swim.
  • Chighlighting the impact the severe weather had on Ederle’s emotions during her swim.
  • Demphasizing the surge of emotions Ederle felt as she came closer to achieving a personal goal.
Show the answer

Correct answer: D

The answer is (D)

The question asks for an explanation of how paragraph 7 contributes to the development of a central idea of the passage. Paragraph 7 is mainly about Ederle’s physical and emotional state as she pushed through a difficult portion of her swim and realized her goal was in sight. A central idea of the passage is that Ederle’s passion and determination allowed her to accomplish her goal of being the first woman to cross the English Channel.

Option D is correct because it emphasizes her passion by referring to the overwhelming emotions Ederle felt as she progressed during her swim, despite the unfavorable conditions (paragraph 7: “For hours Ederle swam, dodging debris with an amused smile” and “Yet Ederle felt indescribably happy as she churned through the sea.”).

Option A is incorrect because, although Ederle needed physical strength and mental fortitude to complete the swim, the paragraph contributes to a central idea because it highlights her emotion as she swam, not her physical strength or mental fortitude.

Option B is incorrect because the paragraph focuses on Ederle’s emotional response to the challenging circumstances and not the idea that Ederle was at the “edge of her physical capabilities.”

Option C is incorrect because Ederle’s feelings of happiness and amusement were caused by her anticipation and excitement as she approached achieving her goal, not by the severe weather.

Question analysis

This reading question asks how the paragraph about the storm near the end of Gertrude Ederle's English Channel swim contributes to the passage's central idea. Students must decide what the paragraph mainly does and connect it to the larger point, while every choice sounds like a fair description of a hard swim.

NYS standards
  • 7R5 structure and genre features
  • 7R2 theme or central idea
Grade level
Grade 8 reading and task
Compared with grade 7
Above grade 7 Explaining how one paragraph develops a central idea is a grade 7 standard, but here several choices sound true of a hard swim through a storm, and the student must see what the paragraph is mainly about, beyond typical grade 7 work.
Estimated difficulty
Hard: combines ideas, needs a plan, and has more than one tempting wrong answer.
Evidence
Answered from several paragraphs or stanzas
Reading level
Passage: about grade 9, 790 words; question and choices: about grade 11, 76 words.
Students, last 30 days
Not enough answers yet to show (it takes 10).
Why it is hard, traps and wrong answers (shows the answer)

Why it is hard

Paragraph 7 is crowded with hardship, a storm, a swollen tongue and inflamed ears, so the obvious reading is that it shows toughness. The author's pointed “Yet Ederle felt indescribably happy” turns it toward emotion, which ties it to the passion named in the thesis. Several choices are fair about the swim in general, and this is one of the closer calls on the test, since strength is also on display.

  1. A very close wrong answer major Choosing the answer

    The right choice and the strength-and-fortitude one both describe Ederle's inner state as she nears her goal, and only whether paragraph 7 stresses her feelings or her toughness separates them, since she does fight “the stubborn swells for several hours”. (Embretson & Wetzel, 1987; Gorin & Embretson, 2006; Ascalon et al., 2007)

  2. Evidence in several places moderate Working it out

    The central idea, her “determination, innovative spirit, and passion for swimming”, is stated in paragraph 1, six paragraphs before the storm it must be connected to. (Kirsch & Mosenthal, 1990; Gorin & Embretson, 2006)

  3. How, not what moderate Working it out

    The question asks how paragraph 7 develops the central idea, so the student must weigh what its details stress, the “amused smile” and “indescribably happy”, not just what happens. (Anderson & Krathwohl, 2001)

Strategy: Mark the words in paragraph 7 that describe how Ederle felt and what she endured, decide which the author stresses, then connect that to the passage's stated central idea.

Traps

The wrong answers, classified

How the questions are analyzed, and the research behind it

Working it out, step by step

  1. Figure out what the question asks

    You need to explain how paragraph 7 helps build the central idea, the main point of the passage. So first find the central idea. Then see what paragraph 7 stresses.

  2. Find the central idea

    The last sentence of paragraph 1 says: “Gertrude Ederle’s triumphant swim across the English Channel was a testimony to her determination, innovative spirit, and passion for swimming.” A testimony here means proof. Passion means a strong love for something.

  3. See what happens in paragraph 7

    A fierce storm pushes Ederle backward. She fights “the stubborn swells for several hours.” Swells are big, rolling waves. Salt water makes her tongue swell and her ears sore. Then the storm ends, and the sea pushes her “toward the shore and victory.”

  4. Notice what the author stresses

    Look at the feeling words. She swims “dodging debris with an amused smile.” In the middle of the pain, the author writes: “Yet Ederle felt indescribably happy as she churned through the sea.” Indescribably means too much to put into words. The word “Yet” shows a surprise. She felt joy in spite of the pain. That shows her passion for swimming.

  5. Check each choice

    • D: a “surge of emotions” as she came closer to her goal. A surge is a sudden rush. This matches the smile and the happiness.
    • A: strength and “mental fortitude,” or toughness. She was tough, but the paragraph stresses her joy.
    • B: the paragraph never says she reached “the edge of her physical capabilities.”
    • C says the storm caused her feelings. She was happy in spite of the storm, not because of it.

    Watch out: A is tempting because she fought for hours. But the “Yet” sentence turns to how she felt.

  6. Pick the answer

    Paragraph 7 builds the passage’s idea of her passion by showing her feelings. So the answer is D.

Why this answer and not the closest wrong one

A is the closest wrong answer, because she does fight “the stubborn swells for several hours.” But the paragraph’s key words are about feeling: “amused smile” and “indescribably happy.” Those link to her “passion for swimming” in paragraph 1. D names those emotions.

More questions like this

The original DOE question
Question 22 as printed on page 59 of the DOE handbook.
As printed in the DOE’s Specialized High Schools Student Handbook 2018–2019, page 59, question 22. Open page 59 of the handbook (PDF) The handbook letters this question’s choices E–H; here they are A–D (E = A, F = B, G = C, H = D).

Question 23 of 57

2018 Test A English, question 23

Uses the passage above: “Champion of the Channel”.

Question

Ederle’s victorious swim across the English Channel influenced American attitudes mainly by

  • Asparking interest in physical activity and in seeking swimming certification.
  • Bencouraging other swimmers to seek out and achieve challenging feats.
  • Cdemonstrating that women could achieve and even surpass feats accomplished by men.
  • Dshowing that determination and perseverance are necessary to overcome previous failures.
Show the answer

Correct answer: A

The answer is (A)

The question asks for an explanation of how Ederle’s successful swim across the channel affected American attitudes.

Option A is correct because the passage indicates that there was a large increase in the number of American men and women who became physically active and who obtained swimming certificates shortly after Ederle’s swim (paragraph 9: “Over the next few years, more than 60,000 people credited her with motivating them to earn their American Red Cross swimming certificates.”).

Option B is incorrect because, although there was an increase in the number of people learning to swim, the passage does not provide details about people who were inspired by Ederle to take on extreme challenges such as swimming across the channel.

Option C is incorrect because, although Ederle did, in fact, surpass the men’s time for the swim by two hours, the passage does not provide information about how this achievement affected the American people’s perception of the capabilities of men and women.

Option D is incorrect because, although the passage does explain how Ederle’s determination and perseverance led to her eventual success, it does not demonstrate how this affected American attitudes toward overcoming failures.

Question analysis

This reading question asks how Gertrude Ederle's record-setting English Channel swim mainly influenced American attitudes, according to the final paragraph of the passage. Students must stick to what the passage actually reports about Americans' reactions, since several choices sound plausible for such a famous swim.

NYS standards
  • 7R3 plot elements and ideas
  • 7R1 textual evidence and inferences
Grade level
Grade 7 reading and task
Compared with grade 7
At grade 7 Explaining how a person influenced others is typical grade 7 reading. The evidence sits in one paragraph near the end, and the main demand is matching each choice to what that paragraph actually says.
Estimated difficulty
Moderate: several steps, or a close reading with one strong distractor.
Evidence
Answered from one paragraph or stanza
Reading level
Passage: about grade 9, 790 words; question and choices: about grade 13, 55 words.
Students, last 30 days
Not enough answers yet to show (it takes 10).
Why it is hard, traps and wrong answers (shows the answer)

Why it is hard

The answer is reported plainly in the last paragraph, but the passage's opening primes a different expectation. Because the editor dismissed women and Ederle then beat the men's record, many students expect her swim to have changed how Americans saw women, an effect the passage never reports. The question rewards sticking to what the text says Americans actually did afterward.

  1. A very close wrong answer moderate Choosing the answer

    The right choice and the one about encouraging other swimmers both say Ederle moved people to take up swimming, and differ only in scale: earning swimming certificates or chasing “challenging feats”. (Embretson & Wetzel, 1987; Gorin & Embretson, 2006; Ascalon et al., 2007)

  2. The right answer is reworded minor Choosing the answer

    The answer recasts paragraph 9's “inspired them to be more active” and “swimming certificates” in new words, while one wrong choice echoes the closing word “determination”. (Freedle & Kostin, 1993; Kirsch & Mosenthal, 1990)

Strategy: Go to the paragraph about her return to New York and note exactly what it says Americans did or felt afterward, then match that report to a choice.

Traps

The wrong answers, classified

How the questions are analyzed, and the research behind it

Working it out, step by step

  1. Figure out what the question asks

    This asks how Ederle’s swim changed the way Americans thought or acted. You need the effect the passage actually reports. So look at what happened after she came home.

  2. Find the effect in paragraph 9

    Paragraph 9 says: “Not only were everyday American citizens proud of Ederle, but she also inspired them to be more active.” It goes on: “Over the next few years, more than 60,000 people credited her with motivating them to earn their American Red Cross swimming certificates.”

  3. Put it in plain words

    To credit someone means to say they were the reason for something. A swimming certificate is a paper that shows you passed a swimming course. So Americans got more active. Many worked to earn swimming certificates because of her.

  4. Check each choice

    • A: “sparking interest in physical activity and in seeking swimming certification.” This matches both parts of paragraph 9.
    • B says swimmers went after “challenging feats.” The passage talks about certificates, not big feats.
    • C: Ederle did beat the men’s record. But the passage never says this changed what Americans thought about women.
    • D echoes the last sentence about determination. But that sentence is about what she proved “to the world,” and it says “possible,” not “necessary.”

    Watch out: C feels right because of the editor in paragraph 1. But the passage never reports a change in how Americans saw women.

  5. Pick the answer

    Paragraph 9 reports that Americans became more active and earned swimming certificates. So the answer is A.

Why this answer and not the closest wrong one

B is close because it also says people were moved to swim. But it says they chased “challenging feats,” like crossing the channel. The passage only says people got more active and earned swimming certificates. A matches that exactly.

More questions like this

The original DOE question
Question 23 as printed on page 59 of the DOE handbook.
As printed in the DOE’s Specialized High Schools Student Handbook 2018–2019, page 59, question 23. Open page 59 of the handbook (PDF)

Question 24 of 57

2018 Test A English, question 24

Uses the passage above: “Champion of the Channel”.

Question

Which sentence from the passage best conveys the author’s perspective regarding the impact of Ederle’s accomplishment?

  • A“Gertrude Ederle’s triumphant swim across the English Channel was a testimony to her determination, innovative spirit, and passion for swimming.” (paragraph 1)
  • B“For hours Ederle swam, dodging debris with an amused smile.” (paragraph 7)
  • C“Yet Ederle felt indescribably happy as she churned through the sea.” (paragraph 7)
  • D“Ederle had swum into history.” (paragraph 8)
Show the answer

Correct answer: D

The answer is (D)

The question asks for the sentence from the passage that best conveys the author’s perspective about the impact of Ederle’s swim.

Option D is correct because, throughout the passage, the author emphasizes that Ederle’s accomplishment was memorable and great, which is best stated in the sentence from paragraph 8.

The sentence presented in Option A is incorrect because it focuses on Ederle’s personal attributes that allowed her to successfully complete her swim, not the author’s perspective about the impact of her achievement.

The sentence presented in Option B is incorrect because the details in the sentence relate to Ederle’s state of mind as she came closer to achieving her goal and do not provide details about the author’s opinion of the impact of Ederle’s accomplishment.

The sentence presented in Option C is incorrect because it simply presents Ederle’s emotional state as she nears her goal and does not provide information about the author’s perspective.

Question analysis

This reading question asks which quoted sentence best conveys the author's own perspective on the impact of Gertrude Ederle's English Channel swim. Every quotation shows the swim in a positive light, so students must tell the author's judgment apart from description and keep the question's focus on impact in mind.

NYS standards
  • 7R6 point of view and author position
  • 7R4 word meaning and choice
Grade level
Grade 7 reading and task
Compared with grade 7
At grade 7 Identifying an author's own perspective is typical grade 7 point-of-view work. The quotations are short and labeled, and the main demand is attending to the word impact in the question.
Estimated difficulty
Moderate: several steps, or a close reading with one strong distractor.
What makes it hard
Evidence
Answered from several paragraphs or stanzas
Reading level
Passage: about grade 9, 790 words; question and choices: about grade 12, 66 words.
Corrected from the DOE handbook
  • A grammar slip in the explanation was corrected.
Students, last 30 days
Not enough answers yet to show (it takes 10).
Why it is hard, traps and wrong answers (shows the answer)

Why it is hard

Two tests apply at once: whose view a sentence gives and whether that view concerns impact. The thesis sentence passes the first and fails the second, which makes it the main trap, while the two sentences from paragraph 7 report Ederle's feelings, not the author's judgment. The short sentence in paragraph 8 is easy to skim past because it states impact in five words and a figure of speech.

  1. How, not what moderate Working it out

    The question asks for the author's perspective, so narration of Ederle's own feelings, her “amused smile” and being “indescribably happy”, has to be set apart from the author's judgment. (Anderson & Krathwohl, 2001)

  2. Figurative or literary language minor Understanding the question

    “Ederle had swum into history” states the impact through a figure of speech, so the student must read it as a claim that the swim earned a lasting place. (Graesser, Singer & Trabasso, 1994; Kintsch, 1998)

Strategy: Ask two questions of each quotation: whose view does it express, and is it about the swim's impact or about something else? Only one quotation passes both tests.

Traps

  • True but not the answer: A choice says something accurate about the text that does not answer this question.
  • Wrong tone or attitude: Misjudges the tone, attitude or point of view, such as reading admiration as criticism, or taking a character's or subject's feelings for the author's.

The wrong answers, classified

What was corrected from the DOE handbook, and why

  • Explanation: In the reason for rejecting F (B on this site), the handbook reads “the details in the sentence relate to … and does not provide details”. It now reads “do not provide”, to agree with “details”.

How the questions are analyzed, and the research behind it

Working it out, step by step

  1. Figure out what the question asks

    A perspective is a point of view. Impact means the effect something has. So you need a sentence that shows the author’s opinion about what Ederle’s swim meant. A sentence about how Ederle felt does not count.

  2. Ask two questions of each quote

    For each choice, ask: Whose view is this, the author’s or Ederle’s? Then ask: Is it about the effect of the swim, or about something else? Only one choice will pass both tests.

  3. Check each choice

    • A: the swim was “a testimony to her determination, innovative spirit, and passion for swimming.” This is the author’s view, but it is about her qualities, not the swim’s effect.
    • B: “dodging debris with an amused smile” describes Ederle’s mood during the swim.
    • C: “Ederle felt indescribably happy” describes her feelings, not the author’s judgment.
    • D: “Ederle had swum into history” (paragraph 8). This is the author speaking about what the swim meant.

  4. Explain the key phrase

    “Swum into history” is a figure of speech, words that mean more than their exact sense. She didn’t really swim into a history book. It means her swim was so important that people will remember it for a long time. That is a judgment about its impact.

  5. Pick the answer

    Watch out: A is the author’s main claim, so it is tempting. But it explains what made her succeed, not what her success meant. So the answer is D.

Why this answer and not the closest wrong one

A is the closest wrong answer, because it is also the author’s own opinion. But it tells what the swim showed about Ederle: her determination and passion. D tells what the swim meant: it made history. Only D is about impact.

More questions like this

The original DOE question
Question 24 as printed on page 60 of the DOE handbook.
As printed in the DOE’s Specialized High Schools Student Handbook 2018–2019, page 60, question 24. Open page 60 of the handbook (PDF) The handbook letters this question’s choices E–H; here they are A–D (E = A, F = B, G = C, H = D). This is the DOE’s version, before the corrections listed in the analysis.

Question 25 of 57

2018 Test A English, question 25

Uses the passage above: “Champion of the Channel”.

Question

The table contributes to the development of the topic of the passage mainly by

  • Aemphasizing that people have continued to swim across the channel and have significantly reduced the speed record.
  • Bsuggesting that Ederle inspired women to swim across the channel in an attempt to break the current speed record.
  • Crevealing that Ederle is not the only woman who has set a record time for swimming across the English Channel.
  • Dproviding a comparison between channel-swimming records of the early twentieth century and current records.
Show the answer

Correct answer: A

The answer is (A)

The question asks for an explanation of how the table at the end of the passage contributes to the development of the topic of the passage. The table provides information about the earliest speed records set for crossing the channel, including Ederle’s, and information about present-day records, which are much faster.

Option A is correct because the information in the table develops the topic of Ederle’s historic swim across the channel by indicating that people have continued to swim the channel and have found new ways to set speed records over time.

Option B is incorrect because, even though the table presents the time for the current female record holder, there is no indication in the passage or in the table that the record holder was inspired by Ederle.

Option C is incorrect because, although the table shows that another woman, Yvetta Hlavacova, set a record time, the passage itself does not discuss other female swimmers’ successful swims across the channel, so this detail is not the main way the table develops the topic.

Option D is incorrect because, although the table allows for the comparison of times, the topic of the passage is related to Ederle’s record in comparison with other swimmers of her time, not present-day swimmers.

Question analysis

This reading question asks how the table of English Channel swim records at the end of the Gertrude Ederle passage contributes to the topic. Students must read times from two eras, compare them, and decide what the table mainly adds, which is harder than it looks because several choices say something true about the table.

NYS standards
  • 7R5 structure and genre features
  • 7R1 textual evidence and inferences
Grade level
Grade 8 reading and task
Compared with grade 7
Above grade 7 Explaining how a table adds to a passage goes beyond typical grade 7 reading questions: the student must compare times across eras, notice who set them, and choose among statements several of which are partly true of the table.
Estimated difficulty
Hard: combines ideas, needs a plan, and has more than one tempting wrong answer.
Evidence
Answered from the whole text
Reading level
Passage: about grade 9, 790 words; question and choices: about grade 11, 84 words.
Corrected from the DOE handbook
  • An inaccurate statement in the explanation was corrected.
Students, last 30 days
Not enough answers yet to show (it takes 10).
Why it is hard, traps and wrong answers (shows the answer)

Why it is hard

Every choice says something about the table, and two are literally true of it, so the question hinges on the word “mainly”. Students lose the point by describing what the table holds, a comparison or a second woman, instead of what the comparison shows: the record has kept falling since Ederle's day. Reading the times, not just the headings, makes that drop visible.

  1. A very close wrong answer major Choosing the answer

    The right choice and the comparison one cover the same contrast between old and current records; the right one states its result, a much faster record, while the other only names the comparison and its “early twentieth century” leaves out 1875. (Embretson & Wetzel, 1987; Gorin & Embretson, 2006; Ascalon et al., 2007)

  2. Reading a figure, table or graph moderate Understanding the question

    The table splits records into earliest and current sets, and the student must compare times across them, from 21 hours 45 minutes in 1875 down to 6 hours 55 minutes in 2012. (Lesh, Post & Behr, 1987; Kirsch & Mosenthal, 1990)

  3. How, not what moderate Working it out

    The question asks how the table develops the passage's topic, so the student must say what it adds beyond the text, not just what it lists. (Anderson & Krathwohl, 2001)

Strategy: Read the table's headings and compare the times, then ask what a reader learns from it that the passage alone does not say, and pick the choice that names that.

Traps

  • Wrong purpose or structure: Names a purpose, structure or effect that the part does not serve, or describes what a part says when the question asks what it does.
  • Too narrow: A single detail offered as the central idea or a summary, or a summary that keeps minor details and leaves out an essential part.
  • Reads too much in: A reasonable-sounding conclusion that goes further than the text allows.

The wrong answers, classified

What was corrected from the DOE handbook, and why

  • Explanation: The handbook rejects choice C because “the passage does not provide information about other female swimmers’ successful swims across the channel.” But the table lists a second woman, Yvetta Hlavacova (2006, 7 hours, 25 minutes), so C is true of the table. The explanation now says C is wrong because that one detail is not the table’s main contribution: the passage does not discuss other female swimmers, and the table mainly shows how far the record has fallen since Ederle’s time.

How the questions are analyzed, and the research behind it

Working it out, step by step

  1. Figure out what the question asks

    This asks what the table adds to the passage. Don’t just say what is in the table. Say what you learn from it that the passage itself does not tell you.

  2. Read the key rows of the table

    The table has two parts, “Earliest Speed Records” and “Current Speed Records.” Here are three of its rows:

    YearSwimmerTime
    1875Matthew Webb21 hours, 45 minutes
    1926Gertrude Ederle14 hours, 31 minutes
    2012Trent Grimsey6 hours, 55 minutes

  3. Compare the times

    Ederle took about 14 and a half hours. Half of that is about 7 and a quarter hours. The 2012 record is under 7 hours. So today’s record is less than half of Ederle’s time. This shows two things. People kept swimming the channel long after Ederle. And they got much faster.

  4. See what the passage leaves out

    The passage ends with Ederle’s parade and the people she inspired. It never says what happened to the record later. The table adds that part of the story: the record kept falling, by a lot.

  5. Check each choice

    • A: people kept swimming the channel and “significantly reduced the speed record.” Significantly means by a lot. The table shows this.
    • B: nothing says later women were inspired by Ederle.
    • C: the table does show another woman, Yvetta Hlavacova, with a record. But that is one row, not the table’s main point.
    • D only names what is in the table, not what it shows. Also, the first record is from 1875, not the twentieth century.

    Watch out: D describes the table’s contents. The question asks what the table contributes, or adds.

  6. Pick the answer

    The table shows that the record has fallen a long way since Ederle’s time. So the answer is A.

Why this answer and not the closest wrong one

D is the closest wrong answer, because the table does set old and new records side by side. But D stops at naming the comparison. A says what the comparison shows. The record dropped from over 21 hours to under 7 hours. That is what the table adds to the passage.

More questions like this

The original DOE question
Question 25 as printed on page 60 of the DOE handbook.
As printed in the DOE’s Specialized High Schools Student Handbook 2018–2019, page 60, question 25. Open page 60 of the handbook (PDF) This is the DOE’s version, before the corrections listed in the analysis.

Question 26 of 57

2018 Test A English, question 26
Passage Excerpt from A Tramp Abroad

Excerpt from A Tramp Abroad

by Mark Twain

Now and then, while we1^1 rested, we watched the laborious ant at his work. I found nothing new in him—certainly nothing to change my opinion of him. It seems to me that in the matter of intellect the ant must be a strangely overrated bird. During many summers now I have watched him, when I ought to have been in better business, and I have not yet come across a living ant that seemed to have any more sense than a dead one. I refer to the ordinary ant, of course; I have had no experience of those wonderful Swiss and African ones which vote, keep drilled armies, . . . and dispute about religion. Those particular ants may be all that the naturalist paints them, but I am persuaded that the average ant is a sham.

I admit his industry, of course; he is the hardest working creature in the world—when anybody is looking—but his leather-headedness is the point I make against him. He goes out foraging, he makes a capture, and then what does he do? Go home? No; he goes anywhere but home. He doesn’t know where home is. His home may be only three feet away; no matter, he can’t find it. He makes his capture, as I have said; it is generally something which can be of no sort of use to himself or anybody else; it is usually seven times bigger than it ought to be; he hunts out the awkwardest place to take hold of it; he lifts it bodily up in the air by main force, and starts—not toward home, but in the opposite direction; not calmly and wisely, but with a frantic haste which is wasteful of his strength; he fetches up against a pebble, and, instead of going around it, he climbs over it backwards, dragging his booty after him, tumbles down on the other side, jumps up in a passion, kicks the dust off his clothes, moistens his hands, grabs his property viciously, yanks it this way, then that, shoves it ahead of him a moment, turns tail and lugs it after him another moment, gets madder and madder, then presently hoists it into the air and goes tearing away in an entirely new direction; comes to a weed; it never occurs to him to go around it. No; he must climb it, and he does climb it, dragging his worthless property to the top—which is as bright a thing to do as it would be for me to carry a sack of flour from Heidelberg to Paris by way of Strasburg steeple; when he gets up there he finds that that is not the place; takes a cursory glance at the scenery, and either climbs down again or tumbles down, and starts off once more—as usual, in a new direction. At the end of half an hour he fetches up within six inches of the place he started from, and lays his burden down. Meantime, he has been over all the ground for two yards around, and climbed all the weeds and pebbles he came across. Now he wipes the sweat from his brow, strokes his limbs, and then marches aimlessly off, in as violent a hurry as ever. He traverses a good deal of zig-zag country, and by and by stumbles on his same booty again. He does not remember to have ever seen it before; he looks around to see which is not the way home, grabs his bundle, and starts. He goes through the same adventures he had before; finally stops to rest, and a friend comes along.

Evidently the friend remarks that a last year’s grasshopper leg is a very noble acquisition, and inquires where he got it. Evidently the proprietor does not remember exactly where he did get it, but thinks he got it “around here somewhere.” Evidently the friend contracts to help him freight it home. Then, with a judgment peculiarly antic (pun not intentional), they take hold of opposite ends of that grasshopper leg and begin to tug with all their might in opposite directions. Presently they take a rest, and confer together. They decide that something is wrong, they can’t make out what. Then they go at it again, just as before. Same result. Mutual recriminations follow. Evidently each accuses the other of being an obstructionist. They warm up, and the dispute ends in a fight. They lock themselves together and chew each other’s jaws for a while; then they roll and tumble on the ground till one loses a horn or a leg and has to haul off for repairs. They make up and go to work again in the same old insane way, but the crippled ant is at a disadvantage; tug as he may, the other one drags off the booty and him at the end of it. Instead of giving up, he hangs on, and gets his shins bruised against every obstruction that comes in the way. By and by, when that grasshopper leg has been dragged all over the same old ground once more, it is finally dumped at about the spot where it originally lay. The two perspiring ants inspect it thoughtfully and decide that dried grasshopper legs are a poor sort of property after all, and then each starts off in a different direction to see if he can’t find an old nail or something else that is heavy enough to afford entertainment and at the same time valueless enough to make an ant want to own it. . . .

Science has recently discovered that the ant does not lay up anything for winter use. . . . He does not work, except when people are looking, and only then when the observer has a green, naturalistic look, and seems to be taking notes. This amounts to deception, and will injure him for the Sunday schools. He has not judgment enough to know what is good to eat from what isn’t. This amounts to ignorance, and will impair the world’s respect for him. . . . He cannot stroll around a stump and find his way home again. This amounts to idiocy, and once the damaging fact is established, thoughtful people will cease to look up to him. It is strange beyond comprehension that so manifest a humbug as the ant has been able to fool so many nations and keep it up so many ages without being found out.

we1^1: the author and his fictional travel companion

From A TRAMP ABROAD by Mark Twain—Public Domain

Question

The phrase “those wonderful Swiss and African ones which vote, keep drilled armies, . . . and dispute about religion” in paragraph 1 shows that the author

  • Abelieves that the behavior of the ants is reflected in other living creatures.
  • Backnowledges that his observations of a few do not necessarily apply to all.
  • Cknows that disproving a commonly held belief is challenging.
  • Daccepts that there are flaws in his interpretation of the behavior of the ants.
Show the answer

Correct answer: B

The answer is (B)

The question asks about the phrase, which highlights the behavior of ants from different parts of the world, and about what the inclusion of the phrase shows about the author.

Option B is correct because the phrase is meant to communicate a caution that while the author believes most ants are foolish, his observations in the excerpt do not apply to all types of ants.

Option A is incorrect because, in the excerpt, the author is comparing species of ants to one another and not to other living creatures.

Option C is incorrect because the author never comments in the excerpt that challenging common or strongly held beliefs is, in general, difficult.

Option D is incorrect because the author never expresses in the excerpt the idea that the conclusions drawn about the ants’ behavior are flawed; the reference to Swiss and African ants is meant to show that those ants are an exception.

Question analysis

In this Mark Twain excerpt about ants, students must decide what a mocking aside about Swiss and African ants that “vote” and “keep drilled armies” reveals about the author's point of view. The tricky part is reading past the sarcasm to see what the aside does for his larger case against ants.

NYS standards
  • 7R6 point of view and author position
  • 7R4 word meaning and choice
Grade level
Grade 8 reading and task
Compared with grade 7
Above grade 7 Grade 7 readers usually judge a narrator's stance from direct statements. Here the stance sits inside a sarcastic aside in long nineteenth-century sentences, so students must separate what Twain means from what he mocks, which goes beyond typical grade 7 work.
Estimated difficulty
Hard: combines ideas, needs a plan, and has more than one tempting wrong answer.
Evidence
Answered from one sentence or line
Reading level
Passage: about grade 9, 1099 words; question and choices: about grade 8, 72 words.
Students, last 30 days
Not enough answers yet to show (it takes 10).
Why it is hard, traps and wrong answers (shows the answer)

Why it is hard

Most misses come from reading the aside as a sincere comparison or as a confession. Twain mocks the naturalists' stories of voting, warring ants while making clear that his verdict covers only the ordinary ant he has watched, so the phrase narrows his claim without weakening it. The key's wording, “observations of a few,” is abstract and does not echo the text, and students who catch the concession but not its limits drift to the choice about flaws in his interpretation.

  1. Figurative or literary language major Understanding the question

    The aside is mock praise: “wonderful” ants that “vote” and “dispute about religion” poke fun at the naturalists, so students must see that the joke also fences off which ants his verdict covers. (Graesser, Singer & Trabasso, 1994; Kintsch, 1998)

  2. A very close wrong answer moderate Choosing the answer

    B and D both read the aside as a concession about his conclusions; they part only on its kind, since B narrows which ants his verdict covers while D admits the verdict itself is flawed. (Embretson & Wetzel, 1987; Gorin & Embretson, 2006; Ascalon et al., 2007)

  3. Reading between the lines moderate Working it out

    The phrase says nothing about the author directly; his stance comes from its frame, “I refer to the ordinary ant, of course” before it and “the average ant is a sham” after. (Graesser, Singer & Trabasso, 1994; Kintsch, 1998)

Strategy: Reread the whole sentence the quoted phrase sits in, not just the quoted words, and decide what job the aside does there; then drop any choice describing an idea the paragraph never expresses.

Traps

The wrong answers, classified

How the questions are analyzed, and the research behind it

Working it out, step by step

  1. Figure out what the question asks

    This question is about the author’s point of view. In paragraph 1, Twain mentions some very special ants. You need to decide what that mention shows about Twain himself.

  2. Read the whole sentence

    Don’t read only the quoted words. Read the whole sentence in paragraph 1: “I refer to the ordinary ant, of course; I have had no experience of those wonderful Swiss and African ones which vote, keep drilled armies, . . . and dispute about religion.”

    Then read the next sentence: “Those particular ants may be all that the naturalist paints them, but I am persuaded that the average ant is a sham.”

  3. Work out what the phrase means

    Twain is joking. No ant really votes or argues about religion. He is poking fun at wild stories told by naturalists (people who study nature).

    But the joke also does a job. Twain says his opinion is about the “ordinary ant,” the kind he has watched. He has never seen those other ants. So he limits his claim to the ants he knows. He does not say his claim is wrong.

  4. Check each choice

    • A says ant behavior shows up in other creatures. No. Twain compares kinds of ants, not ants and other animals.
    • B fits. He has watched only some ants, so his verdict may not fit every ant.
    • C says he finds it hard to disprove a common belief. He never says that.
    • D says he admits his view of ants is flawed. He doesn’t. He stays sure the ant is a sham.

  5. Choose the answer

    The phrase shows that Twain knows what he saw in the ants he watched may not be true of all ants. So the answer is B.

Why this answer and not the closest wrong one

D is the closest trap. Both B and D hear Twain admitting something. But D says he admits he is wrong. B says only that he limits which ants he means. Right after the phrase he writes, “I am persuaded that the average ant is a sham.” He is not backing down.

More questions like this

The original DOE question
Question 26 as printed on page 63 of the DOE handbook.
As printed in the DOE’s Specialized High Schools Student Handbook 2018–2019, page 63, question 26. Open page 63 of the handbook (PDF) The handbook letters this question’s choices E–H; here they are A–D (E = A, F = B, G = C, H = D).
The passage “Excerpt from A Tramp Abroad” as printed (pages 62–63)The passage “Excerpt from A Tramp Abroad” as printed on page 62 of the DOE handbook.The passage “Excerpt from A Tramp Abroad” as printed on page 63 of the DOE handbook.

Question 27 of 57

2018 Test A English, question 27

Uses the passage above: “Excerpt from A Tramp Abroad”.

Question

The central idea that “the average ant is a sham” (paragraph 1) is conveyed mainly through the

  • Acomical descriptions of the inability of the ants to accomplish the task at hand.
  • Bcomparison between ants from other countries and the ants being observed.
  • Ckeen observations that the level of intelligence of ants is mostly overstated.
  • Dconclusion that ants value objects that are of little practical use to them.
Show the answer

Correct answer: A

The answer is (A)

The question asks how the central idea that “the average ant is a sham” (paragraph 1) is expressed in the excerpt. The excerpt focuses on the author’s humorous explanation of the ineffective struggles of two ants to accomplish a task, and the excerpt concludes with the statement that ants are not as smart as people think: “the ant has been able to fool so many nations” (paragraph 4). This point is stated in Option A.

Option B is incorrect because the reference to ants in other locations is a detail mentioned only in paragraph 1 and is not directly related to the central idea mentioned in the question.

Option C is incorrect because, while the narrator does observe the ants, the observations made are highly opinionated and not characterized as especially insightful or perceptive.

Option D refers to the detail in paragraph 2 that states that the objects ants seek out are “generally something which can be of no sort of use to himself or anybody else” (paragraph 2), but this is not the main way the author conveys the premise that ants are a sham or false, and therefore, Option D is incorrect.

Question analysis

This central idea question hands students Mark Twain's claim that “the average ant is a sham” and asks how the excerpt mainly conveys it. Every choice points to something that really appears in the text, so students must judge which one does most of the work across the whole excerpt.

NYS standards
  • 7R2 theme or central idea
  • 7R5 structure and genre features
Grade level
Grade 7 reading and task
Compared with grade 7
At grade 7 Typical grade 7 central idea work asks students to find the idea; here it is supplied, so the task is tracing how it is developed. The long, old-fashioned passage adds reading load, but the task itself is standard.
Estimated difficulty
Moderate: several steps, or a close reading with one strong distractor.
What makes it hard
Evidence
Answered from the whole text
Reading level
Passage: about grade 9, 1099 words; question and choices: about grade 9, 66 words.
Students, last 30 days
Not enough answers yet to show (it takes 10).
Why it is hard, traps and wrong answers (shows the answer)

Why it is hard

The question is less about finding the idea than about weighing how much of the excerpt each choice accounts for. Three choices name something that really appears, so a student who checks only whether a choice is true will keep two or three of them. The one that covers the long comic narratives in paragraphs 2 and 3 wins, and the trap is a choice that sounds analytical because it repeats the claim.

  1. How, not what moderate Working it out

    The idea is handed over in the stem, so the task is naming the method: the comic accounts of the lone ant's trip and the two ants' tug-of-war fill paragraphs 2 and 3. (Anderson & Krathwohl, 2001)

  2. A lot to read moderate Understanding the question

    The answer rests on the whole 1,100-word excerpt, including a 183-word sentence in paragraph 2, so students must judge what most of the text does rather than recall one line. (Kintsch, 1998; Gorin & Embretson, 2006; Freedle & Kostin, 1993)

  3. Every choice must be checked minor Choosing the answer

    Each wrong choice points to something real, the Swiss and African ants, the observing, the useless loot, so none can be dismissed without asking how much of the excerpt it explains. (Embretson & Wetzel, 1987)

Strategy: Note in a few words what each paragraph mostly does, then test every choice against those notes, checking each of its words rather than its general idea.

Traps

  • Twists what the text says: Uses the text's topic and ideas but changes what it says: who did it, how much, when, or why.
  • Too narrow: A single detail offered as the central idea or a summary, or a summary that keeps minor details and leaves out an essential part.

The wrong answers, classified

How the questions are analyzed, and the research behind it

Working it out, step by step

  1. Figure out what the question asks

    The question hands you the central idea: “the average ant is a sham.” A sham is a fake, something that is not what it seems. You don’t need to find the idea. You need to find how Twain mostly gets it across.

  2. Note what each paragraph does

    • Paragraph 1: Twain says ants are overrated.
    • Paragraph 2: One ant drags his prize up weeds, over pebbles and the wrong way. After half an hour he is “within six inches of the place he started from.”
    • Paragraph 3: Two ants tug one grasshopper leg in opposite directions, then fight.
    • Paragraph 4: Twain sums up his charges against the ant.

  3. See how the idea is shown

    Paragraphs 2 and 3 are by far the longest. They are funny stories. In each one, ants work very hard and get nowhere. The jokes show that the ant is not smart, even though people think he is. That is how Twain proves the ant is a sham.

  4. Check each choice

    • A fits. The funny stories of ants failing at their task fill most of the excerpt.
    • B The Swiss and African ants appear in just one sentence of paragraph 1.
    • C only repeats the idea that ants are overrated. It does not say how the idea is shown.
    • D The worthless loot is real, but it is only one detail inside the funny stories.

  5. Choose the answer

    Twain shows the ant is a sham mainly through comical, or funny, descriptions of ants failing at their job. So the answer is A.

Why this answer and not the closest wrong one

C is the closest trap, because it sounds smart and matches Twain’s opinion. But the question asks how the idea is shown, and C just says the idea again. Also, Twain’s stories are silly exaggerations, not “keen observations” (sharp, careful ones). A names the real method: the funny stories.

More questions like this

The original DOE question
Question 27 as printed on page 63 of the DOE handbook.
As printed in the DOE’s Specialized High Schools Student Handbook 2018–2019, page 63, question 27. Open page 63 of the handbook (PDF)

Question 28 of 57

2018 Test A English, question 28

Uses the passage above: “Excerpt from A Tramp Abroad”.

Question

In paragraph 2, how do the words “grabs,” “yanks,” and “tearing away” contribute to the meaning of the excerpt?

  • AThey highlight the ant’s belief that his work is important.
  • BThey illustrate that the ant is more efficient working on his own.
  • CThey indicate the speed with which the ant completes his tasks.
  • DThey emphasize the ant’s anxious efforts to be productive.
Show the answer

Correct answer: D

The answer is (D)

The question asks for an explanation of how the words “grabs,” “yanks,” and “tearing away” (paragraph 2) contribute to the meaning of the excerpt.

Option D is correct because these words convey sudden movements as the ant becomes more upset in his efforts to transport the grasshopper leg.

Option A is incorrect because the ant is never described in the excerpt as believing his work to be important.

Option B is incorrect because the ant’s inability to make progress while transporting the grasshopper leg by himself demonstrates the ant’s inefficiency (paragraph 2: “At the end of half an hour he fetches up within six inches of the place he started from”).

Option C is incorrect because the ant does not complete his tasks despite moving in a hurried and determined way (paragraph 2: “not calmly and wisely, but with a frantic haste which is wasteful of his strength”).

Question analysis

This word-choice question asks how three action words from Mark Twain's ant story, “grabs,” “yanks” and “tearing away,” add to the excerpt's meaning. The verbs are buried in one very long sentence that lists dozens of actions, so students must find them and decide what their connotations add to the picture of the ant.

NYS standards
  • 7R4 word meaning and choice
  • 7L5c connotation and denotation
Grade level
Grade 7 reading and task
Compared with grade 7
At grade 7 Grade 7 word-choice items usually ask about one word in a short passage. This one asks for the shared effect of three verbs scattered through a very long sentence, though their tone is fairly clear once found, which keeps it at grade 7.
Estimated difficulty
Moderate: several steps, or a close reading with one strong distractor.
Evidence
Answered from one paragraph or stanza
Reading level
Passage: about grade 9, 1099 words; question and choices: about grade 6, 60 words.
Corrected from the DOE handbook
  • A wrong option letter in the explanation was corrected.
  • A missing comma in the explanation was restored.
Students, last 30 days
Not enough answers yet to show (it takes 10).
Why it is hard, traps and wrong answers (shows the answer)

Why it is hard

The verbs themselves are easy words; the difficulty is deciding what they add. Their speed is obvious, which is why the choice about how fast the ant finishes his tasks catches readers who stop at speed and miss that nothing gets finished. The key reads the verbs together with “in a passion” and “madder and madder” around them, so it rewards looking at the words' surroundings rather than the words alone.

  1. Complex sentences moderate Understanding the question

    All three verbs are buried in one 183-word sentence of paragraph 2, strung through semicolons among about twenty other actions, so students must find them before judging them. (Abedi & Lord, 2001; Freedle & Kostin, 1993; Messick, 1989)

  2. Figurative or literary language moderate Understanding the question

    The verbs' force reads as a comic tantrum, “grabs his property viciously” soon after he “jumps up in a passion,” so their connotation of agitation, not skill, carries the meaning. (Graesser, Singer & Trabasso, 1994; Kintsch, 1998)

  3. A very close wrong answer minor Choosing the answer

    A and D both tie the verbs to the ant caring about his work; they differ in one part, since the verbs show his anxious efforts, as D says, but never reveal a belief, as A claims. (Embretson & Wetzel, 1987; Gorin & Embretson, 2006; Ascalon et al., 2007)

Strategy: Locate the three verbs in paragraph 2, read the clauses around each one, and describe their effect in your own words before looking at the choices.

Traps

  • Twists what the text says: Uses the text's topic and ideas but changes what it says: who did it, how much, when, or why.
  • Reads too much in: A reasonable-sounding conclusion that goes further than the text allows.

The wrong answers, classified

What was corrected from the DOE handbook, and why

  • Explanation: The handbook’s last reason begins “Option H is incorrect because the ant does not complete his tasks despite moving in a hurried and determined way”, but H is its correct answer. The reason is about G, “They indicate the speed with which the ant completes his tasks,” so this site reads Option C (G relettered). This was already corrected on the site before this review.
  • Explanation: The handbook quotes the words as “grabs” “yanks,” and “tearing away”. The comma after “grabs” is restored, as in the question.

How the questions are analyzed, and the research behind it

Working it out, step by step

  1. Figure out what the question asks

    This is a word-choice question. It asks what three action words add to the excerpt. Think about how the words feel, not just what they mean.

  2. Find the words in paragraph 2

    All three words are in the very long sentence in paragraph 2. Look at the words around them. The ant “jumps up in a passion,” then “grabs his property viciously, yanks it this way, then that.” Soon he “gets madder and madder” and goes “tearing away in an entirely new direction.”

  3. Work out what the words show

    “In a passion” means in a fit of anger. “Viciously” means fiercely. So the words show a worked-up, frantic ant. He moves fast and rough, like a kid having a tantrum. He badly wants to get his job done.

    But Twain also says the ant moves “with a frantic haste which is wasteful of his strength.” All that rushing gets him nowhere.

  4. Check each choice

    • A The excerpt never tells us what the ant believes about his work. The words show he is upset, not what he thinks.
    • B Working alone, he ends up six inches from where he started. That is not efficient (getting a lot done without waste).
    • C The words do show speed. But the ant never finishes anything.
    • D fits. The words show anxious, frantic effort to get the job done.

  5. Choose the answer

    The rough, fast verbs show an upset ant trying hard to be productive. So the answer is D.

Why this answer and not the closest wrong one

C is the closest trap, because “tearing away” does sound fast. But C says the ant completes his tasks, and he never does. D keeps the speed and the worry but does not claim success. That is why D fits better.

More questions like this

The original DOE question
Question 28 as printed on page 64 of the DOE handbook.
As printed in the DOE’s Specialized High Schools Student Handbook 2018–2019, page 64, question 28. Open page 64 of the handbook (PDF) The handbook letters this question’s choices E–H; here they are A–D (E = A, F = B, G = C, H = D). This is the DOE’s version, before the corrections listed in the analysis.

Question 29 of 57

2018 Test A English, question 29

Uses the passage above: “Excerpt from A Tramp Abroad”.

Question

Read this text from paragraph 2.

He . . . comes to a weed; it never occurs to him to go around it. No; he must climb it, and he does climb it, dragging his worthless property to the top—which is as bright a thing to do as it would be for me to carry a sack of flour from Heidelberg to Paris by way of Strasburg steeple;

These details convey the central idea in the excerpt by showing that the ant

  • Aoften wastes his strength when working on a task.
  • Bis surprised by the effort he needs in order to move the object.
  • Cis oblivious to the most practical solution to his problem.
  • Dfocuses more on obtaining the object than getting it back home efficiently.
Show the answer

Correct answer: C

The answer is (C)

The question asks for an explanation of how the details in the sentence convey the central idea, which is that the ant makes poor choices because of his lack of intelligence and his inability to understand even the most basic problem or obstacle.

Option C is correct because the author’s description of the ant climbing up and over the weed rather than simply going around the weed supports the central idea.

Option A is incorrect because, although the ant does waste much of his strength, the idea conveyed in the sentences is more related to the ant’s inability to solve a problem in the simplest way (paragraph 2: “which is as bright a thing to do as it would be for me to carry a sack of flour from Heidelberg to Paris by way of Strasburg steeple”).

Option B is incorrect because the idea that the ant is surprised by the amount of effort needed to carry the object is not a central idea of the excerpt; nor does the excerpt suggest that the ant is surprised by this in the first place.

Option D is incorrect because the ant has already acquired the object, and the details in the sentence do not convey an idea about the ant’s unnecessary effort.

Question analysis

Students read Mark Twain's description of an ant hauling its load up and over a weed and must explain how these details support the excerpt's central idea. The comparison to carrying flour from Heidelberg to Paris by way of a church steeple is unfamiliar, and one choice is true of the ant elsewhere without being the point of these lines.

NYS standards
  • 7R5 structure and genre features
  • 7R2 theme or central idea
Grade level
Grade 7 reading and task
Compared with grade 7
At grade 7 Linking a quoted detail to a central idea is routine grade 7 work, and the lines are printed in the question. The extra hurdle is decoding an old comparison about lugging flour between European cities over a steeple.
Estimated difficulty
Moderate: several steps, or a close reading with one strong distractor.
Evidence
Answered from one sentence or line
Reading level
Passage: about grade 9, 1099 words; question and choices: about grade 6, 123 words.
Students, last 30 days
Not enough answers yet to show (it takes 10).
Why it is hard, traps and wrong answers (shows the answer)

Why it is hard

The lines are printed in the question, so the challenge is interpreting them rather than finding them. Students who know the ant wastes his strength will find that idea here too and stop, while the comparison actually mocks choosing the hardest route: going up and over instead of around. The question rewards asking what the weed and the steeple have in common before reading the choices.

  1. Figurative or literary language moderate Understanding the question

    The point hides in sarcasm: climbing the weed is “as bright a thing to do” as hauling flour from Heidelberg to Paris “by way of Strasburg steeple,” so “bright” means foolish. (Graesser, Singer & Trabasso, 1994; Kintsch, 1998)

  2. Something you must already know minor Working it out

    The joke lands faster for readers who know that a steeple is a church's tall spire and that Strasbourg lies on the road from Heidelberg to Paris. (Anderson & Krathwohl, 2001)

Strategy: Work out what the flour-and-steeple comparison mocks by picturing the route it describes, then match that judgment to what the ant does at the weed.

Traps

The wrong answers, classified

How the questions are analyzed, and the research behind it

Working it out, step by step

  1. Figure out what the question asks

    This question asks how a few printed lines support the central idea. The central idea is that the ant is not as smart as people think.

  2. Find the key words

    The lines are from paragraph 2. The ant “comes to a weed; it never occurs to him to go around it.” Instead, he climbs it. Then Twain says this is “as bright a thing to do” as carrying “a sack of flour from Heidelberg to Paris by way of Strasburg steeple.”

  3. Picture the comparison

    A steeple is the tall, pointed tower on top of a church. Heidelberg, Strasburg and Paris are cities, and Strasburg is on the way. Picture carrying a heavy sack between cities. Now picture climbing up and over a church tower on the way, instead of walking around it. That is silly.

    So when Twain calls the climb “bright,” he means the opposite. This is sarcasm (saying the opposite of what you mean, to poke fun).

  4. Check each choice

    • A The ant does waste strength elsewhere in paragraph 2. But these lines mock his choice of route.
    • B Nothing shows the ant is surprised. Going around just never occurs to him.
    • C fits. Going around the weed is the easy fix, and the ant never thinks of it. Oblivious means not noticing.
    • D He already has the object, so these lines are not about getting it.

  5. Choose the answer

    The lines show an ant who misses the simple solution right in front of him. So the answer is C.

Why this answer and not the closest wrong one

A is the closest trap, since the ant really does waste his strength. But the weed and the steeple share one point: each is climbed when you could simply walk around it. That is about missing the easy solution, which is choice C.

More questions like this

The original DOE question
Question 29 as printed on page 64 of the DOE handbook.
As printed in the DOE’s Specialized High Schools Student Handbook 2018–2019, page 64, question 29. Open page 64 of the handbook (PDF)

Question 30 of 57

2018 Test A English, question 30

Uses the passage above: “Excerpt from A Tramp Abroad”.

Question

Which of the following best explains the author’s fascination with the ants?

  • A“During many summers now I have watched him, when I ought to have been in better business, and I have not yet come across a living ant that seemed to have any more sense than a dead one.” (paragraph 1)
  • B“I admit his industry, of course; he is the hardest working creature in the world—” (paragraph 2)
  • C“Science has recently discovered that the ant does not lay up anything for winter use.” (paragraph 4)
  • D“It is strange beyond comprehension that so manifest a humbug as the ant has been able to fool so many nations and keep it up so many ages without being found out.” (paragraph 4)
Show the answer

Correct answer: D

The answer is (D)

The question asks for the text from the passage that explains why the author finds the behavior of the ants fascinating. The author’s purpose in describing the excessively foolish actions of the ants is to prove his argument that in spite of what people have long believed, ants are completely lacking in intelligence.

Option D is correct because the quoted text in Option D shows the author’s interest in the difference between public opinion and observed truth.

Option A is incorrect because the quoted text in Option A provides details that reflect the author’s basic interest, but this observation does not extend to the level of fascination.

Option B is incorrect because the author’s main message in the excerpt is that the ant, however industrious, is foolish.

Option C is incorrect because the quoted text in Option C also provides details that would reflect a basic interest and observation but that do not extend to fascination.

Question analysis

This textual evidence question asks which of four quotations from Mark Twain's ant excerpt best explains why the narrator is so fascinated by ants. Nowhere does the excerpt say outright what draws him to them, so students must infer it and then weigh quotations that all show him paying attention to ants.

NYS standards
  • 7R6 point of view and author position
  • 7R1 textual evidence and inferences
Grade level
Grade 8 reading and task
Compared with grade 7
Above grade 7 Grade 7 evidence questions usually match a quotation to a claim the text states. Here the claim, the narrator's fascination, is never named, so students must infer its cause from four quotations in a satirical, old-fashioned text.
Estimated difficulty
Among the hardest on the SHSAT: a non-obvious approach, heavy reading, or a well-hidden trap.
What makes it hard
Evidence
Answered from the whole text
Reading level
Passage: about grade 9, 1099 words; question and choices: about grade 10, 116 words.
Students, last 30 days
Not enough answers yet to show (it takes 10).
Why it is hard, traps and wrong answers (shows the answer)

Why it is hard

The stem's word “fascination” clashes with a narrator who sneers at ants, and that clash is what makes the item hard. Students must recast fascination as puzzled interest and then look for the quotation that names its cause, the gap between the ant's reputation and its behavior. The quotation about years of watching is the trap: it shows interest without explaining it, and many careful readers settle on it.

  1. Reading between the lines major Working it out

    The excerpt never says the author is fascinated, and his tone is contempt, so students must infer that what holds his attention is the puzzle of how a “humbug” fooled whole nations. (Graesser, Singer & Trabasso, 1994; Kintsch, 1998)

  2. Hard words moderate Understanding the question

    The key turns on “so manifest a humbug,” meaning so obvious a fraud, and “strange beyond comprehension”; a student who skips those words cannot see that the line expresses wonder. (Perfetti, 2007; Freedle & Kostin, 1993)

  3. A lot to read minor Understanding the question

    Each choice is a full quotation, the longest 38 words, so the four together form a short passage of archaic prose to weigh. (Kintsch, 1998; Gorin & Embretson, 2006; Freedle & Kostin, 1993)

Strategy: Before reading the quotations, state in your own words what most seems to interest the narrator about ants; then pick the quotation that gives the reason behind his interest.

Traps

  • Supports only part of the claim: In a question about evidence: a line that backs one half of the claim but not the other, or a related point rather than the claim itself.
  • Wrong tone or attitude: Misjudges the tone, attitude or point of view, such as reading admiration as criticism, or taking a character's or subject's feelings for the author's.

The wrong answers, classified

How the questions are analyzed, and the research behind it

Working it out, step by step

  1. Figure out what the question asks

    This question is about the author’s point of view. Twain sounds mostly annoyed with ants. So what keeps him so interested in them? You need the quote that gives the reason for his interest.

  2. Think about the word fascination

    Fascination means a strong interest, the kind that makes you keep watching. Twain mocks ants, so he does not admire them. What puzzles him is their good name. People all over the world think ants are wise. Twain thinks they are not.

  3. Find the reason in paragraph 4

    Look at the last sentence of paragraph 4: “It is strange beyond comprehension that so manifest a humbug as the ant has been able to fool so many nations.”

    A humbug is a fake or a fraud. Manifest means plain to see. “Beyond comprehension” means too strange to understand. So Twain is amazed that such an obvious fake has fooled people for ages.

  4. Check each choice

    • A shows he has watched ants for years. It shows interest, but not the reason for it.
    • B sounds like praise, but he adds “when anybody is looking.” It is really a dig at the ant.
    • C is one fact he uses against the ant. It does not explain his interest.
    • D fits. It names the puzzle: how a plain fake fooled so many people.

  5. Choose the answer

    Only choice D gives the reason Twain can’t stop thinking about ants. So the answer is D.

Why this answer and not the closest wrong one

A is the strongest trap, because watching ants for “many summers” shows real interest. But A only tells what he did. D tells why: he is amazed that the ant fooled “so many nations.” A question about fascination wants the cause.

More questions like this

The original DOE question
Question 30 as printed on page 64 of the DOE handbook.
As printed in the DOE’s Specialized High Schools Student Handbook 2018–2019, page 64, question 30. Open page 64 of the handbook (PDF) The handbook letters this question’s choices E–H; here they are A–D (E = A, F = B, G = C, H = D).

Question 31 of 57

2018 Test A English, question 31

Uses the passage above: “Excerpt from A Tramp Abroad”.

Question

Read this sentence from paragraph 2.

At the end of half an hour he fetches up within six inches of the place he started from, and lays his burden down.

How does the sentence contribute to the development of the central idea of the excerpt?

  • AIt reveals that the ant is aware of the purposelessness of his efforts and that he does not enjoy his work.
  • BIt highlights how little the ant accomplishes despite the great amount of effort he exerts.
  • CIt suggests that the ant has an industrious attitude and does not easily give up.
  • DIt emphasizes that the ant does not thoughtfully consider how difficult it would be to carry his capture for such a long period of time.
Show the answer

Correct answer: B

The answer is (B)

The question asks how the sentence, which states that the ant ends up only six inches from his original starting point, contributes to the central idea of the excerpt.

Option B is correct because it explains how the idea in the sentence supports the central idea that “the average ant is a sham” (paragraph 1) by emphasizing his lack of progress and wasted effort.

Option A is incorrect because, while the author recognizes the pointlessness of the efforts, the ant never becomes aware that his efforts are purposeless.

Option C is incorrect because the ant ending up only six inches from his starting point suggests pointless effort, not an industrious or productive attitude.

Option D is incorrect because the emphasis of the sentence is on the ant’s wasted effort, not the difficulty and time involved, which the ant never realizes or evaluates.

Question analysis

Students read one sentence from paragraph 2 of Mark Twain's ant story, about where the ant finally sets down his burden, and explain how it develops the excerpt's central idea. The choices differ subtly on the ant's awareness, attitude and effort, so each must be checked closely against the sentence.

NYS standards
  • 7R5 structure and genre features
  • 7R2 theme or central idea
Grade level
Grade 7 reading and task
Compared with grade 7
At grade 7 Explaining how one sentence develops a central idea is standard grade 7 work, and this sentence is short and quoted in full. Twain's long, winding style adds some load, but the reasoning needed is brief.
Estimated difficulty
Straightforward: two steps or one careful reading.
What makes it hard
Evidence
Answered from one sentence or line
Reading level
Passage: about grade 9, 1099 words; question and choices: about grade 8, 120 words.
Corrected from the DOE handbook
  • A wrong paragraph number in the explanation was corrected.
Students, last 30 days
Not enough answers yet to show (it takes 10).
Why it is hard, traps and wrong answers (shows the answer)

Why it is hard

Once a student reads the sentence as the punch line of the half hour before it, the key is close to obvious: thirty minutes of hauling have moved the ant six inches. Errors come from importing ideas from elsewhere, such as the narrator's grudging praise of the ant's industry, or from latching onto the time words and missing that the sentence measures distance gained, not effort planned.

  1. How, not what moderate Working it out

    The stem asks how the sentence develops the central idea, so students must connect “within six inches of the place he started from” to the claim that the average ant is a sham. (Anderson & Krathwohl, 2001)

  2. Every choice must be checked minor Choosing the answer

    The wrong choices differ from the key in one claim each, the ant's awareness, his persistence, his failure to plan, so each must be tested against the sentence. (Embretson & Wetzel, 1987)

Strategy: Read the sentences just before this one to see what filled the ant's half hour, then put the sentence's effect in your own words before checking the choices against the paragraph.

Traps

The wrong answers, classified

What was corrected from the DOE handbook, and why

  • Explanation: The handbook places “the average ant is a sham” in paragraph 2. The phrase ends paragraph 1, as question 27 on the same excerpt says, so the explanation now reads “(paragraph 1)”.

How the questions are analyzed, and the research behind it

Working it out, step by step

  1. Figure out what the question asks

    This question asks how one sentence helps build the central idea. The central idea is that “the average ant is a sham.” He looks busy and wise, but he is not smart.

  2. Read the sentence and what comes before

    The sentence is in paragraph 2: “At the end of half an hour he fetches up within six inches of the place he started from, and lays his burden down.”

    Read the sentences before it too. The ant has climbed weeds, tumbled down and changed direction again and again.

  3. Work out what it means

    “Fetches up” means ends up. A “burden” is a heavy load. So after thirty minutes of hard work, the ant is only six inches from where he began. All that effort got him almost nowhere. This is the punch line of his trip. It shows the ant works hard but gets almost nothing done.

  4. Check each choice

    • A The narrator sees that the work is pointless. The ant never does, and we never learn if he enjoys it.
    • B fits. Half an hour of effort moves him only six inches.
    • C The ant does keep going, but this sentence stresses failure, not a good attitude.
    • D The sentence measures how little ground he gained. It is not about planning a long carry.

  5. Choose the answer

    The sentence shows how little the ant achieves for so much effort. So the answer is B.

Why this answer and not the closest wrong one

D is tempting because the sentence says “half an hour,” which sounds like a long carry. But the key fact is the distance: six inches from the start. That fact is about results, not about thinking ahead. B is about results, so it fits better.

More questions like this

The original DOE question
Question 31 as printed on page 65 of the DOE handbook.
As printed in the DOE’s Specialized High Schools Student Handbook 2018–2019, page 65, question 31. Open page 65 of the handbook (PDF) This is the DOE’s version, before the corrections listed in the analysis.

Question 32 of 57

2018 Test A English, question 32

Uses the passage above: “Excerpt from A Tramp Abroad”.

Question

Which sentence from paragraph 2 best supports the idea that sheer “leather-headedness” (paragraph 2) amounts to “ignorance” and “idiocy” (paragraph 4)?

  • A“He goes out foraging, he makes a capture, and then what does he do?”
  • B“He lifts it bodily up in the air by main force,”
  • C“When he gets up there he finds that that is not the place;”
  • D“Now he wipes the sweat from his brow, strokes his limbs, and then marches aimlessly off, in as violent a hurry as ever.”
Show the answer

Correct answer: C

The answer is (C)

The question asks for a sentence in the excerpt that supports the idea that the ant’s “leather-headedness” (paragraph 2), or the ant’s stubborn determination to engage in foolish and worthless actions, amounts to ignorance and idiocy.

Option C is correct because, in the sentence in Option C, the ant realizes he is in the wrong place only after wasting effort and strength, which reveals his stupidity and lack of awareness.

Option A is incorrect because the sentence in Option A poses the question that the ant should ask himself and does not demonstrate the ant’s ignorance and idiocy.

Option B is incorrect because the sentence in Option B simply describes the ant’s action of lifting the grasshopper leg into a position to carry it.

Option D is incorrect because, while the sentence in Option D describes the ant’s exhaustion, which is caused by his stubborn determination, the sentence does not provide a connection to the ant’s leather-headedness.

Question analysis

This textual evidence question asks which sentence from paragraph 2 best shows that the ant's “leather-headedness” amounts to the “ignorance” and “idiocy” named later in Mark Twain's excerpt. Students must work out an old-fashioned insult and then choose among quotations that all describe the ant behaving oddly.

NYS standards
  • 7R1 textual evidence and inferences
  • 7L4a context clues
Grade level
Grade 8 reading and task
Compared with grade 7
Above grade 7 On a typical grade 7 test, an evidence question pairs a clear claim with one obviously fitting quotation. Here students must first decode an old-fashioned insult and connect it to judgments made two paragraphs later, which demands more interpretation.
Estimated difficulty
Hard: combines ideas, needs a plan, and has more than one tempting wrong answer.
What makes it hard
Evidence
Answered from several paragraphs or stanzas
Reading level
Passage: about grade 9, 1099 words; question and choices: about grade 7, 79 words.
Corrected from the DOE handbook
  • A wrong paragraph number in the explanation was corrected.
Students, last 30 days
Not enough answers yet to show (it takes 10).
Why it is hard, traps and wrong answers (shows the answer)

Why it is hard

Every quotation comes from the ant's absurd trip, so the question is which one shows a failure of sense on its own. Two are fragments cut just before the foolish part, and students who remember the full sentence credit them with more than they show. The marching-aimlessly line is the strongest rival; the key wins because it records a mistake the ant discovers only after great effort, matching paragraph 4's ant that cannot find his way.

  1. Hard words moderate Understanding the question

    “Leather-headedness” is an old insult meaning thick-headed stupidity; a student who reads it as toughness or stubbornness will look for force or persistence instead of foolishness. (Perfetti, 2007; Freedle & Kostin, 1993)

  2. Evidence in several places moderate Working it out

    The claim joins a word in paragraph 2 to “ignorance” and “idiocy” in paragraph 4, where idiocy is an ant that cannot “find his way home again.” (Kirsch & Mosenthal, 1990; Gorin & Embretson, 2006)

Strategy: Work out from context what “leather-headedness” means, then ask of each quotation whether it clearly shows that quality, and how it connects to the judgments in paragraph 4.

Traps

  • Supports only part of the claim: In a question about evidence: a line that backs one half of the claim but not the other, or a related point rather than the claim itself.
  • Wrong part of the text: A choice is true of another paragraph, stanza or speaker than the one asked about.

The wrong answers, classified

What was corrected from the DOE handbook, and why

  • Explanation: The handbook places the ant’s “leather-headedness” in paragraph 4. The word is in paragraph 2, as the question itself says, so the explanation now reads “(paragraph 2)”.

How the questions are analyzed, and the research behind it

Working it out, step by step

  1. Figure out what the question asks

    This is an evidence question. You need the sentence from paragraph 2 that best proves the ant is foolish. First you must know what the three insults mean.

  2. Learn what the insults mean

    In paragraph 2 Twain says, “his leather-headedness is the point I make against him.” Leather-headed is an old insult. It means thick-headed or dim. Watch out: it does not mean tough or strong.

    In paragraph 4 he calls the ant’s acts “ignorance” (not knowing things) and “idiocy” (being very foolish). His example of idiocy is this: “He cannot stroll around a stump and find his way home again.”

  3. Look for a foolish mistake

    So look for a quote that, by itself, shows the ant making a foolish mistake. Choice C does. The ant drags his load to the top of a weed. Then “he finds that that is not the place.” He learns he is wrong only after all that work. That is a lot like an ant who can’t find his way home.

  4. Check each choice

    • A only asks a question. The foolish answer comes in later words.
    • B shows the ant is strong, lifting his load “by main force.” Strength is not foolishness.
    • C fits. It shows a mistake he finds only after wasting effort.
    • D shows him sweaty and in a hurry. “Aimlessly” hints that he has no plan, but the quote shows no clear mistake.

  5. Choose the answer

    Choice C gives the clearest proof of a thick-headed ant. So the answer is C.

Why this answer and not the closest wrong one

D is the closest wrong choice, because “aimlessly” means without a goal. But D mostly shows the ant wiping sweat and rushing off. C shows a real error: he works hard to reach a spot, and it is the wrong spot. That matches “ignorance” and “idiocy” best.

More questions like this

The original DOE question
Question 32 as printed on page 65 of the DOE handbook.
As printed in the DOE’s Specialized High Schools Student Handbook 2018–2019, page 65, question 32. Open page 65 of the handbook (PDF) The handbook letters this question’s choices E–H; here they are A–D (E = A, F = B, G = C, H = D). This is the DOE’s version, before the corrections listed in the analysis.

Question 33 of 57

2018 Test A English, question 33

Uses the passage above: “Excerpt from A Tramp Abroad”.

Question

Read this sentence from paragraph 3.

Evidently the friend remarks that a last year’s grasshopper leg is a very noble acquisition, and inquires where he got it.

Which statement best describes how the sentence fits into the overall structure of the excerpt?

  • AIt indicates a shift to the realization that the ants place great importance on an item that has little value.
  • BIt emphasizes a shift from an analysis of the actions of the individual ant to a commentary on the actions of the ants working together.
  • CIt introduces a transition to the idea that specific observations about one ant allow for generalizations about all ants.
  • DIt provides a transition to the observation that the ant’s friend is just as purposeful in his efforts toward a futile ending as the first ant.
Show the answer

Correct answer: B

The answer is (B)

The question asks for an explanation of how the sentence, which highlights the second ant’s interest in the grasshopper leg, fits into the structure of the excerpt.

Option B is correct because the sentence shows a shift from paragraph 2, which analyzes the actions of the first ant alone, to paragraph 3, which comments on the conversation between the two ants and the ensuing efforts of the two ants together.

Option A is incorrect because the idea that the ant seeks out worthless items, such as a grasshopper leg, is established in paragraph 2 (“it is generally something which can be of no sort of use to himself or anybody else”).

Option C is incorrect because paragraph 3 is a continuation of the author’s tale and not an expansion of the focus of his commentary.

Option D is incorrect because the author does not compare the purposefulness of the two ants.

Question analysis

Students must explain how one sentence, in which a second ant praises a grasshopper leg as “a very noble acquisition,” fits into the overall structure of Mark Twain's excerpt. Every choice describes a shift or transition, so students must track what really changes between paragraphs 2 and 3 and what stays the same.

NYS standards
  • 7R5 structure and genre features
Grade level
Grade 8 reading and task
Compared with grade 7
Above grade 7 Grade 7 structure questions often ask what a paragraph does. This one asks how a single sentence turns the excerpt, and the choices are abstract and close in meaning, which makes it harder than typical grade 7 work.
Estimated difficulty
Hard: combines ideas, needs a plan, and has more than one tempting wrong answer.
What makes it hard
Evidence
Answered from several paragraphs or stanzas
Reading level
Passage: about grade 9, 1099 words; question and choices: about grade 11, 131 words.
Students, last 30 days
Not enough answers yet to show (it takes 10).
Why it is hard, traps and wrong answers (shows the answer)

Why it is hard

Every choice is phrased as a structural move, which makes them sound equally plausible, and the sentence's own content, mock praise of junk, pulls toward a choice that describes what it says rather than what changes. The key depends on noticing that a second ant enters here and the rest of paragraph 3 is about the two working, and failing, together. Students who weigh each choice's idea against paragraph 2 find that only the shift from one ant to two is new.

  1. How, not what major Working it out

    The question asks what the sentence does in the excerpt's structure, so students must compare paragraph 2's lone ant with paragraph 3's pair instead of paraphrasing the friend's remark. (Anderson & Krathwohl, 2001)

  2. Every choice must be checked moderate Choosing the answer

    All four choices describe a shift or a transition in similar abstract terms, so each has to be checked for whether its idea is really new at this point. (Embretson & Wetzel, 1987)

Strategy: Compare the main subject of paragraph 2 with that of paragraph 3, then ask what new element this opening sentence brings in, and check whether each choice's idea is actually new here.

Traps

  • Wrong purpose or structure: Names a purpose, structure or effect that the part does not serve, or describes what a part says when the question asks what it does.
  • Reads too much in: A reasonable-sounding conclusion that goes further than the text allows.
  • Twists what the text says: Uses the text's topic and ideas but changes what it says: who did it, how much, when, or why.

The wrong answers, classified

How the questions are analyzed, and the research behind it

Working it out, step by step

  1. Figure out what the question asks

    This is a structure question. It asks what job one sentence does in the whole excerpt. Don’t just restate the sentence. Ask what changes when it arrives.

  2. Find where the sentence sits

    The sentence opens paragraph 3: “Evidently the friend remarks that a last year’s grasshopper leg is a very noble acquisition, and inquires where he got it.”

    Paragraph 2 ends just before it. The ant “finally stops to rest, and a friend comes along.”

  3. Compare the two paragraphs

    Paragraph 2 is all about one ant working alone. Paragraph 3 is about two ants. They tug the leg in opposite directions, fight, make up and fail together. This sentence is where the second ant joins in. So it moves the excerpt from one ant to two ants working together.

  4. Check each choice

    • A Ants chasing worthless things is not new here. Paragraph 2 already said his prize is “of no sort of use.”
    • B fits. The focus moves from a single ant to two ants together.
    • C Paragraph 3 makes no rules about all ants. It just goes on with the story.
    • D Twain never compares how purposeful (set on a goal) the two ants are.

  5. Choose the answer

    The sentence marks the shift from one ant to a pair of ants. So the answer is B.

Why this answer and not the closest wrong one

A is the strongest trap, because the sentence does praise a worthless leg as “a very noble acquisition.” But a shift needs something new. The worthless prize was already in paragraph 2. The only new thing here is the friend, which is choice B.

More questions like this

The original DOE question
Question 33 as printed on page 65 of the DOE handbook.
As printed in the DOE’s Specialized High Schools Student Handbook 2018–2019, page 65, question 33. Open page 65 of the handbook (PDF)

Question 34 of 57

2018 Test A English, question 34

Uses the passage above: “Excerpt from A Tramp Abroad”.

Question

Read this sentence from paragraph 3.

The two perspiring ants inspect it thoughtfully and decide that dried grasshopper legs are a poor sort of property after all, and then each starts off in a different direction to see if he can’t find an old nail or something else that is heavy enough to afford entertainment and at the same time valueless enough to make an ant want to own it.

How does the word choice in the sentence contribute to the overall meaning of the excerpt?

  • AIt creates a humorous critique of the ants’ intense attitude toward their pointless work.
  • BIt illustrates the ants’ confusion over their lack of positive results compared with their level of effort.
  • CIt highlights the ants’ frustration as they repeatedly chose a difficult task over one that could be accomplished more easily.
  • DIt illustrates the ants’ stubborn determination to hold on to the worthless object.
Show the answer

Correct answer: A

The answer is (A)

The question asks for an explanation of how the word choice in the sentence adds to the meaning of the excerpt. The image the author creates of two sweating ants abandoning the grasshopper leg to look for “an old nail,” which an ant would want because it is “valueless,” is comical, as suggested in Option A.

Option B is incorrect because it is a misinterpretation of the excerpt, as the ants are not confused but are acting decisively (paragraph 3: “Then they go at it again, just as before”).

Option C is incorrect because the ants find moving heavy objects to be an amusing way to spend their time and are not aware enough to feel frustrated (paragraph 3: “something else that is heavy enough to afford entertainment and at the same time valueless enough to make an ant want to own it”).

Option D is incorrect because the ants are willingly giving up on their object (paragraph 3: “decide that dried grasshopper legs are a poor sort of property after all”).

Question analysis

This question asks how Mark Twain's word choice in one long sentence, where two sweating ants give up on a grasshopper leg and go looking for something else to carry, shapes the excerpt's meaning. Students must judge the tone of words such as “thoughtfully,” “entertainment” and “valueless” and relate it to the excerpt as a whole.

NYS standards
  • 7R4 word meaning and choice
  • 7L5 figurative language and word relationships
Grade level
Grade 7 reading and task
Compared with grade 7
At grade 7 Grade 7 students regularly judge how word choice shapes tone, so the skill is familiar. What adds demand is one very long sentence whose effect depends on reading its adjectives against the situation they describe.
Estimated difficulty
Moderate: several steps, or a close reading with one strong distractor.
What makes it hard
Evidence
Answered from one sentence or line
Reading level
Passage: about grade 9, 1099 words; question and choices: about grade 11, 149 words.
Students, last 30 days
Not enough answers yet to show (it takes 10).
Why it is hard, traps and wrong answers (shows the answer)

Why it is hard

The sentence comes after a brawl, so readers expect frustration or confusion, and two wrong choices supply exactly those moods from earlier in paragraph 3. Here, though, the ants are calm and deliberate, and the joke is that their calm reasoning picks the heaviest, most worthless thing to haul. Students who judge the words of this sentence, not the paragraph's general mood, see that it mocks the ants' earnest attitude toward pointless work.

  1. Figurative or literary language major Understanding the question

    The humor is ironic logic: the ants inspect “thoughtfully,” then seek something “heavy enough to afford entertainment” and “valueless enough” to own, praising the very qualities that make their work pointless. (Graesser, Singer & Trabasso, 1994; Kintsch, 1998)

  2. Complex sentences moderate Understanding the question

    The effect builds across one 67-word sentence whose key phrases come at the very end, after a chain of clauses about inspecting, deciding and setting off. (Abedi & Lord, 2001; Freedle & Kostin, 1993; Messick, 1989)

Strategy: Underline the words that describe the ants' thinking and goals, decide what effect they have in this sentence, and then compare that effect with each choice.

Traps

  • Half right: One half of a two-part choice is right and the other is not.
  • Wrong part of the text: A choice is true of another paragraph, stanza or speaker than the one asked about.

The wrong answers, classified

How the questions are analyzed, and the research behind it

Working it out, step by step

  1. Figure out what the question asks

    This is a word-choice question. It asks how the words in one sentence add to the meaning of the excerpt. Pay attention to the tone, which is the feeling the words give.

  2. Find the key words

    The sentence ends paragraph 3. First the ants “inspect it thoughtfully.” Then each one looks for “an old nail or something else that is heavy enough to afford entertainment and at the same time valueless enough to make an ant want to own it.”

  3. Work out the joke

    “Afford entertainment” means give them fun. “Valueless” means worth nothing. Twain makes the ants sound careful and wise. Then they decide to look for something heavy and worthless.

    That is the joke. The very things that make their work pointless are what they want most. Twain is making fun of how seriously the ants take their silly work.

  4. Check each choice

    • A fits. The words make a funny critique (a judgment) of the ants’ serious attitude toward pointless work.
    • B In this sentence the ants are not confused. They think it over and decide calmly.
    • C They do pick heavy things, but for fun, not out of frustration.
    • D They give the leg up. They decide it is “a poor sort of property after all.”

  5. Choose the answer

    The sentence pokes fun at how hard the ants work at nothing. So the answer is A.

Why this answer and not the closest wrong one

C is the closest trap, since the ants really do choose heavy loads. But the anger came earlier in the paragraph, during the fight. In this sentence the ants are calm. They want something heavy to have fun with. Fun, not frustration, is the point, and Twain makes it funny. That matches A.

More questions like this

The original DOE question
Question 34 as printed on page 66 of the DOE handbook.
As printed in the DOE’s Specialized High Schools Student Handbook 2018–2019, page 66, question 34. Open page 66 of the handbook (PDF) The handbook letters this question’s choices E–H; here they are A–D (E = A, F = B, G = C, H = D).

Question 35 of 57

2018 Test A English, question 35

Uses the passage above: “Excerpt from A Tramp Abroad”.

Question

How does the presence of the friend in paragraph 3 influence the first ant’s behavior?

  • AThe friend distracts the ant from finding the correct path home.
  • BThe friend inspires the ant to consider a new approach to the situation.
  • CThe friend encourages the ant to continue his worthless efforts.
  • DThe friend tries to prevent the ant from finishing his task.
Show the answer

Correct answer: C

The answer is (C)

The question asks how the second ant, a friend, influences the first ant.

Option C is correct because the friend’s complimentary remark about the grasshopper leg serves to encourage the first ant to continue his efforts to drag the useless object home (paragraph 3: “Evidently the friend remarks that a last year’s grasshopper leg is a very noble acquisition”).

Option A is incorrect because the first ant does not know where his home is (paragraph 2: “He doesn’t know where home is. His home may be only three feet away; no matter, he can’t find it”).

Option B is incorrect because, while the friend offers to help the first ant (paragraph 3: “Evidently the friend contracts to help him freight it home”), he does not inspire a new approach to resolving the situation.

Option D is incorrect because, while the friend does make it difficult for the first ant to transport the grasshopper leg, the friend is not intentionally trying to prevent the first ant from reaching home (paragraph 3: “Then, with a judgment peculiarly antic [pun not intentional], they take hold of opposite ends of that grasshopper leg and begin to tug with all their might in opposite directions”).

Question analysis

This question asks how a second ant, the “friend” who arrives in paragraph 3 of Mark Twain's excerpt, affects the first ant's behavior. Students must follow cause and effect through a tug-of-war in which the two ants pull a grasshopper leg in opposite directions.

NYS standards
  • 7R3 plot elements and ideas
Grade level
Grade 7 reading and task
Compared with grade 7
At grade 7 Explaining how one character affects another is everyday grade 7 work, and the interaction here unfolds within a single paragraph. Reading the friend's remark about the grasshopper leg in context is the only subtle step.
Estimated difficulty
Straightforward: two steps or one careful reading.
What makes it hard
Evidence
Answered from one paragraph or stanza
Reading level
Passage: about grade 9, 1099 words; question and choices: about grade 6, 59 words.
Corrected from the DOE handbook
  • A wrong paragraph number in the explanation was corrected.
Students, last 30 days
Not enough answers yet to show (it takes 10).
Why it is hard, traps and wrong answers (shows the answer)

Why it is hard

The paragraph is chaotic, with tugging, a fight and a lost leg, and that chaos makes the friend look like an obstacle. What the question rewards is seeing that every move the friend makes, praising the leg and offering to help carry it, keeps the first ant hauling a worthless object. Students who judge the friend by the results of the tug-of-war, rather than by what he says and intends, are drawn away from the key.

  1. Reading between the lines moderate Working it out

    The effect is never stated: students must infer from the friend calling the leg “a very noble acquisition” and offering to “freight it home” that he spurs the first ant on. (Graesser, Singer & Trabasso, 1994; Kintsch, 1998)

  2. Hard words minor Understanding the question

    Mock-formal words such as “proprietor,” “contracts,” “recriminations” and “obstructionist” narrate the ants' exchange, and a student who stumbles on them loses track of who helps whom. (Perfetti, 2007; Freedle & Kostin, 1993)

Strategy: Trace what the first ant does before the friend arrives and what he does after; then ask how the friend's remark and offer change, or fail to change, that pattern.

Traps

  • Twists what the text says: Uses the text's topic and ideas but changes what it says: who did it, how much, when, or why.
  • Reads too much in: A reasonable-sounding conclusion that goes further than the text allows.

The wrong answers, classified

What was corrected from the DOE handbook, and why

  • Explanation: The handbook places “Evidently the friend remarks that a last year’s grasshopper leg is a very noble acquisition” in paragraph 2. The sentence opens paragraph 3, the paragraph the question asks about, so the explanation now reads “(paragraph 3: …)”.

How the questions are analyzed, and the research behind it

Working it out, step by step

  1. Figure out what the question asks

    This question asks how one character affects another. You need to see how the friend changes, or doesn’t change, what the first ant does.

  2. See what the ant does first

    At the end of paragraph 2, the first ant has dragged the grasshopper leg around for a long time. He has gotten nowhere. He “finally stops to rest, and a friend comes along.” This rest is the moment he might have quit.

  3. See what the friend says and does

    In paragraph 3, the friend says the leg “is a very noble acquisition.” An acquisition is something you got. Noble means fine and grand. So the friend praises a worthless leg.

    Then he “contracts to help him freight it home.” Contracts means agrees, and freight means carry. With this praise and help, the first ant goes right back to hauling the leg.

  4. Check each choice

    • A The ant was never on the right path, so the friend can’t pull him off it: “He doesn’t know where home is.”
    • B No new plan appears. They work “in the same old insane way.”
    • C fits. The friend’s praise and help keep the ant going at his useless task.
    • D The tug in opposite directions is an accident. The friend meant to help, not to stop him.

  5. Choose the answer

    The friend cheers the ant on and helps him keep hauling junk. So the answer is C.

Why this answer and not the closest wrong one

D is the closest trap, because the friend does get in the way. Each ant even calls the other an obstructionist (someone who blocks things). But that happens by accident. What the friend chooses to do is praise the leg and help carry it. That pushes the ant to keep going, so C fits better.

More questions like this

The original DOE question
Question 35 as printed on page 66 of the DOE handbook.
As printed in the DOE’s Specialized High Schools Student Handbook 2018–2019, page 66, question 35. Open page 66 of the handbook (PDF) This is the DOE’s version, before the corrections listed in the analysis.

Question 36 of 57

2018 Test A English, question 36
Passage Ruins of a Fabled City

Ruins of a Fabled City

The African country of Zimbabwe took its name from the Shona word meaning “stone enclosures” or “venerated houses.” In fact, today dozens of stone ruins are scattered throughout Zimbabwe and other areas in southeastern Africa. One of these ruins, known as Great Zimbabwe, was once a fabled city that inspired tales that circulated throughout Europe. Where was this remarkable city, and who had built it? For centuries the mystery occupied the minds of explorers and treasure seekers.

The first reports to Europeans of Great Zimbabwe were spread a thousand years ago by Arab traders sailing between the Middle East and the east coast of Africa. The traders told of the fabulous wealth of a mysterious stone city in the African interior. In the trader’s tales, that city became associated with the Europeans’ understanding of Middle Eastern history—the Queen of Sheba, King Solomon and his legendary gold mines, long since lost to the world. By the sixteenth century, Portuguese explorers regularly visited East Africa, searching for King Solomon’s gold, but they never found Great Zimbabwe. In 1552, a Portuguese historian, João de Barros, recorded a story told by Arabs about a city with a “square fortress of masonry within and without, built of stones of marvelous size, and there appears to be no mortar joining them.”

In fact, Great Zimbabwe was a marvel. In one area a massive wall more than thirty feet high and twenty feet thick created a great enclosure. Another area contained a fortress-like series of walls, corridors, and steps built into the bluff that overlooks the ruins. Throughout the city, each stone was precisely fitted to the others without the use of mortar.

In the 1870s Karl Mauch, a German geologist, was the first European to see Great Zimbabwe, by then in ruins. Mauch realized that he had “rediscovered” the fabled city from de Barros’s story. He jumped to the conclusion that Great Zimbabwe had been built by the Queen of Sheba. British authorities sent a British journalist, Richard Hall, to Great Zimbabwe to investigate Mauch’s report. Archaeology was still in its infancy, and Hall, convinced that the structures had been built by ancient people from the Middle East, dug up and discarded archaeological deposits that would have revealed much about the true history of Great Zimbabwe. Later European excavations destroyed even more valuable evidence.

In the twentieth century, after excavating areas that had not been disturbed, David Randall-MacIver, a Scottish Egyptologist, and Gertrude Caton-Thompson, an English archaeologist, concluded that the ruins were unmistakably African in origin. Great Zimbabwe was most likely built during the fourteenth or fifteenth century by the ancestors of the present-day Shona people. Recent carbon-14 dating supports their conclusion. Great Zimbabwe was once home to an estimated 20,000 people, the center of a great Shona kingdom. Wealthy Shona kings traded their ivory and gold in coastal towns for other goods, thus accounting for the discovery of beads and other foreign wares in the ruins.

One mystery of Great Zimbabwe had been solved. Another mystery remains: why was the settlement at Great Zimbabwe abandoned, leaving the magnificent stone architecture to fall into ruins?

Question

Which statement best describes the central idea of the passage?

  • AGreat Zimbabwe was an enormous stone city thought to be home to some of the greatest treasure of ancient history.
  • BMysteries related to Great Zimbabwe continue to interest historians and explorers even though archaeologists have confirmed its origins.
  • CThe history of Great Zimbabwe was subject to much speculation until modern archaeologists definitively determined its origins.
  • DEarly missteps in the study and excavation of the Great Zimbabwe ruins led to the loss of valuable evidence about the city.
Show the answer

Correct answer: C

The answer is (C)

The question asks for the sentence that best summarizes the central idea of the passage. The idea that there was much speculation about Great Zimbabwe is explained at the end of paragraph 1 and in paragraph 2, and the details about how modern archaeologists determined its origins are explained in paragraph 5.

Option C best represents the central idea that is developed and supported throughout the passage.

Option A is incorrect because it does not fully express the central idea of the passage: it includes facts from only the beginning of the passage and does not take into account the discoveries revealed about Great Zimbabwe in paragraph 5.

Option B is incorrect because it focuses mainly on the idea that archaeologists are still interested in the mysteries of Great Zimbabwe (paragraph 6) and does not fully explain the central idea.

Option D is incorrect because the fact that early excavations of Great Zimbabwe caused the destruction of valuable evidence is a detail from paragraph 4, and the option does not fully convey the central idea of the passage.

Question analysis

This central idea question asks which statement best sums up “Ruins of a Fabled City,” an informational passage about Great Zimbabwe, the stone ruins in southeastern Africa. Students must weigh the whole passage, from traders' legends to later excavations and a final unsolved question, and decide which choice best covers it.

NYS standards
  • 7R2 theme or central idea
Grade level
Grade 7 reading and task
Compared with grade 7
At grade 7 Finding the central idea of a six-paragraph informational text is core grade 7 work. The passage is dense with names, dates and theories, which adds reading load, but the task matches what grade 7 state tests routinely ask.
Estimated difficulty
Moderate: several steps, or a close reading with one strong distractor.
Evidence
Answered from the whole text
Reading level
Passage: about grade 11, 524 words; question and choices: about grade 12, 87 words.
Students, last 30 days
Not enough answers yet to show (it takes 10).
Why it is hard, traps and wrong answers (shows the answer)

Why it is hard

Every choice is drawn from the passage, so the work is judging scope. Two choices summarize one stage of the story well, and one blends the solved question with the unsolved one in a way that sounds like a full summary. The key is the only one that runs from the early speculation to the twentieth-century finding, and students who sketch the passage's arc before reading the choices spot it fastest.

  1. A lot to read moderate Understanding the question

    Six paragraphs span a thousand years and a crowd of names, from Arab traders and de Barros to Mauch, Hall, Randall-MacIver and Caton-Thompson, and the summary must hold them together. (Kintsch, 1998; Gorin & Embretson, 2006; Freedle & Kostin, 1993)

  2. A very close wrong answer moderate Choosing the answer

    B and C both say archaeologists settled the city's origins; they differ in the other half, where C traces the speculation before that finding and B claims historians and explorers are still chasing mysteries. (Embretson & Wetzel, 1987; Gorin & Embretson, 2006; Ascalon et al., 2007)

  3. Every choice must be checked minor Choosing the answer

    The treasure-city and destroyed-evidence choices are each accurate for a paragraph or two, so each must be measured against the whole passage rather than checked for truth. (Embretson & Wetzel, 1987)

Strategy: Jot a few words for what each of the six paragraphs does, then pick the statement that accounts for most of them; one true of only a paragraph or two is too narrow.

Traps

  • Too narrow: A single detail offered as the central idea or a summary, or a summary that keeps minor details and leaves out an essential part.
  • Half right: One half of a two-part choice is right and the other is not.

The wrong answers, classified

How the questions are analyzed, and the research behind it

Working it out, step by step

  1. Figure out what the question asks

    This question asks for the central idea. That is the main point of the whole passage, not of one paragraph. The right choice must cover most of the passage.

  2. Note what each paragraph does

    • Paragraph 1: Great Zimbabwe was a “fabled city,” a city from legends. Who built it was a mystery.
    • Paragraph 2: Traders told tales and linked it to King Solomon’s gold.
    • Paragraph 3: Its stone walls were amazing.
    • Paragraph 4: Mauch and Hall guessed wrong and destroyed evidence.
    • Paragraph 5: Scientists showed that Africans built it.
    • Paragraph 6: Why people left is still unknown.

  3. See the shape of the passage

    Most of the passage is about guesses: tales, legends and wrong ideas about who built the city. Speculation means guessing without proof.

    Then, in paragraph 5, archaeologists (scientists who dig up and study old things) found that the ruins were “unmistakably African in origin.” So the passage moves from guessing to an answer.

  4. Check each choice

    • A covers only the early legends. It stops before the answer.
    • B blows up the one open question in paragraph 6. The passage never says explorers are still chasing mysteries.
    • C fits. It runs from the guessing to the answer.
    • D is true, but it covers only paragraph 4.

  5. Choose the answer

    The passage is about guesses that lasted until archaeologists found the truth. So the answer is C.

Why this answer and not the closest wrong one

B is the closest choice. Like C, it says archaeologists found the city’s origins. But B adds that mysteries “continue to interest historians and explorers.” The passage names only one open question and never says that. C covers paragraphs 1 through 5, so it fits better.

More questions like this

The original DOE question
Question 36 as printed on page 69 of the DOE handbook.
As printed in the DOE’s Specialized High Schools Student Handbook 2018–2019, page 69, question 36. Open page 69 of the handbook (PDF) The handbook letters this question’s choices E–H; here they are A–D (E = A, F = B, G = C, H = D).
The passage “Ruins of a Fabled City” as printed (page 68)The passage “Ruins of a Fabled City” as printed on page 68 of the DOE handbook.

Question 37 of 57

2018 Test A English, question 37

Uses the passage above: “Ruins of a Fabled City”.

Question

What was the main way that Karl Mauch’s conclusions about Great Zimbabwe in paragraph 4 affected later archaeological investigations?

  • AArchaeologists from all over Europe became interested in excavating the area.
  • BArchaeologists made assumptions about the history of the ruins before excavating.
  • CArchaeologists started to believe that many of the past accounts recorded about the ruins were true.
  • DArchaeologists realized it was unlikely that an ancient culture could build such grand structures.
Show the answer

Correct answer: B

The answer is (B)

The question asks for an explanation of how Mauch’s conclusions influenced later investigations.

Option B is the best option because Mauch’s conclusion that Great Zimbabwe “had been built by the Queen of Sheba” (paragraph 4) affected later investigations of the ruins by causing archaeologists to destroy evidence without examining it, as they assumed that Mauch’s conclusions were accurate (paragraph 4).

Option A is incorrect because, while archaeologists were interested in the area, this was not the main effect of Mauch’s conclusions, as described in the passage.

Option C is incorrect because people searched for Great Zimbabwe because they already believed the stories told by Arab traders and historians like de Barros (paragraph 2), not because of Mauch’s conclusions.

Option D is incorrect because, although the city was considered impressive (paragraph 3), Mauch’s conclusions did not influence whether people believed an ancient culture could have built the city.

Question analysis

This cause-and-effect question asks how Karl Mauch's 1870s conclusions about Great Zimbabwe shaped the investigations that came after him. Students must trace the effect through paragraph 4, where later visitors dug at the site, while keeping the older traders' tales and Portuguese searches in their proper order.

NYS standards
  • 7R3 plot elements and ideas
  • 7R1 textual evidence and inferences
Grade level
Grade 7 reading and task
Compared with grade 7
At grade 7 Grade 7 informational reading asks how events and ideas influence one another, which is exactly this task. The effect is implied rather than stated, but it sits in one paragraph, keeping the demand typical for grade 7.
Estimated difficulty
Moderate: several steps, or a close reading with one strong distractor.
Evidence
Answered from one paragraph or stanza
Reading level
Passage: about grade 11, 524 words; question and choices: about grade 11, 70 words.
Students, last 30 days
Not enough answers yet to show (it takes 10).
Why it is hard, traps and wrong answers (shows the answer)

Why it is hard

The cause and effect is implied across two sentences of paragraph 4, so students must connect Mauch's leap to the Queen of Sheba with Hall's conviction and the evidence he threw away. The passage's long run of legends makes the older accounts feel like a consequence of Mauch, when they came first. The key rewards reading for what investigators did differently because of him, not what anyone believed at some point.

  1. Reading between the lines moderate Working it out

    The passage never says Mauch's conclusion caused anything; the link comes from Hall being sent “to investigate Mauch's report” and arriving “convinced” of Middle Eastern builders. (Graesser, Singer & Trabasso, 1994; Kintsch, 1998)

  2. A very close wrong answer moderate Choosing the answer

    B and C both say later investigators took beliefs about the ruins' history for granted; C differs in one detail, since trust in the old accounts began centuries before Mauch rather than because of him. (Embretson & Wetzel, 1987; Gorin & Embretson, 2006; Ascalon et al., 2007)

  3. Much to keep track of minor Working it out

    Students must keep the order of believers straight: Arab traders, Portuguese explorers, de Barros in 1552, Mauch in the 1870s, then Hall and later European diggers. (Sweller, 1988; Carpenter, Just & Shell, 1990)

Strategy: Find what Mauch concluded, then read the sentences about the next people to dig at the site and ask how his conclusion shows up in what they did.

Traps

The wrong answers, classified

How the questions are analyzed, and the research behind it

Working it out, step by step

  1. Figure out what the question asks

    This is a cause-and-effect question. It asks how Karl Mauch’s ideas changed what later people did at the ruins.

  2. Find the evidence in paragraph 4

    Mauch “jumped to the conclusion that Great Zimbabwe had been built by the Queen of Sheba.” Then Richard Hall was sent “to investigate Mauch’s report.”

    Hall arrived “convinced that the structures had been built by ancient people from the Middle East.” So he “dug up and discarded archaeological deposits.” Later digs “destroyed even more valuable evidence.”

  3. Work out the effect

    To jump to a conclusion is to decide something before you have proof. Mauch did that. Hall came to check Mauch’s report, already sure of a story like Mauch’s. He decided the answer before he dug. So he threw away clues. “Deposits” here means layers of old things in the ground. They could have shown the true history.

  4. Check each choice

    • A The passage never says people from all over Europe became interested.
    • B fits. The diggers made assumptions (beliefs taken as true without proof) before they dug.
    • C People trusted the old tales centuries before Mauch, so he did not cause that.
    • D Hall still thought an ancient people built the city, just not Africans.

  5. Choose the answer

    Mauch’s guess led later diggers to decide the city’s history before they dug. So the answer is B.

Why this answer and not the closest wrong one

C is the closest trap. It also says people trusted ideas about the ruins. But trust in the old tales began with Arab traders, and de Barros wrote his story down in 1552. Mauch came in the 1870s. C gets the order backward. B names what changed after Mauch.

More questions like this

The original DOE question
Question 37 as printed on page 69 of the DOE handbook.
As printed in the DOE’s Specialized High Schools Student Handbook 2018–2019, page 69, question 37. Open page 69 of the handbook (PDF)

Question 38 of 57

2018 Test A English, question 38

Uses the passage above: “Ruins of a Fabled City”.

Question

Which statement best describes Portuguese explorers’ experience searching for Great Zimbabwe?

  • AThey routinely visited East Africa but never located the city.
  • BThey were motivated by the hope of finding a mysterious city.
  • CThey used details from de Barros’s story in order to determine the city’s exact location.
  • DThey studied history books in order to gather information about the city.
Show the answer

Correct answer: A

The answer is (A)

The question asks for the statement that best summarizes the Portuguese explorers’ experience.

Option A is correct; the Portuguese repeatedly searched for King Solomon’s gold, which they associated with East Africa, but they never found the city (paragraph 2).

Option B is incorrect because, while they did hope to find a city, the explorers’ overall experience was focused on finding wealth.

Option C is incorrect because the information in paragraph 2 does not support the idea that the explorers used details from de Barros’s story to find the city’s location.

Option D is incorrect because the explorers heard stories about the possible wealthy city, but they did not study “history books in order to gather information about the city.”

Question analysis

In this key details question on an informational passage about Great Zimbabwe, students pick the statement that best describes the Portuguese explorers' search for the city. The key facts sit in one sentence of paragraph 2, but that paragraph is crowded with traders, legends and a historian's report that are easy to blur together.

NYS standards
  • 7R1 textual evidence and inferences
Grade level
Grade 6 reading and task
Compared with grade 7
Below grade 7 This is a locate-and-restate task that depends on one sentence. Typical grade 7 questions ask for more interpretation, so it sits below grade 7 even though the passage itself is dense with history.
Estimated difficulty
Routine: one familiar step, little to misread.
What makes it hard
Evidence
Answered from one sentence or line
Reading level
Passage: about grade 11, 524 words; question and choices: about grade 10, 59 words.
Students, last 30 days
Not enough answers yet to show (it takes 10).
Why it is hard, traps and wrong answers (shows the answer)

Why it is hard

The answer nearly restates paragraph 2's sentence that the explorers “regularly visited East Africa” but “never found Great Zimbabwe” while hunting for King Solomon's gold. Errors come from mixing that sentence with its neighbors: the traders' talk of a mysterious city, de Barros's record, and the words history and historian. A student who rereads that one sentence and checks each choice against it should not miss this.

  1. A lot to read minor Understanding the question

    Paragraph 2 packs Arab traders, the Queen of Sheba, King Solomon, Portuguese explorers and de Barros into five sentences, so the explorers' one sentence is easy to blur with its neighbors. (Kintsch, 1998; Gorin & Embretson, 2006; Freedle & Kostin, 1993)

Strategy: Scan paragraph 2 for the Portuguese explorers and read that sentence closely; keep only a choice whose every part the sentence states.

Traps

  • Twists what the text says: Uses the text's topic and ideas but changes what it says: who did it, how much, when, or why.
  • Word match: Repeats striking words or phrases from the text, so it looks supported, but its meaning does not fit the question.

The wrong answers, classified

How the questions are analyzed, and the research behind it

Working it out, step by step

  1. Figure out what the question asks

    This is a key-detail question. The answer is stated in the passage. You just need to find the right sentence and read it closely.

  2. Find the sentence about the Portuguese

    Paragraph 2 has one sentence about them: “By the sixteenth century, Portuguese explorers regularly visited East Africa, searching for King Solomon’s gold, but they never found Great Zimbabwe.”

  3. Put it in your own words

    The sixteenth century means the 1500s. “Regularly” means often, again and again. So the explorers kept coming to East Africa. They were looking for gold. But they never found the city.

  4. Check each choice

    • A fits. “Routinely” means regularly, and they never located, or found, the city.
    • B The sentence says they wanted King Solomon’s gold, not a mysterious city.
    • C The passage never links the explorers to de Barros’s story. They never found the city anyway.
    • D The passage never says they studied history books.

  5. Choose the answer

    The Portuguese explorers kept visiting East Africa but never found the city. So the answer is A.

Why this answer and not the closest wrong one

B is the closest trap, because traders did tell of a “mysterious stone city.” But that is about the traders. The Portuguese were “searching for King Solomon’s gold.” B also leaves out the main fact: they never found the city. A matches the sentence closely.

More questions like this

The original DOE question
Question 38 as printed on page 69 of the DOE handbook.
As printed in the DOE’s Specialized High Schools Student Handbook 2018–2019, page 69, question 38. Open page 69 of the handbook (PDF) The handbook letters this question’s choices E–H; here they are A–D (E = A, F = B, G = C, H = D).

Question 39 of 57

2018 Test A English, question 39

Uses the passage above: “Ruins of a Fabled City”.

Question

What was “one mystery of Great Zimbabwe” (paragraph 6) that had been solved?

  • Awhy the settlement was abandoned
  • Bwhere the ivory and gold from the city went
  • Cwhy the ruins remained undiscovered until the 1870s
  • Dwho had built the settlement
Show the answer

Correct answer: D

The answer is (D)

The question asks for the specific conclusion that was able to be drawn from the excavations at Great Zimbabwe.

Option D is the correct answer because paragraph 5 states that carbon-14 dating supports Randall-MacIver and Caton-Thompson’s conclusion that Great Zimbabwe was built by ancestors of the Shona people during the fourteenth or fifteenth century.

Option A is incorrect because the mystery behind “why the settlement was abandoned” has not been solved.

Option B is incorrect because the passage never presents the city’s ivory and gold as a mystery; paragraph 5 simply states that Shona kings traded them in coastal towns for other goods.

Option C is incorrect because the reason that Europeans did not discover Great Zimbabwe until the 1870s has not been explained.

Question analysis

This question asks students to identify the “one mystery of Great Zimbabwe” that the final paragraph calls solved. Students need to connect the final paragraph with the findings described before it, keeping track of which questions the passage answers and which it leaves open.

NYS standards
  • 7R1 textual evidence and inferences
Grade level
Grade 6 reading and task
Compared with grade 7
Below grade 7 Matching a phrase to the fact it refers to is a short, routine task, easier than most grade 7 reading questions. The only demand is linking the last paragraph back to earlier ones rather than reading it alone.
Estimated difficulty
Straightforward: two steps or one careful reading.
What makes it hard
Evidence
Answered from several paragraphs or stanzas
Reading level
Passage: about grade 11, 524 words; question and choices: about grade 5, 39 words.
Corrected from the DOE handbook
  • An inaccurate statement in the explanation was corrected.
  • An overstatement of the passage in the explanation was corrected.
Students, last 30 days
Not enough answers yet to show (it takes 10).
Why it is hard, traps and wrong answers (shows the answer)

Why it is hard

The final paragraph names two mysteries in back-to-back sentences, one solved and one open, but only spells out the open one. Students have to look back to the excavations and carbon dating in paragraph 5 to see which question was answered. Rushing produces the most common wrong pick, the abandonment question, because its words sit right beside the phrase the stem quotes.

  1. Evidence in several places minor Working it out

    “One mystery” points back to paragraph 1's question “who had built it?” and to paragraph 5's finding, so the answer lies outside the paragraph the stem cites. (Kirsch & Mosenthal, 1990; Gorin & Embretson, 2006)

Strategy: Before reading the choices, find the paragraph that reports what excavation and carbon dating showed, note which question it settles, and compare that with each choice.

Traps

  • Word match: Repeats striking words or phrases from the text, so it looks supported, but its meaning does not fit the question.
  • True but not the answer: A choice says something accurate about the text that does not answer this question.

The wrong answers, classified

What was corrected from the DOE handbook, and why

  • Explanation: The handbook rejects choice B because “the disappearance of the city’s ivory and gold is a mystery that has not been solved.” The passage presents no such mystery: paragraph 5 says Shona kings traded their ivory and gold in coastal towns for other goods. The explanation now says the passage never presents the ivory and gold as a mystery.
  • Explanation: The handbook says paragraph 5 states that carbon-14 dating “proved” Randall-MacIver and Caton-Thompson’s conclusion. The passage says only that recent carbon-14 dating “supports their conclusion,” so the explanation now says “supports”.

How the questions are analyzed, and the research behind it

Working it out, step by step

  1. Figure out what the question asks

    This asks you to find a key detail. Paragraph 6 says one mystery was solved, but it doesn’t say which one. You have to look back to find it.

  2. Find the mystery and its answer

    Paragraph 1 asks: “Where was this remarkable city, and who had built it?”

    Paragraph 5 answers part of that. Scientists concluded “that the ruins were unmistakably African in origin.” The city was built “by the ancestors of the present-day Shona people.” Carbon-14 dating, a lab test that tells how old something is, supports this.

  3. Match it to paragraph 6

    Paragraph 6 says: “One mystery of Great Zimbabwe had been solved.” The solved mystery is the one paragraph 5 answers: who built the city. The next sentence starts, “Another mystery remains.” That one, why people left, is still open.

  4. Check each choice

    • A is the mystery that “remains,” so it is not solved.
    • B The passage tells where the ivory and gold went, but never calls it a mystery.
    • C The passage never explains why Europeans didn’t see the ruins until the 1870s.
    • D fits. Paragraph 5 shows who built it.

  5. Choose the answer

    The mystery that had been solved is who built Great Zimbabwe: the ancestors of the Shona. So the answer is D.

Why this answer and not the closest wrong one

Watch out for A. Its words sit right next to the quoted phrase in paragraph 6, so it is easy to grab. But that sentence says “Another mystery remains,” which means it is still open. Only D is a question the passage actually answers.

More questions like this

The original DOE question
Question 39 as printed on page 69 of the DOE handbook.
As printed in the DOE’s Specialized High Schools Student Handbook 2018–2019, page 69, question 39. Open page 69 of the handbook (PDF) This is the DOE’s version, before the corrections listed in the analysis.

Question 40 of 57

2018 Test A English, question 40

Uses the passage above: “Ruins of a Fabled City”.

Question

Which statement about the Shona people is best supported by the passage?

  • AThey live along the east coast of Africa.
  • BThey are descendants of the people who built Great Zimbabwe.
  • CThey lived in the Middle East before settling in Africa.
  • DThey were once ruled by King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba.
Show the answer

Correct answer: B

The answer is (B)

The question asks for the best supported evidence the passage provides about the Shona people. The Shona people are discussed in paragraph 5, where it is explained that Great Zimbabwe was discovered to have been built by the ancient ancestors of the Shona people, making Option B correct.

Option A is incorrect because the ancient Shona people lived in the African interior, not on the coast, and the passage does not give specific details about where the Shona people live presently.

Option C is incorrect because the passage does not give a detailed history about the origins and locations of the Shona people in Africa.

Option D is incorrect because, while early explorers were looking for King Solomon’s gold and evidence of the Queen of Sheba in Africa, the Shona people were not found to be linked to these people.

Question analysis

Students must decide which statement about the Shona people is best supported by the passage on Great Zimbabwe. The Shona appear in only a few sentences of a text crowded with explorers, legends and rival theories, so each choice must be checked against exactly what those sentences say.

NYS standards
  • 7R1 textual evidence and inferences
Grade level
Grade 6 reading and task
Compared with grade 7
Below grade 7 Locating what a passage says about one group and restating it is a grade 6 skill. The supporting sentence is short and clear, so this falls below typical grade 7 demand despite the passage's crowded content.
Estimated difficulty
Routine: one familiar step, little to misread.
What makes it hard
Evidence
Answered from one sentence or line
Reading level
Passage: about grade 11, 524 words; question and choices: about grade 5, 52 words.
Students, last 30 days
Not enough answers yet to show (it takes 10).
Why it is hard, traps and wrong answers (shows the answer)

Why it is hard

The Shona are named only in paragraph 5, and the sentence that matters says the city was built by their ancestors. The one real hurdle is the reversal of that relation in the key, which a student who mixes up ancestors and descendants may reject. Every wrong choice borrows a place or name tied to someone else in the passage: the traders' coast, Hall's Middle East, the European legends.

  1. The right answer is reworded minor Choosing the answer

    The key flips the passage's “ancestors of the present-day Shona people” into “descendants of the people who built,” while wrong choices reuse “east coast,” “Middle East” and “King Solomon.” (Freedle & Kostin, 1993; Kirsch & Mosenthal, 1990)

Strategy: Search the passage for every mention of the Shona and read those sentences closely; choose the statement they directly support, not one that merely sounds historical.

Traps

  • Wrong part of the text: A choice is true of another paragraph, stanza or speaker than the one asked about.
  • Word match: Repeats striking words or phrases from the text, so it looks supported, but its meaning does not fit the question.

The wrong answers, classified

How the questions are analyzed, and the research behind it

Working it out, step by step

  1. Figure out what the question asks

    This asks which statement about the Shona people the passage supports. Trust only what the passage says, not what sounds right.

  2. Find every mention of the Shona

    The Shona appear only in paragraph 5. Great Zimbabwe “was most likely built during the fourteenth or fifteenth century by the ancestors of the present-day Shona people.” Later: “Wealthy Shona kings traded their ivory and gold in coastal towns.”

  3. Turn the sentence around

    Your ancestors are family members who lived long before you, like your great-great-grandparents. Your descendants are the people who come after you, like your grandchildren.

    So if the builders were the ancestors of the Shona, then the Shona today are the descendants of the builders. Choice B flips the words, but it says the same thing.

  4. Check each choice

    • A The kings traded in coastal towns. But the city was in the African interior, away from the coast.
    • B fits. It restates paragraph 5.
    • C Builders from the Middle East was Hall’s wrong idea. It is not Shona history.
    • D King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba come from European legends, not Shona history.

  5. Choose the answer

    The passage supports the idea that the Shona today are descendants of the city’s builders. So the answer is B.

Why this answer and not the closest wrong one

A is tempting because Shona kings traded “in coastal towns.” But trading in a place is not living there. The passage never says where the Shona live now. B is the only choice the passage states, just turned around from “ancestors” to “descendants.”

More questions like this

The original DOE question
Question 40 as printed on page 70 of the DOE handbook.
As printed in the DOE’s Specialized High Schools Student Handbook 2018–2019, page 70, question 40. Open page 70 of the handbook (PDF) The handbook letters this question’s choices E–H; here they are A–D (E = A, F = B, G = C, H = D).

Question 41 of 57

2018 Test A English, question 41

Uses the passage above: “Ruins of a Fabled City”.

Question

The conclusions of David Randall-MacIver and Gertrude Caton-Thompson were significant because they

  • Aproved that Great Zimbabwe was much older than previously thought.
  • Bquestioned why the Shona people left Great Zimbabwe.
  • Csupported the idea that the ancient Shona had a robust society at Great Zimbabwe.
  • Drevealed that Great Zimbabwe was African in origin.
Show the answer

Correct answer: D

The answer is (D)

The question asks for the impact of Randall-MacIver and Caton-Thompson’s discovery. David Randall-MacIver and Gertrude Caton-Thompson’s conclusions were significant because their excavation of the ruins revealed that Great Zimbabwe was most certainly built by the ancestors of modern-day Africans (paragraph 5), discrediting the long-standing idea that the structure was Middle Eastern in origin. This conclusion is stated in Option D.

Option A is incorrect because paragraph 5 states that Randall-MacIver and Caton-Thompson determined that the city was likely built in the fourteenth or fifteenth century, which was later than earlier explorers had assumed.

Option B is incorrect because the question of why the great city was abandoned was not part of Randall-MacIver and Caton-Thompson’s discovery.

Option C is incorrect because, while paragraph 5 also indicates that the Shona society was strong and healthy, this idea was not the main focus of Randall-MacIver and Caton-Thompson’s discovery.

Question analysis

This question asks why the conclusions of David Randall-MacIver and Gertrude Caton-Thompson about Great Zimbabwe mattered. Students must judge significance, not just recall facts, by weighing several details from paragraph 5 and deciding which one the passage treats as most important.

NYS standards
  • 7R1 textual evidence and inferences
  • 7R3 plot elements and ideas
Grade level
Grade 7 reading and task
Compared with grade 7
At grade 7 Weighing why a finding matters is typical grade 7 informational reading. The researchers' conclusion is easy to find, but students must use the earlier theories to see why it mattered, which keeps the task at grade 7.
Estimated difficulty
Straightforward: two steps or one careful reading.
What makes it hard
Evidence
Answered from one paragraph or stanza
Reading level
Passage: about grade 11, 524 words; question and choices: about grade 9, 52 words.
Students, last 30 days
Not enough answers yet to show (it takes 10).
Why it is hard, traps and wrong answers (shows the answer)

Why it is hard

The finding itself is stated almost word for word, so the work is judging significance. Paragraph 5 piles several facts after the conclusion, a date, a population and trading kings, and one of them invites the reading that the researchers' point was a thriving society. Students who remember what Mauch and Hall believed see that overturning the Middle Eastern theory is what the passage treats as the turning point.

  1. Reading between the lines minor Working it out

    “Significant” is never explained; students must set “unmistakably African in origin” against the Queen of Sheba and Middle Eastern theories of paragraph 4 to see why it mattered. (Graesser, Singer & Trabasso, 1994; Kintsch, 1998)

Strategy: Read paragraph 5 alongside paragraph 4, note what earlier investigators believed, and judge each choice by how much it changes or confirms that earlier picture.

Traps

The wrong answers, classified

How the questions are analyzed, and the research behind it

Working it out, step by step

  1. Figure out what the question asks

    This asks why the two scientists’ conclusion was significant, or important. To see why it mattered, compare it with what people believed before.

  2. Recall the earlier beliefs

    Paragraph 4 tells what people believed. Mauch thought the city “had been built by the Queen of Sheba.” Hall was sure it was built “by ancient people from the Middle East.” For centuries, who built the city was a mystery.

  3. Find what they concluded

    Paragraph 5 says Randall-MacIver and Caton-Thompson dug in places no one had disturbed. They “concluded that the ruins were unmistakably African in origin.”

    Unmistakably means with no doubt. Origin means where something comes from. Their finding proved the old Middle East ideas wrong. That is why it was so important.

  4. Check each choice

    • A The passage dates the city to the 1300s or 1400s. That makes it much younger than the King Solomon legends, not older.
    • B Why the Shona left is the open question in paragraph 6. These two did not study it.
    • C Paragraph 5 does describe a rich kingdom. But that detail is not what made their finding important.
    • D fits. They showed the city was African in origin.

  5. Choose the answer

    Their work was significant because it revealed that Great Zimbabwe was African in origin. So the answer is D.

Why this answer and not the closest wrong one

C is the closest trap, because paragraph 5 does show a strong Shona kingdom of “an estimated 20,000 people.” But that detail comes after their conclusion. What mattered most was proving the city African, which overturned the Middle East theories. That is D.

More questions like this

The original DOE question
Question 41 as printed on page 70 of the DOE handbook.
As printed in the DOE’s Specialized High Schools Student Handbook 2018–2019, page 70, question 41. Open page 70 of the handbook (PDF)

Question 42 of 57

2018 Test A English, question 42
Passage Cross-Purposes

Cross-Purposes

What I am is built: concrete and steel.
I defy gravity. I am what every athlete
wants: to remain at the apex of the leap,
up in the air. And yet I am useful, too:
cars, trucks, people, even trains
make their way across my broad back.
Swallows and ospreys1^1 nest in my trusses.

What I am is motion. I am water, and I am older
than anything else you know. No human
built me. I am gravity’s best friend; I pool
and flow wherever gravity takes me.
I am the blood flowing in the runner’s chest,
and I catch everything: from the hills,
the mountains. It all washes down through me.

What you are is an accident,
what happens to rain when rain gives in
to Earth’s gravitational pull.
You are some tears dribbling from a mountain’s
eye, running down the pavements
of small towns, into the cities, to the sea.
You are the path of least resistance.

What I am is power. You, of course,
have none: you are a static lump, an artifact
slowly decaying. But my regal flow
nourishes grasses, permits empires to rise.
Those who made you will break you,
in time, replacing you with yet another
clumsy structure. I have seen. I know.

“Clumsy”? Being rebuilt makes me
a friend of time, does it not? And it means
that I have siblings—those “clumsy” structures,
my sisters and brothers.
We stitch across the rip you make.
We are steel thread to the human needle.
We bind you up. We sew you.

And I sow into you; in every cranny
of your superstructure my vapors cling.
They bring out your softness, your rust.
Boast your best, and boast better yet.
I am listening to the bright hum
of the wind in your wires. Because I am,
above all else, patient. I will wait for you.

1^1ospreys: large birds

Question

How does the similar construction of the sentence in line 1 and the sentence in line 8 contribute to the meaning of the poem?

  • AIt introduces the intended permanence of the structure and the ever-changing fluidity of the water.
  • BIt shows that the structure can bridge the gap caused by the water.
  • CIt suggests that the structure has more limitations than the water.
  • DIt contrasts the stability of the structure with the instability of the water.
Show the answer

Correct answer: A

The answer is (A)

The question asks how the similarity in the construction of lines 1 and 8 contributes to the meaning of the poem. By beginning lines 1 and 8 with “What I am is,” each speaker establishes its defining feature, both of which are stated in Option A.

Option B is incorrect because the focus of the lines is defining the speakers’ individuality, not how one speaker resolves a problem created by the other.

Option C is incorrect because the structure is not stating in line 1 that it is limited because it was built to stand in place; on the contrary, the structure is stating that this sense of purpose and permanence is its strength.

Option D is incorrect because, in these lines, each speaker is trying to establish its stability, which for the structure is based on strength and for the water is based on longevity.

Question analysis

In the poem “Cross-Purposes,” a built structure and a body of water speak in turn, and both of their opening stanzas begin “What I am is.” This question asks how that matching sentence pattern adds to the poem's meaning. Students must judge precisely how each speaker describes itself, since the choices differ in small but important words.

NYS standards
  • 7R5 structure and genre features
  • 7R6 point of view and author position
Grade level
Grade 8 reading and task
Compared with grade 7
Above grade 7 Grade 7 poetry questions often ask what a repeated phrase emphasizes. Here the repetition sets up two opposed speakers, and the choices hinge on fine distinctions of connotation, which pushes the task above typical grade 7 work.
Estimated difficulty
Among the hardest on the SHSAT: a non-obvious approach, heavy reading, or a well-hidden trap.
Evidence
Answered from several paragraphs or stanzas
Reading level
Passage: 316 words (a poem; reading level not measured); question and choices: about grade 8, 74 words.
Corrected from the DOE handbook
  • A grammar slip in the explanation was corrected.
Students, last 30 days
Not enough answers yet to show (it takes 10).
Why it is hard, traps and wrong answers (shows the answer)

Why it is hard

Two choices describe the same contrast, built versus moving, and differ only in the judgment their words carry. Students who see the contrast quickly can still lose the point by choosing the version that calls the water unstable, since nothing in the water's stanza treats motion as a weakness; it boasts of being older than anything. The question rewards weighing the connotation of each word in a choice, not just its overall direction.

  1. A very close wrong answer major Choosing the answer

    A and D describe the same contrast in near-synonyms, permanence and stability against fluidity and instability; they differ only in the word “instability,” a weakness the proud water never claims. (Embretson & Wetzel, 1987; Gorin & Embretson, 2006; Ascalon et al., 2007)

  2. How, not what moderate Working it out

    The stem asks what the shared opening “What I am is” does, so students must see that it sets up two self-definitions, “built” and “motion,” as rival claims. (Anderson & Krathwohl, 2001)

  3. Figurative or literary language moderate Understanding the question

    The speakers are personified and the structure is never named, so students must infer from “concrete and steel” and the trains on its “broad back” that a bridge is speaking. (Graesser, Singer & Trabasso, 1994; Kintsch, 1998)

  4. Hard words minor Understanding the question

    The choices turn on abstract words such as “permanence,” “fluidity” and “instability” that never appear in the poem. (Perfetti, 2007; Freedle & Kostin, 1993)

Strategy: Read the opening sentences of the first two stanzas side by side, name each speaker's defining quality in a word, and test every choice's wording against what the speakers actually claim.

Traps

  • Half right: One half of a two-part choice is right and the other is not.
  • Wrong part of the text: A choice is true of another paragraph, stanza or speaker than the one asked about.

The wrong answers, classified

What was corrected from the DOE handbook, and why

  • Explanation: The handbook reads “how the similarity in the construction of lines 1 and 8 contribute”. It now reads “contributes”, to agree with “similarity”.

How the questions are analyzed, and the research behind it

Working it out, step by step

  1. Figure out what the question asks

    This is a question about the poem’s structure. Lines 1 and 8 are built the same way. You need to see what that sameness does for the meaning.

  2. Compare lines 1 and 8

    Line 1 opens the first stanza (a group of lines in a poem): “What I am is built: concrete and steel.”

    Line 8 opens the second stanza: “What I am is motion. I am water.”

    Both start with the same words, “What I am is.” Each speaker is telling you the one thing that defines it.

  3. Work out who is talking

    Two things talk in this poem. The first is a structure, most likely a bridge. It is made of “concrete and steel,” and trains cross its “broad back.” The second is water. Giving human traits, like speech, to things that are not human is called personification.

    The bridge is “built”: made to stay in place for a long time. The water is “motion”: always moving and changing.

  4. Check each choice

    • A fits. “Built” suggests permanence (lasting). “Motion” suggests fluidity (flowing like a liquid).
    • B The bridge closing a gap comes later, in lines 33–35. Lines 1 and 8 mention no gap.
    • C The bridge is proud of being built. It admits no limits here.
    • D “Instability” makes moving sound like a weakness. The water is proud of its motion.

  5. Choose the answer

    The matching lines set the structure’s lasting strength against the water’s constant flow. So the answer is A.

Why this answer and not the closest wrong one

D is the closest trap, because it describes the same contrast. But instability means being shaky or weak. The water never sees itself that way. It brags that it is “older / than anything else you know.” A uses “fluidity,” which treats motion as a strength.

More questions like this

The original DOE question
Question 42 as printed on page 73 of the DOE handbook.
As printed in the DOE’s Specialized High Schools Student Handbook 2018–2019, page 73, question 42. Open page 73 of the handbook (PDF) The handbook letters this question’s choices E–H; here they are A–D (E = A, F = B, G = C, H = D). This is the DOE’s version, before the corrections listed in the analysis.
The passage “Cross-Purposes” as printed (pages 72–73)The passage “Cross-Purposes” as printed on page 72 of the DOE handbook.The passage “Cross-Purposes” as printed on page 73 of the DOE handbook.

Question 43 of 57

2018 Test A English, question 43

Uses the passage above: “Cross-Purposes”.

Question

Read lines 2–4 and lines 12–14 from the poem.

I am what every athlete
wants: to remain at the apex of the leap,
up in the air.

I am the blood flowing in the runner’s chest,
and I catch everything: from the hills,
the mountains.

How do the lines contribute to the development of a central idea of the poem?

  • AThey establish that both the structure and the water have endurance and control.
  • BThey highlight that both the structure and the water are powerful and impressive.
  • CThey suggest that the structure and the water are unaware of how similar they are.
  • DThey reveal that the structure and the water are surprised that they are interrelated.
Show the answer

Correct answer: B

The answer is (B)

The question asks how the lines contribute to the development of a central idea in the poem. The lines “I am what every athlete / wants” (lines 2–3) and “I am the blood flowing in the runner’s chest” (line 12) communicate that each speaker is an object of admiration and a powerful force, so Option B is correct.

Option A is incorrect because nothing in the language of the lines communicates control.

Option C is incorrect because the lines describe opposing characteristics: the structure’s description conveys stillness—remaining “up in the air” (line 4)—while the water’s description conveys movement—“flowing in the runner’s chest” (line 12). Additionally, the idea that the speakers fail to recognize similarities is not part of a central idea.

Option D is incorrect because there is no evidence in the poem that the two speakers understand that they are interrelated.

Question analysis

Students compare two sets of lines from the poem “Cross-Purposes” in which the structure and the water each describe themselves through athletes, one leaping and one running. The question asks how these lines develop a central idea, which means comparing two images that seem opposite and deciding what the pairing adds.

NYS standards
  • 7R2 theme or central idea
  • 7R5 structure and genre features
Grade level
Grade 8 reading and task
Compared with grade 7
Above grade 7 Typical grade 7 work asks what one image suggests. This question pairs images from two speakers in a two-voice poem and asks for a shared idea, with abstract choices that all sound plausible, which is above grade 7.
Estimated difficulty
Hard: combines ideas, needs a plan, and has more than one tempting wrong answer.
Evidence
Answered from several paragraphs or stanzas
Reading level
Passage: 316 words (a poem; reading level not measured); question and choices: about grade 7, 113 words.
Students, last 30 days
Not enough answers yet to show (it takes 10).
Why it is hard, traps and wrong answers (shows the answer)

Why it is hard

The athlete images point in opposite directions, one frozen in the air and one in motion, so students may look for a contrast when the question wants what the two share. Both speakers are borrowing the glamour of athletes to boast, which is what makes them powerful and impressive. The other choices either add a quality, control, that neither image carries, or credit the speakers with feelings the poem never shows.

  1. Figurative or literary language major Understanding the question

    Both claims are metaphors: the bridge is the athlete's dream of staying “at the apex of the leap,” and the water is “the blood flowing in the runner's chest,” so each image must be translated into a quality. (Graesser, Singer & Trabasso, 1994; Kintsch, 1998)

  2. Combines ideas moderate Working it out

    The two sets of lines come from rival speakers in different stanzas, and the answer has to name one idea true of both, not of either alone. (Embretson, 1998; Daniel & Embretson, 2010)

  3. A very close wrong answer moderate Choosing the answer

    A and B share the frame “both the structure and the water” plus two qualities; A's endurance is close to B's power, and only its added “control” finds no support in the lines. (Embretson & Wetzel, 1987; Gorin & Embretson, 2006; Ascalon et al., 2007)

Strategy: For each set of lines, ask what the speaker claims about itself through the athlete image; then keep only a choice that fits both speakers and these exact words.

Traps

  • Half right: One half of a two-part choice is right and the other is not.
  • Reads too much in: A reasonable-sounding conclusion that goes further than the text allows.

The wrong answers, classified

How the questions are analyzed, and the research behind it

Working it out, step by step

  1. Figure out what the question asks

    This asks how two sets of lines build a central idea. The structure speaks one set, and the water speaks the other. You need one idea that fits both.

  2. Read both sets of lines

    The structure says, in lines 2–4: “I am what every athlete / wants: to remain at the apex of the leap, / up in the air.”

    The water says, in lines 12–14: “I am the blood flowing in the runner’s chest, / and I catch everything.”

  3. Work out what each speaker claims

    The apex is the very top. Every athlete wishes they could stay at the top of a jump. The structure stays up there all the time. So it brags that it does what athletes dream of.

    The water says it is the blood that keeps a runner going. Both speakers compare themselves to strong athletes. Both are showing off how powerful and impressive they are.

  4. Check each choice

    • A Endurance (lasting a long time) could fit. But nothing in the lines shows control.
    • B fits. Both speakers boast of being powerful and impressive.
    • C The poem never says they don’t notice how alike they are.
    • D Neither speaker shows surprise. Their tone is proud.

  5. Choose the answer

    Both sets of lines show the speakers bragging about their power. So the answer is B.

Why this answer and not the closest wrong one

A is the closest choice. Like B, it says something good about both speakers. But A adds “control,” and neither set of lines shows either speaker controlling anything. Every part of B fits both sets of lines, with nothing extra.

More questions like this

The original DOE question
Question 43 as printed on page 73 of the DOE handbook.
As printed in the DOE’s Specialized High Schools Student Handbook 2018–2019, page 73, question 43. Open page 73 of the handbook (PDF)

Question 44 of 57

2018 Test A English, question 44

Uses the passage above: “Cross-Purposes”.

Question

Read line 7 from the first stanza.

Swallows and ospreys nest in my trusses.

How does the line contribute to the development of ideas in the stanza?

  • AThe line supports the structure’s claim that it is beneficial to nature.
  • BThe line reveals that the structure secretly envies the water’s importance in nature.
  • CThe line emphasizes that the structure is more valuable to nature than the water is.
  • DThe line reveals the kinship that nature shares with the structure.
Show the answer

Correct answer: A

The answer is (A)

The question asks how the line contributes to the development of ideas in the stanza. The line mentions swallows and ospreys, birds that use the structure’s trusses as their home; this reference supports the claim that the structure is beneficial to nature, so Option A is correct.

Option B is incorrect because the line doesn’t hint at jealousy in the tone or language, but rather the line is promoting the structure’s helpful characteristic.

Option C is incorrect because, in the line, the structure is not making a comparison with the water.

Option D is incorrect because, in the line, the structure is not implying that it is related to nature but rather that it is helpful to nature.

Question analysis

This question focuses on the first stanza of “Cross-Purposes,” in which a built structure describes itself, and asks what the line about swallows and ospreys nesting in its trusses adds. The line is short and plain, but students need to read it as part of the whole stanza and know that trusses are a structure's load-bearing framework.

NYS standards
  • 7R5 structure and genre features
Grade level
Grade 6 reading and task
Compared with grade 7
Below grade 7 Explaining what one line adds to its own stanza matches the grade 6 standard on how a sentence fits into a text. The line is plain and the stanza short, so this is below typical grade 7 demand.
Estimated difficulty
Straightforward: two steps or one careful reading.
Evidence
Answered from one paragraph or stanza
Reading level
Passage: 316 words (a poem; reading level not measured); question and choices: about grade 6, 77 words.
Students, last 30 days
Not enough answers yet to show (it takes 10).
Why it is hard, traps and wrong answers (shows the answer)

Why it is hard

The line is plain and follows directly from the stanza's claim that the structure is useful, so most students who read the stanza in order find the key. The wrong choices import the poem's later rivalry with the water, or a sense of family that comes later and refers to other structures. Students who keep to the first stanza, where the water has not yet spoken, avoid them.

  1. How, not what minor Working it out

    The line follows “And yet I am useful, too,” so its job is to extend the structure's usefulness from cars and trains to birds. (Anderson & Krathwohl, 2001)

  2. Figurative or literary language minor Understanding the question

    The speaker is a personified bridge boasting about itself, and the birds in its “trusses” are offered as one more reason to admire it. (Graesser, Singer & Trabasso, 1994; Kintsch, 1998)

  3. A very close wrong answer minor Choosing the answer

    A and C both say the line shows the structure's value to nature; C differs only in adding “than the water is,” a comparison the first stanza, where the water has not yet spoken, never makes. (Embretson & Wetzel, 1987; Gorin & Embretson, 2006; Ascalon et al., 2007)

Strategy: Read the stanza's sentences in order and note what each says about the speaker; then ask what the line about the birds adds to that picture.

Traps

  • Wrong part of the text: A choice is true of another paragraph, stanza or speaker than the one asked about.
  • Reads too much in: A reasonable-sounding conclusion that goes further than the text allows.

The wrong answers, classified

How the questions are analyzed, and the research behind it

Working it out, step by step

  1. Figure out what the question asks

    This asks what one line adds to the first stanza. A stanza is a group of lines in a poem, a bit like a paragraph. Read the whole stanza to see where the line fits.

  2. Read the stanza in order

    Line 4 says: “And yet I am useful, too.” Lines 5–6 list who uses the structure: “cars, trucks, people, even trains.” Then line 7 says: “Swallows and ospreys nest in my trusses.”

    The footnote says ospreys are large birds. Swallows are small birds. Trusses are the frame of beams that holds up a bridge.

  3. Work out what the line adds

    Lines 4–7 list ways the structure is useful. First it helps people and their cars and trains get across. Line 7 adds that it helps animals too: birds make their homes in it. So the line shows the structure is good for nature, not just for people.

  4. Check each choice

    • A fits. Birds nesting there support the claim that the structure helps nature.
    • B The water isn’t even mentioned yet, and the tone is proud, not jealous.
    • C This stanza makes no comparison with the water.
    • D Kinship means being family. The line shows help, not family. The “siblings” come later, and they are other structures.

  5. Choose the answer

    The line backs up the structure’s claim that it is good for nature. So the answer is A.

Why this answer and not the closest wrong one

C is the closest trap. Like A, it says the structure helps nature. But C adds “than the water is.” In the first stanza the water has not spoken yet, so no comparison is made. A says only what the line shows.

More questions like this

The original DOE question
Question 44 as printed on page 73 of the DOE handbook.
As printed in the DOE’s Specialized High Schools Student Handbook 2018–2019, page 73, question 44. Open page 73 of the handbook (PDF) The handbook letters this question’s choices E–H; here they are A–D (E = A, F = B, G = C, H = D).

Question 45 of 57

2018 Test A English, question 45

Uses the passage above: “Cross-Purposes”.

Question

Read lines 18–20 from the poem.

You are some tears dribbling from a mountain’s
eye, running down the pavements
of small towns, into the cities, to the sea.

What impact do the phrases “some tears dribbling” and “running down” have on the meaning of the poem?

  • AThey suggest that naturally flowing water is a problem in populated areas.
  • BThey highlight the different types of naturally flowing water.
  • CThey imply that the flow of water is weak and influenced by the landscape.
  • DThey highlight that the flow of water from the mountains is minimal compared with that of the seas.
Show the answer

Correct answer: C

The answer is (C)

The question asks for the impact that the phrases have on the meaning of the poem. The phrases “some tears dribbling” and “running down” (lines 18–19) imply weakness in form and being influenced by the landscape, making Option C correct.

Option A is incorrect because, while the lines do describe the water in populated areas, they do not describe the water as a problem for the people living there.

Option B is incorrect because the lines do more than bring attention to different types of water; the lines make a judgment about the strength and importance of the water.

Option D is incorrect because a comparison is not made based on the volume of water streaming from the mountains and the volume of water in the seas.

Question analysis

In this question about figurative language in “Cross-Purposes,” students explain the impact of the phrases “some tears dribbling” and “running down,” used to describe the water. They must first work out which of the poem's two speakers is talking, then judge the connotations of the words rather than only the picture they paint.

NYS standards
  • 7R4 word meaning and choice
  • 7L5c connotation and denotation
Grade level
Grade 7 reading and task
Compared with grade 7
At grade 7 Judging the connotation of a few words is standard grade 7 work. The two-voice format adds one step, since the speakers are never named, but the lines are quoted and short, so the demand stays typical.
Estimated difficulty
Moderate: several steps, or a close reading with one strong distractor.
Evidence
Answered from one paragraph or stanza
Reading level
Passage: 316 words (a poem; reading level not measured); question and choices: about grade 6, 98 words.
Students, last 30 days
Not enough answers yet to show (it takes 10).
Why it is hard, traps and wrong answers (shows the answer)

Why it is hard

The lines can be read as a simple picture of water running from mountains to the sea, and that reading leads to choices about kinds of water, flooding or volume. The phrases matter for what they say about the water's strength: it dribbles, it runs downhill, it goes where the land sends it. Students who ask how the speaker feels about the water, and remember the stanza's “path of least resistance,” arrive at the key.

  1. Figurative or literary language moderate Understanding the question

    “Some tears dribbling from a mountain's eye” turns a river into a weak trickle of tears, so the judgment lies in the connotation of “some” and “dribbling,” not in the picture. (Graesser, Singer & Trabasso, 1994; Kintsch, 1998)

  2. A very close wrong answer moderate Choosing the answer

    C and D both say the water's flow is weak, D's “minimal” matching “dribbling”; they differ in the second part, where D adds a comparison with the seas that the lines never make. (Embretson & Wetzel, 1987; Gorin & Embretson, 2006; Ascalon et al., 2007)

  3. Reading between the lines minor Working it out

    The stanza is unlabeled, so students must work out from its roman type and its “you” that the structure is speaking and belittling the water. (Graesser, Singer & Trabasso, 1994; Kintsch, 1998)

Strategy: Compare “dribbling” with a neutral word such as “flowing,” and ask what the difference suggests about how this stanza's speaker regards the water.

Traps

The wrong answers, classified

How the questions are analyzed, and the research behind it

Working it out, step by step

  1. Figure out what the question asks

    This is a word-choice question. It asks what two phrases suggest about the water. Notice how the words make the water seem.

  2. Work out who is speaking

    Lines 15–21 are spoken by the structure. It talks to the water as “you.” It starts: “What you are is an accident.” It ends: “You are the path of least resistance.” The path of least resistance is the easiest way, the one that takes no effort.

  3. Look closely at the phrases

    Lines 18–19 say the water is “some tears dribbling from a mountain’s eye, running down the pavements.”

    To dribble is to drip a little at a time. “Some tears” sounds small and weak. “Running down” means the water just goes downhill, wherever the land sends it. So the structure is putting the water down. It calls the water weak and pushed around by the land.

  4. Check each choice

    • A The lines mention towns, but they never call the water a problem for people.
    • B The lines do more than list kinds of water. They judge the water.
    • C fits. The water is weak and goes where the landscape sends it.
    • D The lines never compare how much water is in mountains and in seas.

  5. Choose the answer

    The phrases make the water seem weak and controlled by the land. So the answer is C.

Why this answer and not the closest wrong one

D is the closest trap, since “dribbling” does sound small, like “minimal.” But D adds a comparison with the seas. The sea is just where the water ends up. C keeps the weakness and adds the land, which matches “running down” and “the path of least resistance.”

More questions like this

The original DOE question
Question 45 as printed on page 74 of the DOE handbook.
As printed in the DOE’s Specialized High Schools Student Handbook 2018–2019, page 74, question 45. Open page 74 of the handbook (PDF)

Question 46 of 57

2018 Test A English, question 46

Uses the passage above: “Cross-Purposes”.

Question

The comparison to sewing in lines 33–35 helps show that the structure

  • Aenhances the beauty of the natural landscape.
  • Bbrings people together more effectively than nature does.
  • Cprovides clear boundaries for natural environments.
  • Dserves as a means for people to overcome an obstacle created by nature.
Show the answer

Correct answer: D

The answer is (D)

The question asks what the comparison in lines 33–35 shows about the structure. The speaker states, “We are steel thread to the human needle” (line 34), which illustrates that the structure (and others like it) is a tool used by humans to “bind . . . up” (line 35) or overcome “the rip” (line 33) that the water creates in the earth, making Option D correct.

Option A is incorrect because the language in the lines is used only to imply the flaw that the water creates—“the rip you make” (line 33).

Option B is incorrect because, while the water states that it enables “empires to rise” (line 25), implying that it is needed for society to thrive, it never shares a purpose of bringing people together through its existence.

Option C is incorrect because the language used for sewing (“We stitch across the rip you make” [line 33]) indicates the repair of a flaw and not the establishment of boundaries.

Question analysis

This figurative language question asks what the comparison to sewing, “We stitch across the rip you make,” shows about the structure in the poem “Cross-Purposes.” Students must work out what the speaker and the rip stand for, since the poem never names either, before the thread-and-needle metaphor makes sense.

NYS standards
  • 7L5a interpreting allusions
  • 7R4 word meaning and choice
Grade level
Grade 7 reading and task
Compared with grade 7
At grade 7 Interpreting an extended metaphor is standard grade 7 work, and the sewing words are concrete and familiar. One inference about what the speaker really is comes first, which keeps the task typical rather than hard.
Estimated difficulty
Moderate: several steps, or a close reading with one strong distractor.
Evidence
Answered from one paragraph or stanza
Reading level
Passage: 316 words (a poem; reading level not measured); question and choices: about grade 8, 45 words.
Corrected from the DOE handbook
  • A misstatement of the question in the explanation was corrected.
  • Two small typos in the explanation were corrected.
Students, last 30 days
Not enough answers yet to show (it takes 10).
Why it is hard, traps and wrong answers (shows the answer)

Why it is hard

Students who see that the structure is a bridge usually find the metaphor's sense: a river tears the land, and bridges stitch it closed for people to cross. The danger is the choice that also talks about connecting people, which matches the general idea of bridges but slips in a comparison with nature. The other choices treat stitching as decoration or as drawing lines, which a reader who pictures a needle closing a tear will not accept.

  1. Figurative or literary language major Understanding the question

    The sewing image runs over three lines: the river is a “rip,” bridges are “steel thread,” builders are “the human needle,” so each part must be mapped before the meaning appears. (Graesser, Singer & Trabasso, 1994; Kintsch, 1998)

  2. Reading between the lines moderate Working it out

    The poem never says the structure is a bridge or the rip a river gorge; students must infer both from earlier clues such as trains crossing its “broad back.” (Graesser, Singer & Trabasso, 1994; Kintsch, 1998)

Strategy: Use the earlier stanzas to work out what kind of structure is speaking and what the rip is, then translate the thread-and-needle comparison into plain terms.

Traps

  • Reads too much in: A reasonable-sounding conclusion that goes further than the text allows.
  • Twists what the text says: Uses the text's topic and ideas but changes what it says: who did it, how much, when, or why.

The wrong answers, classified

What was corrected from the DOE handbook, and why

  • Explanation: The handbook says the question asks what the comparison “shows about the structure of the poem.” The question asks what it shows about the structure that speaks in the poem, not about the poem’s form, so “of the poem” was removed.
  • Explanation: “(lines 25)” now reads “(line 25)”, and a stray closing parenthesis after “establishment of boundaries.” was removed.

How the questions are analyzed, and the research behind it

Working it out, step by step

  1. Figure out what the question asks

    This asks what a comparison means. In lines 33–35 the structure compares itself to sewing. You need to turn that picture into plain words.

  2. Read the sewing lines

    The lines say: “We stitch across the rip you make. / We are steel thread to the human needle. / We bind you up. We sew you.”

    “We” means the structure and its “siblings,” other structures like it. “You” is the water.

  3. Match each part to the real thing

    • The “rip” stands for the gap a river cuts through the land.
    • The “steel thread” stands for the bridges.
    • The “human needle” stands for the people who build them.

    When you sew a rip, you pull the two sides back together. Bridges do the same. They join the land on both sides of a river, so people can cross.

  4. Check each choice

    • A The lines are about fixing a tear, not about adding beauty.
    • B Bridges do bring people together, but the lines never say they do it better than nature.
    • C Stitching across a rip pulls the sides together. It does not mark boundaries (lines that divide).
    • D fits. The structure helps people get past the gap the water made.

  5. Choose the answer

    The sewing picture shows the structure helps people get past an obstacle the water created. So the answer is D.

Why this answer and not the closest wrong one

B is the closest trap, because bridges really do connect people. But B says they do it “more effectively than nature does.” The lines never compare the two that way. D sticks to what the picture shows: a tear made by water, closed by the structure so people can cross.

More questions like this

The original DOE question
Question 46 as printed on page 74 of the DOE handbook.
As printed in the DOE’s Specialized High Schools Student Handbook 2018–2019, page 74, question 46. Open page 74 of the handbook (PDF) The handbook letters this question’s choices E–H; here they are A–D (E = A, F = B, G = C, H = D). This is the DOE’s version, before the corrections listed in the analysis.

Question 47 of 57

2018 Test A English, question 47

Uses the passage above: “Cross-Purposes”.

Question

The last stanza (lines 36–42) conveys a central idea of the poem by

  • Ademonstrating that both the structure and the water depend on each other to fulfill their functions.
  • Bimplying that a stronger structure would be able to resist the degradation caused by the water.
  • Crevealing that the passage of time will render both the structure and the water obsolete.
  • Dsuggesting that the water will eventually weaken the structure and will continue to exist after the structure is gone.
Show the answer

Correct answer: D

The answer is (D)

The question asks how the last stanza conveys a central idea of the poem. In lines 36–38, the speaker (the water) describes how its “vapors cling” to the structure, bringing out the structure’s “softness” and “rust,” thus destroying the structure over time. Also, in line 42, the speaker says it is “patient” and “will wait for you,” suggesting that the speaker will be around after the structure is gone. These phrases in the last stanza indicate that Option D is correct.

Option A is incorrect because the last stanza includes no indication that the structure and the water depend on each other.

Option B is incorrect because the last stanza refers to the opposing speaker (the structure) and not to any other structure.

Option C is incorrect because the last stanza addresses only the idea that the structure will grow weak and obsolete over time.

Question analysis

Students must explain how the final stanza of “Cross-Purposes,” spoken by the water, conveys a central idea of the poem. The stanza mixes a pun on sewing and sowing, images of vapor and rust, and a taunt about boasting, so students must read past the wordplay to the stanza's main claim.

NYS standards
  • 7R2 theme or central idea
  • 7R5 structure and genre features
Grade level
Grade 7 reading and task
Compared with grade 7
At grade 7 Linking a stanza to a poem's central idea is standard grade 7 work. The stanza's wordplay takes some decoding, but each choice can be checked against the stanza itself, so the overall demand is typical.
Estimated difficulty
Moderate: several steps, or a close reading with one strong distractor.
Evidence
Answered from one paragraph or stanza
Reading level
Passage: 316 words (a poem; reading level not measured); question and choices: about grade 9, 78 words.
Students, last 30 days
Not enough answers yet to show (it takes 10).
Why it is hard, traps and wrong answers (shows the answer)

Why it is hard

The stanza's meaning is a quiet threat: moisture works into the structure, rusts it, and the water simply waits. Students who decode the rust and the waiting usually reach the key, but one wrong choice gets the decay right and then sweeps the water into it too. The taunt to “boast better yet” is the other snare, since read straight it sounds like an invitation to build a stronger structure.

  1. Figurative or literary language major Understanding the question

    The stanza works through wordplay and images: “I sow into you” puns on the structure's “We sew you,” vapors cling to bring out “your rust,” and “I will wait for you” is a threat. (Graesser, Singer & Trabasso, 1994; Kintsch, 1998)

  2. A very close wrong answer moderate Choosing the answer

    C and D agree that time will wear the structure down; they differ only in the water's fate, which D says outlasts the structure and C says becomes obsolete too, against “above all else, patient.” (Embretson & Wetzel, 1987; Gorin & Embretson, 2006; Ascalon et al., 2007)

  3. Hard words minor Understanding the question

    “Cranny” and “superstructure” in the stanza, and “degradation” and “obsolete” in the choices, are words a seventh grader may not know. (Perfetti, 2007; Freedle & Kostin, 1993)

Strategy: Paraphrase each sentence of the last stanza in plain words, then check both halves of every choice, since a choice can fit one speaker and not the other.

Traps

The wrong answers, classified

How the questions are analyzed, and the research behind it

Working it out, step by step

  1. Figure out what the question asks

    This asks how the last stanza shows a central idea. The water is speaking. You need to work out what it is really saying to the structure.

  2. Read the last stanza

    Lines 36–38 say: “And I sow into you; in every cranny / of your superstructure my vapors cling. / They bring out your softness, your rust.”

    Lines 41–42 end the poem: “Because I am, / above all else, patient. I will wait for you.”

  3. Work out the hidden threat

    A cranny is a small crack. Vapors are tiny drops of water in the air, like mist. The superstructure is the main body of the structure. So the water’s mist creeps into every crack and makes the steel rust and weaken.

    “Sow” sounds like “sew,” but it means to plant seeds. The water plants rust. Then it says it will wait. It expects to still be here after the structure is gone.

  4. Check each choice

    • A The stanza shows the water harming the structure, not needing it.
    • B No stronger structure is mentioned. “Boast better yet” is a dare, not advice.
    • C The structure will wear down, but the water won’t. It is patient and waiting.
    • D fits. The water will rust the structure and outlast it.

  5. Choose the answer

    The water will slowly weaken the structure and still be around after it is gone. So the answer is D.

Why this answer and not the closest wrong one

C is the closest trap. C and D agree that time will wear down the structure. But C says the water will become obsolete, or useless, too. The water says the opposite: “I will wait for you.” Only D gets both speakers right.

More questions like this

The original DOE question
Question 47 as printed on page 74 of the DOE handbook.
As printed in the DOE’s Specialized High Schools Student Handbook 2018–2019, page 74, question 47. Open page 74 of the handbook (PDF)

Question 48 of 57

2018 Test A English, question 48

Uses the passage above: “Cross-Purposes”.

Question

Read lines 41–42 from the poem.

Because I am,
above all else, patient. I will wait for you.

Which of the following supports what is implied in these lines?

  • A“I am older / than anything else you know.” (lines 8–9)
  • B“No human / built me.” (lines 9–10)
  • C“It all washes down through me.” (line 14)
  • D“Those who made you will break you,” (line 26)
Show the answer

Correct answer: A

The answer is (A)

The question asks how the implication in lines 41–42 is supported by other lines in the poem. The words “patient” and “wait” in line 42 suggest that the speaker (the water) has the ability to outlast the other speaker because the water doesn’t weaken as it ages, making Option A (lines 8–9) the correct response.

Option B is incorrect because the promise made in line 42 is not affected by whether the water was built by humans (lines 9–10).

Option C is incorrect because, in line 14, the water’s ability to wait longer than the structure is not enhanced by what flows through the water.

Option D is incorrect because, in line 26, the water’s knowledge does not make its ability to wait any stronger—rather, its seemingly unending lifespan does.

Question analysis

This textual evidence question gives the water's closing words in “Cross-Purposes,” that it is patient and will wait, and asks which earlier line supports what they imply. Students must first state the implication in their own words, then choose among four lines spoken by the water that each say something true about it.

NYS standards
  • 7R1 textual evidence and inferences
Grade level
Grade 8 reading and task
Compared with grade 7
Above grade 7 Most grade 7 evidence items back up a claim the text states outright. Here the claim is only implied, and all four lines come from the same speaker, so students must reason about what patience would achieve, which goes beyond typical grade 7 work.
Estimated difficulty
Hard: combines ideas, needs a plan, and has more than one tempting wrong answer.
Evidence
Answered from several paragraphs or stanzas
Reading level
Passage: 316 words (a poem; reading level not measured); question and choices: about grade 1, 57 words.
Students, last 30 days
Not enough answers yet to show (it takes 10).
Why it is hard, traps and wrong answers (shows the answer)

Why it is hard

The difficulty is in the first step: putting “I will wait for you” into words as a claim about time, that the water will still be there after the structure is gone. Students who read it as a prediction about the structure's end pick the line about humans breaking it, and those who read it as a contrast with built things pick the line about no human building the water. Only age directly supports a promise to outwait.

  1. Reading between the lines major Working it out

    Lines 41–42 never say the water will outlast the structure; students must state that implication of “patient” and “wait for you” before they can judge which earlier line supports it. (Graesser, Singer & Trabasso, 1994; Kintsch, 1998)

  2. Every choice must be checked moderate Choosing the answer

    All four lines are the water's own boasts from different stanzas, each true of it, so every one must be tested against the specific claim of lasting longer. (Embretson & Wetzel, 1987)

Strategy: Put the implied claim of the final two lines into your own words, then ask which earlier line gives a reason to believe that claim rather than just describing the water.

Traps

  • Supports only part of the claim: In a question about evidence: a line that backs one half of the claim but not the other, or a related point rather than the claim itself.
  • Reads too much in: A reasonable-sounding conclusion that goes further than the text allows.

The wrong answers, classified

How the questions are analyzed, and the research behind it

Working it out, step by step

  1. Figure out what the question asks

    This is an evidence question. First, figure out what lines 41–42 hint at. Then find the earlier line that best supports that hint.

  2. Work out the hint

    The water says: “Because I am, / above all else, patient. I will wait for you.” Patient means able to wait calmly for a long time.

    The water is telling the structure that it will still be here after the structure is gone. So the hidden claim is that the water will outlast the structure.

  3. Find a line that supports it

    To outlast something, you need a very long life. So look for a line about the water’s age. In lines 8–9 the water says: “I am older / than anything else you know.” It has already lasted longer than anything else. So it makes sense that it can outlast a bridge too.

  4. Check each choice

    • A fits. Great age backs up the claim that the water can wait the structure out.
    • B “No human / built me” tells who made the water, not how long it lasts.
    • C “It all washes down through me” tells what the water carries, not how long it lasts.
    • D shows the structure will end, but not that the water will still be here.

  5. Choose the answer

    The water’s great age supports its promise to outwait the structure. So the answer is A.

Why this answer and not the closest wrong one

D is the closest trap, because “Those who made you will break you” also points to the structure’s end. But the hint in lines 41–42 is about the water lasting. D says nothing about the water. Only A gives proof of the water’s long life.

More questions like this

The original DOE question
Question 48 as printed on page 74 of the DOE handbook.
As printed in the DOE’s Specialized High Schools Student Handbook 2018–2019, page 74, question 48. Open page 74 of the handbook (PDF) The handbook letters this question’s choices E–H; here they are A–D (E = A, F = B, G = C, H = D).

Question 49 of 57

2018 Test A English, question 49

Uses the passage above: “Cross-Purposes”.

Question

How does the poet develop the points of view of the structure and the water?

  • Aby relating a discussion between them about the future of human civilization
  • Bby narrating a debate they have over their impact on the environment
  • Cby illustrating the unique power they each possess over nature
  • Dby using personification to allow them to debate who is more important
Show the answer

Correct answer: D

The Answer is (D)

The question asks how the poet develops the two points of view. The poet develops the two speakers’ points of view by personifying (giving human characteristics to something nonhuman, such as an object or animal) the structure and the water, allowing them to debate by criticizing each other and declaring their own importance. Thus, Option D is correct.

Option A is incorrect because future civilizations do not play a significant role in the development of points of view.

Option B is incorrect because, while the speakers do discuss their impact on the environment, there is no narrator speaking for them.

Option C is incorrect because these details do not convey points of view.

Question analysis

This question asks how the poet of “Cross-Purposes” develops the points of view of its two speakers, a structure and the water. Students must decide both how the poet presents the two voices and what the exchange between them is mainly about, and each choice sounds partly true.

NYS standards
  • 7R6 point of view and author position
  • 7L5a interpreting allusions
Grade level
Grade 7 reading and task
Compared with grade 7
At grade 7 Analyzing how a writer develops and contrasts two speakers' points of view is exactly what the grade 7 standard describes. The choices are short, though each mixes a method with a topic, so the demand is typical for grade 7.
Estimated difficulty
Moderate: several steps, or a close reading with one strong distractor.
Evidence
Answered from the whole text
Reading level
Passage: 316 words (a poem; reading level not measured); question and choices: about grade 9, 61 words.
Students, last 30 days
Not enough answers yet to show (it takes 10).
Why it is hard, traps and wrong answers (shows the answer)

Why it is hard

Each choice joins a way of presenting the speakers with a subject for their exchange, and most get one half right. The poem gives no narrator and no neutral voice, only two personified things arguing about which of them matters more, so students must check the method and the topic separately. The close miss is the debate described as narrated and as being about the environment.

  1. How, not what moderate Working it out

    The question asks for the poet's method, so a choice must name how the voices are built, personified speakers trading boasts and insults, not just what they talk about. (Anderson & Krathwohl, 2001)

  2. Something you must already know minor Working it out

    The key uses the literary term “personification,” which the poem never names, so students must recognize talking concrete and water as that device. (Anderson & Krathwohl, 2001)

  3. Every choice must be checked minor Choosing the answer

    Each choice pairs a method with a topic, a discussion, a debate, an illustration, so both halves must be checked against the six stanzas. (Embretson & Wetzel, 1987)

Strategy: Reread the stanzas in order and note who speaks, to whom, and what each speaker says; then test both halves of each choice against those notes.

Traps

  • Half right: One half of a two-part choice is right and the other is not.
  • Wrong purpose or structure: Names a purpose, structure or effect that the part does not serve, or describes what a part says when the question asks what it does.

The wrong answers, classified

How the questions are analyzed, and the research behind it

Working it out, step by step

  1. Figure out what the question asks

    This asks about the poet’s method. How does the poet show us what each speaker thinks? The right choice must name both the method and the topic correctly.

  2. Notice who speaks

    Read the stanzas in order. The structure speaks first, then the water, and they take turns. There is no narrator (a storyteller outside the action). Each one talks to the other as “you” and brags about itself. The structure says, “I am useful, too.” The water says, “What I am is power.”

  3. Name the method

    A bridge and water can’t really talk. The poet gives them human voices. That is personification: giving human traits to things that are not human.

    Through those voices, they argue. Each tries to prove it matters more. The water calls the structure “a static lump,” which means a lump that doesn’t move. The structure calls the water “an accident.”

  4. Check each choice

    • A Empires come up only once. The speakers argue about themselves, not the future.
    • B There is a debate, but no narrator tells it. And it is about who matters more, not the environment.
    • C This names powers the speakers claim. It does not say how the poet builds their views.
    • D fits. Personification lets them argue about who is more important.

  5. Choose the answer

    The poet uses personification so the two can argue about who matters more. So the answer is D.

Why this answer and not the closest wrong one

B is the closest trap, because there really is a debate. But “narrating” means a storyteller tells it, and no one does. The speakers talk for themselves. B also gets the topic wrong. D gets both the method and the topic right.

More questions like this

The original DOE question
Question 49 as printed on page 75 of the DOE handbook.
As printed in the DOE’s Specialized High Schools Student Handbook 2018–2019, page 75, question 49. Open page 75 of the handbook (PDF)

Question 50 of 57

2018 Test A English, question 50

Uses the passage above: “Cross-Purposes”.

Question

How does the form of the poem contribute to its meaning?

  • AThe use of an equal number of lines in each stanza emphasizes that both speakers are equally important.
  • BThe use of italics in some of the stanzas indicates the increasing tension between the structure and the water.
  • CThe alternating positions of the stanzas highlight the opposing points of view of the speakers.
  • DThe lack of a regular rhyme scheme or meter reflects the way the water changes the structure and the way the water itself changes.
Show the answer

Correct answer: C

The answer is (C)

The question asks how the form of the poem contributes to its meaning. The alternating positions of the stanzas create the appearance of a conversation in which the speakers share their opposing points of view, making Option C correct.

Option A is incorrect because the number of lines for each stanza does not emphasize the importance of the two speakers.

Option B is incorrect because italics are used mainly to designate the voice of the second speaker (the water).

Option D is incorrect because the lack of rhyme scheme or meter is intended to create a conversational tone, rather than reflect the changes the water causes or experiences.

Question analysis

This question about poetic form asks how the shape of “Cross-Purposes” on the page contributes to its meaning. Students must consider features such as stanza length, placement, italics and the lack of rhyme, and decide which one the poem actually uses to create meaning.

NYS standards
  • 7R5 structure and genre features
  • 7R6 point of view and author position
Grade level
Grade 8 reading and task
Compared with grade 7
Above grade 7 Grade 7 standards ask how genre features such as stanza form shape meaning, but most classroom questions point to one feature. Here students must weigh four features of the poem and the meaning each choice assigns, which is above typical grade 7 work.
Estimated difficulty
Hard: combines ideas, needs a plan, and has more than one tempting wrong answer.
Evidence
Answered from the whole text
Reading level
Passage: 316 words (a poem; reading level not measured); question and choices: about grade 9, 87 words.
Students, last 30 days
Not enough answers yet to show (it takes 10).
Why it is hard, traps and wrong answers (shows the answer)

Why it is hard

All four choices point to something true about how the poem looks, so checking features against the page eliminates nothing. The real test is whether the meaning each choice assigns follows from the poem: equal stanzas do not make the rivals equal, italics mark the water's voice from its first stanza, and free verse is not a picture of erosion. Only the alternating placement maps directly onto two opposed speakers taking turns.

  1. How, not what major Working it out

    The question is about form, not content: students must ask what the page layout, indented italic stanzas against flush roman ones, does for the meaning. (Anderson & Krathwohl, 2001)

  2. Every choice must be checked moderate Choosing the answer

    Each choice names a feature that really exists, seven lines in every stanza, italics, alternating positions, no rhyme or meter, so every feature and the meaning given to it must be tested. (Embretson & Wetzel, 1987)

  3. Something you must already know minor Working it out

    Terms such as “stanza,” “rhyme scheme” and “meter” are assumed, and a student unsure what meter means cannot judge the choice about free verse. (Anderson & Krathwohl, 2001)

Strategy: For each feature named in the choices, first confirm it is really in the poem, then ask whether the meaning the choice gives it fits what happens in the poem.

Traps

  • Wrong purpose or structure: Names a purpose, structure or effect that the part does not serve, or describes what a part says when the question asks what it does.
  • Reads too much in: A reasonable-sounding conclusion that goes further than the text allows.

The wrong answers, classified

How the questions are analyzed, and the research behind it

Working it out, step by step

  1. Figure out what the question asks

    This asks about form: how the poem looks on the page, not just what it says. You need the feature that adds to the meaning.

  2. Look at the page

    Notice four things about the form.

    • Every stanza has seven lines.
    • Stanzas 2, 4 and 6 are in italics (slanted letters).
    • Those italic stanzas are pushed to the right. The others sit on the left.
    • The lines don’t rhyme and have no steady beat. That beat is called meter.

  3. Work out what the layout shows

    The stanzas on the left are the structure speaking. The italic stanzas on the right are the water. The two sides take turns, like two people arguing face to face. The back-and-forth placement makes it easy to see two opposite points of view.

  4. Check each choice

    • A The stanzas all have seven lines. But the speakers argue that they are not equal.
    • B The italics mark the water’s voice from its first stanza to its last. They don’t show tension growing.
    • C fits. The switching positions show the two opposing views.
    • D Nothing suggests the missing rhyme stands for the water’s changes.

  5. Choose the answer

    The stanzas switch sides to show the speakers’ opposite views. So the answer is C.

Why this answer and not the closest wrong one

A is the closest trap, because every stanza really does have seven lines. But the speakers spend the whole poem arguing that they are not equal. Each one says it matters more. So equal stanzas can’t mean equal importance. C links the layout to what really happens: two sides taking turns.

More questions like this

The original DOE question
Question 50 as printed on page 75 of the DOE handbook.
As printed in the DOE’s Specialized High Schools Student Handbook 2018–2019, page 75, question 50. Open page 75 of the handbook (PDF) The handbook letters this question’s choices E–H; here they are A–D (E = A, F = B, G = C, H = D).

Question 51 of 57

2018 Test A English, question 51
Passage The Year without a Summer

The Year without a Summer

The eruption of the Philippine volcano Mount Pinatubo in June 1991 sent a huge cloud of gas and dust encircling the globe. The dust and ash from Mount Pinatubo was blamed for a two-year decrease in global temperature, changes in weather patterns, and damage to the ozone layer. The situation brings to mind a time now remembered as “The Year without a Summer,” a meteorological event that occurred 175 years earlier. At that time, harsh weather conditions plagued much of eastern North America and, to a lesser extent, northern Europe.

April 1816 brought typical spring weather to upstate New York and New England; trees budded, and farmers prepared to plow and plant. In May, however, the expected warm temperatures failed to arrive. Most people remained optimistic, waiting for the summer that was “just around the corner.” They waited in vain. During the first week of June, ten inches of snow fell on New England. Throughout the month, temperatures rarely rose above the 30s. Many farmers replanted crops several times, only to see them stunted or destroyed by sleet, hail, and icy winds. July and August brought little improvement. During most days the temperature stayed in the 40s. Farmers’ diaries document the farmers’ daily struggles with near-freezing temperatures, failing crops, and dying farm animals. The few crops that managed to survive were killed by frost in mid-September. Winter came early in New England and was unusually severe. Even the South was affected; on July 4, the high temperature for Savannah, Georgia, was only 46 degrees Fahrenheit!

Some religious leaders warned their congregations that the unusual weather meant that the end of the world was drawing near. Other leaders attributed the cool weather to unusual sunspot activity. The proliferation of the newly invented lightning rod was also blamed as some people believed that lightning rods had interrupted the natural temperature balance of Earth, causing the cooler temperatures.

It was not until October that the first plausible explanation for “The Year without a Summer” was suggested. Friedrich Bessel, a German astronomer, reported seeing thick clouds of dust in the upper atmosphere. He theorized that these dust particles screened portions of Earth from the warming rays of the sun. It was discovered that in April 1815, Mount Tambora, an Indonesian volcano, had erupted with such force that it had sent an estimated 100 cubic miles of fine dust into the atmosphere. Witnesses to the eruption reported that the sky remained dark for two days. The dust then rose high into the stratosphere, where it encircled the world for several years to come.

Skeptics in 1816 doubted that a faraway volcano could steal their summer. However, most present-day researchers believe Bessel’s explanation to be generally correct, demonstrating the global nature of weather. The dust in the atmosphere eventually settled, and the spring of 1817 was back to normal.

Question

Which of the following best tells what this passage is about?

  • Athe belief of some religious leaders that the end of the world was coming in 1816
  • Ba summer of strange weather and its probable cause
  • Cthe importance of summer weather to agriculture in New England
  • Da comparison of the weather of 1816 and 1991
Show the answer

Correct answer: B

The answer is (B)

The question asks for the best summary sentence for the passage. The passage is mostly about the strange, cold summer of 1816 and speculation around its cause, which is best stated in Option B.

Option A is incorrect because it is a detail in paragraph 3 about one theory regarding the cause of the weather.

Option C is incorrect because the passage is about more than agriculture in New England (paragraphs 1 and 2).

Option D is incorrect because it is a detail in the passage mentioned only in paragraph 1.

Question analysis

This central idea question asks students to choose the best summary of “The Year without a Summer,” a short informational passage about weather history. The passage brings in several groups of people and more than one time period, and the right summary has to cover all of it.

NYS standards
  • 7R2 theme or central idea
Grade level
Grade 6 reading and task
Compared with grade 7
Below grade 7 Summarizing a short, clearly organized informational passage is a grade 6 skill. The text is plain and the choices are short, so the demand is lower than most grade 7 central idea work.
Estimated difficulty
Routine: one familiar step, little to misread.
What makes it hard
Evidence
Answered from the whole text
Reading level
Passage: about grade 9, 469 words; question and choices: about grade 6, 52 words.
Students, last 30 days
Not enough answers yet to show (it takes 10).
Why it is hard, traps and wrong answers (shows the answer)

Why it is hard

The passage is short and plainly organized, and the key names its two halves, the cold summer and its cause. The wrong choices each enlarge one detail into the whole: the 1991 eruption that opens the passage, the farmers' struggles, the religious warnings. Students most likely to slip are those who let the first paragraph's Mount Pinatubo set the topic.

  1. Evidence in several places minor Working it out

    The strange weather fills paragraph 2, but its probable cause arrives only in paragraphs 4 and 5, so a summary must reach the end to cover both halves. (Kirsch & Mosenthal, 1990; Gorin & Embretson, 2006)

Strategy: Before reading the choices, sum up the passage in a sentence of your own, then pick the choice closest to it in scope and meaning.

Traps

  • Too narrow: A single detail offered as the central idea or a summary, or a summary that keeps minor details and leaves out an essential part.

The wrong answers, classified

How the questions are analyzed, and the research behind it

Working it out, step by step

  1. Figure out what the question asks

    This asks what the whole passage is about. The right answer must cover the full passage, not just one detail.

  2. Note what each paragraph does

    • Paragraph 1: A volcano in 1991 brings to mind “The Year without a Summer.”
    • Paragraph 2: In 1816, snow and frost hit New England all summer.
    • Paragraph 3: People at the time guessed at the cause.
    • Paragraph 4: Bessel blamed dust from a volcano.
    • Paragraph 5: Scientists today agree with him.

  3. See the two halves

    The passage has two halves. First it describes the strange, cold summer of 1816. Then it explains the likely cause: dust from Mount Tambora. A good summary needs both parts. “Probable” means likely.

  4. Check each choice

    • A The end-of-the-world warning is one guess in paragraph 3.
    • B fits. It covers the strange summer and its likely cause.
    • C Farming comes up in paragraph 2, but the passage is about the weather and its cause.
    • D 1991 is mentioned only to start the passage. The two years’ weather is never compared.

  5. Choose the answer

    The passage tells about a summer of strange weather and what probably caused it. So the answer is B.

Why this answer and not the closest wrong one

D is a trap if you let the first paragraph decide the topic. Mount Pinatubo in 1991 only leads into the 1816 story. Paragraphs 2 to 5 are all about 1816. B covers all of that, so it fits best.

More questions like this

The original DOE question
Question 51 as printed on page 76 of the DOE handbook.
As printed in the DOE’s Specialized High Schools Student Handbook 2018–2019, page 76, question 51. Open page 76 of the handbook (PDF)
The passage “The Year without a Summer” as printed (page 76)The passage “The Year without a Summer” as printed on page 76 of the DOE handbook.

Question 52 of 57

2018 Test A English, question 52

Uses the passage above: “The Year without a Summer”.

Question

What is the most likely reason farmers persisted in replanting their crops?

  • AThey believed that the cold weather could not continue all summer long.
  • BThey thought that crops would be able to survive even though the weather remained cold.
  • CThey believed that the improved weather conditions of July would last.
  • DThey thought the June snowfalls would provide needed moisture.
Show the answer

Correct answer: A

The answer is (A)

The question asks for the sentence that provides the best reason for the farmers replanting their crops. Paragraph 2 states that “farmers prepared to plow and plant” because they “expected warm temperatures” and were “optimistic.” This suggests that the farmers kept replanting their crops because they expected the weather to return to normal, which is reflected in Option A.

Option B is incorrect because the cold weather and the snow actually worsened growing conditions (paragraph 2).

Option C is incorrect because, while “July and August brought little improvement” (paragraph 2), it is throughout the month of June that farmers replanted crops.

Option D is incorrect because, while the farmers kept replanting their crops with the expectation of normal weather to return, the passage does not state that was because the farmers thought the snow would provide moisture.

Question analysis

This inference question asks why New England farmers kept replanting their crops during the cold summer of 1816. The reason is never stated outright, so students must infer it from paragraph 2's month-by-month account while keeping track of when the replanting took place.

NYS standards
  • 7R1 textual evidence and inferences
Grade level
Grade 7 reading and task
Compared with grade 7
At grade 7 Inferring a group's motive from nearby clues is routine grade 7 work. The clue sits a few sentences before the replanting, and only the order of the months needs care, so the demand is typical.
Estimated difficulty
Straightforward: two steps or one careful reading.
Evidence
Answered from one paragraph or stanza
Reading level
Passage: about grade 9, 469 words; question and choices: about grade 6, 59 words.
Students, last 30 days
Not enough answers yet to show (it takes 10).
Why it is hard, traps and wrong answers (shows the answer)

Why it is hard

The clue to the farmers' motive sits a few sentences before their replanting, in the optimism of people waiting for a summer that never came. Students who answer from farming sense rather than the passage reach for crops that tolerate cold or snow that waters fields. Keeping the months in order also matters, since the July and August sentence says conditions barely improved.

  1. Reading between the lines moderate Working it out

    The reason is never stated beside the replanting; it comes two sentences earlier, where people “remained optimistic, waiting for the summer that was ‘just around the corner.’” (Graesser, Singer & Trabasso, 1994; Kintsch, 1998)

  2. Much to keep track of minor Working it out

    Paragraph 2 runs month by month, April buds, May's missing warmth, June snow, a cold July and August, September frost, and students must place the replanting in that sequence. (Sweller, 1988; Carpenter, Just & Shell, 1990)

  3. A very close wrong answer minor Choosing the answer

    A and C both say the farmers counted on warm weather coming; C differs in one detail, an improvement in July, which the passage denies with “July and August brought little improvement.” (Embretson & Wetzel, 1987; Gorin & Embretson, 2006; Ascalon et al., 2007)

Strategy: Read paragraph 2 in order, noting what people expected each month and when the replanting happened; the best reason fits both.

Traps

  • Reads too much in: A reasonable-sounding conclusion that goes further than the text allows.
  • Twists what the text says: Uses the text's topic and ideas but changes what it says: who did it, how much, when, or why.
  • Outside knowledge: A choice is plausible in the real world but not supported by this text.

The wrong answers, classified

How the questions are analyzed, and the research behind it

Working it out, step by step

  1. Figure out what the question asks

    This is an inference question. An inference is a smart guess based on clues. The passage doesn’t say outright why the farmers kept replanting. You must figure it out.

  2. Find the clues in paragraph 2

    Paragraph 2 goes month by month. In May, “the expected warm temperatures failed to arrive.” Still, people “remained optimistic.” They were waiting for a summer that seemed “just around the corner.”

    Then snow fell in June. That month, “Many farmers replanted crops several times.”

  3. Work out what the clues mean

    Optimistic means hopeful that things will turn out well. “Just around the corner” means coming very soon. So people expected warm weather any day.

    That explains the replanting. Farmers kept planting again because they believed the cold had to end soon. Summer, they thought, was on its way.

  4. Check each choice

    • A fits. They believed the cold could not last all summer.
    • B The passage shows crops dying in the cold, not farmers trusting them to survive it.
    • C The replanting was in June. And “July and August brought little improvement.”
    • D The passage never says the farmers wanted the snow for water.

  5. Choose the answer

    The farmers kept replanting because they expected the cold to end soon. So the answer is A.

Why this answer and not the closest wrong one

C is the closest trap. Like A, it says farmers expected warm weather. But C says July got better and they trusted that. The passage says “July and August brought little improvement,” and the replanting was in June. A fits the hopeful waiting the passage describes.

More questions like this

The original DOE question
Question 52 as printed on page 77 of the DOE handbook.
As printed in the DOE’s Specialized High Schools Student Handbook 2018–2019, page 77, question 52. Open page 77 of the handbook (PDF) The handbook letters this question’s choices E–H; here they are A–D (E = A, F = B, G = C, H = D).

Question 53 of 57

2018 Test A English, question 53

Uses the passage above: “The Year without a Summer”.

Question

In the winter that followed the summer of 1816, New Englanders most likely experienced

  • Anew weather events that they had not encountered before.
  • Btemperatures that were warmer than usual for that time of year.
  • Cshortages of fruits, vegetables, and other essential crops.
  • Ddifficulty adjusting to a different timeline for planting crops.
Show the answer

Correct answer: C

The answer is (C)

The question asks for the outcome that is best implied by the situation the New Englanders faced in 1816.

Option C is the correct answer because, with many crops “stunted or destroyed” (paragraph 2) in the summer of 1816, one would expect food shortages the following winter.

Option A is incorrect because cold weather was familiar to the population in New England, just not for such an extended period of time.

Option B is incorrect because there is no evidence in the passage that people experienced warmer temperatures.

Option D is incorrect because, although some farmers did replant their crops, there is no evidence in the passage that they struggled to adjust to a different timeline for farming.

Question analysis

Students must predict what New Englanders most likely faced in the winter after the cold summer of 1816, an inference question on an informational passage about a historic cold spell. The passage says little about daily life that winter, so students must reason one step beyond the text from what it reports about the summer.

NYS standards
  • 7R1 textual evidence and inferences
  • 7R3 plot elements and ideas
Grade level
Grade 7 reading and task
Compared with grade 7
At grade 7 Drawing a likely consequence from stated facts is typical grade 7 inference work. The needed step goes just beyond what the passage reports, and the text is short and clear, so the demand matches grade 7.
Estimated difficulty
Moderate: several steps, or a close reading with one strong distractor.
Evidence
Answered from one paragraph or stanza
Reading level
Passage: about grade 9, 469 words; question and choices: about grade 9, 50 words.
Corrected from the DOE handbook
  • A spelling error in the explanation was corrected.
Students, last 30 days
Not enough answers yet to show (it takes 10).
Why it is hard, traps and wrong answers (shows the answer)

Why it is hard

This inference goes one step past the text, from destroyed crops to a hungry winter, and the passage never makes that step for the reader. Meanwhile the one sentence about the winter, early and unusually severe, tempts students toward an answer about unheard-of weather. Students who ask what the summer's losses would mean for daily life months later find the key; those who look only for the word “winter” do not.

  1. Reading between the lines moderate Working it out

    The passage says nothing about food that winter; students must reason from “The few crops that managed to survive were killed by frost in mid-September” to empty stores months later. (Graesser, Singer & Trabasso, 1994; Kintsch, 1998)

  2. Something you must already know minor Working it out

    The inference needs the everyday fact that a farm family's winter food comes from the autumn harvest, which the passage leaves unsaid. (Anderson & Krathwohl, 2001)

Strategy: List the consequences of the cold summer that paragraph 2 reports, then ask which would still affect people months later, in winter.

Traps

The wrong answers, classified

What was corrected from the DOE handbook, and why

  • Explanation: The handbook’s “some famers did replant their crops” now reads “some farmers”.

How the questions are analyzed, and the research behind it

Working it out, step by step

  1. Figure out what the question asks

    This is an inference question. The passage never says what life was like that winter. You must reason from what it does say.

  2. Find what happened to the crops

    Paragraph 2 tells the story. Crops were “stunted or destroyed by sleet, hail, and icy winds.” Then: “The few crops that managed to survive were killed by frost in mid-September.” Finally, “Winter came early in New England and was unusually severe.”

  3. Work out the result

    Stunted means stopped from growing to full size. In 1816, families ate food they grew in summer and saved for winter. But almost all the crops died. So there was very little food to save. That means the winter would bring shortages: not enough food to go around.

  4. Check each choice

    • A New Englanders knew cold winters well. This one was harsher, not a new kind of weather.
    • B The passage says the winter was severe, so it was not warmer.
    • C fits. With the crops gone, food would run short.
    • D Nobody plants crops in winter. The passage says nothing about a new planting schedule.

  5. Choose the answer

    With the crops destroyed, people likely ran short of food that winter. So the answer is C.

Why this answer and not the closest wrong one

A is the closest trap, because the winter was “unusually severe.” But severe means harsh, not new. Cold winters were normal in New England. C follows from the clearest facts in paragraph 2: the crops died, so there would be little food.

More questions like this

The original DOE question
Question 53 as printed on page 77 of the DOE handbook.
As printed in the DOE’s Specialized High Schools Student Handbook 2018–2019, page 77, question 53. Open page 77 of the handbook (PDF) This is the DOE’s version, before the corrections listed in the analysis.

Question 54 of 57

2018 Test A English, question 54

Uses the passage above: “The Year without a Summer”.

Question

How does paragraph 3 contribute to the passage?

  • AIt presents the most probable cause of the 1816 weather.
  • BIt shows how nineteenth-century people explained the 1816 weather.
  • CIt presents a theory about the 1816 weather that some skeptics doubted.
  • DIt includes eyewitness reports to describe the source of the 1816 weather.
Show the answer

Correct answer: B

The answer is (B)

The question asks for the purpose and importance of paragraph 3 to the passage. Paragraph 3 describes how nineteenth-century religious and other leaders tried to account for the cooler weather in 1816. Some leaders thought it was “the end of the world,” “sunspot activity,” or the proliferation of a new invention. How this information contributed to the passage is stated in Option B.

Option A is incorrect because the causes described in paragraph 3 were not the most probable cause, as “the first plausible explanation”—Bessel’s—is described later in the passage.

Option C is incorrect because more than one theory is presented in paragraph 3.

Option D is incorrect because the ideas described are not included in paragraph 3.

Question analysis

This text structure question asks what paragraph 3 of “The Year without a Summer” contributes to the passage. Students must place the paragraph within the passage's account of the cold summer, which means knowing what the paragraphs before and after it do.

NYS standards
  • 7R5 structure and genre features
Grade level
Grade 7 reading and task
Compared with grade 7
At grade 7 Explaining a paragraph's role is standard grade 7 structure work. The paragraph is short, but nearby paragraphs also discuss causes of the cold, so students must keep them apart; overall the demand is typical.
Estimated difficulty
Straightforward: two steps or one careful reading.
Evidence
Answered from several paragraphs or stanzas
Reading level
Passage: about grade 9, 469 words; question and choices: about grade 7, 46 words.
Students, last 30 days
Not enough answers yet to show (it takes 10).
Why it is hard, traps and wrong answers (shows the answer)

Why it is hard

Paragraph 3 is short and clear on its own, but the paragraphs around it also deal with causes, and the wrong choices are built from those neighbors: the plausible explanation and eyewitnesses from paragraph 4, the skeptics from paragraph 5. A student who summarizes paragraph 3 before reading the choices, as three guesses made at the time, has little trouble; one who checks choices against a general memory of the passage can be caught.

  1. Much to keep track of moderate Working it out

    Paragraphs 3, 4 and 5 all deal with explanations, the guesses of 1816, Bessel's dust theory, the skeptics, and each wrong choice borrows from one of them. (Sweller, 1988; Carpenter, Just & Shell, 1990)

  2. How, not what minor Working it out

    The stem asks what paragraph 3 contributes, so students must name its role, a record of how people at the time accounted for the cold, not just list its theories. (Anderson & Krathwohl, 2001)

  3. A very close wrong answer minor Choosing the answer

    A and B both say paragraph 3 explains the 1816 weather; they differ in one phrase, since A calls it “the most probable cause,” a label the passage gives only to Bessel's dust theory in paragraph 4. (Embretson & Wetzel, 1987; Gorin & Embretson, 2006; Ascalon et al., 2007)

Strategy: Summarize paragraph 3 in a few words, do the same for the paragraphs around it, and pick the choice that matches paragraph 3's own job.

Traps

The wrong answers, classified

How the questions are analyzed, and the research behind it

Working it out, step by step

  1. Figure out what the question asks

    This is a structure question. It asks what job paragraph 3 does in the passage. Sum it up first, then compare it with the paragraphs around it.

  2. Read paragraph 3

    Paragraph 3 lists three guesses from 1816. Some religious leaders said “the end of the world was drawing near.” Others blamed “unusual sunspot activity.” Some people blamed the new lightning rod.

  3. Work out its job

    All three ideas come from people living at the time, in the nineteenth century (the 1800s). None of them turned out to be right. So the paragraph shows how people back then tried to explain the cold.

    The real cause comes next. Paragraph 4 calls Bessel’s idea “the first plausible explanation.” Plausible means believable.

  4. Check each choice

    • A The most probable cause, Bessel’s dust, is in paragraph 4, not 3.
    • B fits. It shows how people of the 1800s explained the weather.
    • C Paragraph 3 gives several guesses, not one theory. The skeptics (doubters) come in paragraph 5.
    • D The eyewitness reports, about Mount Tambora, are in paragraph 4.

  5. Choose the answer

    Paragraph 3 shows how people at the time explained the strange weather. So the answer is B.

Why this answer and not the closest wrong one

A is the closest trap. A and B both say paragraph 3 explains the weather. But A calls it “the most probable cause.” The passage saves that label for Bessel’s idea in paragraph 4, “the first plausible explanation.” Paragraph 3’s guesses were wrong, so B fits.

More questions like this

The original DOE question
Question 54 as printed on page 77 of the DOE handbook.
As printed in the DOE’s Specialized High Schools Student Handbook 2018–2019, page 77, question 54. Open page 77 of the handbook (PDF) The handbook letters this question’s choices E–H; here they are A–D (E = A, F = B, G = C, H = D).

Question 55 of 57

2018 Test A English, question 55

Uses the passage above: “The Year without a Summer”.

Question

The author includes the details in paragraph 4 about the eruption of Mount Tambora in order to

  • Asuggest that the aftermath of the eruption still affects the environment today.
  • Bhighlight the severe impact that the eruption had on the atmosphere.
  • Cprovide a description of what happens during a volcanic eruption.
  • Demphasize how differently people perceive natural events in various parts of the world.
Show the answer

Correct answer: B

The answer is (B)

The question asks why the details about the eruption of Mount Tambora are included in the passage. The details in paragraph 4 about the eruption highlight the severity of the eruption and how it clouded the atmosphere and eventually encircled the world, making Option B the correct answer.

Option A is incorrect because the passage does not support the idea that the effects are still present today.

Option C is incorrect because the details may include information about what happens during an eruption, but the author is specifically describing the event at Mount Tambora as the inception of weather issues all over the world.

Option D is incorrect because, while it is possible that people perceive natural events in various parts of the world differently, the specific details about the force and magnitude of the eruption do not emphasize this idea.

Question analysis

This author's purpose question asks why “The Year without a Summer” includes details about the 1815 eruption of Mount Tambora in Indonesia. Students must work out the job those details do in the passage's larger explanation, which takes more than noticing what they describe.

NYS standards
  • 7R5 structure and genre features
  • 7R3 plot elements and ideas
Grade level
Grade 7 reading and task
Compared with grade 7
At grade 7 Explaining why an author includes certain details is core grade 7 work. The paragraph is short and factual, and its purpose follows from its place in the passage, so the demand is typical for grade 7.
Estimated difficulty
Straightforward: two steps or one careful reading.
What makes it hard
Evidence
Answered from one paragraph or stanza
Reading level
Passage: about grade 9, 469 words; question and choices: about grade 10, 62 words.
Students, last 30 days
Not enough answers yet to show (it takes 10).
Why it is hard, traps and wrong answers (shows the answer)

Why it is hard

The details are vivid, a blast, 100 cubic miles of dust, two days of darkness, and a student can easily answer what they show rather than why they are there. Their job is to make Bessel's dust theory believable by showing how much material reached the atmosphere and how far it spread. The passage's own ending, with the dust settling and spring of 1817 back to normal, rules out any lasting effect.

  1. How, not what moderate Working it out

    The stem asks why the author includes the eruption details, so students must tie the force, the 100 cubic miles of dust and the darkened sky to the cold summer they explain. (Anderson & Krathwohl, 2001)

Strategy: Reread paragraph 4 and ask how the eruption details connect to the cold summer the passage is explaining; the purpose must serve that connection.

Traps

  • Wrong purpose or structure: Names a purpose, structure or effect that the part does not serve, or describes what a part says when the question asks what it does.
  • Wrong part of the text: A choice is true of another paragraph, stanza or speaker than the one asked about.

The wrong answers, classified

How the questions are analyzed, and the research behind it

Working it out, step by step

  1. Figure out what the question asks

    This asks about the author’s purpose: why the author put certain details in. Don’t just say what the details are. Ask what job they do.

  2. Find the details in paragraph 4

    Mount Tambora “had erupted with such force that it had sent an estimated 100 cubic miles of fine dust into the atmosphere.” Witnesses said “the sky remained dark for two days.” The dust “encircled the world for several years to come.”

  3. Work out their job

    The atmosphere is the layer of air around Earth. These details show how huge the eruption was. A hundred cubic miles of dust is enough to block sunlight around the whole world.

    That makes Bessel’s idea easy to believe. Dust from far away really could steal a summer in New England.

  4. Check each choice

    • A The dust settled, and “the spring of 1817 was back to normal.” So the effects did not last until today.
    • B fits. The details show how hard the eruption hit the atmosphere.
    • C They describe one eruption to explain the cold. They don’t teach how all eruptions work.
    • D The details are about the eruption’s force, not how people see events.

  5. Choose the answer

    The details show the eruption’s severe impact on the atmosphere. So the answer is B.

Why this answer and not the closest wrong one

C is the closest trap. The details do describe an eruption. But C tells what the details are, not why they are there. The author is not teaching how volcanoes work. The details show how much dust reached the sky, which explains the cold summer. That is B.

More questions like this

The original DOE question
Question 55 as printed on page 77 of the DOE handbook.
As printed in the DOE’s Specialized High Schools Student Handbook 2018–2019, page 77, question 55. Open page 77 of the handbook (PDF)

Question 56 of 57

2018 Test A English, question 56

Uses the passage above: “The Year without a Summer”.

Question

Which of the following is implied by the phrase “the global nature of weather” (paragraph 5)?

  • AUnderstanding weather events around the world is important for making weather predictions.
  • BExtreme weather conditions in some parts of the world can have a lasting impact on a geographical area.
  • CNatural disasters tend to occur in different parts of the world at the same time.
  • DConditions in one part of the world can affect weather in another part of the world.
Show the answer

Correct answer: D

The answer is (D)

The question asks for the implied meaning behind the phrase “the global nature of weather” (paragraph 5). This phrase refers to how conditions in one part of the world can affect weather in another part of the world.

Option D is correct because it clarifies “global” by explaining the relationship between weather and conditions all over the world. Option A is incorrect because the phrase in paragraph 5 is about the effects of weather conditions around the world, not about making weather predictions.

Option B is incorrect because it discusses the lasting impact on specific geographical areas, while the phrase “the global nature of weather” refers to events that affect the entire world.

Option C is incorrect because, while weather events (the unusually cold summer in New England in 1816) can be related to natural disasters (a volcano eruption), there is no support in the passage for the idea that natural disasters tend to occur at the same time.

Question analysis

This question about word meaning in context asks what the phrase “the global nature of weather” implies in the final paragraph of “The Year without a Summer.” Students have to work out its meaning from the events the passage has described, not from a general sense of the word “global.”

NYS standards
  • 7R4 word meaning and choice
  • 7L4a context clues
Grade level
Grade 7 reading and task
Compared with grade 7
At grade 7 Determining a phrase's meaning from context is standard grade 7 work. The phrase draws on the passage's main explanation, which is clearly laid out, so the demand is typical for grade 7.
Estimated difficulty
Straightforward: two steps or one careful reading.
Evidence
Answered from several paragraphs or stanzas
Reading level
Passage: about grade 9, 469 words; question and choices: about grade 9, 76 words.
Students, last 30 days
Not enough answers yet to show (it takes 10).
Why it is hard, traps and wrong answers (shows the answer)

Why it is hard

“Global” alone suggests anything worldwide, and the wrong choices offer several worldwide-sounding ideas: forecasting, lasting local damage, simultaneous disasters. The phrase means something narrower, that what happens in one place can change the weather far away, as Tambora did to New England. Students who read the phrase in its sentence, where it is what Bessel's explanation demonstrates, find the key; those who define the word in isolation do not.

  1. Reading between the lines moderate Working it out

    The phrase must be read through the example the passage just gave: an Indonesian volcano filled the stratosphere with dust and New England lost its summer. (Graesser, Singer & Trabasso, 1994; Kintsch, 1998)

  2. Evidence in several places minor Working it out

    The meaning depends on facts from paragraph 4, Tambora's location and its dust circling the world, and from paragraph 2, snow in New England, not on paragraph 5 alone. (Kirsch & Mosenthal, 1990; Gorin & Embretson, 2006)

  3. A very close wrong answer minor Choosing the answer

    B and D are worded almost alike, conditions in some part of the world affecting somewhere; they differ in what is affected, since B makes it a lasting impact on one area rather than weather elsewhere. (Embretson & Wetzel, 1987; Gorin & Embretson, 2006; Ascalon et al., 2007)

Strategy: Reread the sentence with the phrase and the paragraph before it, ask what Bessel's explanation demonstrated, and choose the paraphrase that fits that example.

Traps

The wrong answers, classified

How the questions are analyzed, and the research behind it

Working it out, step by step

  1. Figure out what the question asks

    This asks what a phrase implies, or hints at. Read the phrase in its sentence, not by itself.

  2. Read the phrase in its sentence

    Paragraph 5 says researchers “believe Bessel’s explanation to be generally correct, demonstrating the global nature of weather.”

    So Bessel’s explanation is the example. Recall it. In 1815, a volcano in Indonesia erupted. Its dust spread around the world. In 1816, New England had snow in June.

  3. Work out what it means

    Global means having to do with the whole world. Indonesia is in Asia, very far from New England. Yet the eruption there changed the weather in America. So the phrase means that something in one part of the world can change the weather in a faraway part.

  4. Check each choice

    • A The passage never talks about predicting weather.
    • B It keeps the effects in one area. The point here is that effects travel far.
    • C The two eruptions in the passage were 176 years apart. Nothing says disasters strike at the same time.
    • D fits. Conditions in Indonesia changed the weather in New England.

  5. Choose the answer

    The phrase means events in one place can change the weather far away. So the answer is D.

Why this answer and not the closest wrong one

B is the closest trap, because it also says extreme conditions have effects. But B keeps those effects in one area. The passage’s example crosses the world: dust from Indonesia chilled New England. D names that link between faraway places.

More questions like this

The original DOE question
Question 56 as printed on page 78 of the DOE handbook.
As printed in the DOE’s Specialized High Schools Student Handbook 2018–2019, page 78, question 56. Open page 78 of the handbook (PDF) The handbook letters this question’s choices E–H; here they are A–D (E = A, F = B, G = C, H = D).

Question 57 of 57

2018 Test A English, question 57

Uses the passage above: “The Year without a Summer”.

Question

The cold summer of 1816 was most likely caused by

  • Aunusual sunspot activity.
  • Bthe excessive use of lightning rods.
  • Cdamage to the ozone layer.
  • Dan increase of dust in the atmosphere.
Show the answer

Correct answer: D

The answer is (D)

The question asks for the likely cause of the cold summer of 1816, based on the reason given in the passage. Researchers today believe that Bessel’s theory that “dust particles screened portions of Earth from the warming rays of the sun” is the most logical and probable (paragraph 5). His ideas are summarized in paragraph 4, and Option D restates his theory, making Option D the correct answer.

Option A is incorrect because this was a possibility considered by some leaders, but there is no evidence in the passage that this theory was supported by thorough scientific research.

Option B is incorrect because this theory was thought to be a possible cause by some people, but Bessel’s theory is the most probable.

Option C explains damage that was caused by the Mount Pinatubo eruption in 1991 (paragraph 1), but that damage is not the cause of the cold summer of 1816.

Question analysis

Students must identify the most likely cause of the cold summer of 1816 according to “The Year without a Summer.” The passage reports several explanations from different people and times, so students must notice which one the author and today's researchers treat as correct.

NYS standards
  • 7R1 textual evidence and inferences
Grade level
Grade 6 reading and task
Compared with grade 7
Below grade 7 This asks for a cause the passage names and endorses, a quick locate task below typical grade 7 demand. The only care needed is to separate the accepted explanation from theories the passage sets aside.
Estimated difficulty
Routine: one familiar step, little to misread.
Evidence
Answered from several paragraphs or stanzas
Reading level
Passage: about grade 9, 469 words; question and choices: about grade 5, 30 words.
Students, last 30 days
Not enough answers yet to show (it takes 10).
Why it is hard, traps and wrong answers (shows the answer)

Why it is hard

The passage settles this question in plain terms, calling Bessel's idea the first plausible explanation and saying present-day researchers accept it. The wrong choices are causes the passage mentions without endorsing, two of them in its exact words, so a student matching phrases rather than following the argument can be misled. The 1991 ozone damage is the trap for anyone who blends the two eruptions.

  1. Much to keep track of minor Working it out

    The passage mentions four proposed causes, the end of the world, sunspots, lightning rods and Bessel's dust, plus the ozone damage of 1991, and only the dust is endorsed by today's researchers. (Sweller, 1988; Carpenter, Just & Shell, 1990)

  2. The right answer is reworded minor Choosing the answer

    Two wrong choices copy the passage exactly, “unusual sunspot activity” and “damage to the ozone layer,” while the key recasts Bessel's “thick clouds of dust” as “an increase of dust.” (Freedle & Kostin, 1993; Kirsch & Mosenthal, 1990)

Strategy: Find where the passage calls an explanation “plausible” and where present-day researchers weigh in, then match the explanation they accept to a choice.

Traps

The wrong answers, classified

How the questions are analyzed, and the research behind it

Working it out, step by step

  1. Figure out what the question asks

    This is a key-detail question. It asks what most likely caused the cold summer. Careful: the passage mentions several causes, but it backs only one.

  2. Find the cause the passage backs

    Paragraph 4 gives “the first plausible explanation.” Bessel saw “thick clouds of dust in the upper atmosphere.” He thought “these dust particles screened portions of Earth from the warming rays of the sun.”

    Paragraph 5 adds that “most present-day researchers believe Bessel’s explanation to be generally correct.”

  3. Put it in your own words

    Plausible means believable. Screened means blocked, like a window shade. Portions means parts. So the dust blocked some sunlight, and parts of Earth got colder. The dust came from the Mount Tambora eruption. Scientists today agree with this idea.

  4. Check each choice

    • A Sunspots were a guess from 1816. The passage never calls it likely.
    • B Lightning rods were another 1816 guess. The passage doesn’t back it either.
    • C Ozone damage was blamed on Mount Pinatubo in 1991. It had nothing to do with 1816.
    • D fits. More dust in the atmosphere blocked the sun.

  5. Choose the answer

    Dust from the volcano is the cause today’s scientists accept. So the answer is D.

Why this answer and not the closest wrong one

A is a trap because its words, “unusual sunspot activity,” come straight from paragraph 3. But the passage only reports that guess. It never says the guess was right. C mixes up the two volcanoes. D is the one cause the passage calls “plausible” and says scientists accept.

More questions like this

The original DOE question
Question 57 as printed on page 78 of the DOE handbook.
As printed in the DOE’s Specialized High Schools Student Handbook 2018–2019, page 78, question 57. Open page 78 of the handbook (PDF)