Deck 9: Reading and Writing Essays

Question 1

Directions: Apply the knowledge you have gained from Chapter 9 to select the best answer to the questions about the following reading passage.
​
Class Societies
¹A social class is a segment of a population whose members share similar lifestyles and levels of wealth, power, and prestige. The United States is a good example of a class society. In some areas of the United States, such as coalmining towns in Appalachia, there may be only two classes: the haves and the have-nots. More often, however, social scientists have identified a number of social classes: capitalist (upper), upper middle, middle, working, working poor, and underclass.
²The capitalist class comprises approximately 1 percent of the population, consists of old wealth, corporate CEOs, and owners of lucrative businesses, whose income derives largely from returns on assets such as stocks, bonds, securities, and real estate. The ownership of the means of production by the capitalist class affords them the power over jobs for the rest of society.
³The upper middle class, comprising about 14 percent of the U.S. population, is made up of business and professional people with high incomes and considerable amounts of overall wealth. This is the class that is most shaped by education. Nearly all members of the upper middle class are college educated, and many have postgraduate degrees. These people are professionals (such as doctors and lawyers), own their own businesses, or manage the corporations owned by members of the capitalist class.
⁴The middle class, constituting approximately 30 percent of the population, is made up of hardworking people of modest income, such as small entrepreneurs, teachers, nurses, civil servants, and lower-level managers. People in this class make a modest income, enjoy relative security (threatened occasionally by rising taxes and inflation), and have the potential for upward social mobility.
⁵Comprising approximately 30 percent of the population, members of the working class hold occupations that tend to be fairly routine, closely supervised, and usually require no more than a high school education (blue-collar and some white-collar jobs). Included in this category are factory workers, sales clerks, construction workers, office workers, and appliance repairpersons. Because of their lack of higher education members of this group tend to have little social mobility. Vulnerable to downturns in the economy, working class people are subject to layoffs during recessions and justifiably feel threatened by our increasingly globalized economy, in which many jobs are going to workers abroad.
⁶The underclass occupies the lowest sector of U.S. society. Some have suggested that the underclass actually represents the people who are beneath the class structure, a type of caste-like group that has little or no chance of ever making it to the first rung of the social ladder. The underclass are unemployed (or severely underemployed), are homeless, and often suffer from substance abuse and in some cases mental illness. They are almost always confined to blighted urban areas plagued by violence, gangs, and drugs.
-adapted from Ferraro, Cultural Anthropology: An Applied Perspective , pp. 326-327
​ What is the topic of the reading passage?

A)the middle class in the U.S.
B)the working class in the U.S.
C)the top 1 percent of U.S. society
D)social classes in the U.S.

Answer 1

D

Question 2

Directions: Choose the best answer based on the information you read in Chapter 9. ​ The part of an essay that corresponds to the topic sentence in a paragraph is called ____________.

A)the thesis statement
B)the organization
C)the middle part
D)the conclusion

Answer 2

A

Question 3

Directions: Choose the best answer based on the information you read in Chapter 9.
​ In an essay, the topic and thesis statement are usually identified in the opening part of the text.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

Directions: Apply the knowledge you have gained from Chapter 9 to answer the following questions. ​ Which group of transition words could show the relationship between paragraphs in an essay explaining a process?

A)first, next, then, finally
B)above, across, beneath, behind
C)also, in the same way, likewise, similarly
D)for example, for instance, in addition, also

Question 5

Directions: Choose the best answer based on the information you read in Chapter 9.
​ Before you begin drafting an essay, it can be useful to arrange your supporting details into a logical order using a list or outline.

Question 6

Directions: Choose the best answer based on the information you read in Chapter 9. ​ Details in the middle part of the essay support the main idea and may include

A)facts and statistics.
B)examples.
C)reasons.
D)all of the above

Question 7

Directions: Apply the knowledge you have gained from Chapter 9 to select the best answer to the questions about the following reading passage.
​
Class Societies
¹A social class is a segment of a population whose members share similar lifestyles and levels of wealth, power, and prestige. The United States is a good example of a class society. In some areas of the United States, such as coalmining towns in Appalachia, there may be only two classes: the haves and the have-nots. More often, however, social scientists have identified a number of social classes: capitalist (upper), upper middle, middle, working, working poor, and underclass.
²The capitalist class comprises approximately 1 percent of the population, consists of old wealth, corporate CEOs, and owners of lucrative businesses, whose income derives largely from returns on assets such as stocks, bonds, securities, and real estate. The ownership of the means of production by the capitalist class affords them the power over jobs for the rest of society.
³The upper middle class, comprising about 14 percent of the U.S. population, is made up of business and professional people with high incomes and considerable amounts of overall wealth. This is the class that is most shaped by education. Nearly all members of the upper middle class are college educated, and many have postgraduate degrees. These people are professionals (such as doctors and lawyers), own their own businesses, or manage the corporations owned by members of the capitalist class.
⁴The middle class, constituting approximately 30 percent of the population, is made up of hardworking people of modest income, such as small entrepreneurs, teachers, nurses, civil servants, and lower-level managers. People in this class make a modest income, enjoy relative security (threatened occasionally by rising taxes and inflation), and have the potential for upward social mobility.
⁵Comprising approximately 30 percent of the population, members of the working class hold occupations that tend to be fairly routine, closely supervised, and usually require no more than a high school education (blue-collar and some white-collar jobs). Included in this category are factory workers, sales clerks, construction workers, office workers, and appliance repairpersons. Because of their lack of higher education members of this group tend to have little social mobility. Vulnerable to downturns in the economy, working class people are subject to layoffs during recessions and justifiably feel threatened by our increasingly globalized economy, in which many jobs are going to workers abroad.
⁶The underclass occupies the lowest sector of U.S. society. Some have suggested that the underclass actually represents the people who are beneath the class structure, a type of caste-like group that has little or no chance of ever making it to the first rung of the social ladder. The underclass are unemployed (or severely underemployed), are homeless, and often suffer from substance abuse and in some cases mental illness. They are almost always confined to blighted urban areas plagued by violence, gangs, and drugs.
-adapted from Ferraro, Cultural Anthropology: An Applied Perspective , pp. 326-327
​ What sentence in the opening paragraph is the thesis statement?

A)The United States is a good example of a class society.
B)A social class is a segment of a population whose members share similar lifestyles and levels of wealth, power, and prestige.
C)[S]ocial scientists have identified a number of social classes: capitalist (upper), upper middle, middle, working, working poor, and underclass.
D)In some areas of the United States…there may be only two classes: the haves and the have-nots.

Question 8

Directions: Apply the knowledge you have gained from Chapter 9 to select the best answer to the questions about the following reading passage.
​
Class Societies
¹A social class is a segment of a population whose members share similar lifestyles and levels of wealth, power, and prestige. The United States is a good example of a class society. In some areas of the United States, such as coalmining towns in Appalachia, there may be only two classes: the haves and the have-nots. More often, however, social scientists have identified a number of social classes: capitalist (upper), upper middle, middle, working, working poor, and underclass.
²The capitalist class comprises approximately 1 percent of the population, consists of old wealth, corporate CEOs, and owners of lucrative businesses, whose income derives largely from returns on assets such as stocks, bonds, securities, and real estate. The ownership of the means of production by the capitalist class affords them the power over jobs for the rest of society.
³The upper middle class, comprising about 14 percent of the U.S. population, is made up of business and professional people with high incomes and considerable amounts of overall wealth. This is the class that is most shaped by education. Nearly all members of the upper middle class are college educated, and many have postgraduate degrees. These people are professionals (such as doctors and lawyers), own their own businesses, or manage the corporations owned by members of the capitalist class.
⁴The middle class, constituting approximately 30 percent of the population, is made up of hardworking people of modest income, such as small entrepreneurs, teachers, nurses, civil servants, and lower-level managers. People in this class make a modest income, enjoy relative security (threatened occasionally by rising taxes and inflation), and have the potential for upward social mobility.
⁵Comprising approximately 30 percent of the population, members of the working class hold occupations that tend to be fairly routine, closely supervised, and usually require no more than a high school education (blue-collar and some white-collar jobs). Included in this category are factory workers, sales clerks, construction workers, office workers, and appliance repairpersons. Because of their lack of higher education members of this group tend to have little social mobility. Vulnerable to downturns in the economy, working class people are subject to layoffs during recessions and justifiably feel threatened by our increasingly globalized economy, in which many jobs are going to workers abroad.
⁶The underclass occupies the lowest sector of U.S. society. Some have suggested that the underclass actually represents the people who are beneath the class structure, a type of caste-like group that has little or no chance of ever making it to the first rung of the social ladder. The underclass are unemployed (or severely underemployed), are homeless, and often suffer from substance abuse and in some cases mental illness. They are almost always confined to blighted urban areas plagued by violence, gangs, and drugs.
-adapted from Ferraro, Cultural Anthropology: An Applied Perspective , pp. 326-327
​ What main part of essays is missing from the reading passage?

A)opening part
B)thesis statement
C)closing part
D)supporting details

Question 9

Directions: Choose the best answer based on the information you read in Chapter 9.
​ The basic structure of essays is quite different from that of paragraphs.

Question 10

Directions: Choose the best answer based on the information you read in Chapter 9. ​ Which of the following transitions can be used to clarify an idea?

A)in other words
B)that is to say
C)put another way
D)all of the above

Question 11

Directions: Apply the knowledge you have gained from Chapter 9 to select the best answer to the questions about the following reading passage.
​
Class Societies
¹A social class is a segment of a population whose members share similar lifestyles and levels of wealth, power, and prestige. The United States is a good example of a class society. In some areas of the United States, such as coalmining towns in Appalachia, there may be only two classes: the haves and the have-nots. More often, however, social scientists have identified a number of social classes: capitalist (upper), upper middle, middle, working, working poor, and underclass.
²The capitalist class comprises approximately 1 percent of the population, consists of old wealth, corporate CEOs, and owners of lucrative businesses, whose income derives largely from returns on assets such as stocks, bonds, securities, and real estate. The ownership of the means of production by the capitalist class affords them the power over jobs for the rest of society.
³The upper middle class, comprising about 14 percent of the U.S. population, is made up of business and professional people with high incomes and considerable amounts of overall wealth. This is the class that is most shaped by education. Nearly all members of the upper middle class are college educated, and many have postgraduate degrees. These people are professionals (such as doctors and lawyers), own their own businesses, or manage the corporations owned by members of the capitalist class.
⁴The middle class, constituting approximately 30 percent of the population, is made up of hardworking people of modest income, such as small entrepreneurs, teachers, nurses, civil servants, and lower-level managers. People in this class make a modest income, enjoy relative security (threatened occasionally by rising taxes and inflation), and have the potential for upward social mobility.
⁵Comprising approximately 30 percent of the population, members of the working class hold occupations that tend to be fairly routine, closely supervised, and usually require no more than a high school education (blue-collar and some white-collar jobs). Included in this category are factory workers, sales clerks, construction workers, office workers, and appliance repairpersons. Because of their lack of higher education members of this group tend to have little social mobility. Vulnerable to downturns in the economy, working class people are subject to layoffs during recessions and justifiably feel threatened by our increasingly globalized economy, in which many jobs are going to workers abroad.
⁶The underclass occupies the lowest sector of U.S. society. Some have suggested that the underclass actually represents the people who are beneath the class structure, a type of caste-like group that has little or no chance of ever making it to the first rung of the social ladder. The underclass are unemployed (or severely underemployed), are homeless, and often suffer from substance abuse and in some cases mental illness. They are almost always confined to blighted urban areas plagued by violence, gangs, and drugs.
-adapted from Ferraro, Cultural Anthropology: An Applied Perspective , pp. 326-327
​ To what basic essay category does the reading passage belong?

A)narrative
B)expository
C)argument
D)none of the above

Question 12

Directions: Choose the best answer based on the information you read in Chapter 9.
​Some closing paragraphs include more than one closing thought.

Question 13

Directions: Choose the best answer based on the information you read in Chapter 9. ​ Which of the following is not a basic category of an essay?

A)expository
B)narrative
C)quotation
D)argument

Question 14

Directions: Choose the best answer based on the information you read in Chapter 9.
​ Revising involves making major improvements, especially in ideas, organization, and voice

Question 15

Directions: Apply the knowledge you have gained from Chapter 9 to answer the following questions. ​ Which strategy could introduce an essay on the topic of composting?

A)a bold statement about how composting could help reverse global warming
B)a story about the writer's first experience composting in a community garden
C)a surprising fact about the number of urban cities that require composting
D)any of the above

Question 16

Directions: Choose the best answer based on the information you read in Chapter 9.
​ You should never introduce a final idea in the closing paragraph of an essay.

Question 17

Directions: Apply the knowledge you have gained from Chapter 9 to select the best answer to the questions about the following reading passage. Class Societies
¹A social class is a segment of a population whose members share similar lifestyles and levels of wealth, power, and prestige. The United States is a good example of a class society. In some areas of the United States, such as coalmining towns in Appalachia, there may be only two classes: the haves and the have-nots. More often, however, social scientists have identified a number of social classes: capitalist (upper), upper middle, middle, working, working poor, and underclass.
²The capitalist class comprises approximately 1 percent of the population, consists of old wealth, corporate CEOs, and owners of lucrative businesses, whose income derives largely from returns on assets such as stocks, bonds, securities, and real estate. The ownership of the means of production by the capitalist class affords them the power over jobs for the rest of society. ³The upper middle class, comprising about 14 percent of the U.S. population, is made up of business and professional people with high incomes and considerable amounts of overall wealth. This is the class that is most shaped by education. Nearly all members of the upper middle class are college educated, and many have postgraduate degrees. These people are professionals (such as doctors and lawyers), own their own businesses, or manage the corporations owned by members of the capitalist class.
⁴The middle class, constituting approximately 30 percent of the population, is made up of hardworking people of modest income, such as small entrepreneurs, teachers, nurses, civil servants, and lower-level managers. People in this class make a modest income, enjoy relative security (threatened occasionally by rising taxes and inflation), and have the potential for upward social mobility.
⁵Comprising approximately 30 percent of the population, members of the working class hold occupations that tend to be fairly routine, closely supervised, and usually require no more than a high school education (blue-collar and some white-collar jobs). Included in this category are factory workers, sales clerks, construction workers, office workers, and appliance repairpersons. Because of their lack of higher education members of this group tend to have little social mobility. Vulnerable to downturns in the economy, working class people are subject to layoffs during recessions and justifiably feel threatened by our increasingly globalized economy, in which many jobs are going to workers abroad.
⁶The underclass occupies the lowest sector of U.S. society. Some have suggested that the underclass actually represents the people who are beneath the class structure, a type of caste-like group that has little or no chance of ever making it to the first rung of the social ladder. The underclass are unemployed (or severely underemployed), are homeless, and often suffer from substance abuse and in some cases mental illness. They are almost always confined to blighted urban areas plagued by violence, gangs, and drugs. -adapted from Ferraro, Cultural Anthropology: An Applied Perspective , pp. 326-327
Use the information in the reading passage to complete the list outline:

A)haves and have-nots
B)upper middle class
C)factory workers
D)college educated

Question 18

Directions: Choose the best answer based on the information you read in Chapter 9. Which of the following is not a strategy for the opening paragraph of an essay?

A)Provide a surprising or little known fact.
B)  Ask an important or challenging question.
C)Share a brief, interesting story.
D)Offer a final idea.

Question 19

Directions: Choose the best answer based on the information you read in Chapter 9. ​ Which of the following is not a question to ask when editing your essay?

A)Have I supported my thesis statement with a variety of information?
B)Have I used sentences of varying lengths?
C)Have I used specific nouns and verbs?
D)Have I carefully checked my spelling?