HOW TO SCORE WELL ON THE MULTIPLE CHOICE TEST

1. HOW TO SCORE WELL ON THE MULTIPLE CHOICE TEST

2. STEP 1 - • TAKE A DEEP BREATH AND RELAX! YOU ARE BETTER PREPARED THAN YOU THINK YOU ARE! • REMEMBER THIS TEST IS ONLY 45% OF THE TOTAL GRADE AND THAT THE AVERAGE SCORE IS 60%. DOING WELL CAN GIVE YOU BREATHING ROOM ON THE ESSAYS BUT YOU CAN STILL PASS EVEN IF YOUR MULTIPLE CHOICE SECTION IS WEAK!

3. Keep Moving! • WITH 50-55 QUESTIONS AND 4-5 PASSAGES TO READ (AVERAGE PASSAGE IS 700 WORDS) YOU HAVE TO KEEP WORKING! • GO THROUGH AND ANSWER AS MANY EASY QUESTIONS AS YOU CAN. SKIP ANY ROMAN NUMERAL QUESTIONS AND ANY ALL EXCEPT QUESTIONS ON THE FIRST GO THROUGH – THEY TAKE A LOT OF TIME. THEN IF TIME PERMITS – GO BACK AND ANSWER THOSE QUESTIONS (OR AT LEAST BUBBLE IN A GUESS)

4. QUESTIONS OR PASSAGE FIRST? • SOME INDIVIDUALS DO BEST SKIMMING THE QUESTIONS FIRST, OTHERS DO BETTER READING THE PASSAGE FIRST – TRY BOTH METHODS TO SEE WHAT WORKS BEST FOR YOU

5. AS YOU READ TRY TO QUICKLY MARK THINGS LIKE AUTHOR’S TONE OR PURPOSE AND ANY OBVIOUS RHETORICAL STRATEGIES – BUT DON’T LINGER!

6. KNOW WHAT THE QUESTION ASKS – READ THE QUESTION CAREFULLY – WATCH FOR KEY WORDS LIKE EXCEPT, BEST, Predominately

7. PREDICT AN ANSWER – TRY TO FORMULATE AN ANSWER IN YOUR MIND BEFORE YOU LOOK AT THE ANSWER CHOICES

8. READ EVERY ANSWER CHOICE EVEN IF ONE JUMPS OUT AT YOU RIGHT AWAY. REMEMBER MANY CHOICES MAY SEEM CORRECT BUT YOU HAVE TO PICK THE BEST CHOICE.

9. TYPES OF QUESTIONS

10. VOCABULARY IN CONTEXT • 1. IF YOU ARE SENT TO A LINE – REREAD THE WHOLE SENTENCE OR IF IT’S VERY LONG THE GRAMMATICAL UNIT CONTAINING THE WORD IN QUESTION. • RESTATE THE SENTENCE OR CLAUSE SUBSTITUTING A WORD OF YOUR OWN FOR THE WORD IN QUESTION. • 3. MATCH YOU SUBSTITUTION TO THE ANSWER CHOICES

11. VOCABULARY IN CONTEXT • VOCABULARY IN CONTEXT QUESTIONS ARE EASY TO SPOT • WHAT IS THE MEANING OF _________ IN LINE ________? • IN THE CONTEXT OF LINE ________, WHAT IS THE BEST DEFINITION OF _________? • IN THE LINE ______, _________ MAY BE DEFINED AS…

12. VOCABULARY IN CONTEXT • WARNING: BE CAREFUL – GENERALLY ONE OR TWO OF THE WRONG ANSWERS ARE REAL DEFINITIONS OF THE WORD – IT IS IMPORTANT TO LOOK AT THE CONTEXT!!

13. PRACTICE • 17TH. It struck me very deep this afternoon going with a hackney coach from Lord Treasurer’s down Holborne. The coachman I found to drive easily and easily, at last stood still, and come down hardly able to stand, and told me that he was suddenly struck very sick, and almost blind, he could not see; so I light and went into another coach, with a sad heart for the poor man and for myself also, lest he should have been struck with the plague.

14. In the context of line 4, the best definition of “light” is • A. featherweight • B. illuminated • C. got down • D. arrived • E. paid

15. THE LANGUAGE OF RHETORIC • THE REPETITIVE SYNTAX OF LINES . ..SERVES TO . .. • THE STYLE OF THE PASSAGE CAN BEST • THE AUTHOR EMPLOYS _________ SENTENCE STRUCTURE TO ESTABLISH • THE TONE OF THE PASSAGE CHANGES WHEN • WATCH OUT FOR ALL EXCEPT

16. PRACTICE • I told him that it was certainly wrong to deceive the old man, and that it was his duty to tell him of the impositions practiced by his young master. I assured him that the old man would not be slow to comprehend the whole, and that there the matter would end. William thought it might with the old man, but not with him. He said he did not mind the smart of the whip, but he did not like the idea of being whipped.

17. Which of the following is the dominant rhetorical device in lines 1-5? • A. analogy • B. personification • C. hyperbole • D. parallelism • E. understatement

18. ANTECEDENT • THE ANTECEDENT OF A PRONOUN IS THE WORD THE PRONOUN REPLACES. • IE. JOHN’S HOUSE. HIS HOUSE . . . • THE ANTECEDENT OF HIS IS JOHN • THE WORD ____________ IS THE ANTECEDENT FOR

19. Practice • It is easy to see that feudalism was, at its center , defined by the localization of political, military, and economic power in the hands of lords and their vassals, who exercised that power from their castle headquarters, each of which held complete sway over the district in which it was situated. The resulting hierarchy resembled a pyramid, with the lowest vassals at the base and the king, of course, at the summit. This was not the case in every nation; however; in Germany, for instance, the summit of the pyramid did not reach the king, being occupied instead by the great princes.

20. The antecedent of “This” (line 5) is • A. pyramid • B. hierarchy • C. feudalism • D. king • E. princes • What wasn’t the case in every nation? The fact that the power structure resembled a pyramid

21. THE MAIN IDEA/THEME /ATTITUDE • THE AUTHOR WOULD MOST LIKELY AGREE WITH WHICH OF THE FOLLOWING? • THE AUTHOR’S/WRITER’S ATTITUDE CAN BEST BE DESCRIBED AS • THE WRITER HAS PRESENTED ALL OF THE FOLLOWING IDEAS EXCEPT • WE CAN INFER THAT THE AUTHOR

22. MEANING AND PURPOSE • THE PURPOSE OF LINES ______ CAN BEST BE INTERPRETED AS • THE WRITER CLARIFIES __________ BY • THE PURPOSE OF THE SENTENCE/PARAGRAPH/PASSAGE CAN BEST BE SUMMARIZED • THE WRITER EMPHASIZES ________ IN ORDER TO

23. Practice • The results of feudalism were mixed, to say the least. On the negative side, it meant that the state had a relationship with the heads of groups rather than directly with individuals further down the social scale. Under a weak king , these men claimed sovereignty for themselves, and fought among themselves rather than allowing the state to judge their claims. This resulted in the private wars that scarred the medieval landscape. The overlords claimed numerous rights for themselves, including that of issuing private coinage and the power to raise taxes.

24. The author’s attitude towards feudalism may best be described as • A. Critical • B. Admiring • C. Detached • D. Reflective • E. Philosophical

25. Style Questions • 1. Examine the lines they’re asking about • 2. Consider the element of style they’ve mentioned – or look at the answer choices to see which elements are in the running • 3. Read the answer choices – does anything strike you immediately? If not check the most likely answers • 4. If you’re stuck, imagine a change in those lines – that might tell the purpose of the lines • 5. Match your answer to one of the choices

26. Practice • After dinner, and doing some business in the office, I to White Hall, where the Court is full of the Duke and his courtiers returned from the sea. All fat and lusty, and ruddy by being in the sun. I kissed his hands, and we waited all the afternoon. By and by saw Mr. Coventry, which rejoiced my very heart. Anon he and I, from all the rest of the company, walked into the Matted Gallery; where after many expressions of love, we fell to talk of business. Among other things, how my Lord Sandwich, both in his councils and personal service, hath done most honourably and serviceably.

27. The diction in paragraph one serves to • A. present a favorable view of the aristocracy • B. criticize the aristocracy • C. reveal the narrator’s lack of confidence • D. emphasize the duties of the aristocracy • E. show the narrator’s sense of detachment

28. The results of feudalism were mixed, to say the least. On the negative side, it meant that the state had a relationship with the heads of groups rather than directly with individuals further down the social scale. Under a weak king , these men claimed sovereignty for themselves, and fought among themselves rather than allowing the state to judge their claims. This resulted in the private wars that scarred the medieval landscape. The overlords claimed numerous rights for themselves, including that of issuing private coinage and the power to raise taxes.

29. For Inference Questions • 1. Restate the question in your own words • 2. Go back to the line numbers they specify or check your annotation for the topic they are asking about • 3. Think about the information they give you and stretch it to the next logical level • 4. Match your conclusion to the answer choices

30. According to the passage what is the advantage of a powerful king? • A. He has a direct relationship with the members of the lower social classes • B. He helps keep the peace • C. He takes sides in the wars between nobles • D. He allows private coinage • E. He sets low tax rates

31. DOCUMENTATION/CITATION • WHICH OF THE FOLLOWING IS AN ACCURATE READING OF FOOTNOTE _____________? • THE PURPOSE OF THE FOOTNOTE IS TO INFORM THE READER THAT THE QUOTATION IN LINE TAKEN AS A WHOLE THE FOOTNOTES SUGGEST ______________

32. Footnotes - Format • (Single Author): • Peter J. May, Recovering from Catastrophes (Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1985) p. 97. • (Periodicals • Robert Agranoff and Valerie A. Lindsey, “Intergovernmental Management: Perspectives from Human Service Problem Solving at the Local Level,” Public Administration Review, Vol. 43, No. 3 (May/June 1983): 227. • Magazines • Tim Darnell, “A State of Emergency,” American City and County, Vol. 104, No. 12 (December, 1989): 25.

33. 28. Paul A. Volcker Jr. Interview, 2003 • 29. Paul Volcker and ToyooGyohten, Changing Fortunes (New York: Times Books, 1992), p.164 • 30. Paul A. Volcker Jr., Interview, 2003

34. Which of the following statements is true, according to the citations for this passage? • Much of the information comes from an interview conducted by Paul A. Volcker Jr. • Paul Volcker and ToyooGyohten wrote an article entitled Changing Fortunes • Volcker and Gyohten’s article was published in the New York Times • The article that Volcker and Gyohten wrote is on page 164 of a book entitled Changing Fortunes • The author relied on primary source material

35. STRUCTURE AND ORGANIZATION • THE SHIFT FROM “” TO “” IS SEEN BY THE AUTHOR’S USE OF • IN PRESENTING THE AUTHOR’S POINT, THE PASSAGE UTILIZES ALL OF THE FOLLOWING EXCEPT • THE STRUCTURE OF THIS PASSAGE IS PRIMARILY ONE OF • IN PRESENTING THE AUTHOR’S POINT THE PASSAGE UTILIZES ALL OF THE FOLLOWING EXCEPT

36. REMEMBER – THERE IS NO PENALTY FOR GUESSING – SO • DO THE EASIEST QUESTIONS FIRST – THE ONES YOU ARE PRETTY CONFIDENT ABOUT YOUR ANSWER ON • NEXT MAKE EDUCATED GUESSES - DO THE QUESTIONS WHERE YOU CAN AT LEAST NARROW YOUR POSSIBLE CHOICES • LAST – AS YOU RUN OUT OF TIME – RANDOM GUESS!!!

37. The Purpose of footnote 4 is to inform the reader that the quotation in line 49 • A. has been attributed to three different designers • B. was first cited in 1918 • C. was the inspiration for an exhibit at The Brooklyn Museum • D. is in an article in The Machine Age of America 1918-1941 written by Harry N. Abrams, Inc. • E. appears in a book written by Wilson, Pilgrim, and Tashjian and published in 1986

38. Taken as a whole the footnotes suggest • A. the author of the passage wants the text to present highly technical material • B. The author of the passage relies heavily on Kasson’s book • C. very little was written about the topic of machinery and ornamentation prior to 1976 • D. engineering magazines are an essential source for technical writers • E. except in rare cases it is best to use the latest published work when documenting an idea or concept

39. The purpose of footnote 48 is to inform the reader that the information in lines 45-47 • A. is about the US Department of Commerce • B. was first published in 2000 • C. appears in Current Population Report, P23-207 • D. was written by the US Census Bureau