See It AP Lang

In context, the sentence in lines 9-10 (“Asking these . . . art”) can best be understood as...

• a reason for adopting a particular way of studying the Declaration

• a challenge to commonly held ideas about the role of the Declaration in American history

• a confirmation of the author’s assumption that Americans are unfamiliar with the Declaration

• a possible objection from Declaration scholars who resist textual analysis

• an unforeseen complication regarding the author’s view of the Declaration

The author’s primary purpose in the first

paragraph (lines 1-10) is to...

• explain the value of an approach

• anticipate a particular conclusion

• summarize the history of an idea

• evaluate one side of a contentious debate

• present evidence in support of an argument

The questions in the first paragraph (lines 1-10) differ from those in the final paragraph (lines 54-62) in that...

• the former encourage identification with authors and the latter critique it

• the former are meant to be satirical and the latter are meant to be serious

• the former are meant to facilitate textual analysis and the latter are meant to facilitate political analysis

• the former are meant to be answered and the latter are meant to be rhetorical

• the former pertain to the era of the American Revolution and the latter pertain to the present day

The author presents the definition in lines 31-33 (“An informal . . . of action”) primarily to...

• resolve a conflict

• present an objection

• widen a perspective

• introduce a theory

• indicate an origin

As used in line 34, “spawned” most nearly means...

• reproduced

• discovered

• corrupted

• generated

• imitated

In lines 37-39 (“As ever . . . important”), the author presents memos as...

• archaic yet irreverent

• pretentious yet meaningful

• routine yet relevant

• trivial yet time-consuming

• practical yet aesthetically pleasing

In the context of the passage as a whole, the “democratic art” of the Declaration mentioned in line 10 refers to the Declaration’s ability to do all of the following EXCEPT...

• critique an institution

• announce a change

• explain the nature of a change

• enforce a proposed change

• call a group to action

Based on the passage as a whole, it can be inferred that the author will most likely continue with a discussion that includes which of the following?

• An analysis of the Declaration that addresses the questions about texts introduced at the beginning of the passage

• A comparison of views of the Declaration as a sacred text and as a treatise

• An examination of additional definitions of the word “memorandum”

• A closer look into fundamental differences between interoffice memos and the Declaration

• An account of other types of correspondence besides memos

In sentence 19 (reproduced below), the writer wants to change the conclusion by adding a direct quotation that both reinforces the main argument of the passage and places that argument in a broader context. Which version of the underlined text best accomplishes this purpose?

• penny, saying, “We remember our piggy banks and counting out all the pennies and then taking them in and getting a dollar bill or a couple of dollars from it.”

• penny and argued that discontinuing the penny “is not going to be a huge savings for government.”

• penny but argued that the coin is a sign of government inefficiency, calling it “a good metaphor for some of the larger problems that we’ve got.”

• penny and, in an interview, said that the issue is “one of those things where I think people get attached emotionally to the way things have been.”

• penny and, when asked why the penny hasn’t been withdrawn from circulation yet, replied, “I don’t know.”

The writer wants to start the third paragraph (sentences 10-14) with a sentence that captures what the different claims and evidence in the paragraph are meant to show. Which of the following sentences should the writer add immediately before sentence 10 to achieve this goal?

• More importantly, making pennies wastes time and money.

• The composition of the copper penny was changed in 1982, but that was not the end of its troubles.

• The actual weight of the penny has varied over the years, depending on its composition, but it still carries a lot of weight in the figurative sense.

• Some would argue that we should keep the penny because it honors President Abraham Lincoln.

• Some retailers now keep a tray at the register for customers to leave or take a penny.