College Readiness Reading Flashcards

A literary passage describes a character who smiles warmly while thinking about revenge. This technique—showing a contrast between outward behavior and inner thought—is called:

Answer: Dramatic irony

Dramatic irony occurs when the reader (or narrator) knows something about a character's inner state that conflicts with what others observe.

A passage uses this sentence: 'Her voice was a thunderstorm—unpredictable, overwhelming, impossible to ignore.' Which literary device is used?

Answer: Metaphor, because it equates her voice directly to a thunderstorm

A metaphor directly equates two unlike things without using 'like' or 'as'; the dashes introduce elaboration of the comparison.

When summarizing a passage, a student should:

Answer: Restate main ideas in their own words without adding new information

A summary restates the author's main ideas in different words without inserting the reader's opinions or new material.

An author opens an essay: 'Every morning, 800,000 students in Texas ride buses that are older than their teachers.' What rhetorical strategy does this opening use?

Answer: Appeal to emotion using a vivid, concrete statistic

The specific, relatable image of students on aging buses creates an emotional reaction while using a concrete number for impact.

Which revision best improves the clarity of this sentence: 'The report that the committee submitted which was reviewed by the board that oversees policy was rejected'?

Answer: The report submitted by the committee was reviewed and rejected by the policy board

The first revision eliminates nested clauses and presents the action in a clear, direct sequence.

A student reads a persuasive essay and notices the author never mentions any counterarguments. This weakens the essay because:

Answer: Ignoring counterarguments suggests the author cannot defend their position against challenges

Addressing counterarguments strengthens credibility; omitting them suggests the author is avoiding challenges they cannot refute.

A passage about the civil rights movement uses both first-person accounts from participants and statistics on voter suppression. The author's purpose in combining these sources is most likely to:

Answer: Provide both emotional resonance and factual credibility

Combining personal accounts (emotional impact) with statistics (objective evidence) strengthens an argument by appealing to both heart and mind.