Advanced Reading-Writing Connection…..…Activity #VI
Chapter 3: Main Ideas and Supporting Details in Writing
Alternate Mastery Test 2
Directions for Activity #VI: Choose the best answer.
1. Read the paragraph, then answer the question that follows it.
(1) Our prisons do an inadequate job of rehabilitating prisoners. (2)Our recidivism rate—the
percent of those released from prison who are later arrested for other crimes—runs somewhere
between 30 and 80 percent, depending on the study. (3)The crime rate among former prisoners is
actually much higher, for the recidivism rate represents only those who are rearrested. (4)To top
it all off, for one reason or another, many guilty people are never even sent to jail. (5)Part of the
reason for recidivism is a penal system that produces contempt and hatred—attitudes hardly
conducive to law-abiding behavior.
1. Which sentence is not relevant support for the argument that our prisons do an inadequate job
of rehabilitating prisoners?
a. Sentence 2
b. Sentence 3
c. Sentence 4
d. Sentence 5
2. Read the paragraph, then answer the question that follows it.
(1) Trappers should not use the steel-jaw leghold trap, used to trap animals for their fur. (2)In
snapping shut on an animal’s leg, the trap tears muscle and shatters bone. (3)Commonly, animals
caught in leghold traps die slowly and painfully—from exposure, starvation, or lack of water.
(4)Those who manage to break free, by chewing off part of their leg, are likely to die from
infection. (5)Those still trapped and alive when the trapper returns are strangled or clubbed to
death. (6)In any case, with the warmth of modern fabrics, it’s absolutely unnecessary to make
any fur coats at all.
Which sentence is not relevant support for the author’s argument that the steel-jaw leghold trap
should not be used to trap animals?
1|Page
Name: ________________________________________ Date: ____________ Period: _____
Advanced Reading-Writing Connection…..…Activity #VI
a. Sentence 2
b. Sentence 3
c. Sentence 4
d. Sentence 6
3. Read the paragraph, then answer the question that follows it.
(1) We need better police protection on campus. (2)So far this year, a dozen dorm rooms have
been broken into; in each instance, valuables were stolen. (3)Within the past two months, several
students have been mugged when they returned to their cars in campus parking lots. (4)If there
were more plentiful parking near the center of campus, students wouldn’t have to park in the
more isolated lots at the outskirts of campus. (5)While walking back to their dorms from evening
classes, several other students have been raped. (6)When I walk across the campus at night, I
usually fail to see a single police officer or security guard. (7)There may be plenty of security
guards protecting the equipment inside the college’s buildings, but people are more important
than property.
Which sentence is not relevant support for the author’s conclusion that better police protection is
needed on campus?
a. Sentence 2
b. Sentence 3
c. Sentence 4
d. Sentence 5
4. Read the three items of support (the evidence). Then answer the question that follows the
items.
Support:



Cell phones allow businesspeople to do two jobs at once—go to an appointment and
make a business phone call.
If a car occupant is going to be late for a business or family event because of traffic, he or
she can call and change the time of the meeting.
People with cell phones can report accidents the minute they happen.
Which of the following conclusions is best supported by the evidence above?
2|Page
Name: ________________________________________ Date: ____________ Period: _____
Advanced Reading-Writing Connection…..…Activity #VI
a. Everyone who drives a car should have a cell phone.
b. Cell phones can be an asset.
c. A cell phone can distract a driver and cause an accident.
d. All companies should be required to buy cell phones for their employees.
5. Read the three items of support (the evidence). Then answer the question that follows the
items.
Support:



The added lifetime earnings value of a college degree versus a high-school diploma is
$329,000 for men and $142,000 for women.
A college degree increases intellectual curiosity and the ability to think logically.
Persons with a college degree tend to have increased interest in and responsiveness to the
arts.
Which of the following conclusions is best supported by the evidence above?
a. People without a college degree do not appreciate the arts.
b. College’s benefits are mainly academic.
c. A college degree can have valuable financial and intellectual benefits.
d. Everyone in our society should go to college for four years.
3|Page
Name: ________________________________________ Date: ____________ Period: _____
Advanced Reading-Writing Connection…..…Activity #VI
Chapter 4: Understanding the Writing Process……..Exercise 1
Directions for Activity #VI: Indicate whether each of the following
statements is true or false.
1. Many professional writers are able to sit down and write a paper in a single draft.
True
False
2. When using the prewriting technique of freewriting, it is important to check your spelling and
grammar closely as you write.
True
False
3. During the freewriting process, you should write continuously without stopping to reread and
worry about what you have written.
True
False
4. After writing your first draft, it is often a good idea to set your paper aside for a while before
returning to it and making revisions.
True
False
5. The writing technique of brainstorming involves using researched facts to use as supporting
details in your paragraph.
4|Page
Name: ________________________________________ Date: ____________ Period: _____
Advanced Reading-Writing Connection…..…Activity #VI
True
False
6. When asking questions to come up with supporting items for your paragraph, it is helpful to
start your questions with words like when, where, why, and how.
True
False
7. Writing a paper is a process that can be divided into five steps, the first step being the task of
writing the first draft.
True
False
8. When creating your initial list of supporting details for your paper, it’s important that those
details be in the exact order in which they will be presented in your final draft.
True
False
9. Reading your paper out loud helps you to identify grammar and punctuation problems,
because the paper will not sound smooth in the places where you have made errors.
True
False
10. The first draft of your paper is simply a rough version of your final paper, and it may be
lacking in detail and have errors in spelling and punctuation.
True
False
5|Page
Name: ________________________________________ Date: ____________ Period: _____