®
SAT P R E PA R ATION
®
SAT PREPARATION
for
CRITICAL READING
f or
C R I TICA L R EA DI N G
Touchstones
D iscussion P roject
®
PO Box 2329
Annapolis, MD 21404
www.touchstones.org
(800) 456-6542
Touchstones®: Building critical thinkers &
collaborative leaders
®
Touchstones Discussion Project
CRITICAL READING
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®
SAT PREPARATION
FOR
Published by
®
Other Available Touchstones Program Materials
Elementary School
Touchpebbles Volume A (Student and Teacher editions)
Touchpebbles Volume B (Student and Teacher editions)
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Middle School
Touchstones Volume A (Student and Teacher editions)
Touchstones Volume B (Student and Teacher editions)
Touchstones Volume C (Student and Teacher editions)
Courage to Care, Building Community through Service (our community service
volume for middle grades) (Student and Teacher editions)
Where’d They Get That Idea?: Issues and Ideas in Science and Mathematics - Vol. I
(Student and Teacher editions)
Where’d They Get That Idea?: Issues and Ideas in Science and Mathematics - Vol. II
(Student and Teacher editions)
High School
Touchstones Volume I (Student and Teacher editions)
Touchstones Volume II (Student and Teacher editions)
Discussing the African American Experience (Student and Teacher editions)
Discussing U.S. History (Student and Teacher editions)
Getting Ready for the Reading Section of the ACT (Student edition)
Investigating Mathematics (Student edition)
Readings in Social Studies (Anthology)
SAT Preparation for Critical Reading (Student edition)
Touchstones Alif: Readings from the Arab Tradition
(Student and Teacher editions)
Post-secondary
Mapping the Future (Reader’s guide and Leader’s supplement)
New Landscapes (Student edition)
The Compass (College edition)
Other volumes
Courage to Care, Strength to Serve (our community service volume for
older grades or adults) (Student and Leader editions)
The Compass (Executive level)
Discussion Leadership: Getting Started (Leader’s guide)
In support of your work to bring dialogue, increased critical thinking, collaborative leadership,
and community to your students, Touchstones Discussion Project offers educators a range of
professional development services. Contact us for more information or to schedule an
introductory presentation.
II
SAT PREPARATION FOR CRITICAL READING
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About the Touchstones® Discussion Project
The Touchstones Discussion Project is a nonprofit organization
founded on the belief that all people can benefit from the
listening, speaking, thinking, and interpersonal skills gained by
engaging in active, focused discussions. Since 1984, Touchstones
has helped millions of students and others develop and improve
these skills in school, work, and life. For more information about
the Touchstones Discussion Project, visit www.touchstones.org.
by
Geoffrey Comber
Howard Zeiderman
Kevin Dungey
©1995, 1996, 1997, 2008, 2009, 2012
by Touchstones Discussion Project
PO Box 2329
Annapolis, Maryland 21404
800-456-6542
www.touchstones.org
Test names are the trademarks of their respective owners,
who are not affiliated with Touchstones Discussion Project.
All rights reserved. No part of this book
may be reproduced or repurposed in any form
without prior written consent of the authors.
ISBN: 978-1-878461-97-1
SAT PREPARATION FOR CRITICAL READING
III
Table of Contents
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vii
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Unit I – Reading What is Stated: Hearing What is Said
Lesson 1 – What Does the Text Say; What Do I Say? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
About Revenge by Francis Bacon
Lesson 2 – Learning to Find Evidence in the Text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
The Use and Abuse of History by Friedrich Nietzsche
Lesson 3 – Grasping Other Points of View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Leviathan by Thomas Hobbes
Unit II – The Five Kinds of Questions
Lesson 4 – Words and Their Meanings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
A Philosophical Dictionary by Voltaire
Lesson 5 – Assumption . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Is Government by the Majority Right? by Frederick Douglass
Lesson 6 – Implication. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
The Value of Science by Henri Poincaré
Lesson 7 – Logical Structure. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
The Manual by Epictetus
Lesson 8 – Different Perspectives. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
The New Organon by Francis Bacon and
The Power of Words by Simone Weil
Unit III – Taking Initiative Through Active Reading
Lesson 9 – Finding What the Author Means . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
The Plague by Albert Camus
Lesson 10 – Uncovering Assumptions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
The World as Will and Representation by Arthur Schopenhauer
Lesson 11 – Understanding the Implications. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
A Plan for a Department of Peace for the United States by Benjamin Banneker
Lesson 12 – Evaluating Logical Structure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Young India, 1920 by Mohandas Gandhi
Lesson 13 – Comparing and Contrasting Two Readings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Summa Theologica by St. Thomas Aquinas and
Letter from Birmingham Jail by Martin Luther King, Jr.
SAT PREPARATION FOR CRITICAL READING
V
Unit IV – Devising SAT Questions
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Lesson 14 – Exposing Meaning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy
Lesson 15 – Clarifying Assumptions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
A Mathematician’s Apology by G.H. Hardy
Lesson 16 – Drawing Out Implications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
The Rights of Women by Mary Wollstonecraft
Lesson 17 – Presenting Arguments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
The Federalist Papers, #10 by James Madison
Lesson 18 – Exploring Two Points of View on the Same Topic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
A Woman’s Philosophy of Woman by Jenny P. d’Hericourt and
Women and Fiction by Virginia Woolf
Unit V – Practicing Active Reading
Lesson 19 – Fiction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison
Lesson 20 – Philosophy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
Philosophical Fragments by Søren Kierkegaard
Lesson 21 – Literary Criticism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
The Natural History of German Life by George Eliot
Lesson 22 – Mathematics and Science . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
Relativity by Albert Einstein
Lesson 23 – Social Science. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
The Origin of Inequity Among Men by Jean-Jacques Rousseau and
Civilization and its Discontents by Sigmund Freud
Appendix I – Answers and Explanations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
Appendix II – Three Paired Texts with Practice Questions for the SAT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
Appendix III – For the Teacher . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
VI
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Introduction
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The Purpose of this Book
Many teachers familiar with the Touchstones Discussion Project have begun to use our materials
and approach to prepare students for the SAT. The revised test (2005) is divided into three sections of
equal point value: Math, Writing, and Critical Reading. Seventy percent of the Critical Reading section
consists of reading comprehension questions, and sentence completion questions make up the
remaining thirty percent; analogies have been eliminated entirely. Because the majority of questions
in the verbal section of the SAT now evaluate reading comprehension, teachers must assist their
students in mastering critical reading skills. Educators report that their previous approaches—which
concentrated on the vocabulary required for mastering analogies, sentence completions, and
antonyms—are now less effective. Because vocabulary-oriented questions had formed the bulk of the
previous test, less attention was paid to the reading sections. The new SAT made that approach
untenable. Teachers realized that their students’ verbal SAT results would drop unless their critical
reading skills were developed. They also recognized that traditional classes and self-study materials,
which emphasize vocabulary, could not bring about desired results. An entirely new approach to test
preparation was necessary.
The current test format requires a new teaching strategy because critical reading involves active
learning. Students must take initiative and engage the material; passively-acquired information, such
as memorized vocabulary, is no longer adequate to succeed on the test. Teachers are now asking, ‘Can
we create active readers by means of traditional modes of teaching?’ The answer is, ‘We can’t!’
Recognizing that discussion, not lecture, is required for success on the revised SAT, teachers turned
to us, the Touchstones Discussion Project.
The Touchstones Discussion Project
Currently, more than a million students from public, private, and parochial schools in the United
States and six foreign countries participate in Touchstones, which is built around discussion. In the
Touchstones discussion, they acquire a new set of cognitive skills: they learn to listen, question,
explore, cooperate, solve problems, and eventually to conduct discussion classes themselves. These
skills transform the students’ postures and attitudes and transfer into their regular classes, helping
students become collaborators in their own education. They become active—active participants,
active explorers, active readers.
In view of our experience in developing active readers, we have specially designed this volume
to respond to teachers’ requests for assistance in preparing students for the critical reading section of
the SAT. We have selected texts from our eight-volume series of field-tested discussion materials and
structured a program of twenty-three lessons that help develop active readers. The course focuses
students’ efforts on the skills necessary to investigate a text’s meaning, as well as its assumptions,
implications, logical structure, and point of view. These categories form the basis of the critical reading
SAT questions.
At each stage in this volume, students take on increased initiative. They progress from learning
how to participate in a discussion and how to examine texts to practicing how to read actively and
design questions like those on the SAT. The Touchstones approach does not merely present rules of
thumb that may or may not help a student to succeed. Instead, it develops the reading and thinking
skills and the confidence that students need to do well on the test.
This volume can be used with a class, a small group of two or more students, or by a student
with a parent or tutor. Practicing sample SAT questions alone will not help a student to become an
active reader. Active readers interrogate texts. To grasp a text’s meaning, they must focus on the
author’s words without adding anything extraneous. To determine an author’s assumptions, active
readers make their own perspectives explicit and are able to separate their own opinions from those
of others. To draw accurate or valid inferences from a passage, one must evaluate evidence. None of
these skills can be developed in isolation. Students must practice all of these skills, and this requires
the cooperation and assistance of others. This cooperation occurs in a discussion format.
SAT PREPARATION FOR CRITICAL READING
VII
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The Parts of the Volume
The texts in the SAT-prep volume have been chosen for their utility in directing attention to the
issues tested by the SAT, as well as for their potential as provocative discussion-starters. They are multicultural and cover a broad spectrum of subjects. Each is 400-850 words long, reflecting the long and
short passages found on the revised SAT. The final lessons in Units II-V feature paired texts, and
Appendix II contains three more pairs with questions and explanations. Paired texts, which involve
the comparison of two perspectives, exercise the same skills as the single readings. The discussion
brings these skills to life.
The volume contains lesson plans for twenty-three meetings. It is divided into five units and
three appendices. The first unit has three lessons; the other four each contain five lessons. Appendix
I contains answers and explanations of SAT questions; Appendix II has three additional paired texts
and questions; Appendix III offers suggestions to teachers, SAT tutors, and parents on how to conduct
discussions. Each unit builds upon the last to develop the reading and analytical skills required for
the student to answer SAT questions successfully.
Unit I
Students are introduced to the discussion process and to critical reading and learn to take an
active role in the learning process. They practice differentiating what is actually contained in
the text from what they might expect to find or already think.
Unit II
Students are systematically and successively introduced to the five major areas of questioning
tested on the SAT. These are (1) the meaning of a text, (2) the explicit and implicit assumptions,
(3) the text as evidence for inference, (4) the logical structure of the passage, and (5) the
determination of the relation between paired texts.
Unit III
Students learn to take initiative with texts. They begin to read with specific purposes and tasks
in mind. They practice writing summaries and learn to approach texts with particular types of
questions.
Unit IV
Students learn to enter the mind of the test-maker. However, they do not “psych out the test.”
Instead, they deepen their analyses of texts by creating prospective answers to questions that
are similar to SAT questions.
Unit V
Students receive considerable additional practice in answering questions like those on the SAT.
The skills previously developed are used on the entire range of texts presented in the SAT:
mathematics, science, fiction, philosophy, literary criticism, and social science. Students
recognize that critical reading is the same for all kinds of texts.
Appendix I
This section contains the answers and explanations for all the SAT questions in the lessons. After
the students have answered the sample questions in each lesson, they should check their
answers and discuss the explanations offered. Students may disagree and offer justifications for
their choices. Group discussion of the explanations is valuable practice. Because we have chosen
texts that present closely-reasoned, persuasive arguments rather than fact-based expositions,
students will not be able to simply check the texts for facts in order to answer the questions. No
answer is “right” or “wrong”; each should be thought of as a better or a worse choice, and
discussion will help students to articulate why one answer is best. Practice in answering
questions based on our open-ended, speculative texts will make it relatively easy to answer
questions derived from the expository, informational passages that appear on the test.
VIII
SAT PREPARATION FOR CRITICAL READING
Appendix II
This appendix contains three additional paired texts with six questions each, followed by
answers and explanations. This gives classes additional practice in comparing points of view.
Classes doing the entire program should do this work as a continuation of Unit V and follow the
format for those classes.
Appendix III
This section gives suggestions for how to conduct each lesson, including questions to be used
in the initiation of discussion. In addition, summaries of individual and small group exercises
are included for some lessons. Teachers should read the appropriate section in this appendix in
conjunction with the class description presented in each lesson of the volume proper.
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Implementing this SAT Volume
Although the optimal size for a group ranges between fifteen and twenty participants, the
program will still be effective with smaller (as few as two people) and larger (as many as thirty people)
groups. Difficulties may begin to emerge when discussion groups are very small or very large. As
groups approach thirty, participants will have inadequate time to express themselves. As groups fall
below ten, the teacher or leader may take on a dominant role. This is especially problematic when a
tutor is working with a student in a one-on-one situation. These problems are not unsolvable, but
solving them will require additional attention. For example, in a class of thirty, the part of the lesson
during which the text is discussed is handled differently than it would be in a smaller group. Students
might be divided into two groups of fifteen for the discussion of the text, with the teacher dividing his
or her time between them. The two groups would then merge for the final discussion of the questions,
answers, and explanations. After the groups are merged, students would be encouraged to practice
active listening, which is an important skill in reading critically. In a class of five students, small group
work would be replaced by an inclusive student activity with the teacher as an observer. When the
program is being used by a student and a parent or tutor, the parent or tutor must take care to balance
the discussion in order to create an atmosphere of respect and equality.
This program can be implemented as part of an English class or as a component in an SAT-prep
class. The sessions can be held periodically or every day, working continuously through the volume.
Each meeting requires about fifty minutes, and the session times we have suggested in the volume
reflect that, giving a guideline that will help teachers determine roughly how much time should be
spent on the various activities. (If a longer class period is available, the same relative percentages of
time can be used, or pre-class work can be done.) Groups that cannot cover all twenty-three lessons
in the program should delete Unit IV, Lessons 14-18. Groups that have additional time can also work
on Appendix II, which contains three paired texts and questions. Teachers who wish to provide extra
practice on paired texts within the twenty-three-meeting format can replace Lessons 15-17 with the
three paired texts in Appendix II.
Conducting Class Meetings
The twenty-three lessons in this volume are similarly structured and have similar time
allocations for their parts. (Because class periods may vary from our fifty-minute model, teachers may
have to make adjustments to suit the time available.) Each lesson in the book contains a detailed
lesson plan, topics for exploration, descriptions of activities, and indications as to whether they are
meant to be carried out individually or in groups. Unless the work or reading is specifically designated
to be completed before class, classes will read the descriptions and proceed through the activities
during the meeting.
Individual and small group work involves students in text-based decision-making, the formation
of discussion strategies for approaching critical-reading questions, the composition of passage
summaries, and the creation of questions that are similar to those on the SAT. These activities require
about twenty minutes each and prepare students to participate in the large group discussion of the
text. The discussion segment is followed by a period in which students work individually to answer
SAT PREPARATION FOR CRITICAL READING
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sample questions. (Unit requirements vary: students should be given about five minutes to answer
the questions in Units I-IV, where there are three or four questions for each text, but they will need
about ten minutes and additional peer support to answer the seven questions in Unit V.)
After the period of individual work, the class will come together during the remaining time to
discuss answers and explanations in a group setting. This discussion is a crucial dimension of the
program because it allows students to articulate their reasons for choosing or preferring certain
answers. Though the lessons have a common structure, each differs from the others in the levels of
critical reading skill and student initiative required to complete the assigned work. For example, some
of the lessons do not require pre-class work, while others do. (When this is necessary, we indicate it at
the end of the previous lesson plan in the volume proper and also in the appropriate section of
Appendix III.) We have left blank spaces so that students can make notes and write answers in
their books.
A Word to the Discussion Teacher
The core of this program is discussion. Discussion transforms students into active, engaged
participants. It is the medium in which critical reading skills develop. You, as a teacher, have probably
wondered how you will modify your teaching style in the transition between lecture and discussion.
Don’t worry, you will. Your students will assist you, and this book is designed to maximize your
interaction. Based on years of experience, we have chosen texts that lend themselves to discussion. It
will quickly become clear to students that they have a great deal to offer and can gain from interaction
with one another and with you. However, a few pointers might be helpful.
Productive discussions cannot occur when participants do not face one another. Class
arrangements in which students talk to the backs of their classmates’ heads discourage genuine
engagement. A circle is the best arrangement for a discussion group because all students have equal
opportunities to speak and listen. You, as the teacher, should not stand during the discussion part of
the lesson. Instead, take a seat in the circle so that you can see everyone and be a part of the
conversation.
In Touchstones discussion classes, students learn to speak freely and respectfully and do not
raise hands. We encourage teachers to follow this model, but it is not essential to the purposes of this
SAT-prep volume. You may wish to avoid sustained eye contact with students, as that encourages them
to talk to you instead of to one another. Allow students to bring their own experiences and opinions
into the group, especially as you work through the first two units. This will increase participation
without making it difficult for you to refocus the group’s attention on the text should it wander. Keep
in mind that participation in discussion is what builds critical reading and thinking skills. This will
occur even if the text sometimes plays a secondary role.
When students are working individually or in small groups, provide support by monitoring their
activity. When the answers to the SAT questions are being discussed, be available to provide
clarification and assistance. Be careful, however, to allow students to take the lead. Don’t worry if their
answers are incorrect; skills are developed gradually and cumulatively. Keep your eyes and theirs on
the goal—the eventual SAT test.
Appendix III contains particular lesson-by-lesson pointers and questions that will help you to
initiate discussions. Be prepared to be surprised by your students. We have found that everyone brings
strengths and weaknesses to discussions. Students will surprise themselves with their own
contributions and the ways that they find to help one another. Though the purpose of this particular
Touchstones volume is preparation for the critical-reading section of the verbal SAT, it also benefits
students by helping them to develop greater respect for themselves and for others.
This introduction was written principally for you, the teacher, but it may be helpful to have your
students read it as well. Discussions work best when all of the participants are familiar with the factors
and purposes involved. Though the goal of this program is SAT preparation, the skills developed will
be of lasting value to students, even when the test is just a memory.
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SAT PREPARATION FOR CRITICAL READING
Helpful Hint—Using the Process of Elimination to Help You on the Test
All multiple-choice standardized tests are created according to specific methods. The part of the
SAT that tests critical reading skills includes passages for you to read and questions related to that
passage that you are expected to answer. Understanding how to use the process of elimination when
answering those questions can effectively help you do your best on the test.
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Parts of the Question
The questions include the stem—the actual question or first part of a question—and a set of
answer choices. Both these questions and answers are carefully constructed by the test-makers, and
of these answer choices, only one is “correct.” The others are constructed to distract the reader from
choosing the correct answer. Some are weak “distractors” and some are strong—some answers are
easily ruled out, while others are not. It is these more difficult or strongly distracting answer choices
that require more careful consideration. Understanding how to use the process of elimination on such
questions will increase your likelihood of selecting the correct answer, even when you’re not certain.
The Process of Elimination
The process of elimination means that you use what you know to rule out some of the possible
answer choices. The more answer choices that you can rule out, or eliminate, the greater the chances
are that you will be able to select the best answer. When you read the practice questions in this book,
place a slash through the answer choice letters that you know are not correct. Then focus only on
those answer choices that you have not eliminated and look back in the text for evidence that supports
one of the remaining choices. Be careful to read the entire answer choice before you make your
selection, so that you are not hastily choosing an answer that appears to be correct but that is actually
the opposite. Good luck with your practice.
SAT PREPARATION FOR CRITICAL READING
XI
Lesson 1: What Does the Text Say; What Do I Say?
1. In preparation for discussion of the reading, answer the following question individually: Which of
the following do you believe is most true about taking revenge? Circle one of the five choices and
write a brief explanation of why you hold that view. (5 min.)
Wanting revenge makes you hold on to the past.
Even after taking revenge, your pain remains.
One act of revenge just leads to another.
Revenge is sometimes justified.
Taking revenge is cowardly.
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a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
2. After you have completed section 1, form yourselves into small groups (three or four people per
group). You should first share your responses with the group and then attempt to reach consensus
on an answer. This answer should be the one the group believes it can best support with reasons.
(5 min.)
3. Read the text to yourself silently. (2 min.)
4. In your small groups, imagine that you are responsible for leading a discussion on this text. If you
wanted the participants to focus primarily on Bacon’s thoughts about revenge and talk mostly about
Bacon’s text, what question would you ask to start the discussion? Write it here.
Alternatively, if you wanted the participants to focus on their own ideas about revenge and spend
relatively little time talking about Bacon’s ideas, what question would you ask to start the discussion?
Write it here.
Now, discuss these two different questions in your small group and come to an agreement in each
case about the best question your group made up. Write down your group’s choices here. (8 min.)
5. Leave your small groups and join into one large circle. Have a spokesperson for each small group
read aloud the two questions that the group agreed on. People may make brief responses to these
questions and may share their opinions about whether those questions would stimulate a
discussion of the text or the participants’ own ideas. Next, the teacher will begin the group’s
discussion of About Revenge with a question. (15 min.)
2
SAT PREPARATION FOR CRITICAL READING
About Revenge
by Francis Bacon (1625)
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5
Revenge is a sort of wild justice. The more people try to take revenge, the more the law should punish them. When a man
commits a crime, he breaks the law. But when the injured person takes revenge, the person destroys law itself. In taking
revenge, a person does indeed get even with his enemy. But when one refuses to take revenge, he shows that he is better than
his enemy. King Solomon, I am sure, said it is glorious for a person to forget an injury.
Whatever is past is gone and can’t be changed. Wise people know they have enough to do in the present and with
whatever might happen in the future. They don’t spend their time taking revenge. People who spend their time worrying
about past injuries just waste their time. Also, no person hurts another person just to hurt him. Rather, it is done for his profit
or his own pleasure or his honor or for some other reason he might have. So why should I be angry with someone for loving
himself better than he loves me? Suppose someone hurts me because he is evil. Isn’t that just like a thorn or briar which
scratches me because it can’t do anything else?
Revenge is most allowable when there is no specific law to correct an injury. However, one must then be careful that
the kind of revenge one takes does not break another law.
Some people when they get even want their enemy to know that it will happen. This is a more generous way of
acting. Not letting your enemy know you are going to get even is a cowardly thing to do. It is like killing at night from
ambush.
There was an Italian ruler, Cosimo de Medici, who said the following to his friends who might betray or injure him.
“We read,” he said,” that we are commanded to forgive our enemies. But we never read that we are commanded to forgive
our friends.” I think, however, that the spirit of what Job said is truer. He said, “Shall we receive good from God and not also
be willing to accept evil?” The same is true, in part, about friends.
What is certain about planning to get even is that one’s own wounds remain open. If one didn’t spend one’s time
trying to take revenge, those injuries would heal and be forgotten. Public or state revenges are, for the most part, good–as in
the case of the murderers of Julius Caesar. Private revenges are, however, not good. People who take revenge live the life of
witches. They cause trouble to others and come to a bad end.
SAT PREPARATION FOR CRITICAL READING
3
Lesson 1: Practice Questions for the SAT
1. Answer the following practice questions individually. (5 min.)
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I. In line 1, Bacon refers to revenge as “wild” justice. What word below best captures the
meaning of “wild?”
(A) spontaneous
(B) ruthless
(C) unlawful
(D) harsh
(E) unrestrained
II. Which one of the following is Bacon’s opinion?
(A) Revenge is like killing at night from ambush.
(B) Revenge is never appropriate.
(C) Don’t forgive your friends.
(D) People hurt each other out of hatred.
(E) People should let what is past be past.
III. Bacon’s principal attitude toward revenge is that it is
(A) a necessary evil.
(B) a danger to society.
(C) contrary to the Bible.
(D) useful on certain occasions.
(E) a cowardly thing to do.
2. After you have answered the questions individually, take the rest of class time to meet in small
groups and discuss your answers. Try to come to a consensus about what the best answers might
be. When you are satisfied that you have the three best answers, go to Appendix I at the back of the
book and compare them with the answers and explanations found there. (10 min.)
4
SAT PREPARATION FOR CRITICAL READING
Lesson 3: Grasping Other Points of View
1. In this class, you will begin to practice understanding other points of view or perspectives. You will
do this by creating a perspective that disagrees with the one presented by Hobbes. Begin by reading
the Hobbes’ text individually. (5 min.)
2. Answer the following question individually. (5 min.)
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In line 23, Hobbes says that “only fear of an outside power keeps men in check,” that is it, keeps
men from fighting with one another. What argument would you make against Hobbes’ claims in
line 21 and what evidence would you use to support your argument? Take five minutes to create an
argument and then think of two pieces of evidence from your own experiences that support it.
Argument:
Evidence (2 pieces):
3. Form yourselves into small groups of three or four people. Quickly review everyone’s ideas for the
argument against Hobbes and come to consensus about the best argument against what Hobbes
says. Then try to agree on two pieces of evidence that best support what you have agreed to.
(10 min.)
4. All small groups sit in one large circle. The teacher will open the discussion with a question. You
are free to bring in the arguments you made in small groups or anything else you think about this
topic, including what Hobbes says. (15 min.)
8
SAT PREPARATION FOR CRITICAL READING
Leviathan
by Thomas Hobbes (1651)
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Nature has made men roughly equal in body and mind. When everything is considered, the difference between one
man and another is not very great. The case of bodily strength serves as a good example. The weakest man has enough
strength to kill the strongest. He can do this either by some trick or by using a weapon or by joining with other men. The
same is true of men’s minds. Inequalities can be made up by various means.
This rough equality in ability produces in every man the equal hope of getting what he wants. So when two men
desire something which only one can have, this equality encourages both to strive for it. They therefore become enemies.
Each man tries to destroy or defeat the other in order to get what he needs to keep alive or to enjoy his life. If we consider
what men are like when they do not live in societies, we find that they become enemies. When one defeats the other, the
victor must, in turn, expect a third person to try to take away what he has won.
So it is clear what men are like when there is no outside power to keep them all in fear. Such a state of nature
becomes a condition of war. In such a war every man struggles with every other man. War does not only mean constant
fighting. A period of time during which a willingness to fight is commonly known and accepted is also called war.
So in the state of nature, every man is every other man’s enemy. There is no safety or security except one’s own
strength and trickery. In this state of things there can be no factories or stores because products are always unsafe. There can
be no farming, no trading, no large buildings, no arts, no sciences, no society. Worst of all there would be continual fear and
danger of violent death. The life of man would be solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short.
This state of nature might not actually have existed and I certainly do not believe it existed throughout the world. Yet
if we look at what men are now like in societies we can convince ourselves how men would be in a purely natural condition.
At night we all lock our houses and when we walk the streets we are constantly on guard. This shows that we believe that only
fear of an outside power keeps men in check. Nations and kings who have nothing to fear act toward one another just as we
describe individual men acting in a state of nature. When a peaceful society falls into civil war, we see what men are really like
outside of society.
SAT PREPARATION FOR CRITICAL READING
9
Lesson 3: Practice Questions for the SAT
1. Answer the following practice questions individually. (5 min.)
I. In line 10, Hobbes uses the term “state of nature.” That phrase means
(A) people who are roughly equal.
(B) people outside the restraint of society.
(C) people living in primitive conditions.
(D) people held in check by society’s laws.
(E) people struggling for the same thing.
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II. In line 1, Hobbes asserts that “Nature has made men roughly equal in body and mind.” He
uses this claim to support which of the following:
(1) all men deserve an equal share of goods and property.
(2) all men have equal desires.
(3) all men have equal hope for happiness.
(4) all men strive equally for what they want.
(5) all men in a state of nature are in a situation of war with one another.
(A) 1 & 3
(B) 1 & 2
(C) 2 & 4
(D) 4 & 5
(E) 3 & 5
III. In line 19, Hobbes points out that “we lock our houses” at night in order to
(A) illustrate the dangers of city life.
(B) point out the need for an outside power.
(C) find a case of the state of nature.
(D) show that people believe something like his description.
(E) show what people are like outside of society.
2. When you have answered the questions for yourself, gather with your small group and compare
your answers. Come to an agreement about which answer is best in each case. Then go to Appendix
I at the end of the book and spend the rest of class comparing what you thought was right with the
answers and explanations there. (10 min.)
(Note: Before the next class, please read pp. 11-12, through section 1, and complete the exercise.)
10
SAT PREPARATION FOR CRITICAL READING
Lesson 13: Comparing and Contrasting Two Readings
1. Before Class: In this lesson you will practice articulating a perspective that is different from the one
stated in the text. As you may remember from Lesson 8 in Unit 2, perspectives can differ in various
ways. They can differ in the points they make about a topic, in assumptions, in implications, and
in the logical form of their approach. Because you have just practiced discerning logical structure,
you will begin practicing the presentation of a new point of view by supplying your own reasons
for a conclusion.
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Read the text by Aquinas before class meets and write a summary. Then read the five claims that
Aquinas makes (listed below) and consider how you would order your level of agreement. Rank the
claims from 1 to 5, giving the claim that you most agree with a “1” and the claim that you least agree
with a “5.” Be ready to provide reasons for your choices.
a. A just law rules our conscience.
b. Any law contrary to the divine law is unjust.
c. A human law should not be changed merely because a better law comes along.
d. Laws should place burdens on the subjects proportionate to their position in society.
e. A law contrary to the divine law should not be obeyed.
2. In Class: Form small groups of three to four people that agree on which claim should be ranked
a “1.” Your task in the small groups is to present reasons for this claim that differ from those given
by Aquinas. (5 min.)
3. Then gather into a large group, and have the small groups give their reports. Those not reporting
are free to suggest other possible reasons. (10 min.)
4. Read the excerpt from Martin Luther King, Jr. to yourself silently. Underline key phrases and write
a short summary. (10 min.)
5. Your teacher will begin a discussion of the excerpt from Dr. King’s letter with a question. (10 min.)
44
SAT PREPARATION FOR CRITICAL READING
Summa Theologica
by St. Thomas Aquinas (1265-74)
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Laws made by men are either just or unjust. If they are just, they rule our conscience because just laws are derived
from the eternal law of God. As it says in Proverbs in the Bible, “By Me kings rule, and lawgivers decree just things.” Laws are
considered just on account of the purpose they serve, the authority of the lawgiver, and their form. They are just when the
purpose is the common good, when the lawgiver does not exceed his right to make certain kinds of laws, and when the form
of the laws places burdens on the subjects proportionate to their position in society. This last condition is true because since
each man is a part of the community, each, in all that he is and has, belongs to the community. On the other hand, laws may
be unjust in two ways. First, a law may be contrary to human good, through being opposed to the things we have just
mentioned. In respect to the goal or purpose, an authority might impose burdensome laws on his subjects, which are not for
the common good but rather the rulers’ own selfish ends. Or a ruler might make a law which goes beyond the power
committed to him. Or a law in its form may look toward the common good but not impose burdens which have a due
proportion to the positions of the subjects within the community. All these are acts of violence rather than laws.
Secondly, laws can be unjust through being opposed to the divine good. Such would be laws by tyrants forcing
idolatry or anything else contrary to the divine law. Laws of this sort must never be followed. As is stated in the Acts of the
Apostles, “We ought to obey God rather than men.”
When considering these matters another question arises. Should a human law be changed whenever a better law
comes along? I answer that human law is rightly changed when such a change helps attain the common good. But, to a
certain extent, the change of any law, even an unjust law, harms the common good. This is because custom helps a great deal
in getting us to observe all laws. We can see this by noticing that anything that is done contrary to our usual customs, even in
small matters, is looked at as a serious offense. So when any law is changed, the power of law itself is diminished insofar as a
custom is abolished. Therefore, human law should never be changed, unless, in some way or other, the common good is
compensated according to the extent of the harm done by breaking our habit of obeying laws.
SAT PREPARATION FOR CRITICAL READING
45
Letter from Birmingham Jail
by Martin Luther King, Jr. (1963)
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You express a great deal of anxiety over our willingness to break laws. This is certainly a legitimate concern. Since we
so diligently urge people to obey the Supreme Court’s decision of 1954 outlawing segregation in the public schools, at first
glance it may seem rather paradoxical for us consciously to break laws. One may well ask: “How can you advocate breaking
some laws and obeying others?” The answer lies in the fact that there are two types of laws: just and unjust. I would be the
first to advocate obeying just laws. One has not only a legal but a moral responsibility to obey just laws. Conversely, one has a
moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws.
Now, what is the difference between the two? How does one determine whether a law is just or unjust? A just law is a
man-made code that squares with the moral law or the law of God. An unjust law is a code that is out of harmony with these.
To put it in the terms of St. Thomas Aquinas: An unjust law is a human law that is not rooted in eternal law and natural law.
Any law that uplifts human personality is just. Any law that degrades human personality is unjust. All segregation statutes are
unjust because segregation distorts the soul and damages the personality. It gives the segregator a false sense of superiority,
and the segregated a false sense of inferiority. Thus it is that I can urge men to obey the 1954 decision of the Supreme Court,
for it is morally right; and I can urge them to disobey segregation ordinances, for they are morally wrong.
Let us consider a more concrete example of just and unjust laws. An unjust law is a code that a majority group
compels a minority group to obey but does not make binding on itself. This is difference made legal.
Let me give another explanation. A law is unjust if it is inflicted on a minority that, as a result of being denied the
right to vote, had no part in enacting or devising the law. Can any law enacted under such circumstances be considered
democratically structured?
I hope you are able to see the distinction I am trying to point out. In no sense do I advocate evading or defying the
law, as would the rabid segregationist. That would lead to anarchy. One who breaks an unjust law must do so openly,
lovingly, and with a willingness to accept the penalty.
Of course, there is nothing new about this kind of civil disobedience. It was practiced superbly by the early
Christians, who were willing to face hungry lions and the excruciating pain of chopping blocks rather than submit to certain
unjust laws of the Roman Empire. To a degree, academic freedom is a reality today because Socrates practiced civil
disobedience. In our own nation, the Boston Tea Party represented a massive act of civil disobedience.
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SAT PREPARATION FOR CRITICAL READING
Lesson 13: Practice Questions for the SAT
1. Answer the following practice questions individually. (5 min.)
I. Aquinas and King agree on the following:
(1) laws against the law of God must not be obeyed.
(2) an unjust law degrades human beings.
(3) one should break an unjust law openly.
(4) a just law has the common good as its purpose.
(5) laws should place burdens on citizens proportionately.
(B) 2 & 4
(C) 2 & 3
(D) 1 & 4
(E) 3 & 5
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(A) 1 & 5
II. The most decisive difference between King and Aquinas is
(A) the role of the law of God in determining the difference between laws.
(B) whether disobedience of unjust laws is justified.
(C) their attitude toward logical arguments.
(D) the claim that those subject to the law have different positions in society.
(E) their attitude toward breaking an unjust law.
III. The best title for both readings would be
(A) “Just and Unjust Laws”
(B) “Civil Disobedience”
(C) “Changing Unjust Laws”
(D) “The Law of God”
(E) “The Tyranny of the Majority”
2. Meet in small groups and compare your answers. Come to an agreement about the best answer.
(5 min.)
3. Then, in the large group, discuss any answers over which there is disagreement, and compare all
answers with the explanations and answers in Appendix I. (5 min.)
(Note: Before the next class, please read the Unit IV introduction. Also read the Tolstoy text and
complete a summary as specified in section 1, p. 50.)
SAT PREPARATION FOR CRITICAL READING
47