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Question

Difficulty: MediumMeeting Specific Rhetorical Goals

Passage Excerpt:

In the early nineteenth century, a Cherokee silversmith named Sequoyah became fascinated by the 'talking leaves'—the written language used by European settlers. Though he could neither read nor write English, Sequoyah spent years developing a writing system for his native Cherokee tongue. He began by drawing pictures to represent words, but this proved too cumbersome, so he ultimately created eighty-five symbols representing distinct syllables. By 1821, his syllabary was complete, allowing the Cherokee Nation to quickly establish its own newspaper, *The Cherokee Phoenix*.

Given that all the choices are factual, which choice best emphasizes the physical effort and determination Sequoyah demonstrated while developing his writing system?

  1. He spent years painstakingly carving characters into bark and wood, persisting even after his cabin and notes were accidentally burned.Answer
  2. B
    He began by drawing pictures to represent words, but this proved too cumbersome, so he ultimately created eighty-five symbols representing distinct syllables.
  3. C
    The Cherokee Nation quickly adopted the writing system, and within months, literacy rates surpassed those of neighboring European-American communities.
  4. D
    He worked in isolation for years to carve characters into pieces of wood, his dedication was ignored by his neighbors.

Answer

He spent years painstakingly carving characters into bark and wood, persisting even after his cabin and notes were accidentally burned.
The correct answer details the physical labor of carving characters and the determination shown by continuing his work after a house fire destroyed his notes. This directly matches the rhetorical goal.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the precise rhetorical goal requested in the prompt, which is to emphasize Sequoyah's physical effort and determination.
The correct option must contain specific descriptions of physical labor and perseverance through difficulties.
Clarifying the rhetorical goal allows the elimination of choices that, while factual, address different aspects of the story.
2
Check the grammatical correctness of each choice.
The choice describing his isolation contains a comma splice, joining two independent clauses without a proper conjunction or punctuation, and can be discarded.
ACT English questions require the correct option to be grammatically flawless.
3
Compare the remaining grammatically correct choices against the rhetorical goal.
The option about carving into bark and surviving a cabin fire perfectly highlights both physical labor and determination, unlike the choices describing syllabary evolution or community literacy.
Only one choice specifically aligns with both parts of the requested rhetorical goal.

Key Concept

Meeting Specific Rhetorical Goals
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Topics

Meeting Specific Rhetorical Goals

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