Organization, Unity, and Cohesion

The following paragraphs are from an essay about Marie Tharp's mapping of the ocean floor. To make the essay flow most logically, in what order should the paragraphs be placed?

Unlike oil paints, which remain wet and workable for days, egg tempera dries almost immediately upon application. This rapid drying time prevents artists from blending colors directly on the painting support. [1] For instance, to create the illusion of three-dimensional form, tempera painters must build up layers of color using thousands of tiny, overlapping brushstrokes.

Which choice provides the most logical transition from the preceding sentence to the highlighted sentence?

Designing on the Wing

In the late 1980s, Japan’s high-speed Shinkansen trains faced a major engineering obstacle that threatened their continued expansion: noise pollution. As the trains traveled through narrow mountain tunnels at speeds exceeding 150 miles per hour, they compressed the air ahead of them, creating a high-pressure wave. Upon exiting the tunnel, this compressed air expanded rapidly, producing a deafening sound known as a "tunnel boom" that could be heard over a mile away. The source of the problem was the train’s bullet-shaped nose, which pushed a wall of air forward rather than slicing through it cleanly.

Eiji Nakatsu, the train’s chief engineer and an avid birdwatcher, looked to the natural world for a solution to this mechanical dilemma. He focused on the kingfisher, a predatory bird that dives from the air into water to catch fish. Nakatsu reasoned that if a bird could transition smoothly between two mediums of drastically different densities with barely a splash, a train could do the same when transitioning from the open air into a compressed tunnel. Water and air, though differing in density, behave similarly under fluid dynamic principles.

By redesigning the train's nose to mimic the long, wedge-shaped beak of the kingfisher, Nakatsu’s team succeeded in eliminating the tunnel boom entirely. ________

Which choice provides the most logical and effective conclusion to the passage by highlighting the multiple positive outcomes of the train's new design?

Urban Apiaries

[1]
In cities around the world, a new kind of agricultural movement is buzzing on rooftops and balconies. Honeybees are finding comfortable homes on the roofs of high-rise apartment buildings, office towers, and community centers. This practice, known as urban beekeeping, has surged in popularity over the last decade as city residents look for creative ways to support local ecosystems and produce their own food.

[2]
Many people assume that cities are concrete deserts unfriendly to wildlife, but research shows that urban areas can be highly beneficial to pollinators. Rooftop gardens, backyard plots, and city parks provide a surprisingly diverse diet for bees. Unlike large industrial agricultural fields, which often grow only a single crop for miles, cities offer a wide variety of flowers, trees, and ornamental plants that bloom at different times of the year. This botanical diversity helps keep honeybee colonies healthy and resilient against disease.

[3]
[1] For instance, many city dwellers now have access to hyper-local honey, which is sold at neighborhood farmers' markets. Additionally, rooftop hives serve as unique educational tools, teaching school children and community members about the vital role pollinators play in our food systems. Ultimately, these urban apiaries help citizens feel more connected to the natural world.

Which of the following sentences, if added at Point [1] in Paragraph 3, would provide the most effective introduction to the paragraph?

[1] In 1956, Malcom McLean, a former trucking magnate, revolutionized global trade by introducing the standardized shipping container. [2] Before this innovation, cargo was loaded and unloaded piece by piece in a process known as break-bulk shipping, which was slow, labor-intensive, and prone to theft. [3] McLean's system allowed goods to be packed directly into large metal boxes that could be seamlessly transferred between trucks, trains, and ships. [4] Many early dockworkers belonged to powerful labor unions that negotiated wages and working conditions. [5] Consequently, the cost of loading cargo dropped from nearly six dollars a ton to just a few cents, facilitating a massive expansion of international commerce.

The writer is considering deleting Sentence 4 from the passage. Should this sentence be kept or deleted?

Passage:

Libraries housing rare medieval manuscripts face a constant battle against insect pests and mold, which can destroy parchment in a matter of weeks. Traditional chemical fumigation techniques effectively kill these <u>pests, consequently, they</u> often leave behind toxic residues that degrade the delicate organic fibers of the manuscripts over time. To avoid this degradation, modern conservators utilize hermetically sealed chambers filled with pure nitrogen gas.

Which of the following choices best fits the underlined portion of the passage?

The following passage is an excerpt about a unique desert plant.

Most desert plants survive by extending deep taproots to access water hidden far underground. The Welwitschia mirabilis, a unique gymnosperm native to the Namib Desert, takes a different approach. It relies on morning fog that rolls in from the Atlantic Ocean, absorbing water directly through its two broad, weather-beaten leaves. [1] Additionally, its root system remains remarkably shallow, serving primarily to anchor the plant rather than to seek deep water sources.

Which choice best completes the underlined portion [1]?

The following sentences are from a paragraph about Polynesian navigation techniques. Arrange the sentences in the most logical order to create a cohesive paragraph that begins with the most effective introduction and ends with the most effective concluding sentence.

[1] In 1938, physicist Katharine Blodgett developed a revolutionary method for creating non-reflective glass, which is now widely used in camera lenses and eyeglasses. [2] Traditional glass reflects about four percent of the light that strikes it, causing glare and reducing visual clarity. [3] To solve this problem, Blodgett discovered that she could coat glass with microscopic layers of liquid soap, building a film that was exactly one-quarter of a wavelength of light thick. [4] This precise thickness allowed the light reflected from the outer surface of the soap film to interfere with and cancel out the light reflected from the glass surface underneath. [5] Blodgett was also the first woman to earn a PhD in physics from the University of Cambridge.

The writer is considering deleting Sentence 5 from the paragraph. Should the sentence be kept or deleted?

The following paragraphs are from an essay about the history of the pencil. To make the essay flow most logically, in what order should the paragraphs be placed?

[1] In the winter of 1902, during a visit to New York City, Mary Anderson observed a trolley driver struggling to see through the falling sleet. [2] The driver had to keep opening the front window pane, letting the freezing rain into the vehicle, just to clear the glass by hand. [3] Shocked by the discomfort and danger this caused, Anderson set out to find a solution. [4] New York City's trolley system was one of the largest in the country at the time, utilizing electric streetcars to transport thousands of commuters daily. [5] Upon returning to her home in Alabama, she designed a wooden lever connected to a rubber blade that could be operated from inside the vehicle.

The writer is considering deleting Sentence 4 from the paragraph. Should this sentence be kept or deleted?

Passage

In $1947$, computer pioneer Grace Hopper recorded the first computer "bug" when she found a moth trapped in a relay of the Harvard Mark II. [1] Consequently, her most significant contribution to computer science was the invention of the compiler, a program that translated written English commands into machine code.

Which choice provides the most logical transition from the preceding sentence?

The following paragraph contains numbered sentences.

[1] When the Dutch merchant Antonie van Leeuwenhoek first looked through his hand-carved microscopes in the 1670s, he was astonished to find tiny organisms swimming in pond water. [2] He called these microscopic creatures "animalcules," which we now know as bacteria and protists. [3] Recognizing the significance of his findings, van Leeuwenhoek detailed them in letters to the Royal Society of London. [4] The esteemed members of the Society, initially skeptical of these bizarre reports, eventually dispatched observers to verify his claims.

For the sake of the logic and cohesion of the paragraph, where is the most logical placement for the following sentence?

"These documents, written in Dutch, included meticulous drawings of the tiny cells."

Cultivating vanilla is an incredibly labor-intensive process, as each orchid flower must be hand-pollinated during a short window on the morning it blooms. Specifically, vanilla beans remain one of the most expensive spices in the world, second only to saffron.

Which choice provides the most logical transition from the preceding sentence?

The following paragraph is from an essay about the history of musical instruments.

[1] In the early twentieth century, jazz and big band musicians struggled to make their acoustic guitars heard over louder brass instruments. [2] Performers tried various methods to amplify their sound, such as attaching carbon microphones to the wooden body, but these attempts resulted in weak, distorted audio. [3] Known as the "Frying Pan" due to its circular aluminum body and long neck, this instrument used electromagnetic pickups to convert string vibrations into clear electrical signals. [4] The success of this design paved the way for solid-body electric guitars that would dominate popular music for decades to come.

To make this paragraph most logical, where should the following sentence be placed?

"To solve this problem, inventor George Beauchamp developed the first functional electric guitar in 1931."

[1] In the late nineteenth century, New York City's postal system struggled with delivery delays caused by congested streets and slow horse-drawn carriages. [2] To expedite service, the postal department built a network of pneumatic tubes beneath the city streets. [3] Heavy brass canisters stuffed with hundreds of letters were propelled through these underground pipes at speeds exceeding thirty miles per hour. [4] These tubes, which operated until 1953, were incredibly efficient at moving mail between sorting facilities. [5] Similar pneumatic systems were also utilized by post offices in cities like Paris and Berlin.

The writer is considering deleting sentence 5 from the passage. Should the writer make this deletion?

Passage

In recent years, industrial designers have turned to mycelium—the underground root structure of fungi—as a sustainable alternative to synthetic plastics. Mycelium can be grown in custom molds to form lightweight, fully biodegradable packaging materials. [1] <u>On the other hand</u>, it possesses natural fire-retardant and sound-insulating properties, making it an appealing option for building construction.

Which choice provides the most logical transition between the two sentences at the underlined portion?

[1] In the early 2000s, physicist Carl Haber developed a non-contact method to recover audio from damaged historical recordings. [2] Traditional playback methods, which rely on a physical stylus tracing the grooves of a wax cylinder, risk destroying these fragile media. [3] Instead, Haber's system uses high-resolution digital cameras to scan the grooves and create a detailed three-dimensional map of the surface. [4] A software program then reconstructs the audio from this visual data, allowing archivists to play back sounds that were previously considered unrecoverable. [5] Most wax cylinders were manufactured between 1888 and 1929 and could hold about two minutes of audio. [6] This optical technology has successfully restored rare recordings of historical figures like Alexander Graham Bell and Florence Nightingale, preserving vital pieces of auditory history.

The writer is considering deleting Sentence 5 from the passage. Should the writer make this deletion?

The following paragraph contains numbered sentences.

[1] During a winter trolley ride in New York City in 1902, Mary Anderson observed that the motorman had to keep the front window open, allowing sleet to blow inside, just to wipe the glass. [2] Upon returning to her home in Alabama, she began sketching designs for a mechanical, hand-operated blade that could clear a window from inside the vehicle. [3] This simple device, patented in 1903, consisted of a lever inside the car that controlled a rubber blade on the outside. [4] However, when she tried to sell the rights to her invention to a prominent firm in 1905, they rejected it. [5] Drivers, the company executives argued, would be dangerously distracted by the motion of the wiping mechanism.

To make the paragraph most logical, the following sentence:

"Their skepticism was rooted in a belief that the device posed a major safety hazard."

should be placed after which sentence?

[1] In the late nineteenth century, cycling was a hazardous hobby dominated by the "penny-farthing," a bicycle with a massive front wheel and a tiny rear wheel. [2] Riders sat precariously high above the ground, making them prone to "headers"—dangerous forward falls over the handlebars. [3] Early bicycles did not have inflatable rubber tires, which were invented later by John Boyd Dunlop. [4] This structural hazard was resolved in 1885 when John Kemp Starley introduced the Rover Safety Bicycle. [5] Featuring two wheels of equal size and a chain drive, Starley’s design brought the rider closer to the ground, dramatically reducing injuries and initiating a global cycling boom.

The writer is considering deleting Sentence 3 from the passage. Should the writer make this deletion?