Topic Development

During a freezing winter trip to New York City in 1903, Alabama native Mary Anderson noticed that streetcar drivers had to open their front windows or step outside to clear ice and sleet from their windshields, endangering themselves and their passengers. This hazardous situation inspired her to design a rubber squeegee blade operated by a hand lever inside the vehicle. Anderson was granted a patent for her window-cleaning device in 1903, yet manufacturing firms rejected her invention, believing it would distract drivers. Consequently, she never profited from her creation, and the patent eventually expired. [1]

The writer wants to add a sentence at the end of the passage (at point [1]) to conclude the discussion of Mary Anderson's invention. Which choice best accomplishes this goal by summarizing the main significance of her design while remaining consistent with the passage's tone and details?

[1] In 79 CE, the eruption of Mount Vesuvius buried the villa of Herculaneum, carbonizing hundreds of papyrus scrolls and rendering them too fragile to unroll. [2] For centuries, any attempt to physically open these scrolls resulted in their immediate destruction. [3] Recently, however, researchers have utilized high-resolution X-ray phase-contrast tomography to virtually unwrap the scrolls, revealing the faint density differences between the carbon-based ink and the carbonized papyrus. [4] Advanced machine learning algorithms are then trained to detect these subtle texture variations, translating them into legible Greek characters. [5] Computer scientists have also used similar machine learning models to identify fraudulent paintings in major art museums. [6] As this digital technology continues to advance, scholars hope to recover lost philosophical treatises that have remained unreadable for nearly two millennia.

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

The following is an excerpt from an essay about early Earth's climate.

[1]
In $1972$, astronomers Carl Sagan and George Mullen pointed out a puzzling contradiction that threatened our understanding of Earth's early history. According to standard astrophysical models, our sun was about $30$ percent dimmer during the Archean Eon, four billion years ago, than it is today. With so little solar energy reaching the planet, Earth should have been a frozen wasteland, completely locked in ice. Yet, geological evidence from that same period—such as water-worn pebbles and ancient sedimentary rocks—reveals that liquid water flowed abundantly across the surface, and primitive life was already thriving.

[2]
To resolve this paradox, researchers have proposed various atmospheric models. One prominent theory suggests that a dense greenhouse gas envelope, consisting of carbon dioxide and perhaps ammonia or methane, acted as a heavy blanket to trap what little heat the faint sun provided. Others argue that Earth's lower albedo, or reflectivity, allowed the surface to absorb more solar radiation than it does today. Understanding how Earth maintained its liquid oceans during this period is not just a historical curiosity; it also helps astronomers define the boundaries of habitable zones around distant stars.

Which choice provides the most effective transition from the first paragraph to the second paragraph and introduces the main topic of the second paragraph?

During a trolley ride in a freezing New York City winter, Mary Anderson observed the driver repeatedly opening the front window pane to brush away falling sleet, exposing passengers to the biting cold. Determined to find a solution, she sketched a device featuring a hand-operated lever inside the vehicle linked to a rubber blade on the outside. Although she secured a patent for her mechanical sweeper in 1903, manufacturing companies rejected her design, viewing it as a dangerous distraction for drivers.

The writer wants to add a sentence at the end of the paragraph that contrasts the initial commercial failure of Mary Anderson's invention with its eventual universal adoption. Which choice best accomplishes this goal?

For decades after the Tudor warship *Mary Rose* was raised from the Solent in 1982, conservators kept the wooden hull constantly saturated with a chilled freshwater mist to prevent it from drying out and collapsing. Eventually, they began actively replacing the water in the wood cells with polyethylene glycol (PEG), a water-soluble polymer.

Given that all the choices are true, which choice most clearly highlights the transition from temporary preservation methods to a permanent, structural stabilization technique while emphasizing the scientific complexity of the process?

Reading Between the Lines

[1]
In $1948$, Norman Joseph Woodland, a graduate student at Drexel Institute of Technology, set out to solve a persistent problem for supermarkets: how to automate the tedious process of inventory checking and checkout. Standard methods relied on manual entry, which was slow and prone to human error. Woodland, along with his classmate Bernard Silver, began brainstorming solutions, but their initial ideas, which involved ultraviolet ink, proved impractical and expensive.

[2]
The breakthrough came in an unexpected setting. While visiting his grandfather in Miami, Woodland sat on the beach, pondering how to encode information visually. He idly ran his fingers through the sand, pulling four fingers toward him to draw parallel lines. Looking down at the patterns left behind, he had a sudden realization. He could adapt the concept of Morse code—a system he had learned in the Boy Scouts—by extending the dots and dashes vertically to create thin lines and thick lines. By reading these lines with a light source, a machine could instantly decode the information.

[3]
Woodland and Silver patented their "Classifying Apparatus and Method" in $1952$, but the technology required to read the code—including lasers and computers small enough to fit in a store—did not yet exist. It would take more than two decades, and the development of the microchip and helium-neon lasers, before the barcode would make its commercial debut. On June $26$, $1974$, a pack of chewing gum was scanned at a supermarket in Troy, Ohio, marking the birth of a technology that would revolutionize global commerce and logistics.

Suppose the writer's goal had been to write an essay that details the collaborative efforts and equal division of technical labor between Norman Joseph Woodland and Bernard Silver in the commercialization of the barcode. Would this essay successfully fulfill that goal?

Architect Julia Morgan was renowned for her meticulous integration of classical aesthetics with modern engineering. At Hearst Castle, she spent decades translating the client's grandiose visions into physical reality. She designed the Neptune Pool to evoke an ancient Roman temple, incorporating detailed classical elements that framed the water. This harmonious blend of historic style and structural innovation made the pool one of the most celebrated designs of her career.

The writer wants to revise the underlined portion of the third sentence (reproduced below) to provide the most specific, concrete visual detail that supports the claim that the Neptune Pool evokes an ancient Roman temple.

She designed the Neptune Pool to evoke an ancient Roman temple, incorporating detailed classical elements that framed the water.

Which of the following versions of the underlined portion best achieves this goal?

In 1895, Harvard University opened the Fogg Art Museum, but its lecture hall was a disaster; speakers' voices bounced off the semicircular plaster walls, creating a chaotic echo that rendered lectures completely unintelligible. The university turned to a young physics assistant professor, Wallace Sabine, to solve the problem. Sabine painstakingly tracked the sound decay in the room, using a pipe organ and a stopwatch to measure the time it took for sound to become inaudible. He discovered that the duration of the reverberation was directly proportional to the room's volume and inversely proportional to the sound-absorbing qualities of its surfaces. [X] Ultimately, this breakthrough allowed him to calculate the exact amount of felt padding needed to absorb the excess sound, founding the modern science of architectural acoustics.

Given that all the choices are true, which one transitions most effectively from the discovery of the mathematical relationship to the practical application of it, while emphasizing the arduous nature of Sabine's experimentation?

[1]
In the 1840s, British botanist Anna Atkins sought a more accurate and efficient way to record the intricate structures of British algae than the traditional, painstaking method of hand-drawing specimens. Her search led her to the work of astronomer and chemist Sir John Herschel, who in 1842 had invented a simple photographic printing process known as the cyanotype. Utilizing paper treated with iron salts, Herschel’s process produced a Prussian blue image when exposed to sunlight and washed with water.

[2]
Recognizing the scientific utility of this new medium, Atkins realized she could place dried botanical specimens directly onto the sensitized paper, exposing them to light to create precise, detailed silhouettes. These "photogenic drawings," or cyanotypes, captured the delicate fronds and filaments of algae with a degree of accuracy and speed that no hand-illustration could match. Atkins was not merely experimenting; she was embarking on a systematic effort to document her extensive collection.

[3]
In 1843, Atkins began publishing her work in installments, titled Photographs of British Algae: Cyanotype Impressions. This landmark publication is widely recognized by historians as the first book ever illustrated with photographs. By using cyanotypes, Atkins successfully bridged the gap between botanical science and the emerging field of photography, establishing a permanent place for photographic illustration in scientific documentation.

Suppose the writer’s goal had been to write an essay that explains the chemical process of Sir John Herschel's cyanotype invention and details its subsequent industrial applications. Is the statement that the essay successfully achieves this goal true or false?

A writer is editing a draft of an essay about astronomer Maria Mitchell.

[1] In 1847, Mitchell spent her evenings scanning the night sky from the roof of her father's bank in Nantucket. [2] Using a modest two-inch telescope, she discovered a new comet, which established her reputation as a skilled observer. [3] Shortly after her discovery, Mitchell received prestigious honors that cemented her international reputation. [4] The success of her work ultimately paved the way for other women to pursue careers in professional astronomy.

The writer wants to revise sentence 3 to provide the most specific, concrete evidence of Mitchell's international recognition. Which choice best accomplishes this goal?

[1] Fleming returned to his laboratory after a vacation to find that a mold called *Penicillium notatum* had contaminated one of his petri dishes. To his surprise, the bacteria immediately surrounding the mold had been destroyed. This chance discovery revolutionized modern medicine, leading to the development of antibiotics that have since saved millions of lives.

Which choice most effectively introduces the paragraph?

A student is writing an essay about the unique adaptations of the glass frog. The student wants to organize the paragraph below to ensure that the claim regarding the frog's survival mechanism is followed by explanation and specific supporting evidence.

How should the student arrange these sentences to create the most logical progression of ideas?

Beneath the forest floor, a complex web of fungal threads known as mycelium connects the roots of individual trees. This network, often called the "Wood Wide Web," allows trees to share resources, such as carbon, nitrogen, and water, with one another. Through these underground pathways, a mature tree can transfer nutrients to a struggling sapling of a different species, ensuring the survival of the forest community as a whole. Fungi are classified as a distinct kingdom separate from plants and animals. However, this cooperation is not entirely altruistic; the fungi extract a portion of the sugars produced by the trees' photosynthesis to fuel their own growth.

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

In 1783, Joseph-Michel and Jacques-Étienne Montgolfier launched the first manned hot air balloon in Paris. The balloon, constructed of paper and silk, rose over three thousand feet into the air and carried its passengers safely across the city. Today, hot air ballooning is a popular recreational activity and competitive sport worldwide. The success of this flight marked the beginning of human aviation, inspiring subsequent inventors to develop hydrogen balloons and gliders.

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

The following sentences are from a draft of an essay about marine biology. To ensure that the paragraph logically builds its claim that deep-sea hydrothermal vent ecosystems rely on chemosynthesis, in what order should the sentences be placed?

The following sentences are from a draft of an essay about chemist Alice Ball. To ensure that the paragraph logically builds its claim that Ball's work solved a major clinical hurdle in treating Hansen's disease, in what order should the sentences be placed?

Consider the following passage:

Umbrellas have a long history, dating back to ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia, where they were used primarily to shade royalty from the sun. In these early societies, umbrellas were symbols of power and status, made from palm leaves, feathers, or stretched papyrus. However, it was not until much later in ancient China that umbrellas were first waterproofed with wax and lacquer to provide protection against the rain.

[1] _________________________________________. For centuries, European men viewed them as a feminine accessory, associated almost exclusively with women of high social standing. It was not until the mid-eighteenth century, when an English traveler named Jonas Hanway began carrying an umbrella in public, that the device gained acceptance among men. Despite initial ridicule from carriage drivers who feared losing business, Hanway’s persistence eventually paid off, transforming the umbrella into a common and practical accessory for everyone.

Which of the following choices best introduces the main topic of the second paragraph?

Originating in Japan, *yakisugi* is a traditional method of wood preservation that involves charring the surface of cedar boards to make them resistant to fire, rot, and insects. The process begins by binding three boards into a triangular chimney, lighting the interior, and allowing the flames to rapidly carbonize the wood. This superficial burning creates a thick layer of carbonized cellulose, which acts as a natural barrier. Ultimately, the charred layer protects the underlying timber from environmental degradation, ensuring its longevity for decades.

The writer wants to revise the underlined portion of the sentence below to provide the most specific, concrete visual details that illustrate the physical appearance of the carbonized surface:

"This superficial burning creates a thick layer of carbonized cellulose, which acts as a natural barrier."

Which choice best accomplishes this goal?

Mary Anning was a pioneering English paleontologist who made several groundbreaking fossil discoveries in the cliffs of Lyme Regis. However, her path to success was not easy.

[1] She had many hobbies that kept her busy throughout her adult years. As a woman in nineteenth-century Britain, she was not allowed to join the Geological Society of London, and she was often excluded from the scientific community. Furthermore, male scientists frequently published academic papers about the fossils she found without giving her any credit.

Which choice most effectively replaces the underlined portion to introduce the paragraph by establishing its main focus?

Consider the following paragraph from an essay about Mayan architecture:

[1] The ancient Mayan pyramid El Castillo at Chichen Itza is celebrated not only for its imposing structure but also for its sophisticated acoustic design. [2] When visitors clap their hands at the base of the pyramid's staircase, the steps bounce the sound waves back as an echo. [3] This echo closely mimics the distinctive, high-pitched chirp of the resplendent quetzal, a sacred bird in Mayan mythology. [4] Researchers believe that Mayan architects intentionally engineered the staircase's dimensions—specifically the height and depth of each step—to produce this precise auditory illusion.

The writer wants to add a sentence after Sentence 3 that provides the most specific, concrete visual detail supporting the claim that the quetzal was highly revered in Mayan society. Which of the following sentences best accomplishes this goal?