Topic Development

In 1895, Harvard University’s new Fogg Art Museum opened to the public, but its lecture hall was immediately deemed an acoustic failure. The room’s curved walls and high plaster ceiling created an echo so persistent that speakers’ words remained suspended in the air, overlapping into an unintelligible din. Desperate for a solution, the university president turned to a young physics professor, Wallace Sabine. Sabine spent years conducting painstaking experiments, using organ pipes and cushions borrowed from nearby theaters to measure sound decay. His work culminated in the first mathematical relationship governing reverberation time, effectively establishing the field of architectural acoustics.

Sabine’s new scientific principles were put to the test when he was hired to design Boston’s Symphony Hall. Rather than copying the circular shapes that had ruined the Fogg museum’s hall, Sabine chose a rectangular, "shoebox" layout with deep balconies, high ceilings, and walls coffered with niches and statues. These features dispersed the sound waves evenly throughout the auditorium, preventing focused echoes. Even today, the venue remains a popular destination for tourists visiting the historic city of Boston.

Which choice most effectively concludes the paragraph by highlighting the successful application of Sabine’s new scientific field and its lasting impact?

Sequoyah's Syllabary

[1]
In the early nineteenth century, a Cherokee silversmith named Sequoyah became convinced that the key to maintaining his people's independence lay in the power of the written word. Observing how European settlers shared information across great distances using what he termed "talking leaves," Sequoyah embarked on a decades-long quest to create a writing system for the Cherokee language. Despite facing initial skepticism and even accusations of witchcraft from his peers, he persisted in his work, recognizing that literacy would foster unity and preserve Cherokee culture in a rapidly changing world.

[2]
Sequoyah initially attempted to design a unique pictogram for every word in the Cherokee language. However, this approach quickly proved impractical, as the sheer number of symbols became impossible to memorize. Abandoning this method, he began to analyze the spoken language, breaking it down into distinct phonetic units. He realized that Cherokee is comprised of eighty-five recurring syllables. By assigning a distinct graphic symbol—some adapted from the Latin alphabet and others of his own invention—to each of these syllables, he established a complete and easily learnable writing system.

[3]
The impact of Sequoyah's invention was immediate and profound. Within a few years of its introduction in 1821, a majority of the Cherokee nation achieved literacy, outstripping the literacy rates of the surrounding European-American settlers. The syllabary enabled the publication of the *Cherokee Phoenix*, a bilingual newspaper, and allowed families separated by displacement to communicate. Sequoyah's achievement stands as a singular milestone: he is the only person in recorded history to single-handedly create an entire, functional writing system for an illiterate population.

Suppose the writer's goal had been to write an essay that details the grammatical rules and structural characteristics of the Cherokee language. This essay successfully fulfills that goal.

Passage Excerpt:
In 1952, computer pioneer Grace Hopper developed the first compiler, a program that translated English-like commands into the binary code understood by computers. Before this invention, programming required writing tedious strings of ones and zeros, a task restricted to a small group of mathematicians. [1] Hopper’s compiler, known as the A-0, paved the way for modern software development.

Given that all the choices are true, which choice best accomplishes the writer's goal of emphasizing how Hopper’s compiler democratized the field of computer programming by making it accessible to those without advanced mathematical training?

In 1943, mechanical engineer Richard James was working in a Philadelphia shipyard, attempting to develop springs that could support and stabilize sensitive marine instruments. During his experiments, he accidentally knocked a tension spring off a shelf. Instead of simply falling to the ground, the spring stepped down from a stack of books, onto a table, and coiled itself upright on the floor. James spent the next two years determining the perfect steel wire tension to turn this accidental movement into a children's toy, which his wife, Betty, named the "Slinky." [1]

The writer wants to conclude the paragraph with a sentence that highlights how a simple accident in a shipyard led to a successful, enduring commercial product. Which choice best accomplishes this goal?

In 1856, eighteen-year-old chemistry student William Henry Perkin was attempting to synthesize quinine, a treatment for malaria, in his home laboratory. Instead of obtaining the clear drug, his experiments yielded a dark, sticky sludge. Rather than discarding the failed mixture, Perkin investigated its properties and discovered that when diluted with alcohol, it produced a vibrant, long-lasting purple color. Historically, purple dye was harvested from the mucus of thousands of marine snails, rendering it so expensive that only royalty could afford it. Recognizing the commercial potential of his accidental creation, Perkin patented the substance as mauveine, the world's first synthetic dye, and opened a factory to mass-produce it.

The writer wants to add a concluding sentence to the paragraph that reinforces the significance of Perkin's transition from an accidental discovery to a commercial success. Which choice best accomplishes this goal?

A writer is editing an essay about the discovery of the coelacanth and has drafted the following paragraph:

In 1938, Marjorie Courtenay-Latimer, a curator at a small museum in South Africa, received a call from Hendrick Goosen, a local fishing captain. Goosen was known for his skilled navigation of the challenging waters of the Indian Ocean. Courtenay-Latimer frequently searched Goosen’s catches for interesting marine specimens. On this particular day, she found a bright blue, five-foot-long creature with fleshy, limb-like fins that she could not identify.

Should the writer delete the underlined sentence?

Originating in ancient Mesopotamia and later refined in India by the mathematician Brahmagupta, the concept of zero revolutionized mathematics by functioning as both a placeholder and a number in its own right. Prior to this innovation, mathematicians struggled to perform complex calculations without confusing notation. _Brahmagupta also wrote several influential treatises on astronomy, detailing the movements of the planets and the stars._ By defining zero’s mathematical properties—such as the rule that subtracting a number from itself yields zero—ancient scholars paved the way for modern algebra and calculus.

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

In the winter of 1903, Mary Anderson was riding a streetcar in New York City when she noticed the driver struggling to see through the falling sleet. To clear the windshield, the driver had to open the window, reach outside, and wipe the glass by hand, which let freezing air and wet snow into the vehicle. Upon returning home to Alabama, Anderson designed a swinging arm with a rubber blade that could be operated by a lever from inside the cab. Patented in 1903, her device became the first functional windshield wiper.

The writer wants to conclude the paragraph with a sentence that emphasizes the lasting impact of Anderson's invention. Which choice best accomplishes this goal?

The Echo of the Wolf

[1] In 1995, after a seventy-year absence, gray wolves were reintroduced to Yellowstone National Park. The decision was highly controversial, sparking intense debates between conservationists and local ranchers. Ranchers feared that the predators would devastate livestock populations, while biologists argued that the absence of a keystone predator had severely damaged the park's ecosystem.

[2] In the decades following the wolves' return, biologists witnessed a phenomenon known as a trophic cascade. Without wolves to hunt them, the park's elk population had ballooned, overgrazing young willow, aspen, and cottonwood trees along stream banks. With wolves back on the landscape, elk behavior changed; they spent less time lingering in open valleys where they were vulnerable. Consequently, the vegetation began to recover.

[3] This resurgence of flora triggered a chain reaction. Rebounding trees stabilized riverbanks, reducing erosion and cooling the water, which benefited fish. Beavers returned to build dams, creating wetlands that supported insects, birds, and amphibians. The wolf reintroduction proved that the health of an ecosystem depends on the intricate connections among all its inhabitants.

Statement: Suppose the writer's goal had been to write an essay explaining how the reintroduction of a predator species can trigger a series of environmental changes that benefit other wildlife. This essay successfully achieves that goal.

A writer is editing a draft of a scientific essay about forest ecosystems.

[1] Beneath the forest floor, a complex network of fungal threads known as mycorrhizae connects the roots of individual trees, allowing them to share resources.
[2] Larger, older "hub trees" occupy central nodes in this network, distributing excess sugars to younger seedlings that would otherwise struggle to survive.
[3] Recent experiments show that trees can even use these fungal pathways to transmit warning signals about insect attacks to nearby vegetation.
[4] Fungi benefit from this relationship as well, absorbing carbon produced by the trees through photosynthesis.

The writer wants to add a sentence after Sentence 3 that provides specific, concrete details to support the claim that trees use the network to transmit warning signals. Which of the following sentences would best achieve this goal?

Tatiana Proskouriakoff, an illustrator-turned-archaeologist, revolutionized the field of Mayan decipherment in the mid-twentieth century. For decades, prevailing scholarly consensus held that Mayan hieroglyphs represented exclusively astronomical calculations and abstract religious concepts, completely detached from historical events. However, while analyzing carved stone monuments called stelae at the ancient city of Piedras Negras, Proskouriakoff identified recurring patterns of dates that corresponded to the average lifespans of human beings. She hypothesized that these monuments did not depict nameless gods, but rather documented the actual biographies of Mayan rulers.

The writer wants to conclude the passage by emphasizing how Proskouriakoff’s discovery permanently transformed the understanding of Mayan history. Which choice best accomplishes this goal?

The following passage is an essay about Sequoyah and the development of the Cherokee writing system.

[1]
In the early nineteenth century, Sequoyah, a Cherokee silversmith who spoke no English, became convinced that the security and independence of his people depended on their mastering the "talking leaves"—the written language used by white settlers. While many of his contemporaries regarded these texts with skepticism or awe, viewing literacy as either a threat or a form of magic, Sequoyah recognized it as a practical tool of self-determination. He set out to create a written form of Cherokee, believing it would allow his nation to navigate the pressures of colonial expansion without losing their cultural identity.

[2]
His initial efforts were met with ridicule. Sequoyah spent years attempting to design a logographic system, creating a distinct character for every individual word. This approach proved unsustainable; the sheer volume of symbols was impossible for a reader to memorize. Recognizing the limits of this methodology, he began listening to spoken Cherokee with a new ear, isolating the recurring sound units that formed words. He identified eighty-five distinct syllables, pairing each with a character—some borrowed from English spelling books and Greek texts, though modified to represent entirely unrelated Cherokee sounds.

[3]
The resulting syllabary, completed in 1821, transformed Cherokee society almost overnight. Because the system was based on phonetics rather than complex spelling rules, Cherokee speakers could learn to read and write in a matter of days. The Cherokee National Council adopted the system, and soon, a bilingual newspaper, the *Cherokee Phoenix*, was circulating throughout the nation. Through the power of their new written language, the Cherokee drafted a constitution, codified their legal system, and recorded history on their own terms, establishing a literate infrastructure that served as a powerful defense against forced assimilation.

Suppose the writer's goal had been to write an essay demonstrating how the creation of a written language was essential to the legal recognition of Native American land rights by colonial governments. Would this essay accomplish this goal?

In 1957, engineers Alfred Fielding and Marc Chavannes sealed two plastic shower curtains together, creating a sheet of trapped air bubbles. They initially attempted to market this textured material as a fashionable wallpaper, but the product did not sell. Next, they pitched it as insulation for greenhouses, which also proved unsuccessful. [1] Greenhouses are typically constructed of glass or plastic to allow sunlight to heat the plants inside. Finally, in 1960, IBM began using the material—now trademarked as Bubble Wrap—to protect its new computers during shipping, establishing its success as packaging material.

The writer is considering deleting Sentence 1 from the passage. Should this sentence be deleted?

The following passage is an essay about Maya decipherment.

[1]
For centuries, the intricate carvings on Maya stelae—large stone slabs erected in ancient Mesoamerican cities—were regarded as purely mystical and astronomical symbols. Early scholars believed the Maya were a peaceful people preoccupied almost exclusively with time, calendar calculations, and the stars. The glyphs, they argued, did not record actual human history or the details of earthly rulers. This view dominated the field of Maya archaeology, leaving the historical realities of this civilization obscured.

[2]
Tatiana Proskouriakoff, a Russian-born American architect, would single-handedly overturn this paradigm. In the 1930s, Proskouriakoff was hired as an illustrator for archaeological excavations at Piedras Negras in Guatemala. Possessing an artist's eye and an architect's spatial precision, she produced vivid, historically accurate reconstructions of ancient Maya cities. Her drawings brought the ruins to life, but it was her close, systematic observation of the monuments themselves that led to her most profound breakthrough.

[3]
Analyzing a series of stelae at Piedras Negras, Proskouriakoff noticed a curious pattern. The stelae were erected in distinct chronological clusters, and each group spanned a timeframe no longer than a typical human lifespan—about sixty years. Moreover, the first stela in each group always depicted a figure seated in a niche, accompanied by a specific glyph indicating accession. Proskouriakoff hypothesized that this scene represented the inauguration of a new ruler, and that the accompanying dates marked significant events in that ruler's life. By mapping these patterns, she demonstrated that the glyphs recorded the births, accessions, and military victories of historical individuals. The stelae were not celestial almanacs; they were royal biographies.

Suppose the writer's goal had been to write an essay explaining how a major archaeological paradigm was overturned by a researcher's close observation of historical monuments. Would this essay accomplish that goal?

In the early eighteenth century, navigating the open seas remained a perilous endeavor. While sailors could easily determine their latitude by measuring the angle of the sun or stars relative to the horizon, determining longitude was an unresolved challenge. Without an accurate way to calculate east-west position, ships frequently drifted off course, leading to disastrous shipwrecks. The British Parliament, desperate for a solution, passed the Longitude Act of $1714$, offering a massive cash prize to anyone who could develop a method to determine longitude within half a degree. Most prominent scientists of the era believed the answer lay in the stars, advocating for complex astronomical calculations that required clear night skies. [1]

John Harrison, a self-taught English clockmaker, rejected this celestial approach. Instead, he proposed a mechanical solution: a highly precise clock called a marine chronometer that could keep accurate time at sea despite the motion of the ship and changes in temperature.

Which choice, placed at [1], best concludes the first paragraph and transitions to the second paragraph?

[1] For decades, scholars believed that Mayan hieroglyphs recorded only astronomical data and calendar dates, reflecting a peaceful society obsessed with time. [2] In the 1950s, however, art historian Tatiana Proskouriakoff began analyzing stelae—carved stone slabs—at the ancient city of Piedras Negras. [3] She noticed that the dates on a series of stelae fell within the span of a normal human lifetime. [4] Proskouriakoff hypothesized that the glyphs actually recorded the historical lives of Mayan rulers, including their births, accessions to the throne, and military victories. [5] Mayan architecture also featured steep limestone pyramids that served as temples and tombs. [6] Her breakthrough revolutionized Mayan studies, shifting the academic consensus from viewing the Maya as abstract mystics to recognizing them as historical record-keepers.

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

Passage Excerpt:

In the heart of the city, volunteers transformed a vacant lot into a vibrant community garden. This year, the garden produced [blank].

Which choice most directly emphasizes the diversity of the crops grown in the garden?

Paragraph 1

Completed in 2012, the Tokyo Skytree stands as one of the tallest structures in the world, rising 634 meters above a city prone to frequent earthquakes. To prevent the tower from collapsing during seismic activity, engineers turned to traditional Japanese architecture for inspiration. Specifically, they analyzed the design of ancient five-story pagodas, which have withstood centuries of tremors. Pagodas feature a central pillar, known as a *shinbashira*, that is structurally independent of the surrounding stories. During an earthquake, the pillar and the outer frame sway out of phase with one another, effectively canceling out much of the seismic energy.

Paragraph 2

The Skytree incorporates a modern version of this system: a massive central concrete column that is connected to the outer steel truss only by fluid dampers. When seismic waves strike, the outer frame sways while the central column resists the motion, absorbing the energy through the dampers. Under extreme conditions, this system can reduce the overall movement of the tower by up to 50 percent. ___________

The writer wants to conclude the passage by emphasizing how the combination of ancient design and modern technology ensures the safety of the Skytree. Which choice best accomplishes this goal?

Marie Tharp's career in cartography began at a time when women were barred from conducting research aboard vessels. Staying behind at Columbia University, Tharp transformed raw sonar data collected by her colleague Bruce Heezen into detailed three-dimensional drawings of the ocean floor. By meticulously plotting these depth measurements, she discovered a massive V-shaped rift valley running down the center of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. While Heezen initially dismissed her findings as "girl talk" that supported the then-controversial theory of continental drift, Tharp persisted, eventually convincing him that the valley was real.

The writer wants to add a sentence at the end of the passage to conclude the paragraph by summarizing the significance of Tharp's discovery. Which choice best accomplishes this goal?

The following is an essay about a late-nineteenth-century invention:

[1]
In the late nineteenth century, the introduction of the safety bicycle revolutionized personal mobility. Unlike its predecessor, the "ordinary" or "penny-farthing"—which featured a massive front wheel, lacked brakes, and posed a constant threat of header crashes—the safety bicycle boasted two equal-sized wheels, a chain drive, and pneumatic tires. Cycling was no longer a dangerous stunt reserved for athletic young men; it became an accessible, comfortable activity for the general public.

[2]
Perhaps no group was more profoundly affected by this technological shift than women. For decades, societal norms restricted women's independence, confining their travel largely to distances they could walk or journeys chaperoned in carriages. The safety bicycle provided an unprecedented means of self-locomotion. Susan B. Anthony famously remarked that bicycling had "done more to emancipate women than anything else in the world," giving them a feeling of freedom and self-reliance.

[3]
The bicycle also drove significant changes in women's fashion. To ride comfortably, women abandoned heavy, restrictive Victorian corsets and voluminous skirts in favor of "rational dress," which included bloomers and shorter skirts. Although conservative critics decried these changes as scandalous, the practicality of the bicycle triumphed. In this way, the safety bicycle did not merely change how people traveled; it reshaped the social fabric of the era.

Suppose the writer’s goal had been to write an essay that traces the mechanical evolution of the bicycle from its earliest prototypes to modern designs. Would this essay accomplish that goal?