Unit 3: Reasoning & Organization
English Lang · Unit 3 · Paper 1

Reasoning & Organization unit test

A test on this unit alone, marked as a percentage and a letter grade — for the test your class is actually sitting, rather than for May. Answer everything, then submit once: seeing the answer to question 3 before attempting question 4 makes the final percentage meaningless.

Each paper is built from this unit’s 33 terms and is the same for everyone, so a teacher can assign “Unit 3, Paper 1” and every student sits the identical test. Multiple choice is marked objectively; the written sections you mark yourself against the model answer and rubric.
Suggested time 33 min 30 points0/17 attempted
1

Straw man

2

Exemplification

3

Paragraph unity

4

Concession-refutation structure

5

Correlation vs causation

6

Line of reasoning vs list of points

7

Slippery slope

8

Paragraph as a unit of reasoning

9

Narrative as argument

10

Causal reasoning

11

Unstated assumption (warrant)

12

Introduction and conclusion strategies

Short answer 1. Define or explain: Transitions and coherence

3 pts

Short answer 2. Define or explain: Ad hominem

3 pts

Short answer 3. Define or explain: Chronological development

3 pts

Short answer 4. Define or explain: False dichotomy

3 pts

Free response

6 pts

ARGUMENT ESSAY (Question 3, 6 points). In her 2009 keynote address for the Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minority Students, physician, engineer, and former astronaut Mae Jemison — the first African American woman in space — stated: "Never be limited by other people's limited imaginations. If you adopt their attitudes, then the possibility won't exist because you'll have already shut it out.... You can hear other people's wisdom, but you've got to re-evaluate the world for yourself." Write an essay that argues your position on the extent to which Jemison's claim about considering others' opinions is valid. In your response you should: present a defensible thesis; provide evidence to support your line of reasoning; explain how the evidence supports it; and use appropriate grammar and punctuation.