The United States Postal Service recently issued a stamp to publicize the importance of spaying and neutering pets. Few people realize what an enormous problem pet overpopulation is. A letter from the Anti-Cruelty Society of Chicago asking for contributions included this information: in June of last year, people turned in 446 cats, 360 kittens, 361 dogs, and 170 puppies. In July, the numbers were up, and, in August, they were higher yet. In fact, in three months, 4,215 pets were turned in. How could new homes possibly be found for all these animals? If you think these numbers are incredible, consider this: one unspayed cat can produce over 20,000 kittens in four years. Even worse, every day, 70,000 unwanted kittens and puppies are born in the United States. Please help stop the suffering of these homeless animals.
Have your pets spayed or neutered, and contribute to your local animal shelter to help it publicize the pet population problem.
How do you know that this paragraph is organized from general to specific?
The first two sentences make general statements about pet overpopulation.
The first two sentences make general statements, followed by sentences that give more specific details.
The details that follow give exact population numbers, which makes them more specific.
Most paragraphs are organized from general to particular.
How many supporting points does this writer offer?
Nine
Three
Two
One
The specific details in this paragraph are
rumors.
facts.
examples.
concrete details.
Which sentences use transitions?
9 and 10
2 and 3
3 and 5
5 and 8
The specific details mention 4,215, then 20,000, and finally 70,000. How does the writer arrange these details?
from bad to worse and from general to specific
from most to least
from bad to worse
from general to specific
Most students want to have a car at college, but for three very good reasons, I'm not one of them. First, there is the cost of the car itself. A new car can cost as much as the down payment on a house. Even if you buy a used car, you have to spend several thousand dollars to get one that's reliable. Then, too, there is the cost of maintaining a car. Gas is very expensive, and the older a car is, the more repairs it requires. Plus
there is the cost of insurance. But the most important reason not to take a car to college is the constant daily hassle. There are traffic jams and road construction in the summer, bad driving conditions in the winter, and the worst hassle of alllong dash-finding
a parking space near campus. I'll take public transportation any day, thank you.
What is the purpose of this paragraph?
to compare
to explain
to tell a story
to describe
How is this paragraph organized?
by extremes, from most to least
by extremes, from least to most
from general to particular
chronologically
Why is the least-to-most pattern an effective choice?
It lets the writer make the last point the most memorable.
It lets the writer build to the most important point.
It lets the writer save the main reason for last, the place where it has the most punch.
All three statements are valid.
How does the writer signal that sentences 2 and 5 are reasons he or she doesn't want a car?
by using key words
by using transitions
by using pronouns
by using adjectives
How does the writer signal in sentence 8 he or she is about to give the main reason?
by using the
wordlong dash-hassles.
by using a
transitionlong dash-but
by using both a transition and key words
by using key
wordslong dash-the
most important reason . . . is