I recommend Amanda without any reservations. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any further questions.

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1 READTHEORY.ORG Name Date Recommendation It is my pleasure to write this letter in support of Amanda Jenkins. Amanda was a student in my English classes at American City University for three consecutive semesters. Over that time, I watched her develop from a reserved, taciturn student into a confident, outspoken young woman. Amanda s written work has always been excellent, but she struggled at first with oral presentations. In the first class Amanda had with me, 20th-century Poetry, she delivered her midterm presentation on Wallace Stevens in a voice barely above a whisper. Over the course of three semesters, however, Amanda s confidence steadily grew. Last semester, Amanda was enrolled in my Literary Traditions class. All students in this course were required to deliver a minute, comprehensive final presentation at the end of the semester. Amanda s wonderful presentation demonstrated the progress she has made over the past three semesters. For this project, she wrote a creative re-interpretation of William Shakespeare s Hamlet that also included characters from Toni Morrison s Beloved. Amanda seamlessly interwove the two works into a short story and read the story aloud to the class. Her delivery was masterful; she was confident, engaging, and lively. The entire class including myself was delighted. The comparative paper that she wrote for the final project was also fantastic; not many other students were able to make such insightful observations on the parallels between Toni Morrison and Shakespeare. The fact that Amanda noticed connections between works that span 400 years of literary history does not surprise me, as it reflects her passion for global studies. As an Anthropology major, Amanda explores the way individual cultures and regions impact the world at large. Because she plans to pursue a career in international relations, traveling to different parts of the world constitutes a vital part of her educational experience. I believe that this summer session in Berlin would be an important opportunity for Amanda, and I am confident that she will both benefit from and be an asset to the program. On a personal level, Amanda is respectful and open-minded. While working on a group project about a controversial public issue, Amanda was assigned to work with three partners who all disagreed with Amanda s opinions about the issue. Amanda was able to discuss her differences in opinion with her group mates in a polite and thoughtful manner, which is not always easy for young people to do. I recommend Amanda without any reservations. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any further questions. Sincerely, Professor Clara Tyndale, Ph.D. 1) The author recommends Amanda for each of the following reasons EXCEPT which one? A. Amanda has grown in confidence over the past three semesters

2 B. Amanda received excellent grades in the professor s courses C. Amanda works well with others D. Amanda will benefit from the program itself 2) As used in paragraph 1, which is the best antonym for taciturn? A. alert B. talkative C. intelligent D. nervous 3) The author most likely discusses Amanda s final presentation on Hamlet and Beloved in paragraph 2 in order to show that Amanda A. is capable of producing excellent written work B. is able to identify connections between texts that span over 400 years C. has gained confidence over the course of three semesters D. seeks out challenges by choosing difficult topics 4) Based on information in the passage, it can be inferred that Amanda is most likely applying to A. a summer internship as a speech writer B. a job as a professor of International Relations C. law school D. a study abroad program 5) Which of the following details, if added to the passage, would provide the best support for the author s claim in paragraph 4? A. While her group mates were not persuaded by Amanda s arguments, they appreciated the way that she expressed her views and they continued to work well as a team. B. Amanda and her group received an A on the project, which was the highest grade in the class. C. Once Amanda had thoroughly explained her argument to her group mates, they decided to write the paper on a different topic. D. Amanda s group asked her to do the majority of the work on the project because they thought she was the best writer in the group. 6) For what reason do you think Professor Tyndale wrote this letter? Who is the intended reader? Explain your ideas.

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4 Answers and Explanations 1) B Core Standard: Key Ideas and Details Although it is likely that Amanda received excellent grades from Professor Tyndale, the author does not discuss her grades at all. This lets us know that the author does not recommend Amanda because she received excellent grades in the professor s courses. Therefore (B) is correct. In paragraph 1, the author says that Amanda developed from a reserved, taciturn student into a confident, outspoken young woman. This means the professor believes that Amanda has grown in confidence over the past three semesters. This eliminates (A). In the final paragraph, the author praises the way Amanda worked with group mates who shared different opinions on a controversial public issue. The author notes that she was polite, thoughtful, and respectful, indicating that she works well with others. This eliminates (C). In paragraph 3, the author writes that Amanda s future plans involve a career in international relations. According to the author, the summer program would be an important opportunity for Amanda and she will both benefit from and be an asset to the program. This eliminates (D). 2) B Core Standard: Craft and Structure taciturn ( adjective): habitually silent; uncommunicative or reserved in speech and manner. In paragraph 1, the author states that Amanda developed from a reserved, taciturn student into a confident, outspoken young woman. From this we can understand that a reserved, taciturn person is different from a confident, outspoken person. To illustrate how Amanda behaved initially, the author writes, In the first class Amanda had with me, 20th-century Poetry, she delivered her midterm presentation on Wallace Stevens in a voice barely above a whisper. Based on this context, we can understand that someone who is taciturn is not outspoken or does not talk very much, so a good antonym is talkative. Therefore (B) is correct. Although someone who is reserved and taciturn is quiet, that does not mean the person is necessarily inattentive or sluggish, so alert is not an antonym for taciturn. Therefore (A) is incorrect. Being quiet or reserved does not indicate anything about a person s intelligence, so intelligent is not an antonym for taciturn. This means (C) is incorrect. Although someone who is reserved and taciturn could be shy because he or she is nervous, the question asks for an antonym. Nervous is not the opposite of quiet, so (D) is incorrect.

5 3) C Core Standard: Integration of Knowledge In paragraph 2, the author builds on an idea introduced in paragraph 1, admitting that Amanda struggled at first with oral presentations. She notes that an earlier presentation on Wallace Stevens was delivered in a voice barely above a whisper. Then the author states, Over the course of three semesters, however, Amanda s confidence steadily grew. The author discusses Amanda s final presentation for the Literary Traditions course directly after this statement to illustrate precisely how Amanda demonstrated the progress she has made over the past three semesters in terms of gaining confidence. Therefore (C) is correct. In paragraph 2, the author states that Amanda s written work has always been excellent. However, the author s main point in paragraph 2 is that Amanda made admirable gains in confidence and speaking ability. Because the author focuses on Amanda s delivery of the presentation more than her writing, (A) is not the best choice. In paragraph 3, the author praises the fact that Amanda noticed connections between works that span 400 years of literary history. However, this point is in a separate paragraph, one that focuses more on Amanda s powers of observation and how these fit her chosen major and anticipated career. This means (B) is incorrect. Amanda s topic may seem difficult, but the passage does not provide information to indicate whether Amanda chose it herself or whether it was assigned by the professor. This makes (D) incorrect. 4) D Core Standard: Integration of Knowledge In paragraph 3, the author writes: I believe that this summer session in Berlin would be an important opportunity for Amanda, and I am confident that she will both benefit from and be an asset to the program. If Amanda is a student at American City University and she is applying for a summer session in Berlin, then we can infer that the letter is most likely recommending Amanda for a study abroad program in Berlin. Therefore (D) is correct. The passage does not provide information to support choices (A), (B), and (C). Therefore they are incorrect. 5) A Core Standard: Integration of Knowledge The author s claim in paragraph 4 is that Amanda is respectful and open-minded when dealing with people whose opinions differ from hers. If it were true that Amanda discussed her opinions in a way that allowed her group mates to continue to work well together despite the fact that they disagreed with her, this would support the idea that Amanda is respectful and open-minded. Therefore (A) is correct.

6 Receiving an A on the project is good, but it does not necessarily reflect that Amanda is respectful and open-minded. This makes (B) incorrect. If Amanda s group decided to write the paper on a different topic after Amanda had explained her argument, it might suggest that Amanda s group felt pressured to agree with Amanda on the initial topic. This would not support the idea that she works well with others, so (C) is incorrect. If Amanda s group asked her to do the majority of the work on the project, this would not indicate that the group collaborated well together. The author s claim in this paragraph is not that Amanda is a good writer, but that she works well with others. This eliminates (D).