Wagner Prep

Quiz 1.8 — Think Like an Author

Test yourself on the Think Like an Author curriculum and your ability to identify, solve, and explain the questions from the deck.

You should be able to answer every question without referring back to the module or the deck. If you get stuck, that section needs another read.

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Part 1

Module Content

Answer in your own words.

1What is the blind men and the elephant parable, and what does it tell you about how students misread SAT passages?*

Please answer this question.

2Think Like an Author covers three question types with one habit of mind. Name the three types and the one question a student should keep in the back of their mind for all of them.*

Please answer this question.

3What is an umbrella sentence, and what is a flipped umbrella? Which transition words signal a flip?*

Please answer this question.

4Name the three traps that show up most on main purpose questions and explain what each one does wrong.*

Please answer this question.

5What is the difference between what a sentence says and what a sentence does on a function question? What are the two function-question traps called?*

Please answer this question.

6List the four blocks of the overall-structure arc, and explain Tyler's two-part trick for eliminating structure answers.*

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Part 2

Identify and Answer

Each question below is a real College Board question. Solve it, then name the question type.

7Main Purpose (Easy). In 1992, Mae Jemison became the first Black woman to travel into space when she served as a mission specialist aboard the space shuttle Endeavour. A medical doctor and engineer, Jemison conducted experiments on bone cell loss and motion sickness during her eight-day mission. After leaving NASA, she founded a technology research company and later a foundation dedicated to advancing science education. In 2012, she was selected to lead the 100 Year Starship project, an initiative to make human travel beyond our solar system possible within the next century. Which choice best states the main purpose of the text?*

A. To explain the scientific experiments Jemison conducted during her 1992 mission B. To highlight the range of Jemison's contributions to science and exploration C. To argue that more Black women should pursue careers in engineering D. To compare Jemison's mission with earlier space shuttle missions

Please select an answer.

Question type*

Please name the question type.

8Structure (Easy). Soil erosion in agricultural regions has traditionally been addressed through physical interventions such as terracing, contour plowing, and the construction of retention walls. While these methods reduce the immediate loss of topsoil, they do not restore the biological activity that makes soil fertile in the first place. A growing body of research now suggests that integrating cover crops and mycorrhizal fungi into farming practices can rebuild soil microbiomes, offering a more sustainable path to long-term land productivity. The passage is primarily organized as*

A. a comparison of two farming regions that have adopted different erosion-control methods. B. a description of an existing approach to a problem, an identification of its limitation, and an introduction of a more comprehensive alternative. C. a chronological account of how soil erosion has worsened over the past century. D. an argument against modern agricultural practices followed by a call for government regulation.

Please select an answer.

Question type*

Please name the question type.

9Function (Easy). The Atlantic slave trade did not merely transport people across an ocean; it created an entirely new cultural geography. Enslaved Africans, forcibly separated from their homelands, carried with them musical traditions, spiritual practices, and agricultural knowledge that would profoundly shape the societies of the Americas. The banjo, for instance, traces its origins to West African stringed instruments brought to the Caribbean and the American South by enslaved musicians. What emerged in the New World was not a simple reproduction of African culture, but a dynamic synthesis forged under conditions of extraordinary duress. Which choice best describes the function of the third sentence in the text ("The banjo...musicians")?*

A. It provides a specific example that supports the broader claim made in the second sentence about the cultural contributions of enslaved Africans. B. It shifts the focus of the passage from the cultural impact of the slave trade to the history of a particular musical instrument. C. It presents evidence that contradicts the claim in the first sentence about the creation of a new cultural geography. D. It introduces the passage's central argument about the relationship between music and forced migration.

Please select an answer.

Question type*

Please name the question type.

10Structure (Medium). When Zora Neale Hurston published "Their Eyes Were Watching God" in 1937, many prominent Black intellectuals dismissed the novel for what they saw as its lack of political engagement. Richard Wright criticized it as a story that carried no theme or message. Yet by the 1970s, writers like Alice Walker had championed Hurston's work as a masterpiece of voice and interiority, arguing that its exploration of one woman's inner life was itself a radical act. Today, the novel is widely regarded as one of the most important works in American literature. Which choice best describes the overall structure of the passage?*

A. A work of literature is introduced, the evolution of its critical reception is traced, and its current status is established. B. A controversy between two authors is described, and then one side is declared the winner. C. An author's biography is summarized, and then the themes of her most famous novel are analyzed. D. A literary movement is defined, and then a specific novel is used to illustrate its key principles.

Please select an answer.

Question type*

Please name the question type.

11Main Purpose (Hard). Traditional economic theory has long held that people act in their own financial self-interest, making rational decisions based on available information. A body of research conducted over the past three decades, however, has documented consistent patterns of seemingly irrational behavior: people pay more for identical goods packaged as premium, over-value items they already own, and systematically underweight long-term consequences. Some economists initially dismissed these findings as noise, arguing that such behaviors would wash out in market conditions. Yet the patterns have proven both robust and predictable, prompting a growing recognition that the models economists use must account for how people actually decide, not how they would decide if they behaved as the theory assumes. Which choice best states the main purpose of the text?*

A. To catalog specific examples of consumer behavior that economists have found difficult to explain B. To trace how documented departures from rational-actor theory have moved from dismissed anomalies to a factor forcing the revision of economic models C. To argue that traditional economic theory is fundamentally flawed and should be abandoned in favor of behavioral economics D. To compare the methods used by traditional economists with those used by behavioral researchers

Please select an answer.

Question type*

Please name the question type.

12Structure (Hard). In cognitive psychology, the "testing effect" refers to the well-documented finding that retrieving information from memory strengthens long-term retention more effectively than re-reading or passive review. Despite decades of supporting evidence, many students continue to rely on highlighting and re-reading as their primary study techniques. Researchers attribute this gap between evidence and behavior to several factors, including the subjective feeling of fluency that re-reading creates — students mistake the ease of recognition for genuine understanding. Which choice best describes what happens in the text?*

A. A psychological phenomenon is defined, a contradiction between research and common behavior is noted, and a possible explanation for that contradiction is offered. B. A study technique is recommended, and then students are warned about the consequences of ignoring the recommendation. C. Two equally effective study methods are compared, and then a new method that combines elements of both is proposed. D. A research finding is presented, and then the methodology behind the research is questioned.

Please select an answer.

Question type*

Please name the question type.

13Function (Hard). In a recent university study, researchers found that bilingual individuals frequently outperformed monolingual peers on tasks requiring cognitive flexibility — the ability to switch between different mental frameworks. The researchers attributed this advantage not to any inherent neurological difference but to the constant practice of managing two linguistic systems simultaneously. Importantly, the effect was most pronounced in individuals who regularly used both languages in daily life, rather than those who had learned a second language but rarely used it. Which choice best describes the function of the third sentence ("Importantly...used it")?*

A. It introduces a new study that expands on the findings described in the first two sentences. B. It offers a concrete example to illustrate the concept of cognitive flexibility defined earlier in the text. C. It qualifies the finding from the previous sentences by specifying the conditions under which the cognitive advantage was strongest. D. It challenges the researchers' interpretation of their results by proposing an alternative explanation for the bilingual advantage.

Please select an answer.

Question type*

Please name the question type.

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Part 3

Teaching Scenarios

Answer as if you were in the session.

14A student who aced AP Literature reads a main purpose passage, then picks an answer because it captures how the passage "made them feel" about the subject, even though nothing on the page states it. What do you say, and what concept from Module 1.8 does this connect to?*

Please answer this question.

15On a main purpose question, your student picks an answer that only describes one sentence from the middle of the passage. When you ask why, they say "because it was in the passage." What analogy do you use, and what question do you ask to help them see the mistake?*

Please answer this question.

16On a function question, your student picks an answer that just restates what the underlined sentence says. What distinction do you teach, and what tool do you use to help them find what the sentence actually does?*

Please answer this question.

17Your student finds the umbrella sentence on a structure passage, then picks an answer that matches the opening but ignores a "however" halfway through. How do you teach the fix?*

Please answer this question.

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