PLT 1 Constructed Response Student Samples 1 Explain

PLT 1 Constructed Response Student Samples

1. Explain how the first-person point of view is important in supporting the author’s purpose. In “Everest is Mighty, ” the author speaks in first person perspective to emphasize his opinion that people who attempt to climb Mount Everest should be respected. Hillary states, “so should we discourage the risk takers by despising and shunning them? We admire people who try a little harder and who push the envelope a little further. ” He is saying that those risk takers climbing Everest should not be despised but respected. To him, the climbers are “inspiration for his or her community” and society can learn from their mistakes.

2. How does the poet use metaphor to develop theme of this poem? In “Numbers, ” Mary Cornish relates the omnipresence of math in every day life through the use of metaphors. She notes the “domesticity of additions” that is present in a recipe. She even says that “subtraction is never [a] loss” because it just takes some “things” to give to another. By comparing math to every day enjoyments, Cornish reminds the reader how wondrous math could be, as wondrous as a Chinese cookie.

3. [Despite the time it was written], theme of his poem is very relevant today. Identify theme and explain how a modern reader would relate. The theme of “On the Hurry of this Time” is that modern society has become obsessed with quick-response technology to the point in which thoughtfulness is forgotten. This is supported by “scant space we have for Art’s delay” (L. 12) which says that people are impatient and just want immediate responses. To a modern reader, the message is highly relatable. “Too swiftly now the hours take flight” (L. 14) is a great example of how time for thoughtful pondering diminishes due to constant errands. The value of time has overcome thoughtfulness.

4. How is Cassandra’s viewpoint of the freshman swim team different than her aunt’s? Which viewpoint dominates at the end of the story? “In Swim Trials, ” Cassandra believes the freshman team is where all the bad swimmers are, while her aunt believes that it is a training ground for future star swimmers. Cassandra was met with sheer disappointment when she made the freshmen team. She described it as a disaster: “if only I had swum the crawl, this disaster would have been averted. ” However, her aunt tells Cassandra that “[she thinks] the freshmen team is an excellent training ground for a young swimmer. ” This results in Cassandra swallowing her pride and committing to the freshmen team, where the coach believes she has a bright future.