Question

read this short biography written by a student about an early american poet. then answer the questions that follow.

phillis wheatley was an important figure in colonial america. she was kidnapped from africa, brought to america, and enslaved. she learned to read and write, which was extremely rare for a woman and especially for an enslaved person. her poetry celebrated political figures and was published while she was still enslaved.

decide the effect of revising sentence 2 to \after she was kidnapped from africa, wheatley was brought to america and enslaved.\

it adds sentence variety to the passage.
it emphasizes the sentences second half.
both answers are true.
neither answer is true.

Explanation:

Analyze the original sentence structure

The original sentence 2 is: "She was kidnapped from Africa, brought to America, and enslaved."
This is a simple sentence with a compound predicate sharing a single subject ("She"). It follows a straightforward chronological list of actions.

Analyze the revised sentence structure

The proposed revision is: "After she was kidnapped from Africa, Wheatley was brought to America and enslaved."
This revision changes the sentence from a simple sentence to a complex sentence by introducing a dependent adverbial clause ("After she was kidnapped from Africa") followed by an independent clause ("Wheatley was brought to America and enslaved").

Evaluate the effect on sentence variety

Using Textual Analysis, we look at the surrounding sentences in the passage:

• Sentence 1: "Phillis Wheatley was an important figure in colonial America." (Simple sentence, Subject-Verb-Complement)
• Sentence 3: "She learned to read and write, which was extremely rare for a woman and especially for an enslaved person." (Complex sentence)
• Sentence 4: "Her poetry celebrated political figures and was published while she was still enslaved." (Compound-complex structure)

Changing Sentence 2 from a simple list to a complex sentence starting with a subordinate clause adds syntactic variety to the paragraph, preventing a repetitive "Subject + Verb" pattern at the beginning of consecutive sentences. Thus, the first statement ("It adds sentence variety to the passage") is true.

Evaluate the effect on emphasis

In English syntax, placing information in a subordinate clause (dependent clause) typically de-emphasizes that information, while placing information in the main independent clause emphasizes it.
By placing "After she was kidnapped from Africa" in a dependent clause, the focus shifts heavily to the main clause: "Wheatley was brought to America and enslaved." This emphasizes the second half of the original statement (her arrival and enslavement in America). Thus, the second statement ("It emphasizes the sentence's second half") is also true.

Determine the correct option

Since both individual statements ("It adds sentence variety to the passage" and "It emphasizes the sentence's second half") are correct, the option "Both answers are true" is the correct choice.

Answer:

• It adds sentence variety to the passage.
• It emphasizes the sentence's second half.
• Both answers are true. (Correct answer)
• Neither answer is true.