Question

the numbers that major tallmadge assigned to members of the culper ring were from a secret writing system he invented. he substituted digits for words that would be used in messages. \long island,\ for example, was 728, \arms\ was 7, and \city\ was 88. there was a number for each month, such as 341 for \january.\ he made four copies of his codes. he kept one and gave the others to woodhull, townsend, and general washington. for words that did not have a number code, tallmadge gave his agents a cipher. in a cipher, each letter in a message is replaced by another letter or a number.

which best describes the central idea of this excerpt?

major tallmadge created a code that substituted numbers for words during the revolutionary war.
major tallmadge created a code in which \city\ was \88\ during the revolutionary war.
during the revolutionary war, major tallmadge gave general washington the key to his codes.
during the revolutionary war, major tallmadge gave soldiers a cipher for words not included in the code.

Explanation:

Analyze the main subject of the excerpt

The text describes how Major Tallmadge created a secret writing system (a code) for the Culper Ring during the Revolutionary War, substituting digits for words (such as "Long Island" as 728, "arms" as 7, and "city" as 88).

Evaluate the options against the text

• Option 1: "Major Tallmadge created a code that substituted numbers for words during the Revolutionary War." This directly summarizes the main point of the entire passage.
• Option 2: "Major Tallmadge created a code in which 'city' was '88' during the Revolutionary War." This is a supporting detail, not the central idea.
• Option 3: "During the Revolutionary War, Major Tallmadge gave General Washington the key to his codes." This is a supporting detail about who received copies of the code.
• Option 4: "During the Revolutionary War, Major Tallmadge gave soldiers a cipher for words not included in the code." This is a supporting detail explaining what was done for words without a specific number code.

Determine the best description of the central idea

Option 1 is the most comprehensive statement that captures the overall purpose and main point of the excerpt, while the other options focus on minor details.

Answer:

• (A) Major Tallmadge created a code that substituted numbers for words during the Revolutionary War. (Correct answer)
• (B) Major Tallmadge created a code in which "city" was "88" during the Revolutionary War.
• (C) During the Revolutionary War, Major Tallmadge gave General Washington the key to his codes.
• (D) During the Revolutionary War, Major Tallmadge gave soldiers a cipher for words not included in the code.