Develop Claims With Evidence: Short Fiction Practice Test

A student claims that the narrator’s guilt is conveyed through sensory detail and self-correction. Which option best supports that claim using the most relevant evidence from the excerpt?

Excerpt: I told Mara I hadn’t touched her notebook. The lie tasted like pennies. When she opened the drawer and found it missing, I said, “Maybe you left it in the library,” and my voice rose at the end, as if asking permission to be believed. She stared at me until I added, too quickly, “I mean, I didn’t see it here.” My hands kept folding and unfolding the same corner of my sleeve.

A student argues that the narrator uses irony to critique performative generosity. Which choice best supports that claim with the most relevant evidence from the excerpt?

Excerpt: At the fundraiser, Ms. Pell wore a sash that read DONOR in glittering letters. She pressed a check into the principal’s hand and said loudly, “Anything for the children,” pausing so the photographer could focus. When the flash went off, she leaned toward me and whispered, “Make sure they spell my name right.” Later, I watched her guide a crying child away from the stage with two fingers, as if the child were a stain she didn’t want on her dress.