GREAT WRITING 5:FROM GREAT ESSAYS TO RESEARCH
ANSWER KEY
Unit 1
Activity 1, page 5
1. Possible answer: The purpose of this essay is to argue that
electronic voting systems are less reliable than paper ballots.
2. 5 paragraphs; 3 body paragraphs
3. a. 2 citations
b. References
c. They are the same.
4. Possible answer: Computer hackers can change the
outcome of an election.
Activity 2, page 8
Possible answers:
1. Yes, because the author asks a question and draws the
reader into the essay. Also, the reader wants to know why
we should not rely on technology for voting.
2. Yes, because the reader wants to learn about the four
strategies of camouflage and how they differ.
3. Answers will vary.
4. Answers will vary.
Activity 3, page 9
1. a. Hook: Can computer technology be used to steal an
election?
b. Question
2. a. Hook: The animals that can live the longest are the ones
that hide the best.
b. Statement that surprises
3. a. Hook: Many students dread them, but tests are a key part
of the educational experience.
b. Dilemma/conflict
Activity 4, pages 10–11
Possible answers:
1. Hook: Some airline passengers pay twice as much as the
person they are sitting next to.
Type of hook: Surprising statement
2. Hook: Passwords need to be easy to remember yet
complex enough to keep accounts secure.
Type of hook: Dilemma/conflict
3. Hook: What makes the best jury?
Type of hook: question
4. Hook: These days kale is on nearly every menu. What has
made it so popular?
Type of hook: Surprising statement / question
Activity 5, page 12
1. a. Thesis statement (controlling idea is underlined): The
four primary strategies of camouflage include concealing
coloration, disruptive coloration, disguise, and mimicry.
b. Expected organization: The writer will discuss four
strategies of camouflage, one strategy per body paragraph.
2. a. Thesis statement (controlling idea is underlined): A
wide variety of study skills and techniques can aid students
as they work towards their objectives in all of their classes.
b. Expected organization: The writer will discuss different
studying strategies in relation to students’ objectives.
3. Answers will vary.
Activity 6, page 12
Answers will vary.
Activity 7, pages 13–15
___5__With mimicry, an animal’s coloring makes it resemble
another, more dangerous creature so that they are virtually identical.
___3__Animals such as zebras and giraffes show disruptive
coloration.
___4__With disguise, some animals resemble specific elements
of their surroundings rather than their environment as a whole.
___2__Concealing coloration helps animals to blend into their
surroundings and create a visual illusion.
Possible answer: Yes, the topic sentences do an effective job of
building on the ideas expressed in the thesis because they each
elaborate on the ideas introduced.
Activity 8, page 16
Essay 1.1
1. Key words from the introduction paragraph: Computer
technology, societies, voting, elections
2. Paragraph 1 ends with “Societies should not rely solely on
electronic systems for voting because elections are too
important to trust to computers.”
The conclusion returns to this idea with “Since voting is
critically important to the effective working of society,
governments should not rely only on computers for all
elections.”
3. The writer gives an opinion.
Essay 1.2
1. Key words from the introduction paragraph: camouflage,
strategies, predators, predation, hiking
2. Paragraph 1 ends with “The four primary strategies of
camouflage include concealing coloration, disruptive
coloration, disguise, and mimicry.”
The conclusion returns to this idea with “Whether by
concealing coloration, disruptive coloration, disguise, or
mimicry, animals need the protections of camouflage if
they are to escape their natural foes.”
3. The writer gives an (expert’s) opinion. “ . . . as Emlen (2014)
observes, “Animals that panic, dashing from their hiding
places at the wrong time, or animals that walk or fly
with the wrong gait, can break camouflage with deadly
consequences” (p. 18).”
Activity 9, page 17
Answers will vary.
Activity 10, page 19
Possible answers:
1. a weather delay: a delay that is caused by the weather
2. a money shortage: a shortage of money
3. a rice cooker: a machine that cooks rice
4. an air traffic control mistake: a mistake with the control of
air traffic
5. an earthquake warning system malfunction: a malfunction
with the warning system for an earthquake
Activity 11, page 19
government officials voting machines voter registration
paper receipts paper slips voting procedure
Activity 12, page 20
1. acronym - UFO 2. conceal - hide 3. dispute - disagreement
4. enhance - increase 5. normal - usual 6. pace - speed
7. predator - attacker 8. retain - keep 9. vastly - significantly
10. verify - check
Activity 13, pages 20–21
1. In subsequent months 2. flee from the scene
3. blend into your surroundings 4. take an unnecessary risk
5. a vastly different result 6. dread seeing the dentist
7. endure hardships 8. a coherent strategy
9. a normal body temperature 10. enhance the flavor
Activity 14, page 21
1. deviation 2. deviates 3. endurance 4. endured 5. enhanced
2. 6. enhances 7. evolved 8. evolve 9. vastly 10. vast
Activity 15, page 22
Answers will vary.
Activity 16, page 22
1. The candidate’s TV commercial was a crucial part of her
campaign.
2. Some animals have developed very clever ways of
protecting themselves.
3. In many courses, the final exam is worth as much as 50% of
the final grade.
4. The three largest countries in the South America is are
Brazil, Argentina, and Colombia.
5. Selling a product successfully in a foreign country may
require to make making changes to the product.
Activity 17, page 23
Possible answers:
1. The main cause of the problem is a severe lack of natural
resources such as coal and oil.
OR
A severe lack of natural resources such as coal and oil is the
main cause of the problem.
2. The president and vice-president played a part in passing a
bill that raises taxes on sodas and other sugary drinks.
3. In the experiment last week, the scientists placed coffee
plants in special containers to see how much oxygen the
plants would produce.
OR
Last week in the experiment, the scientists placed coffee
plants in special containers to see how much oxygen the
plants would produce.
Activity 18, page 24
Possible answers:
No Babies Allowed?
Should parents be allowed to bring their young baby to an
upscale restaurant? Recently there has been some debate about
this issue. Restaurant customers sometimes complain that a
crying baby can ruin their special evening out. They say that it is
not acceptable that they have paid a lot of money for a special
evening and then a crying baby spoils their experience. Some
parents say that everyone has the right to eat in any restaurant.
For them, the price of the meal should not determine who
can and cannot eat at that restaurant. Restaurant owners find
themselves in a difficult situation because they do not want to
lose affluent customers who are willing to spend a lot of money
at their places of business. However, these same owners do not
want to appear to be cold-hearted when it comes to children.
It is indeed a difficult situation. In the meantime, it appears
that different restaurants will have different policies about
customers bringing young babies with them.
Activity 19, page 25
1. A cause-effect essay: Topic 4 2. A comparison essay: Topic 1
3. A reaction essay: Topic 2 4. An argumentative essay: Topic 3
Activity 20, page 25
Answers will vary.
Unit 2
Activity 1, page 28
Possible answers:
1. Brainstorm ideas. 2. Read about the topic. 3. Make an outline.
Activity 2, page 29
Answers will vary.
Activity 3, page 30
Possible answers:
1. b. How music affects our mood c. The best music to study with
2. b. Why the service industry is growing c. The best jobs in the 21st century
3. b. Why football is popular in the U.S. c. Sports in education
4. b. A vegetarian diet c. Steps to being healthy with nutrition
Activity 4, page 32
Possible answers:
Pros:
Children learn about limits.
Children can spend more time outside getting exercise.
There is less risk of damaging vision.
Cons:
It is hard to enforce time limits.
Children may be using their screens for educational
information.
Activity 5, page 33
Answers will vary.
Activity 6, page 33
Title: The Dangers of Texting While Driving
I. Introduction
A. Hook: Establish that texting while driving is dangerous.
B. Thesis statement: e. My car accident was completely
avoidable—I was texting while driving.
II. Topic of Body Paragraph 1: Beginning of the story
A. c. I was expecting a text message.
B. I answered the message.
C. f. I took my eyes off the road.
III. Topic of Body Paragraph 2: My accident could have been
worse.
A. I had an accident. I hit a parking meter.
B. a. Police officer gave me a ticket.
IV. Topic of Body Paragraph 3: People feel a strong need to
answer their cell phones.
A. h. Cell phones are addictive.
B. A answering a text while driving is not rational.
V. Topic of Body Paragraph 4: b. People think that using a
cell phone does not affect ability to do other things at
same time.
A. The Occupational Safety and Health administration warns
drivers that reaction time is greatly slowed down.
B. Example: g. Texting causes the same delayed reaction
as driving while drinking.
VI. Conclusion
A. The ending of the story is not as bad as it could have been.
B. d. Advice—turn your cell phone off.
Activity 7, page 34
Answers will vary.
Activity 8, page 36
Possible answers:
The Value of Bargaining
Bargaining for the best price when you are shopping is a
tough experience. The buyer wants to purchase a product at
the lowest possible price whereas the seller wants to maximize
the potential for profit. While the desires of the buyer and the
seller completely oppose each other, it is in the best interest of
buyers to strategize exactly how they will convince a seller to
lower his/her prices. Although prices are often not negotiable,
it never hurts to bargain with the seller.
Activity 9, pages 37–38
Paragraph 1: The vehicle I was driving at the time was
approximately five years old.
Paragraph 2: Every day I receive up to 50 text messages.
Paragraph 3: The police who arrived at the accident scene were
very polite.
Paragraph 4: According to Hayley Tsukayama’s article, the World
Health Organization says that video games are a
serious addiction for millions of people.
Paragraph 5: Some cell phones can help drivers immediately
call for emergency help if an accident occurs.
Paragraph 6: Why do people continue to mix texting and driving?
Activity 10, page 39
Possible answers:
Confusing Nouns
Learning nouns in a new language may seem easy, but in
fact the grammar of nouns can vary from language to language.
Spanish, for example, has male nouns and female nouns, but
why newspaper is masculine and magazine is feminine is a
mystery. Japanese nouns have no plural form, so Japanese
learners of English may think -s is unnecessary in the phrase
many books because the word many already means plural. In
German, all nouns are capitalized whereas English capitalizes
nouns that name specific people, places, and things.For
example, English does not capitalize woman or city, but it
does capitalize Susan and Cairo. Finally, some languages mark
the role of the noun as subject or direct object, so in Japanese,
-wa is often added to a noun as subject and -o to a noun as the
direct object of a verb. English does not require suffixes to mark
the role of nouns in a sentence. Because nouns express basic
ideas such as the name of a person, place, or thing, they seem
easy, but they can be confusing.
Activity 11, pages 40–41
1. react 2. consists 3. stand out 4. is 5. has
6. are 7. are 8. provides 9. share 10. involves
Activity 12, page 41
1. is 2. centers 3. have 4. uses 5. promote
6. portrays 7. are 8. sends 9. live 10. helps 11. promotes
Activity 13, page 42
1. anticipate - expect 2. at once - immediately
3. bargain - deal 4. desire - want
5. minor – less important 6. occupational - work
7. shift - change 8. thereby - as a result
9. tragic - sad 10. virtually - nearly
Activity 14, pages 42–43
1. has not been tough enough 2. receive up to $1 million
2. a sudden shift in people’s attitudes 4. cause serious harm
5. bargain with someone 6. an occupational hazard
6. an ability to multitask 8. a rational mind
9. a deep desire to learn 10. a minor concern
Activity 15, pages 43–44
1. harmful 2. harm 3. maximum 4. maximize 5. negotiation
6. negotiable 7. shift 8. shifted 9. Tragically 10. tragedy
Activity 16, page 44
Answers will vary.
Activity 17, page 44
1. Sometimes a word can be more than one part of speech
with no change at all, but other times the ending of the
word changes to indicate whether it is a noun, verb,
adjective, or adverb.
2. A roller coaster is a type of the amusement park attraction
with a railroad system where cars can to travel up and
down slopes at fast speeds.
3. The country of Switzerland lies in the center of Europe, while
Norway and Greece is are at the extremes of the continent.
4. Jambalaya is a dish from Louisiana that people make it
with rice, vegetables, and seafood.
5. Texting and driving can have tragedy tragic results, so it is
best don't not to look at a phone at all when operating a car.
Activities 18, page 45
Possible answers:
1. The team anticipates tough competition in next week’s
championship game.
2. The child’s desire for attention did not seem rational.
3. Some people can multitask up to three tasks at once.
4. In some places, bargaining can help maximize your dollar.
5. Some of the minor details of the contract are negotiable.
Activity 19, page 45
Possible answers:
1. Owning a car in Vietnam is very expensive because of a
high government tax, so there are many more motorcycles
than cars.
OR
Because of a high government tax, owning a car in Vietnam
is very expensive, so there are many more motorcycles than
cars.
OR
In Vietnam there are many more motorcycles than cars
because a high government tax makes owning a car very
expensive.
2. Rabbits are natural runners and can reach speeds of up to
30 or 40 mph.
OR
Rabbits are natural runners that can reach speeds of up to
30 or 40 mph.
3. The highest score for a game in the World Cup occurred when
Austria defeated Switzerland 7–5 in the quarterfinal in 1954.
Activity 20, pages 46–47
Answers will vary.
