AP-Style Multiple-Choice Quiz (David Denby, “High-School Confidential: Notes on Teen Movies”)

AP-Style Multiple Choice Quiz

David Denby, “High-School Confidential: Notes on Teen Movies”

After reading the selection from “High-School Confidential: Notes on Teen Movies,” choose the best answer to each question. Click the submit button when finished. The following questions refer to paragraphs 1–5.

Question 11.1 Which of the following best summarizes Denby’s argument in this excerpt?

1. Which of the following best summarizes Denby’s argument in this excerpt?

A.
B.
C.
D.
E.

Question 11.2 The first two paragraphs of the piece present portraits of high school villains drawn in broad strokes. Which of the following quotations represents an appeal to logos by qualifying Denby’s argument?

2. The first two paragraphs of the piece present portraits of high school villains drawn in broad strokes. Which of the following quotations represents an appeal to logos by qualifying Denby’s argument?

A.
B.
C.
D.
E.

Question 11.3 In which of the following examples does Denby directly call on the audience’s prior experiences and perceptions?

3. In which of the following examples does Denby directly call on the audience’s prior experiences and perceptions?

A.
B.
C.
D.
E.

Question 11.4 The following sentence appears at the end of paragraph 3: “And they may have been figures in the minds of the Littleton shooters, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, who imagined they were living in a school like the one in so many of these movies — a poisonous system of status, snobbery, and exclusion.” From Denby’s perspective, which word in the sentence implies false thinking on the part of the shooters?

4. The following sentence appears at the end of paragraph 3: “And they may have been figures in the minds of the Littleton shooters, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, who imagined they were living in a school like the one in so many of these movies — a poisonous system of status, snobbery, and exclusion.” From Denby’s perspective, which word in the sentence implies false thinking on the part of the shooters?

A.
B.
C.
D.
E.

Question 11.5 Which of the following best describes the shift in tone from the beginning to the end of the fifth paragraph?

5. Which of the following best describes the shift in tone from the beginning to the end of the fifth paragraph?

A.
B.
C.
D.
E.

Question 11.6 Which of the following does Denby NOT assume about his audience?

6. Which of the following does Denby assume about his audience?

A.
B.
C.
D.
E.

Question 11.7 In context, what does the word “benevolent” mean in the second half of paragraph 5?

7. In context, what does the word “benevolent” mean in the second half of paragraph 5?

A.
B.
C.
D.
E.

Question 11.8 What risk does Denby assume by beginning the essay with such a scathing description of the social queen and the jock?

8. What risk does Denby assume by beginning the essay with such a scathing description of the social queen and the jock?

I. that he will alienate the reader, who may have identified him- or herself as popular in high school
II. that he will identify himself as having been a popular student, therefore diminishing his own authority
III. that his reader may not recognize the specific references to films, such as the quoted lines in the opening paragraph

A.
B.
C.
D.
E.

Question 11.9 In the passage, Denby equates popularity in the world of high school movies with

9. In the passage, Denby equates popularity in the world of high school movies with

A.
B.
C.
D.
E.