ShmoopTube

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Here's an unshmoopy question you'll find on the exam...

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If you previously... passed this passage... now would be a good time to hit pause and review...

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Which of the following would be the BEST opening sentence for this essay?

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And here are the potential answers:

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Okay, so... assuming we've read the passage and already have the general gist...

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...we just need to go through the answer choices one by one and see what they've got to say

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for themselves. A... "This is an essay about Franklin Delano

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Roosevelt." Ugh. Boring. If that was the first sentence

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we read of anything, it would also be the last. Pass.

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B... "Franklin Delano Roosevelt was one of America's most popular, most inspiring,

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and most influential presidents." Ooh... maybe. It certainly seems to encompass

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everything this passage is saying. We'll come back to it.

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C... "FDR was a really great president who did a lot of really great things."

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Um... just learning English much? Sounds like someone was out partying too late last night

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and is trying to fake her way through an oral report. Next...

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D... "Franklin Delano Roosevelt was a president who inspired a lot of people, and that's why

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I'm writing this paper about him." This sentence uses first-person, which is

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a definite no-no. Unless you knew FDR personally, in which case... go for it.

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B is looking like a sure bet. As in, "Buddies."

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