Deck 3: Reviewing Paragraph Essentials

Question 1

Write the topic sentence of each paragraph.
The famous Rorschach inkblot test asks people to look at a series of ten inkblots and describe what they see.Since the 1920s, psychologists have used the Rorschach test to identify mental illness in hundreds of thousands of people.Yet research now indicates that as a diagnostic instrument, the Rorschach test has serious flaws.For one thing, the scoring is not reliable.Some traits or disorders revealed by Rorschach tests are verified by other types of tests only 50 percent of the time.For example, a person's interpretation of the inkblots might suggest a diagnosis of schizophrenia.But other tests often don't confirm that diagnosis.Secondly, the Rorschach test does not effectively detect several mental disorders.It's useless for diagnosing depression, a tendency toward violent behavior, or the after effects of sexual abuse.The test sometimes mistakenly suggests that people are mentally ill when they aren't.Culturally biased, the test often produces misleading results for minorities because it does not take cultural differences into account.

Answer 1

Yet research now indicates that as a diagnostic instrument, the Rorschach test has serious flaws.

Question 2

Write the topic sentence of each paragraph.
Located at the front of the neck, the thyroid gland produces hormones that control metabolism.If the thyroid becomes under or overactive, it can cause some serious problems.Should the thyroid become overactive, the body responds with a number of symptoms.Diarrhea, heat intolerance, anxiety, palpitations, and weight loss are just a few of the symptoms resulting from an overactive thyroid gland.However, an underactive thyroid also causes unpleasant and sometimes serious side effects.Fatigue, depression, dry skin, unusual sensitivity to cold, and hair loss are some of the symptoms that can occur when the thyroid is underactive.

Answer 2

If the thyroid becomes under or overactive, it can cause some serious problems.

Question 3

Write the topic sentence of each paragraph.
In the last century, the nature of work, along with Americans' attitudes toward work, has changed significantly.For one thing, work is now more mental, less physical, and a lot less dangerous than it used to be.According to economic historian Stuart Bruchey, from 1880 to 1900, about 35,000 workers a year were killed on the job, and 500,000 were injured in work-related accidents.Today, there are fewer dangerous jobs; even factories now use automated machines that have greatly reduced the risk of injury.In 1998, for example, only 5,100 workers were killed on the job.A second change has occurred in the number of hours worked.In the late nineteenth century, low-wage factory workers averaged about sixty hours a week on the job and worked six days a week, resting only on Sundays.At the same time, according to economist Dora Costa of MIT, the highest-paid 10 percent of workers worked about two hours less per day.Now, those numbers are almost reversed.Today's highest-paid 10 percent of employees work about 8.5 hours per day, and the lowest-paid work about 7.5 hours per day.One final change concerns workers' expectations about their jobs.In the late 1800s, most people expected work to give them little more than the means to feed their families.As a matter of fact, the typical 1888 worker spent 45 percent of his income on food.Today's workers, who spend only 14 percent of their income on food, have increased their expectations of their work.Now, workers want positions that do more than pay the bills.They also want work that is interesting, satisfying, and meaningful.

Answer 3

In the last century, the nature of work, along with Americans' attitudes toward work, has changed significantly.

Question 4

Write the topic sentence of each paragraph.
Planting a tree benefits both individuals and communities in a number of different ways.But without a doubt, trees' most important benefits are environmental.Their leaves improve the quality of the air we breathe by filtering dust and other particles.They give off oxygen, too, which humans need to breathe.Leaves also absorb air pollutants, including ozone, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, and carbon dioxide.The absorption of carbon dioxide is particularly important because the build-up of this gas contributes to global warming.Trees also absorb and store water.This reduces storm run-off and flooding.Trees recycle water, breathing it back into the atmosphere, where it forms into clouds and returns again as rainfall.Shade trees help to cool buildings and reduce the amount of energy needed for air condition-ing.In the winter, trees act as windbreaks, reducing heating costs.Consequently, trees lower the amount of fossil fuels needed to produce energy.Reduced use of fossil fuels results in a lower rate of global warming.

Question 5

Write the topic sentence of each paragraph.
In 2001, Johnny Michael Spann and John Walker Lindh were two Americans fighting in the war between the United States and the pro-terrorist Taliban leaders of Afghanistan.The two men, however, had chosen very different sides.Spann was a Central Intelligence Agency officer working for his country.Lindh, who had joined the Taliban, was fighting against his country.In December 2001, both Spann and Lindh found themselves in the Qala Jangi prison in northern Afghanistan.Lindh was one of the prisoners, and Spann was interrogating him and other Taliban members.Soon after Spann's questioning of Lindh, another prisoner hit a guard with a rock and took the guard's rifle.Minutes later, the prisoners overcame and killed several guards.Like lightning, the uprising spread throughout the prison, and Spann was either shot or killed in a grenade explosion.Lindh, who was wounded, ran and hid in the prison basement.After a week of hiding, he was taken into custody by Marines.Both Johnny Michael Spann and John Walker Lindh were men of action and conviction, but they chose opposing paths that turned them into enemies in battle.