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Revision
Read the following selection and then answer questions 1 - 5.
Chloe read a lot of self-help books about improving memory and decided to take a contrarian, or opposite position, about the value of having a good memory. Read her paper and look for revisions she should make. Then answer the questions that follow.
Memory—It’s Not All It’s Cracked Up to Be
by Chloe Perry
   (1) If you are like me, you have had it drilled into your head that having a good memory is a good thing. (2) Well, maybe it isn’t. 
   (3) Think of all the people you have known with good memories. (4) They are the people who seem to ace every test because they never forget a fact. (5) They are never embarrassed in social situations because they never forget a name or a face. (6) People love them because they remember everyone’s birthday, and they even remember to send cards.
   (7) However, think of the downside. (8) People known for their great memories can never use the excuse, “I forgot.” (9) That’s an excuse that eases a lot of difficult situations. (10) For example, suppose someone tells you about a documentary on television that night. (11) He is really excited about it and says that you simply have to watch it. (12) You want to be pleasant. (13) You feign enthusiasm. (14) You have no real interest in watching it. (15) The next day, when he asks you what you thought of the show, you say, “Oh, I knew there was something I wanted to do, but I forgot.” (16) It’s simply a white lie (and maybe you shouldn’t tell white lies), but it saves face and prevents hard feelings. (17) A person known for having a great memory could never make this excuse and be believed.
   (18) However, let’s think of the more serious side of memory. (19) What if you never could forget a face? (20) What if you remembered every face you saw on the street, in the supermarket, and in the corridors at school? (21) How could you sort through all those faces and remember the ones that are important? (22) You would have too much information rattling around in your brain. (23) As a result, you might not realize that of the 500 people you saw at the football game, one of the people sitting in the stands was an old friend you hadn’t seen in a couple of years.
   (24) It’s great to remember good experiences, but what if you remembered as vividly every bad experience? (25) What if you could never forget the pain you felt when you broke your leg skiing? (26) What if you could never forget the hurt you felt when you were the last person chosen for a team? (27) What if you could never forget the sorrow you felt when your dog died? (28) Aren’t there things we all want to forget?

1. Which sentence should Chloe add after sentence 2 to clearly establish the thesis?

          A.  I would like to tell you why having a good memory isn’t a good idea.
          B.  Maybe, just maybe, having too good a memory does as much harm as good.
          C.  Many people believe it is, but I don’t think I do.
          D.  Don’t believe everything those self-help books tell you.

2. Which of these sentences would be the best one for Chloe to add to paragraph 2 after sentence 5?

          F.  I have a few friends like that.
          G.  When they grow older, they may grow more forgetful, but maybe not.
          H.  Every password is remembered by them, unlike most of us who are always forgetting our passwords.
          J.  They never get locked out of their house or apartment because they forgot their keys, and they never forget their locker combinations.

3. Sentences 12–14 are short and choppy. What is the best way to revise these sentences?

          A.  To be pleasant, you feign enthusiasm, but you have no real interest in watching it.
          B.  You want to be pleasant and you feign enthusiasm and you have no real interesting in watching it.
          C.  You feign enthusiasm because you want to be pleasant and because you don’t want to let him know that you have no real interest in watching it.
          D.  You want to be pleasant and you have no real interest in watching it which means that you have to feign enthusiasm.

4. Which of these sentences could be removed from paragraph 4 without losing any important information?

          F.  Sentence 19
          G.  Sentence 20
          H.  Sentence 21
          J.  Sentence 23

5. Which of these sentences is the best one for Chloe to add at the end of her essay to restate her controlling idea?

          A.  I’m sure you could come up with a long list of things to forget.
          B.  I hope you agree now that memory isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.
          C.  While having a good memory has its benefits, so does forgetting.
          D.  So stop worrying about whether you have a good memory.

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