these passages will argue for murder, hatred, injustice, or anything bad, so
if you have to guess, embrace your newfound positive thinking and choose
the positive, idealistic answers.- Social sciences The third type of history/social studies passages will draw
from topics in the social sciences, including anthropology, economics,
political science, and psychology. These are similar to science passages in
that they might drop some spine-tingling words like zeitgeist and
commodification. The bad news is that the Serpent does expect you to
learn these words because you will be using them in college. The good
news is that we have defined many of them beginning on page 98.
How to handle: Many of these passages will use social science
evidence, such as statistics, charts and graphs, or academic studies, to
make a point about the world. Just like with the science passages, pay
attention to the evidence and how the author uses it. Again, do not form
your own opinion about whether the article is right or wrong or whether
you like it. Just read it on its own terms and pay attention to the evidence it
assembles and how it analyzes that evidence.
LITERATURE PASSAGES
The literature passage will be a piece of literary prose. It could be anything from
a classic by Mark Twain to something by a contemporary author you’ve never
heard of. It will most likely be realistic, rather than science fiction or fantasy or
mystery. So those ten months you spent reading all of A Song of Ice and Fire
might not be as helpful as you thought. The good news is you don’t have to
know anything about the author or the time period.
The passage won’t be radical or sexy or violent because that would trouble
some students and help the rest of us stay awake.
Anything remotely entertaining is against the Serpent’s very goal in life and therefore illegal.
—Samantha
Again, the questions will not ask what you think or feel about the work of
literature. They will ask what the passage says and how the author says it and
they will want you to notice details and subtlety.
How to handle: The literature passage may seem like a welcome break from
all that evidence. Literature rarely makes a direct argument from facts or
statistics. There won’t be any infographics. But the literature passage probably
will have an evidence question. Often, these questions are spread out over two