These passages are part of longer writing samples, they do not necessarily constitute a complete discussion of the issue presented. Read each passage carefully and answer the questions that follow it. The questions test your awareness of a writer’s purpose and of characteristics of prose that are important to good writing.     Questions below refer to the following paragraphs.     (1) Born in 1872, Paul Laurence Dunbar was one of the first African American poets to gain national prominence. (2) Dunbar’s parents were former slaves who moved north to Dayton, Ohio. (3) Dunbar was a stellar... Show more

These passages are part of longer writing samples, they do not necessarily constitute a complete discussion of the issue presented. Read each passage carefully and answer the questions that follow it. The questions test your awareness of a writer’s purpose and of characteristics of prose that are important to good writing.    

Questions below refer to the following paragraphs.   

 (1) Born in 1872, Paul Laurence Dunbar was one of the first African American poets to gain national prominence. (2) Dunbar’s parents were former slaves who moved north to Dayton, Ohio. (3) Dunbar was a stellar student and was the only black child in his class. (4) In school, Dunbar became the editor of a small, short-lived student newspaper. (5) By the time he was fourteen years old, Dunbar had already published poems in Dayton’s newspaper, the Dayton Herald.    
 (6) Unfortunately, despite being a gifted student, Dunbar could not afford to attend college. (7) After high school, Dunbar worked as an elevator operator and wrote poems and stories in his free time. (8) In 1893, Dunbar published a collection of poetry called Oak and Ivy at his own expense. (9) Dunbar sold copies of his book to people who rode in his elevator.    

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