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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What did Gail Wade teach at a nearby middle school?

2. From what television show did the author adopt saying "cool beans" (49)?

3. What did the author's grandfather changed his name to from Teofilo after becoming a legal U.S. citizen?

4. What company first developed the silicon semiconductor devices that gave Silicon Valley its name?

5. What was the student newspaper at Mountain View High School when the author was attending?

Short Essay Questions

1. What did the clerk at the DMV tell Vargas when he went to apply for a driver's license at age 16? How did this impact his life?

2. What did Mrs. Wakefield say to Vargas about his race in Part 1, Chapter 4?

3. When was the Chinese Exclusion Act enacted and repealed? What did it decree?

4. How does the author briefly describe the colonial history of the Philippine islands in Part 1, Chapter 5?

5. What did Vargas learn about green cards in science class in Part 1, Chapter 6?

6. How was the author able to attend college?

7. What realization did Vargas have of his grandmother when they watched The Joy Luck Club together?

8. What are some of the television shows that the author watched in his immersion into American culture, as described in Part 1, Chapter 1? How did they influence him?

9. What inspired the author to come out as gay? When did this happen?

10. What was Peter Perl's position at the Post when the author was doing his two-year internship there? Why did the author turn to Perl about his citizenship situation?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the history of immigration policies in the United States from 1965-2016. What federal law was enacted in 1965 regarding immigration and how did this affect discrimination against particular groups of immigrants? How did these policies enable the author's family members to immigrate to the U.S.? What changed so that the author was unable to immigrate legally?

Essay Topic 2

In Dear America: Notes of an Undocumented Citizen, the book is divided into three parts. Name each of these parts and discuss the meaning of the titles. How do these titles reflect upon the universality of the undocumented immigrant experience? How do they apply directly to the author's experiences? What symbolism connects to these titles?

Essay Topic 3

Describe and discuss the author's arrest and detention in McAllen, Texas. When did the arrest and detention take place? Where was the author held? For hold long was he held? Why was he released?

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