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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. Who is the new principal Cedric's senior year?

2. Where does LaTisha plan to go to college?

3. What verse does Mr. Taylor quote to Cedric?

4. How do Cedric's SAT scores compare to the other students at M.I.T.?

5. Where is Phillip Atkins working?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is Barbara Jennings' financial situation?

2. How does Rob feel about having Cedric for a roommate?

3. What are some things that have happened lately at the beginning of the book that indicate Ballou Senior High is a troubled and violent school?

4. Why is the college prep class the cruelest class offered at Ballou?

5. Why does Cedric decide to apply to Brown?

6. Who is Cedric's benefactor and how do they meet?

7. Why is Cedric Gilliam on the run?

8. Who is Cedric's father and how does he react when Cedric is conceived?

9. What are Barbara's early years like?

10. What is school like for students who excel academically at Ballou Senior High?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Explain what Larry Wakefield means when he tells Cedric, "If you're going to make it here, Cedric, you'll have to find some distance from yourself and all you've been through."

Essay Topic 2

Affirmative action is a topic frequently discussed in the 1990s. Discuss affirmative action, how various individuals in the book feel about affirmative action, and whether affirmative action helps or hinders minority students like Cedric.

Essay Topic 3

After mid-terms at M.I.T., Cedric awakes suddenly, and it seems as though he hears his surrogate grandmother say, "Cedric, you haven't yet begun to fight." Explain how this phrase affects Cedric and what it means to him.

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This section contains 870 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample