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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 score does Cedric get on the Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test?

2. Why does Cedric's mother refuse to buy him a pair of extra-baggy khaki-colored pants?

3. How many white students attend Ballou?

4. Where does Cedric decide to apply to college?

5. What advanced level class is Cedric taking at M.I.T.?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

3. Why does Cedric decide to apply to Brown?

4. Who is James Davis?

5. Why does Phillip Atkins change from good student to class clown?

6. What does Barbara do when Cedric turned two?

7. What are Barbara's early years like?

8. What is Bill Ramsey's dream when he began running the M.I.T. MITES program?

9. Why are there few athletes at Ballou Senior High?

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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 2

Explain why Cedric chooses easy courses that are pass/fail for his first semester at Brown. What are his motivations for choosing this type of a course load?

Essay Topic 3

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."

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This section contains 804 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample