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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. Chapter 13: Why Are Our Students So Angry? begins with a story about Oluo's son who was how old at the time?

2. Oluo states that at the time of the incident with the division director, she was working in what city?

3. How does Oluo characterize the number of African restaurant offerings in the Pacific Northwest?

4. In what city was Ijeoma Oluo working when the division director asked a question about her hair?

5. A classmate of Oluo's once told her that if she wore a certain color of lipstick, she would look like a what?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Oluo define the school-to-prison pipeline?

2. What is Oluo’s advice regarding white people’s use of the ‘n’ word and how does her advice value compassion over understanding?

3. In what year of high school did Oluo attend a conference for promising students of color and how does she characterize the experience?

4. For what two reasons did Oluo’s eight-year-old son wish to refrain from saying the Pledge of Allegiance aloud in school every day?

5. What historical context does Oluo consider crucial to any conversation about white people's desires to touch black people's hair?

6. What is the symbolism of the Indian headdress being worn at Coachella by a white festival-goer?

7. What does the ramen symbolize within Oluo’s anecdote about a sleepover in Chapter 7: How Can I Talk About Affirmative Action?

8. What point does Oluo make about the negative effects of the optimism in the 1980s regarding race relations?

9. What is the real problem with the model minority myth, according to Oluo?

10. In what ways was Oluo led to believe that there were things wrong with her identity when she was growing up?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

In what way does Oluo utilize irony within the text? Discuss at least three uses of irony within So You Want to Talk About Race and explore each instance's connection to larger themes contained within the piece.

Essay Topic 2

What messages does Oluo send to the audience about the themes of isolation and outreach?

Essay Topic 3

Examine Oluo’s use of characterization methods to portray real people. What effect do these characterization methods have on the work's inherent themes and messages?

(see the answer keys)

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