Highlight the author’s conclusions:

p1:
this new type of student activism galvanized established civil rights organizations, brought about the creation of new ones, and generated support for the civil rights movement among many new segments of the populace.

p2: 
The influence of these demonstrations on the determination of the student activists was particularly visible in two events:…

p3: 
the development that marked the clearest turning point for the civil rights movement was the Freedom Rides.

The Freedom Rides thus helped take the civil rights movement to a new level by…

***

p1 is all background leading to the author’s main thesis that the sit-ins were a big driver of the civil rights movement.

p2 is more background connecting to the author’s more specific conclusion about the sit-ins leading to the committee forming and to the Freedom Rides.

p3 gives more background on the student committee but only has conclusions about the Freedom Rides, so that’s clearly more important to the author.

Map the wording of the answers to the reference in the prompt, or to the author’s conclusions:

1. The primary purpose of the passage is to

Map the answers to the author’s conclusions.

(A) …a new tactic…led to the transformation of the U.S. civil rights movement.

This sounds exactly like the author’s first conclusion, and aligns with each follow-up conclusion too. A definite keeper.

(B) …that led to the first use…of sit-in demonstrations

That’s backwards, isn’t it? The author’s conclusions are much more focused on the effects of the sit-ins, not the causes.

(C) contrast various techniques and tactics…

That could be tempting, but it’s way too specific in a wrong way. “Contrast” would be something like a point-by-point comparison, or at least focusing on explaining the differences between the sit-ins, the student committee, and the Freedom Rides. That doesn’t map to the author’s conclusions well at all.

(D) argue that confrontational sit-in tactics were necessary…

Not at all. That argument would have to show up in the author’s conclusions, but saying the sit-ins were influential doesn’t amount to a take on whether they were “necessary”.

(E) …activities…in the 1950s and 1960s were rooted in earlier successes…

This is a bit of a gotcha answer, since it would be fine if you took out “1950s”. It said the first sit-in was in 1960, and the sit-ins are the “earlier successes” the other “activities” are supposed to be “rooted in”. (A) would still be better though, since it more closely maps to the paragraph-by-paragraph flow of conclusions.

(E) is the correct answer.

2. According to the passage, the outlawing of segregation in the U.S. public schools in 1954 had which one of the following consequences?

Map the answers to the reference in the prompt. “1954” is only in the first paragraph, where it says outlawing segregation “furthered within the African-American community the anticipation of broader changes.”

(A) It led directly…

Stop. No it didn’t. That word “directly” is in there so we’ll know to eliminate this, since the whole point is how the sit-ins are what led to the committee.

(B) …to expect similar changes in other parts of society.

This maps perfectly to “anticipation of broader changes” in the passage.

(C) …a useful example of a method…

The ruling isn’t a method. Maybe how activists got the court to make the ruling could be an example of a method, but not the “outlawing of segregation” itself.

(D) …concluded a period of growth…

I think the passage says the complete opposite. If you read the same passage I did, I think you’ll agree.

(E) …led immediately to the creation…

Just like (A), there’s one word that clearly signals this is wrong. The argument was the sit-ins led to the creation of new organizations.

(B) is the correct answer.

3. Based on the passage, which one of the following can be most reasonably inferred about the Freedom Rides?

Map the answers to the author’s conclusions. It’s possible the answer relies on a specific reference, but you should expect it to echo the author’s conclusions, since the Freedom Rides were a big part of the argument.

(A) …primarily a spontaneous phenomenon.

You might not be clear or remember that this isn’t the passage, so I could see not eliminating it right away. But you know it doesn’t map to any of the author’s conclusions.

(B) …directed against the U.S. government.

Mmm, no. Just because it’s political activism doesn’t mean it’s “against” the government. Especially when the passage said “the U.S. government began using force to protect the safety of the Freedom Riders”.

(C) They were less important…

Careful, this comparison doesn’t get made. You could assume this is true, because the sit-ins directly influenced the Freedom Rides. But that’s exactly the kind of assumption you’re not supposed to make. This doesn’t map to the author’s conclusions.

(D) …based on a different philosophy…

There’s really no mention of “different philosophy” anywhere, and the Freedom Rides were influenced by the sit-ins, so this is probably straight up inaccurate.

(E) They were modeled on the original sit-in demonstrations.

Sounds just like our author’s conclusions, doesn’t it? Score.

(E) is the correct answer.

4. The discussion of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee in the third paragraph is intended primarily to

Map the answers to the author’s conclusions. They talked about the committee to support the argument about the influence of the sit-ins.

(A) argue for the preeminence…

Nope. If you’re not clear, that word means something is number one, the best, the highest. The author’s conclusion says no such thing.

(B) serve as a contrast…

Nope. The author is not drawing a distinction between things or highlighting their differences.

(C) summarize…

God no. The author is clearly making an argument about the influence of the sit-ins. “Summarize” only works when we’re looking at background info.

(D) describe an important outgrowth…

Boom! This maps perfectly to the author’s conclusions about the influence of the sit-ins.

(E) …require nationally coordinated efforts?

Where did the author say anything was “required”? I agree, they didn’t.

(D) is the correct answer.

5. Which one of the following statements most accurately expresses the author’s view in the passage regarding the Freedom Rides?

Map the answers to the author’s conclusions. If it’s a close call you may need to check a reference in the third paragraph, but expect the answer to sound a lot like the author’s conclusions: Freedom Rides were influenced by sit-ins, and took the civil rights movement “to a new level”.

(A) …induced the U.S. government to address segregation.

This almost exactly matches the last sentence of the passage. No matter what, you know this fits the author’s conclusion about Freedom Rides, so no one is eliminating this one.

(B) …were the final contribution…

The author never says the Freedom Rides were the end of anything.

(C) …introduced an entirely new technique…

This doesn’t map well to the conclusions, and in fact it’s totally inaccurate. The author explained that the sit-ins were the “entirely new technique” that influenced the Freedom Rides.

(D) …they reversed earlier progress…

Nobody’s picking this right? The author obviously argues the exact opposite.

(E) …a series of uncoordinated local student protests…

Where are you getting anything that means “uncoordinated” from this passage? Everything described in there sounds pretty highly coordinated to me.

(A) is the correct answer.