Name______Per_____Date______
A Modest Proposal: HSPA Practice/Review
Part 1: Multiple Choice
Please answer the following questions by circling the letter of the answer you believe is correct. On question the open-ended question, please provide your answer on the lines provided.
1. _____What is the main point of “A Modest Proposal?”
a. Religion is separating the Irish from the
English
b. Something has to be done about the poor
Irish Catholics
c. Most people in England are sick
d. Cannibalism is sometimes the only way to resolve social issues.
2. _____ How does the author support his reasoning?
a. By identifying rational solutions
b. By using statistical information
c. By identifying the benefits of his proposal
d. All of the above
3. _____ Based on this essay, how would a political official of the time periodperceiveJonathan Swift?
a. A man that is loyal to his country
b. An angry man
c. A nice man on the inside, but really harsh
on the outside.
d. An irrational man with no position.
4. _____ According to the essay, what benefit(s) does the author use to support his proposal?
a. It eliminates social issues
b. It eliminates Catholics
c. It eliminates poor children
d. Both B and C
5. _____ “I have already computed the charge of nursing a beggar's child
to be about two shillings per annum.”
In the article, the word “annum” likely means:
a. Year
b. Person
c. Pound
d. Serving
6. _____ The author uses food and money in the essay in order to
a. use terms that the poor could understand.
b. appeal to the rich aristocrats on an
individual level.
c. sustain his own personal reasons.
d. confuse the readers into believing his
irrational ideas.
7. _____ The tone of the article is:
a. Direct and formal
b. Persuasive
c. Humorous
d. All of the Above
8. _____ This article is an example of which type of writing?
a. Problem/solution
b. Cause and effect
c. Analysis
d. Argumentative
9. _____ The technique that the author uses to best illustrate his points would be:
a. Quotations
b. Anecdotes
c. Statistics
d. Historical facts
10. _____ What conclusion was the author able to draw in his proposal?
a. That the poor cannot be helped because
there are too many of them.
b. There is not enough food for everyone in
England so someone has to die.
c. That the government should give his
proposal a try before deciding on another
solution.
d. The author is unable to come up with a
reasonable conclusion due to his insanity
Part 2: Open-Ended
Please respond to the following questions on composition paper provided by the teacher. If necessary, please use the bottom of this writing prompt to organize your ideas before writing your answer.
Swift’sproposalto the English government attempts to resolve the problem of the poor Irish Catholic population during the 18th century in Great Britain. In your own opinion, consider whetherJonathan Swift is presenting a reasonable argument to the government.
- If you were a member of the English government during this time period, would you take Jonathan Swift’s proposal under consideration or dismiss it as a farce? Explain why or why not. (Consider the audience to which Swift is making his proposal).
- Do you think that a proposal like this could work somewhere in the world today? Explain.