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6/1
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Select a score band
Reasoning and Inferencing
Skills needed to score in this band
SKILL 1: Make inferences when there is no explicit reinforcement in the text or when information is missing, and use those inferences to draw further conclusions about the text
SKILL 2: Apply conclusions drawn from a text to other contexts, understanding similar or analogous situations in the process
SKILL 3: Identify an author’s unstated assumptions and draw further conclusions about the text based on these assumptions
SKILL 4: Analyze and relate multiple perspectives on similar topics across texts
SKILL 5: Compare and contrast deeply embedded details or ideas across texts
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1
Make inferences when there is no explicit reinforcement in the text or when information is missing, and use those inferences to draw further conclusions about the text
ExampleThese passages relate to the notorious mutiny on the British naval ship Bounty in April 1789. At the time of the mutiny, the ship had recently left Tahiti, a place perceived by Europeans as extremely remote, after a six-month visit. Mutineers sailed the Bounty back to Tahiti, leaving the captain, William Bligh, and some of his followers in a small open boat with scanty supplies. Bligh successfully navigated 4,000 miles to the nearest European settlement, and the mutiny became an international sensation.
But why did the mutiny happen? An edited version of Bligh’s public answer appears in Passage 1. A writer of British naval history provides another answer in Passage 2.
View Passage
Passage 1
A reading passage Line Number Text As soon as I had time to reflect, after being cast off from
my ship, I felt an inward satisfaction, which prevented any
depression of my spirits. With full consciousness of my
integrity, I found my mind wonderfully comforted. I began
Line 5 to conceive hopes, notwithstanding so heavy a calamity,
that I should one day be able to account to my King and
country for the misfortune.
A few hours earlier, my situation had been peculiarly
flattering. The voyage had been two-thirds completed, to
Line 10 all appearance, in every promising way.
It will very naturally be asked, then, what could be
the reason for such a revolt? I can only conjecture that
the mutineers had flattered themselves with the hopes
of a more happy life among the Tahitians than they
Line 15 could possibly enjoy in England. This, in addition to
the sentimental ties many of the crew had formed with
the much admired indigenous women, most probably
occasioned the whole transaction.
The local chiefs were so attached to our crew that they
Line 20 encouraged their staying permanently and even made the
crew promises of large possessions. It is now perhaps not
so much to be wondered at (though scarcely possible to
have foreseen) that a set of sailors, most without influential
connections in England, should be led away.
Line 25 The utmost, however, that any captain could have predicted
is that some of the crew would have been tempted
to desert. Desertions have happened from most of the
ships that have been at Tahiti but it has always been in
the captain’s power to make the chiefs return the deserters.
Line 30 The knowledge that it was unsafe to desert, perhaps, first
led my crew to consider with what ease so small a ship
as the Bounty might be surprised and taken.
The secrecy of this mutiny is beyond all conception.
To such a close-planned act of villainy, my mind being
Line 35 entirely free from any suspicion, it is no wonder that I
fell a sacrifice. Had their mutiny been occasioned by any
grievances, either real or imaginary, I must have discovered
symptoms of their discontent, which would have put me
on my guard. The case was far otherwise. I was on most
Line 40 friendly terms with Mr. Christian, the leader of the muti-
neers. He had previously arranged to dine with me on
the very day that the mutineers seized me from my bed
at dawn.
View Passage
Passage 2 (1987)
A reading passage Line Number Text Bligh had an unpleasant character, which soon became
Line 45 obvious to a great many people who came into contact with
him. Yes, Bligh was a courageous and eminently capable
seaman—no one else could have accomplished that aston-
ishing open-boat voyage following the mutiny. And yes,
he was an efficient subordinate.
Line 50 But he was not fit for command.
Bligh responded well to the leadership of a man such
as Captain James Cook* ; but after Cook’s death while
on an expedition, Bligh fell out with most of the other
officers. In the margins of the official account of that
Line 55 expedition, Bligh wrote the phrase “a most infamous
lie” and other rude comments of much the same nature.
The same aggressiveness and use of gross language
came with him into the Bounty, made all the worse by
his having no superiors or even equals in rank on board.
Line 60 His authority was final and could not be challenged. It
is said that only two weeks into a voyage expected to
last several years Bligh was scarcely on speaking terms
with his officers.
The mutiny itself is sometimes put down to the charms
Line 65 of Tahiti, but the charms were the same for Wallis’s men,
for Cook’s, and for Bougainville’s, and these earlier cap-
tains had no very grave problems. The trouble seems to
be that Bligh lacked natural authority and tried to make
up for it by railing and cursing. During that terrible open-
Line 70 boat voyage, he quarreled steadily with the Bounty’s loyal
carpenter, and when they reached home Bligh had the
carpenter brought before a court-martial for disobedience
and disrespect.
There was another court-martial some years later
Line 75 when Bligh, as captain of the Warrior, was accused of
tyrannous, oppressive, and unofficer-like behavior to
Lieutenant Frazier and that ship’s other officers. The
evidence showed that Bligh was a foul-mouthed bully,
and the court found the charges “in part proved.” Bligh
Line 80 was reprimanded.
* James Cook (1728–1779): British naval officer who led voyages of discovery and exploration to the Pacific
The “satisfaction” mentioned by Bligh in line 2 of Passage 1 is based primarily on his sense of the
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2
Apply conclusions drawn from a text to other contexts, understanding similar or analogous situations in the process
ExampleThese passages relate to the notorious mutiny on the British naval ship Bounty in April 1789. At the time of the mutiny, the ship had recently left Tahiti, a place perceived by Europeans as extremely remote, after a six-month visit. Mutineers sailed the Bounty back to Tahiti, leaving the captain, William Bligh, and some of his followers in a small open boat with scanty supplies. Bligh successfully navigated 4,000 miles to the nearest European settlement, and the mutiny became an international sensation.
But why did the mutiny happen? An edited version of Bligh’s public answer appears in Passage 1. A writer of British naval history provides another answer in Passage 2.
View Passage
Passage 1
A reading passage Line Number Text As soon as I had time to reflect, after being cast off from
my ship, I felt an inward satisfaction, which prevented any
depression of my spirits. With full consciousness of my
integrity, I found my mind wonderfully comforted. I began
Line 5 to conceive hopes, notwithstanding so heavy a calamity,
that I should one day be able to account to my King and
country for the misfortune.
A few hours earlier, my situation had been peculiarly
flattering. The voyage had been two-thirds completed, to
Line 10 all appearance, in every promising way.
It will very naturally be asked, then, what could be
the reason for such a revolt? I can only conjecture that
the mutineers had flattered themselves with the hopes
of a more happy life among the Tahitians than they
Line 15 could possibly enjoy in England. This, in addition to
the sentimental ties many of the crew had formed with
the much admired indigenous women, most probably
occasioned the whole transaction.
The local chiefs were so attached to our crew that they
Line 20 encouraged their staying permanently and even made the
crew promises of large possessions. It is now perhaps not
so much to be wondered at (though scarcely possible to
have foreseen) that a set of sailors, most without influential
connections in England, should be led away.
Line 25 The utmost, however, that any captain could have predicted
is that some of the crew would have been tempted
to desert. Desertions have happened from most of the
ships that have been at Tahiti but it has always been in
the captain’s power to make the chiefs return the deserters.
Line 30 The knowledge that it was unsafe to desert, perhaps, first
led my crew to consider with what ease so small a ship
as the Bounty might be surprised and taken.
The secrecy of this mutiny is beyond all conception.
To such a close-planned act of villainy, my mind being
Line 35 entirely free from any suspicion, it is no wonder that I
fell a sacrifice. Had their mutiny been occasioned by any
grievances, either real or imaginary, I must have discovered
symptoms of their discontent, which would have put me
on my guard. The case was far otherwise. I was on most
Line 40 friendly terms with Mr. Christian, the leader of the muti-
neers. He had previously arranged to dine with me on
the very day that the mutineers seized me from my bed
at dawn.
View Passage
Passage 2 (1987)
A reading passage Line Number Text Bligh had an unpleasant character, which soon became
Line 45 obvious to a great many people who came into contact with
him. Yes, Bligh was a courageous and eminently capable
seaman—no one else could have accomplished that aston-
ishing open-boat voyage following the mutiny. And yes,
he was an efficient subordinate.
Line 50 But he was not fit for command.
Bligh responded well to the leadership of a man such
as Captain James Cook* ; but after Cook’s death while
on an expedition, Bligh fell out with most of the other
officers. In the margins of the official account of that
Line 55 expedition, Bligh wrote the phrase “a most infamous
lie” and other rude comments of much the same nature.
The same aggressiveness and use of gross language
came with him into the Bounty, made all the worse by
his having no superiors or even equals in rank on board.
Line 60 His authority was final and could not be challenged. It
is said that only two weeks into a voyage expected to
last several years Bligh was scarcely on speaking terms
with his officers.
The mutiny itself is sometimes put down to the charms
Line 65 of Tahiti, but the charms were the same for Wallis’s men,
for Cook’s, and for Bougainville’s, and these earlier cap-
tains had no very grave problems. The trouble seems to
be that Bligh lacked natural authority and tried to make
up for it by railing and cursing. During that terrible open-
Line 70 boat voyage, he quarreled steadily with the Bounty’s loyal
carpenter, and when they reached home Bligh had the
carpenter brought before a court-martial for disobedience
and disrespect.
There was another court-martial some years later
Line 75 when Bligh, as captain of the Warrior, was accused of
tyrannous, oppressive, and unofficer-like behavior to
Lieutenant Frazier and that ship’s other officers. The
evidence showed that Bligh was a foul-mouthed bully,
and the court found the charges “in part proved.” Bligh
Line 80 was reprimanded.
* James Cook (1728–1779): British naval officer who led voyages of discovery and exploration to the Pacific
Which additional information provided by Passage 2 is most useful in evaluating the persuasiveness of the argument made in Passage 1?
