Question 27
The best topic sentence for the first body paragraph for the student essay on this exam is

Question 27 options:

As president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, a civil rights activist, and a Baptist minister, Dr. King had plenty of experience addressing an audience (Oates 123).

In order to convey a message of equal rights for all Americans that would inspire change in a mutually respectable and nonviolent way, he would need to convince Americans that the problem of racial inequality exists and to encourage them to take action in resolving the problem of racism, prejudice, and hatred by allowing freedom and equal rights for everyone.

As Dr. King presents this struggle for freedom with references to the past, present, and future, his message is effectively enhanced through the use of specific rhetorical strategies and stylistic techniques to deliver a true masterpiece.

As Dr. King looks back to the past, he immediately takes advantage of the location from which the speech is delivered, on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.

Question 28
The best topic sentence for the second body paragraph for the student essay on this exam is

Question 28 options:

Dr. King uses the metaphor “lonely island of poverty . . . midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity” to compare the economic inequality the Negro is experiencing.

Next, Dr. King transitions from the past to the present to further emphasize his message of racial inequality.

He uses a financial metaphor by claiming, "America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check which has come back marked ‘insufficient funds’” (King).

That check represents their freedom, which has not been paid, and they “have come to cash [that] check" (King).