Question

Read the reflection from Kara’s narrative. 1 Ironically, it is from my much younger—and, I used to think, less wise—brother that I learned the value of being honest even when a lie may seem far more tempting at the time. 2 I knew that what he did that day must have been extremely difficult for him. 3 Yet there he stood, taking responsibility for his actions with not a glimmer of hesitation. 4 It is this determination and resolve to do what is right—even when what is right is not what is easy—that I remembered many years later in college when faced with a similar predicament of my own. Which best revises sentence 2 to make it more precise? Watching him bravely tell the truth about what had really happened that day and how he had been the one responsible for the destruction of our neighbor’s award-winning flower garden, I realized that he knew he would likely face unpleasant consequences. I tried to imagine how difficult it must have been for someone so young to do something so courageous and what must have been going through his mind, but all I could think about was the punishment he would probably receive for doing the right thing. Although my brother appeared to be acting bravely, I was certain he was tempted to do the wrong thing that day to avoid some sort of unpleasant punishment, and I thought for a second that he would change his mind at the last moment. My brother’s actions that day were very admirable, and I remember wondering how someone so young could do something like that, and then I wondered if I would do the same thing or something different just to avoid getting into unwanted trouble.

Answer 1

The statement, by Kara Walker, that best revises sentence 2 to make it more precise, is "Watching him bravely tell the truth about what had really happened that day and how he had been the one responsible for the destruction of our neighbor's award-winning flower garden, I realized that he knew he would likely face unpleasant consequences."

Answer 2

Watching him bravely tell the truth about what had really happened that day and how he had been the one responsible for the destruction of our neighbor’s award-winning flower garden, I realized that he knew he would likely face unpleasant consequences.