Question

Read the excerpt from Enrique’s Journey.

He was five years old when his mother left him. Now he is almost another person. In the window glass, he sees a battered young man, scrawny and disfigured.

It angers him, and it steels his determination to push northward.

Read the excerpt from "Children of the Drug Wars."

Children from Central America have been making that journey, often without their parents, for two decades. But lately something has changed, and the predictable flow has turned into an exodus. Three years ago, about 6,800 children were detained by United States immigration authorities and placed in federal custody; this year, as many as 90,000 children are expected to be picked up.

How do details from the excerpts support the author’s purpose?

In the first excerpt, the author uses facts and statistics, while in the second excerpt, the author uses words that appeal to readers’ emotions.
In the first excerpt, the author relies on third-person point of view, while in the second excerpt, the author uses first-person point of view.
In the first excerpt, the author uses words to persuade the reader, while in the second excerpt, the author uses language to entertain the reader.
In the first excerpt, the author uses narrative techniques and figurative language, while in the second excerpt, the author includes facts to persuade.

Answer 1

The fourth option.

The first excerpt is narrative—using imagery, characterization, and emotional language to show Enrique’s change and resolve (figurative/narrative techniques). The second excerpt uses factual information and statistics (6,800 → 90,000) to document a trend and persuade/inform readers about the scale of the problem.