Good authors choose their words very carefully. Take a few minutes to write a short paragraph describing an experience you have recently had. Pick a location you went to or an event you attended. Once you have finished, read over what you have written. Now, write a second paragraph. In it, you will repeat the information from the first paragraph, but you will choose your words more carefully. Ask yourself questions like: What words capture this image exactly? What is the best word to convey how something looked, or how I felt? Take more time with the second paragraph. Your response should be at least 150 words in total.

Read this passage: byron and mitch are co-captains of the mathletes, their high school's academic team. they are backstage with the five other team members, preparing to compete in the state math quiz. byron sits on the floor with his eyes closed and his earbuds in, listening to classical jazz, which him focus his mind and energy. suddenly, he feels a presence beside him. he opens his eyes to see mitch staring at him. "mathletes! mathletes! " mitch chants loudly. mitch gives byron a thumbs-up and then proceeds to strut around like a peacock, high-fiving the other team members, as byron shuts his eyes again and does his best to refocus his mind which statement best summarizes the passage?