Question

The legislative branch of the federal government has two parts: the House of Representatives and the Senate. The Founding Fathers carefully built in differences between the two chambers, as part of a system of checks and balances needed to protect the nation from falling into tyranny.

"The main focus of the House of Representatives is domestic issues. The House controls the government’s purse strings through the creation of tax and spending bills. Its members are split unequally among the states, based on population. All seats are up for election every two years. Compared to members of the Senate, each representative speaks for a smaller and more localized group of people, and turnover is relatively rapid. Thus, the House was meant to be a more responsive and reactive body, one that both reflects and protects the interests of the common people.

"The Senate has more influence on foreign affairs than the House. Its primary responsibility is to provide advice and consent to the President, by voting on treaties and cabinet and judicial nominees. Every state has two Senators, regardless of population. They serve six year, staggered terms. Compared to the House members, Senators are farther removed from local interests and influences. The Senate was designed to be more stable and deliberative, and to represent and safeguard the interests of landowners and other elites.

"The Senate and the House were each designed to have unique responsibilities and characteristics. However, they are still meant to act together in order to carry out the vital legislative business of the federal government."

What is the organizational structure of this comparison, and how can you tell?


point-by-point; in each paragraph, the author first gives points about the House and then gives the matching points about the Senate


subject-by-subject; the subjects of the passage are the House and the Senate


point-by-point; the important points of both the House and the Senate are covered


subject-by-subject; the author fully discusses the House in one paragraph, then describes the Senate in a second paragraph

Answer 1

The organizational structure of the comparison between the House and Senate is subject-by-subject, with the author discussing each chamber in separate paragraphs. The House focuses on domestic issues and responsive representation, while the Senate handles foreign affairs and serves longer, staggered terms.

Step-by-step explanation:

The organizational structure for the comparison between the House of Representatives and the Senate is subject-by-subject; the author discusses all the relevant points about the House in one paragraph, and then describes the Senate in a following paragraph. As opposed to point-by-point where each point about one subject is immediately followed by the corresponding point about the other, this passage completes the discussion about one chamber before moving on to the next. This can be determined by the way the text is divided, with distinct sections fully covering each subject rather than intertwining points about both the House and the Senate throughout.

The House of Representatives is characterized by its domestic focus, control over tax and spending bills, representation based on population, and a more responsive nature due to one-half of its members facing re-election every two years. In contrast, the Senate is described as having more influence on foreign affairs, equal representation from each state regardless of population, longer staggered six-year terms, and responsibilities such as providing advice and consent to the President on treaties and nominations. This reflects the Founding Fathers' intent of creating a bicameral legislature where each house has its unique characteristics and roles within the federal government.