In Alice Wong’s 2022 memoir "Year of the Tiger: An Activist’s Life," what does Wong most likely mean when she says she is “composing” while procrastinating? (A) She is engaging in an important part of her writing process. (B) She is deceiving herself about her true feelings about a subject. (C) She is gathering sources of information to use in her writing. (D) She is being soothed by immersing herself in creative works by other people.

What the question is really asking

You are interpreting what Wong means by the word “composing” based on the surrounding sentences. The key is to use her own examples (vibe, hook, title, image, connection, epiphany) to infer the meaning.

Clues from Wong’s description

Wong says that during distractions:

• “a vibe will emerge”
• she finds “a point I want to make”
• she thinks of “a phrase, a hook, a title for a story, an image”
• “a connection or epiphany can happen”
• by daydreaming she is “actually composing, even if words don’t immediately materialize”

These are all stages of generating and shaping ideas before drafting sentences.

Why choice A fits best

Choice A says she is “engaging in an important part of her writing process.” That matches her point: even when she is not typing, she is mentally building the content of her writing.

Why the other choices do not match

• B (deceiving herself) suggests self-delusion, but Wong presents daydreaming as productive, not dishonest.
• C (gathering sources) is not supported; she mentions inspiration and epiphanies, not researching or collecting citations.
• D (being soothed) could happen, but her emphasis is on creating ideas and structure for her own work, not calming herself.

Quick paraphrase

When Wong says she is “composing,” she means she is brainstorming and mentally drafting, even if no written words appear yet.