Read the sentence.
the speaker of okita's poem tries to present herself in ways that have little to do with her customs.
which is the best revision of this sentence using academic vocabulary?
the speaker of okita's poem has a go at painting herself in ways that have little to do with her background
the speaker of okita's poem has a crack at describing herself in ways that have little to do with her stock.
the speaker of okita's poem makes an effort to show herself in ways that have little to do with her family
the speaker of okita's poem attempts to characterize herself in ways that have little to do with her heritage.

The speaker of Okita's poem attempts to characterize herself in ways that have little to do with her heritage.

The right answer is the D) The speaker of Okita's poem attempts to characterize herself in ways that have little to do with her heritage.

Explanation: Just to elaborate a little on the answer, it can be added that words such as "crack," "stock," and "have a go at" are very informal, so options A and B should be easily discarded. In addition, the original sentence includes the word "customs," but not "family," so option C can be also discarded. Likewise, "makes an effort to show herself" (option C) does not sound as academic and formal as "attempts to characterize herself" (option D). Finally, the word "heritage" seems like an appropriate formal variant of the word "customs."  

because they were not just any seashells they were sally's seashells