English: purpose, focus and argumentative support
| English | Français |
|---|---|
| counterclaim/ˈkaʊntəkleɪm/ | counterclaim |
| relevance/ˈrelɪvəns/ | relevance |
A decision before an answer
- A true sentence can still weaken a paragraph. Decide what the paragraph is trying to do before deciding what belongs in it.
- Your goal: Infer a paragraph’s purpose from the passage before judging an addition.
Read the relationship
- Enhanced ACT English uses passage-based editing, including argument. Read the surrounding paragraph and its role in the complete passage; a proposed addition may be grammatical yet irrelevant. Name the writer’s purpose in a short phrase, such as explain a constraint, defend a choice or acknowledge a limitation. Then compare the sentence’s contribution to that purpose.
- Select evidence that directly supports the writer’s particular claim.
Which detail best supports the interview-room proposal?
Interrupted calls directly concern the need for a quiet interview area.
Use the defining rule
- For a question asking whether to add or delete material, decide first and choose the reason second. A detail supports a claim when it addresses the actual relationship asserted. Evidence of popularity does not automatically demonstrate accessibility, affordability or reliability. A plausible anecdote can illustrate an idea without proving a universal conclusion.
- Evaluate a counterclaim without mistaking relevance for agreement.
Why retain the concern about study space?
Acknowledgement and response strengthen this limited argument.
Check the conditions
- An argument can acknowledge a competing view while maintaining its central claim. A useful counterclaim is specific enough to answer; caricaturing an opponent weakens reasoning. Qualification words such as some, during the trial or in this building limit a claim to the evidence. Do not broaden a passage merely to make its conclusion sound confident.
- Evaluate a counterclaim without mistaking relevance for agreement.
Original passage: “The library should reserve a small quiet room for online interviews. Last month, three applicants had to leave the shared computer area because nearby conversations interrupted their calls. Some readers worry that reserving a room would reduce study space. Booking interviews only during the two least busy afternoon hours would limit that cost.” Proposed addition after sentence 2: “The library also owns a rare nineteenth-century atlas.” Delete it: the atlas does not support the case for interview space. An appropriate addition would report the duration and frequency of interrupted interviews, or evidence that the proposed hours are less busy. The counterclaim about study space is relevant and the final sentence answers it without claiming that all inconvenience disappears.
A detail must contribute to the paragraph’s stated ____ rather than merely be interesting.
Purpose determines whether information belongs.
Apply the task format
- The original passage below is a targeted editing case, not a complete official English form. Practise the exam’s passage context by rereading the whole paragraph after each edit. Judge options against the supplied goal, including an explicit focus in the stem; the most interesting detail is not necessarily the most relevant one.
- Evaluate a counterclaim without mistaking relevance for agreement.
Keep the claim’s scope. “Three interrupted calls” supports a local problem; it does not establish that every visitor needs an interview room.
Which answer fits this case?
Infer a paragraph’s purpose from the passage before judging an addition
Any factually true detail should be added to an argument.
Truth alone does not establish relevance or support.
Keep the distinctions
- relevance 相关性 — A detail’s direct contribution to the stated purpose or claim.
- counterclaim 反方观点 — A competing claim that an argument can acknowledge and address.
- Infer a paragraph’s purpose from the passage before judging an addition.
- Select evidence that directly supports the writer’s particular claim.
- Evaluate a counterclaim without mistaking relevance for agreement.
Match each term with its precise meaning in this lesson.
Keep the distinctions stated in the teaching example.
Put this lesson’s reasoning or event sequence in order.
The order follows the stated process; check each stage before the next.