7W1a introducing claims and counterclaims
Question 1 of 4
2024 Test B English, question 6Passage Find Time to Volunteer
Find Time to Volunteer
(1) Many people believe that they gain a greater sense of purpose by giving their time to serve others. (2) These are the people who spend their free time volunteering at various places within the community. (3) Those who are served benefit from the work of these volunteers. (4) However, research shows that those who volunteer also receive benefits.
(5) For many students, this proposition may sound impossible. (6) Schoolwork can require hours of study each week. (7) Volunteering at a retirement center or homeless shelter requires both time and energy. (8) Extracurricular activities fill up after-school time. (9) Family obligations and part-time jobs often have to be worked into the schedule, too. (10) However, if students can find time to volunteer, even for a few hours a month, they may find that the benefits outweigh the scheduling difficulties.
(11) To begin with, students who engage in volunteer activities acquire valuable skills and experience, which can help them focus on potential fields of study and career options. (12) Furthermore, when students list volunteer work on college applications, admissions counselors see applicants who care about making their community and college campus a better place.
(13) Volunteerism benefits more than students applying to college. (14) This type of experience is equally important for students moving directly into the workforce after high school. (15) Volunteering demonstrates initiative, dedication, and a strong work ethic, qualities that companies value in a potential employee. (16) In a CareerBuilder study, 60 percent of managers regarded volunteerism as a significant asset when considering applicants.
(17) Students who volunteer undoubtedly make a positive investment in their future, but they also affect their present quality of life. (18) Studies have shown that volunteering is good for both the mind and the body. (19) Volunteering can boost mood levels and reduce anxiety. (20) According to the Mayo Clinic,1 the feeling of doing something meaningful and the appreciation received from that action can reduce stress.
(21) Even the busiest of students can find a way to donate some time to a worthy cause. (22) Though managing different commitments may seem overwhelming at times, students are sure to feel a sense of fulfillment in volunteerism.
1Mayo Clinic: a nonprofit medical organization dedicated to treatment and research
Question
Which sentence should follow sentence 4 to introduce the main claim of the passage?
- AWith that in mind, high school students should consider engaging in some form of regular volunteerism.
- BFortunately for students, these benefits are guaranteed to produce both immediate and long-term results.
- CIn fact, studies have confirmed that volunteerism can be beneficial for students, the family, and the community.
- DFor this reason, high school students should learn about how helping others can strengthen their communities.
Show the answer
Correct answer: A
The question asks which sentence should follow sentence 4 to introduce the main claim of the passage.
A. CORRECT. Sentence 4 states that “research shows that those who volunteer also receive benefits.” The sentence in the option logically follows the ideas in sentence 4 and provides the best thesis statement for the passage because it introduces the main claim that high school students should consider the benefits of volunteerism.
B. Incorrect. While the sentence refers to the “benefits” mentioned in sentence 4, it erroneously asserts that “immediate and long-term results” are “guaranteed.” In addition, the sentence does not introduce the main claim of the passage that volunteering is beneficial for high school students.
C. Incorrect. Although the sentence states that “volunteerism can be beneficial for students,” it introduces the idea that “the family, and the community” benefit as well, which is not part of the main argument. Therefore, this sentence should not follow sentence 4 to introduce the main claim of the passage.
D. Incorrect. Although the sentence introduces the claim that “high school students should learn about” volunteering, it focuses on the idea that volunteering strengthens the community, which is not the main claim. This sentence does not accurately introduce the claim that volunteering is beneficial for high school students and thus should not follow sentence 4.
Question analysis
This introduction question asks which sentence should come right after sentence 4 of the volunteering essay to state its main claim. Students must work out what the whole essay argues and match it to an opening line, while the choices mention benefits, studies and communities in ways that sound like a thesis.
- NYS standards
- 7W1a introducing claims and counterclaims
- Grade level
- Grade 7 reading and task
- Compared with grade 7
- At grade 7 Stating a precise claim is a core grade 7 argument skill. Students must sense the essay’s claim from all six paragraphs and test four openers that each sound like a thesis, typical of careful grade 7 revision.
- Estimated difficulty
- Moderate: several steps, or a close reading with one strong distractor.
- Thinking it demands
- Depth of knowledge 2, skills and concepts · mainly evaluate
- What makes it hard
- Evidence in several places moderate
- A very close wrong answer moderate
- How sentences fit together minor
- Evidence
- Answered from the whole text
- Reading level
- Passage: about grade 11, 354 words; question and choices: about grade 10, 76 words.
- Students, last 30 days
- Not enough answers yet to show (it takes 10).
Why it is hard, traps and wrong answers (shows the answer)
Why it is hard
Three of the four sentences sound like a thesis, and two contain “high school students should,” so tone decides nothing. Students go wrong when they choose a sentence that only repeats the research point of sentence 4, or one that urges a different action. The question rewards stating the essay’s claim first, that students should volunteer because it pays off for them, and then finding the sentence that says exactly that.
Evidence in several places moderate Working it out
The essay never states its claim in one sentence; it has to be pieced together from the benefits for college, work and health in paragraphs 3 to 5 and sentence 21’s “Even the busiest of students can find a way.” (Kirsch & Mosenthal, 1990; Gorin & Embretson, 2006)
A very close wrong answer moderate Choosing the answer
The right sentence and the one about strengthening communities both open with a linking phrase and “high school students should”; they part only on what students should do, volunteer or learn about communities. (Embretson & Wetzel, 1987; Gorin & Embretson, 2006; Ascalon et al., 2007)
How sentences fit together minor Working it out
The new sentence follows sentence 4’s “those who volunteer also receive benefits,” so it must turn that research point into what students should do about it. (Halliday & Hasan, 1976)
Strategy: Skim the body paragraphs and state in a few words what the essay wants its readers to believe. Then choose the sentence that says exactly that and follows naturally from sentence 4.
Traps
- Off the point: Adds or keeps something that does not support the paragraph's or the passage's focus, or an introduction or conclusion that misses the main point.
- Too broad or too strong: A choice overstates, generalizes, or uses absolute words the text does not support.
The wrong answers, classified
B Too broad or too strong (King et al., 2004)
Follows the word “benefits” from sentence 4 but overstates them as “guaranteed” and never says what students should do, so no claim is introduced.
C Off the point (Halliday & Hasan, 1976)
Likes the research-sounding “studies have confirmed,” but it restates sentence 4 as a fact rather than a claim and widens the benefits to families and the community.
D Off the point (Halliday & Hasan, 1976)
Sees the thesis-like “high school students should,” but it asks students to learn about strengthening communities, a point the essay never develops, instead of urging them to volunteer.
Working it out, step by step
Figure out what the question asks
You need a sentence to go right after sentence 4. It must introduce the main claim. A claim is the main point a writer wants you to believe or act on. In an essay like this, it is often a should statement. Example: Students should get more sleep. So first figure out what the whole essay argues.
Find the essay’s main claim
The essay keeps urging students to make time to help. Sentence 10 says “if students can find time to volunteer, even for a few hours a month, they may find that the benefits outweigh the scheduling difficulties.” Paragraphs 3 to 5 give benefits for college, jobs and health. Sentence 21 says “Even the busiest of students can find a way to donate some time to a worthy cause.” So the claim is: high school students should volunteer, because it helps them.
Use the clue in sentence 5
The new sentence will sit just before sentence 5. Sentence 5 says “For many students, this proposition may sound impossible.” A proposition is a suggestion. So the sentence before it must suggest something students could do. That points to a sentence telling students to volunteer.
Check each choice
- A says students “should consider engaging in some form of regular volunteerism.” That is the essay’s claim. “With that in mind” links it to the benefits in sentence 4.
- B says the benefits are “guaranteed.” That overstates them, and it never tells students to do anything.
- C just repeats that studies found benefits. It also adds families, which the essay never discusses.
- D tells students to “learn about” helping communities. The essay never argues for that.
Pick the answer
Watch out: D also says “high school students should,” so it sounds like a claim. But it asks them to learn, not to volunteer. Only one choice states what the essay argues. So the answer is A.
Why this answer and not the closest wrong one
D is the closest wrong answer, because it also tells high school students what they should do. But the essay never asks students to study how helping makes communities stronger. It argues that volunteering pays off for the students themselves. A says exactly that, and it sets up “this proposition” in sentence 5.
More questions like this
The original DOE question
The passage “Find Time to Volunteer” as printed (page 163)
Question 2 of 4
2022 Test A English, question 7Passage Cracking the Code
Cracking the Code
(1) Computer code is part of every electronic interaction, from video games to home thermostats to vehicle GPS systems. (2) Code is a language that computers can interpret, and programmers use it to instruct computers to perform different tasks, such as finding, sorting, or calculating data. (3) People who code have to learn this language. (4) They can construct programs that will perform detailed tasks. (5) The programs can also perform complex tasks.
(6) A coding language uses letters, numbers, and symbols that are arranged in a way that makes sense to a computer. (7) The code that makes up a program tells a computer how to process information. (8) Studying a coding language involves learning the rules for combining phrases and instructions so that they are recognizable to the computer. (9) Once a person understands coding rules, the possibilities for applying them are infinite.
(10) Coding skills are becoming important in many occupational fields. (11) For example, code can be used to create programs to track, analyze, and predict changes in the stock market. (12) Code can also be designed to help doctors track and monitor a patient’s health. (13) Jobs that require coding skills are typically higher paying, offering salaries that are up to as much as $22,000 a year more than jobs that do not require coding knowledge.
(14) People have a variety of opportunities to learn how to code. (15) In some schools, young people can study computer science and coding just as they study foreign languages. (16) Computer science teachers can use websites and apps that employ games designed to help everyone understand how code works. (17) Even high school students who do not take computer science can learn coding by attending coding workshops and online classes or by watching tutorials online. (18) After studying the basics of coding, some students may become interested in learning how to create programs, such as games and apps.
(19) The late Steve Jobs, a pioneer in computer technology, once said, “Everybody in this country should learn how to program a computer . . . because it teaches you how to think.” (20) Learning to code can seem challenging, but one does not need to become an expert programmer to reap the benefits of understanding this language.
Question
Which sentence should follow sentence 5 to best state the main claim in the passage?
- APeople should take advantage of opportunities to study and learn basic coding because of its many valuable benefits.
- BPeople should attempt to understand how code can be used to design programs that are beneficial for a variety of industries and businesses.
- CSchools should offer coding classes because knowing how to code will help students succeed in many types of businesses.
- DStudents should prepare for the future job market by studying code and learning how to code programs.
Show the answer
Correct answer: A
The question asks for the sentence that should follow sentence 5 to best state the main claim in the passage.
A. CORRECT. This sentence logically follows sentence 5 and introduces the main idea of the passage: that due to the high demand for coding skills across a wide range of industries and disciplines, learning basic coding skills can provide a range of opportunities for personal growth.
B. Incorrect. While this sentence incorporates a point made in the passage about how coding can benefit many occupational fields (sentence 10), this idea alone does not address the entire argument in the passage. This sentence does not capture the passage’s emphasis on the variety of ways people can learn how to code (sentence 14).
C. Incorrect. While this sentence incorporates ideas about opportunities to learn coding skills in school (fourth paragraph), the larger claim presented in the passage is not about opportunities schools should offer in order to help students learn to code. The passage primarily focuses on the opportunities offered to people who take on the challenge of learning to code.
D. Incorrect. Although the passage discusses the opportunities that are available to some students to learn coding skills in school (sentences 15–16), this point is a supporting detail of the passage, not the main claim of the passage.
Question analysis
This introduction question asks which sentence, added after sentence 5 of “Cracking the Code,” would best state the main claim of the passage. Students must work out what the whole argument is driving at, across paragraphs on what code is, how it is used at work and where people can learn it, and then choose among four sentences that each sound like a claim.
- NYS standards
- 7W1a introducing claims and counterclaims
- Grade level
- Grade 7 reading and task
- Compared with grade 7
- At grade 7 Introducing a precise claim is a core grade 7 argument skill. Students must find the claim behind all five paragraphs, since the first paragraph only explains what code is, and compare four sentences that each tell someone what to do.
- Estimated difficulty
- Straightforward: two steps or one careful reading.
- Thinking it demands
- Depth of knowledge 2, skills and concepts · mainly evaluate
- What makes it hard
- Evidence in several places moderate
- Every choice must be checked minor
- Evidence
- Answered from the whole text
- Reading level
- Passage: about grade 10, 357 words; question and choices: about grade 10, 91 words.
- Students, last 30 days
- Not enough answers yet to show (it takes 10).
Why it is hard, traps and wrong answers (shows the answer)
Why it is hard
The claim is clearest at the very end, where sentence 20 says anyone can benefit from understanding code without becoming an expert. Each wrong option grows out of one paragraph, the industries of paragraph 3 or the students and schools of paragraph 4, so it sounds supported but speaks to too few people or asks for the wrong action. The question rewards naming the whole argument before reading the options.
Evidence in several places moderate Working it out
The first paragraph only explains what code is, so the claim must be pieced together from later parts: coding’s value at work in paragraph 3, the ways to learn in paragraph 4 and sentence 20’s benefits for non-experts. (Kirsch & Mosenthal, 1990; Gorin & Embretson, 2006)
Every choice must be checked minor Choosing the answer
All four options are “should” statements built from real material in the passage, so each has to be checked for whom it addresses and what it asks them to do. (Embretson & Wetzel, 1987)
Strategy: Before reading the choices, note in a phrase what each paragraph adds, then say in one sentence what the whole passage wants its readers to do, and pick the option that matches all of it.
Traps
- Too narrow: A single detail offered as the central idea or a summary, or a summary that keeps minor details and leaves out an essential part.
- Off the point: Adds or keeps something that does not support the paragraph's or the passage's focus, or an introduction or conclusion that misses the main point.
The wrong answers, classified
B Too narrow (King et al., 2004)
Builds on the stock-market and medical programs of paragraph 3, but asks people only to understand how code serves industries, never to learn it, and leaves out the ways to learn.
C Off the point (Halliday & Hasan, 1976)
Takes the schools of sentence 15 as the heart of the argument and turns the claim into a duty for schools, a demand the passage never makes of them.
D Too narrow (King et al., 2004)
Joins the higher-paying jobs of sentence 13 to the students of paragraph 4, but limits the claim to students preparing for jobs, while the passage addresses everyone and promises benefits beyond pay.
Working it out, step by step
Figure out what the question asks
This asks for the main claim of the whole passage. A claim is the main point a writer argues for. The new sentence goes after sentence 5, at the end of the first paragraph. So it should tell the reader what the whole passage will argue. Each choice tells someone what they “should” do. Find the one that fits all five paragraphs.
Sum up each paragraph
- Paragraph 1 (sentences 1–5): code is everywhere, and coders must learn its language.
- Paragraph 2 (sentences 6–9): how a coding language works.
- Paragraph 3 (sentences 10–13): coding skills matter in many jobs and can mean higher pay.
- Paragraph 4 (sentences 14–18): “People have a variety of opportunities to learn how to code.”
- Paragraph 5 (sentences 19–20): everybody should learn, and you don’t have to be an expert.
Find the claim in the ending
The end of a passage often makes its point clearest. Sentence 19 quotes Steve Jobs: “Everybody in this country should learn how to program a computer.” Sentence 20 says “one does not need to become an expert programmer to reap the benefits of understanding this language.” To reap benefits is to get good things from something. So the claim is this: everyone should learn at least basic coding, because it helps in many ways.
Check each choice
- A fits. It speaks to all people. “Basic coding” matches sentence 20. “Opportunities” matches paragraph 4. “Many valuable benefits” covers jobs, pay and more.
- B does not fit. It asks people only to understand how businesses use code, the idea of paragraph 3. It never says to learn coding.
- C does not fit. The passage never tells schools what to do. Schools are just one place to learn, in sentence 15.
- D does not fit. It speaks only to students, and only about jobs. The passage speaks to everybody.
Choose the answer
Watch out: D sounds right because the passage does talk about students and jobs. But those are only parts of paragraphs 3 and 4. Only A covers who the passage speaks to and why they should learn. So the answer is A.
Why this answer and not the closest wrong one
D is a close wrong answer, because studying code for good jobs is part of the passage. But D limits the claim to students and to jobs. Sentence 19 says “Everybody” should learn. The reason Steve Jobs gives is that it “teaches you how to think,” which is not about jobs at all. A speaks to all people and all the benefits.
More questions like this
The original DOE question
The passage “Cracking the Code” as printed (page 40)
Question 3 of 4
2018 Test B English, question 5Passage The Local Library
The Local Library
(1) According to a 2015 survey, more than two-thirds of Americans own a smartphone, which means that obtaining information or communicating with people is easier than ever before. (2) With the swipe of a finger, the tap of an icon, or a verbal command, people have instant access to articles, blogs, news, and social networking websites. (3) Even with all these immediately available sources of information, one of the best resources for many members of the community also happens to be one of the oldest. (4) The public library is a great place for people to get information.
(5) The public library serves a truly critical role in promoting community. (6) With the explosion of digital media in recent years, people in different locations can now communicate almost instantaneously. (7) And yet many people complain of feeling more isolated and alone than ever before. (8) The library stands in a rare position to help community members meet this universal need for human connection and companionship.
(9) Furthermore, libraries provide certain amenities, such as access to the Internet, for free to all people. (10) A student who does not have a computer at home can research and type a paper for school. (11) Similarly, an unemployed adult without access to the Internet can make use of library resources to find job opportunities. (12) The free items that are found at the library can help people get a lot done.
(13) Public libraries also offer a variety of resources to community members. (14) One important resource is the local librarian, who does far more than check out books and collect fines. (15) Other library resources include free or low-cost tutoring and training programs. (16) Additionally, lectures, book groups, and town meetings promote critical thinking and community engagement. (17) A typical librarian holds a master’s degree and can help library patrons navigate through the flood of information available in print and on the Internet.
(18) The hallmark of a public library is that its materials and services are accessible to all. (19) The library connects people to a network of information and resources and is an important part of a community.
Question
Which sentence should replace sentence 4 to best introduce the main claim of the passage?
- AIn this age of smartphones and search engines, the public library is a valuable resource that all members of a community should use.
- BFinding information is easier than ever, but going to the public library is still a valuable learning experience.
- CThough today’s computers are highly advanced, the resources available at a public library are more useful for students.
- DDespite the proliferation of social networking sites, a public library is a great place for people who are interested in improving their community.
Show the answer
Correct answer: A
The question asks for a sentence that should replace sentence 4 to introduce the main claim of the passage.
Option A is correct because it best presents the main claim that the public library is a valuable resource and should be used by community members.
Option B is incorrect because it states that going to the library can be a learning experience. This idea is implied in sentences 17 and 18, but it is not the main claim of the passage.
Option C is incorrect because it states the idea that the library is useful for students, which would be supporting evidence rather than an introductory statement expressing the main claim.
Option D is incorrect because it states that local libraries provide services to help improve communities, which is explained in sentences 15–18, but it does not present the main claim.
Question analysis
This introduction question uses a persuasive essay about public libraries that opens with statistics on smartphone ownership. Students choose a new fourth sentence that states the passage’s main claim. Every option contrasts technology with libraries, so the challenge is telling the overall argument apart from single supporting points.
- NYS standards
- 7W1a introducing claims and counterclaims
- Grade level
- Grade 7 reading and task
- Compared with grade 7
- At grade 7 Grade 7 writers learn to state a precise claim; here students must find the claim behind a whole five-paragraph essay and test each candidate opener against all of its reasons, not just one paragraph.
- Estimated difficulty
- Moderate: several steps, or a close reading with one strong distractor.
- Thinking it demands
- Depth of knowledge 2, skills and concepts · mainly evaluate
- What makes it hard
- Evidence in several places moderate
- A very close wrong answer moderate
- How sentences fit together minor
- Evidence
- Answered from the whole text
- Reading level
- Passage: about grade 11, 341 words; question and choices: about grade 12, 96 words.
- Students, last 30 days
- Not enough answers yet to show (it takes 10).
Why it is hard, traps and wrong answers (shows the answer)
Why it is hard
The risk here is settling for a true point from the essay instead of its overall claim. Every opener sets technology against the library, so the contrast itself decides nothing; what decides is whether the library is presented as a resource for the whole community or as a benefit to one group. Students who state the claim in their own words before reading the choices avoid the near-copy that narrows it to learning.
Evidence in several places moderate Working it out
The main claim is never stated in one place: it has to be pieced together from paragraphs on human connection, free Internet access, librarians and tutoring, and access for all, ending with “an important part of a community.” (Kirsch & Mosenthal, 1990; Gorin & Embretson, 2006)
A very close wrong answer moderate Choosing the answer
The learning-experience opener has the right one’s shape, a nod to technology and then “valuable,” and differs in one part of the claim: “a valuable learning experience” instead of “a valuable resource that all members of a community should use.” (Embretson & Wetzel, 1987; Gorin & Embretson, 2006; Ascalon et al., 2007)
How sentences fit together minor Working it out
Sentence 3 builds up to an unnamed “one of the best resources,” so the new sentence 4 must name the library as that resource and say why everyone should use it. (Halliday & Hasan, 1976)
Strategy: Before reading the choices, sum up in your own words what the essay wants readers to believe about the library, drawing on every paragraph, then find the opener that matches it.
Traps
- Too narrow: A single detail offered as the central idea or a summary, or a summary that keeps minor details and leaves out an essential part.
- Too broad or too strong: A choice overstates, generalizes, or uses absolute words the text does not support.
The wrong answers, classified
B Too narrow (King et al., 2004)
Echoes sentence 1’s “easier than ever” and sounds balanced, but reduces the claim to one benefit, learning, and drops the community and the free services the essay argues for.
C Too broad or too strong (King et al., 2004)
Builds on the student in sentence 10 and the essay’s technology contrast, but claims libraries beat computers, a ranking the essay never makes, since libraries offer the Internet.
D Too narrow (King et al., 2004)
Keeps the original sentence’s vague “great place for people” and narrows the audience to those improving their community, one point from paragraphs 2 and 4 rather than the claim.
Working it out, step by step
Figure out what the question asks
You need a new sentence 4. Sentence 4 ends the first paragraph, so it should state the main claim. A claim is the big point a writer tries to prove. Here it must fit the whole essay.
Sum up what the essay argues
Look at what each paragraph says about the library.
- Paragraph 2: it helps people meet the “need for human connection and companionship.”
- Paragraph 3: it offers things like “access to the Internet, for free to all people.”
- Paragraph 4: it offers librarians, tutoring, lectures and book groups.
- Paragraph 5: it is “an important part of a community.”
So the claim is this: the library is a valuable resource that everyone in the community should use.
See how sentence 4 must fit
Sentence 1 talks about smartphones. Sentence 3 says that “one of the best resources” is also “one of the oldest.” Sentence 4 should name that old resource, the library. It should also say why everyone should use it.
Check each choice
- A is right. It links back to the smartphones. It calls the library “a valuable resource that all members of a community should use.” That is the whole claim.
- B is wrong. It shrinks the claim to learning. It leaves out the free services and the human connection.
- C is wrong. It talks only about students. It also says the library beats computers, which the essay never says. The library even offers the Internet.
- D is wrong. It talks only about people who want to improve their community. It keeps the vague words “a great place.”
Watch out: B repeats “easier than ever” from sentence 1, so it sounds like it belongs. But it covers only one benefit.
Choose the answer
A names the library, calls it valuable and tells everyone to use it. So the answer is A.
Why this answer and not the closest wrong one
B is the closest wrong answer. It also starts with how easy it is to find information today, and it calls the library valuable. But it calls the library “a valuable learning experience.” The essay argues for much more than learning: free Internet, librarians, programs and a place to meet people. A covers all of that.
More questions like this
The original DOE question
The passage “The Local Library” as printed (page 120)
Question 4 of 4
2018 Test B English, question 8Uses the passage above: “The Local Library”.
Question
Where should sentence 17 be moved in order to improve the organization of the fourth paragraph (sentences 13–17)?
- Ato the beginning of the paragraph (before sentence 13)
- Bbetween sentences 13 and 14
- Cbetween sentences 14 and 15
- Dbetween sentences 15 and 16
Show the answer
Correct answer: C
The question asks where sentence 17 should be moved in order to improve the organization of the fourth paragraph. Sentence 17 describes a typical librarian and the assistance he or she provides in the library.
Option C correctly places sentence 17, an example of what else the librarian does, after the librarian is introduced in sentence 14.
Option A is incorrect because it places the sentence before the main idea of the paragraph, which states that public libraries offer a variety of resources. Sentence 17 is an example of one of the resources, so it would not be placed at the beginning of the paragraph before the main idea.
Option B is incorrect because it moves the sentence to before the librarian is introduced in the paragraph.
Option D is incorrect because sentences 15 and 16 have shifted away from the topic of the librarian, so the details in sentence 17 would not logically fit between them.
Question analysis
This organization question asks where a sentence about librarians’ training and skills belongs in the library essay’s paragraph on resources. Students read sentences 13 through 17 and look for the most logical spot for the detail. Several positions can seem reasonable at first, so the paragraph’s order of ideas has to be traced carefully.
- Grade level
- Grade 7 reading and task
- Compared with grade 7
- At grade 7 Ordering sentences so each detail follows the idea it explains is regular grade 7 revision work. This paragraph is only five sentences long and its topic shifts are easy to track, so it matches typical classroom practice.
- Estimated difficulty
- Straightforward: two steps or one careful reading.
- Thinking it demands
- Depth of knowledge 2, skills and concepts · mainly analyze
- What makes it hard
- How sentences fit together moderate
- A very close wrong answer minor
- Evidence
- Answered from one paragraph or stanza
- Reading level
- Passage: about grade 11, 341 words; question and choices: about grade 7, 33 words.
- Students, last 30 days
- Not enough answers yet to show (it takes 10).
Why it is hard, traps and wrong answers (shows the answer)
Why it is hard
This is a short paragraph with clear signals, so the work is in reading them: “One important resource” in sentence 14 introduces the librarian, and “Other library resources” in sentence 15 marks the move away. Students who notice only that sentence 17 is about librarians can put it on the wrong side of sentence 14. The question rewards tracing how each sentence hands off to the next.
How sentences fit together moderate Working it out
Sentence 17 begins “A typical librarian,” which makes sense right after sentence 14 names “the local librarian” as a resource and before sentence 15 turns away with “Other library resources.” (Halliday & Hasan, 1976)
A very close wrong answer minor Choosing the answer
“Between sentences 13 and 14” and “between sentences 14 and 15” both keep the detail beside the librarian sentence; the only difference is whether it comes before or after sentence 14 introduces the librarian. (Embretson & Wetzel, 1987; Gorin & Embretson, 2006; Ascalon et al., 2007)
Strategy: Identify what sentence 17 describes, then find the sentence it adds to most directly and check that the move keeps the paragraph’s ideas in a logical order.
The wrong answers, classified
A Sentence in the wrong place (Halliday & Hasan, 1976)
Treats “A typical librarian holds a master’s degree” as a general opener, though it would then come before sentence 13’s topic sentence about the library’s resources.
B Sentence in the wrong place (Halliday & Hasan, 1976)
Rightly keeps the detail beside the librarian sentence but puts it first, so readers learn the librarian’s degree before sentence 14 has introduced the librarian at all.
D Sentence in the wrong place (Halliday & Hasan, 1976)
Links the librarian’s degree to the “training programs” of sentence 15, though by then the paragraph has left librarians for tutoring and lectures.
Working it out, step by step
Figure out what the question asks
This is an organization question. You must decide where sentence 17 makes the most sense in paragraph 4, so the ideas come in a clear order.
Read sentence 17
Sentence 17 says: “A typical librarian holds a master’s degree and can help library patrons navigate through the flood of information available in print and on the Internet.” Patrons are the people who use the library. To navigate means to find your way. So the sentence is all about librarians.
Find the sentence it belongs with
Sentence 14 is the first to bring up librarians: “One important resource is the local librarian, who does far more than check out books and collect fines.” Sentence 17 tells more about what librarians do. So it should come right after sentence 14.
Then sentence 15 starts “Other library resources,” which moves on to a new topic. All the librarian facts should come before that.
Check each choice
- A is wrong. Sentence 13 is the topic sentence, the one that tells what the paragraph is about. One detail can’t go before it.
- B is wrong. The paragraph would talk about “a typical librarian” before sentence 14 introduces the librarian.
- C is right. Sentence 17 comes right after the sentence that introduces the librarian.
- D is wrong. By sentence 15, the paragraph has moved on to tutoring and training programs.
Watch out: B also puts sentence 17 next to sentence 14, but on the wrong side of it.
Choose the answer
The new order is 13, 14, 17, 15, 16. The paragraph names its topic, explains the librarian, then moves to other resources. So the answer is C.
Why this answer and not the closest wrong one
B is the closest wrong answer, since it also keeps sentence 17 beside sentence 14. But in B, the reader hears about “a typical librarian” before learning that librarians are a resource. In C, sentence 14 introduces “the local librarian,” and sentence 17 then adds details. That is the logical order.
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The original DOE question
