ACT Preparation / Unit 16 ACT 1519 worked example, 60 to 90 seconds
Choosing the Best Summary
The idea
The best summary is chosen in three steps. First, recall the passage's central idea and its main points in order. Second, check each choice for completeness: does it cover the whole passage, not one part? Third, check for accuracy and neutrality: reject any choice that adds an opinion, a fact the passage lacks, or a point it contradicts.
In practice
Worked example: the passage traces a library from one room to a busy center whose growth followed community demand. Choice one: "The library began as a single room." Accurate but partial. Choice two: "The library is the best in the state." An opinion the passage never offers. Choice three: "The library grew from one room into a center shaped by what its community asked of it." Complete, accurate and neutral, so choice three is the summary.
Where people slip
A summary may be short, but it may not be partial. Completeness is tested first; length alone decides nothing.
Your place on the trail
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