ACT Preparation / Unit 17 ACT 1614 worked example, 60 to 90 seconds
What a Paragraph Does
The idea
A question about a paragraph's role is answered in three steps. First, state the paragraph's own point in a few words. Second, compare it with the paragraphs before and after: does it introduce the topic, give an example, add evidence, present a contrast, shift to a new aspect, or conclude? Third, choose the answer whose verb names that role and whose object names the right idea.
In practice
Worked example: an invented passage argues that a city's bike lanes reduced injuries. Its third paragraph begins, "Not everyone agreed," and reports shop owners' fears about lost parking. Its fourth paragraph shows that sales rose anyway. The third paragraph's role: it presents an objection to the passage's claim. A choice saying it supports the main claim misses the turn; "it introduces a concern the author then answers" fits.
Where people slip
A paragraph's role depends on its neighbors. The same paragraph would serve differently in a passage that ended by agreeing with the shop owners.
Your place on the trail
Every lesson rests on earlier ones and opens later ones. Tap any to jump.
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