ACT Preparation / Unit 17 ACT 1615 worked example, 60 to 90 seconds
How the Whole Passage Is Structured
The idea
An overall-structure question is answered in three steps. First, label each paragraph's role in a word: claim, example, objection, response, background, conclusion. Second, read the labels in order and describe the pattern they make. Third, choose the answer that names the same pattern, in the same order.
In practice
Worked example: the labels for an invented passage are background, problem, a first failed solution, a second failed solution, a successful solution, and reflection. The pattern: a problem traced through attempts to its solution. The choices are a chronological biography; a comparison of two cities; a problem followed by solutions tried until one succeeds; and an argument with its counterargument. The third matches.
Where people slip
Check the order as well as the parts. A choice can name the right elements in the wrong sequence, such as a solution followed by the problem it solved.
Your place on the trail
Every lesson rests on earlier ones and opens later ones. Tap any to jump.
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