ACT Preparation / Unit 18 ACT 1711 worked example, 60 to 90 seconds
Spotting a Gap in Reasoning
The idea
A reasoning question is answered in three steps. First, state the author's conclusion and the evidence offered for it. Second, ask whether the evidence could be true and the conclusion still false; if so, find the step that bridges the gap. Third, choose the answer that names that unstated step, or the alternative explanation it ignores.
In practice
Worked example: an invented passage notes that students who eat breakfast earn higher grades, and concludes that serving breakfast at school will raise grades. The evidence could be true and the conclusion false if something else, such as a steadier routine at home, produces both breakfast and good grades. The gap: the passage assumes breakfast causes the grades. The answer names that assumption.
Where people slip
The gap is often an assumption the author never states. Saying it aloud, as "this only works if," is the fastest way to find it.
Your place on the trail
Every lesson rests on earlier ones and opens later ones. Tap any to jump.
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