ACT Preparation / Unit 21 ACT 2019 worked example, 60 to 90 seconds
Where the Viewpoints Agree and Differ
The idea
Agreement and difference are found in three steps. First, place the two summaries side by side. Second, mark the statements both make or both assume: that is the shared ground. Third, mark the point each would deny in the other: that is the core disagreement, which often concerns a cause or a mechanism.
In practice
Worked example: in the invented fish passage, both scientists accept the August die-off and the unusual warmth. They differ on the mechanism: scientist 1 says the warmth fed a bloom that removed oxygen; scientist 2 says the warmth killed the fish directly. Both treat warmth as part of the story; the disagreement is whether oxygen loss was the step in between.
Where people slip
Viewpoints can agree on a cause and differ on how it acts. Read for the mechanism, not only for the first cause named.
Your place on the trail
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