ACT Preparation / Unit 6 ACT 0517 worked example, 60 to 90 seconds
Choosing the Best Opening
The idea
When a question asks which sentence best opens a paragraph or a passage, work in three steps. First, read what follows and state its focus in a few words. Second, test each choice against that focus: does it introduce the subject the following sentences develop? Third, among the choices that fit, prefer the one that also does the introduction's other job, drawing the reader in, without promising something the passage never delivers.
In practice
Worked example: a paragraph goes on to describe how volunteers restored a creek, planting willows and clearing trash. Choice one: "Creeks are found on every continent." Too broad. Choice two: "Willows grow quickly." Too narrow, a single detail. Choice three: "Five years ago, Mill Creek was choked with trash; today it runs clear." It introduces the restoration the paragraph describes and draws the reader in with a contrast. Choice three opens it.
Where people slip
The broadest choice sounds like an introduction and introduces nothing in particular.
Your place on the trail
Every lesson rests on earlier ones and opens later ones. Tap any to jump.
Builds on
Unlocks
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