The method
1. Give each paragraph a job
Ask whether the author is introducing a problem, supporting a claim, acknowledging a limit or drawing a conclusion. A detail can matter because of its role even when it is not the main claim.
2. Separate concession from reversal
An author can acknowledge an exception without abandoning the argument. Watch words that limit the scope of a claim. Replacing “some” with “all” may produce a stronger statement that the passage never supports.
3. Apply the argument, not your preference
When a new situation is introduced, ask what the passage’s reasoning would imply. Outside knowledge may be interesting but should not substitute for the evidence the question asks you to use.
WORKED EXAMPLE
Original mini-passage · a museum online
A museum places reproductions of its collection online, making the works available to people who cannot visit. Access is valuable, but availability alone does not ensure understanding. Optional notes and comparisons can help visitors connect an object with the choices and circumstances that shaped it. Some visitors will make rich interpretations without any guidance, and overly directive notes may narrow what they notice. The museum should therefore offer interpretive tools without treating those tools as the only legitimate way to engage.
Map: access is valuable; interpretation can benefit from support; independent interpretation is a concession; the conclusion favours optional guidance. “Every visitor needs a guide” erases the concession.
PUT IT INTO PRACTICE
Your workshop
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Check the reasoning
Choose an answer to see an explanation. These are learning checks, not an official exam or score prediction.
Build your worksheet
Try a changed situation
New information: visitors who choose optional notes often compare more works, but the study does not measure understanding. How far does this support the author’s claim?
Take away: Map what the author claims, why each detail is there and where the claim stops.
Answer both learning checks to enable your review record.
Marking reviewed records your own activity. It does not establish mastery or readiness.