Correct Answer: suggest changes to her session notes
Passage Reference: I have read your notes for the library discussion of Thomas Merton's life. You have chosen some interesting material about his interest in the world beyond the monastery.
Why this is correct: Leah has read Grace's notes and asks for several changes. She wants a brief introduction, a timing plan, the attached passage, and no claim about Merton's death. Then she asks for the revised outline by Monday. So she is writing mainly to suggest changes to her session notes.
Tips: For a question about why someone is writing, look at what most parts of the message do. Choose the option that fits all of them.
Why the other options are wrong:
- cancel the library discussion of Merton: The discussion is not cancelled. Leah plans its forty-five minutes and will put it in Tuesday's newsletter.
- ask her to settle how Merton died: Leah asks Grace to remove the claim that the details of his death are beyond dispute. They do not need to settle that issue.
- say that attendees must buy a book: Leah says there is no need for attendees to buy a book. Copies of the passage will be given out at the entrance.
Correct Answer: fifteen minutes
Passage Reference: I suggest spending the first ten on the introduction, twenty on the selected passage, and the remaining fifteen on questions.
Why this is correct: The plan gives fifteen minutes to questions. This is the final part of the forty-five-minute session.
Tips: Assign each of the three durations to introduction, passage, and questions before choosing.
Why the other options are wrong:
- twenty minutes: Twenty minutes is allocated to the selected passage, not to audience questions.
- twenty-five minutes: Twenty-five minutes is not assigned to any single part of the forty-five-minute session.
- ten minutes: Ten minutes is the introduction period, leaving fifteen minutes for questions.
Correct Answer: the attachment to this email
Passage Reference: Please use the passage attached to this email. The earlier version on our website was missing its final sentence, which made the comparison at the end difficult to understand.
Why this is correct: Grace should use the attachment to this email. Leah points to it directly as the complete version.
Tips: When a source has multiple versions, follow the sender's direct imperative about which copy to use.
Why the other options are wrong:
- a passage selected from a library book: Library books are offered only for optional further reading after the event, not as the session text.
- the earlier version in her notes: Grace's earlier notes are being revised, but they are not identified as the complete passage version.
- the current version on the website: The website version is missing its final sentence and is awaiting replacement.
Correct Answer: it lacked the final sentence
Passage Reference: The earlier version on our website was missing its final sentence, which made the comparison at the end difficult to understand.
Why this is correct: The earlier version lacked the final sentence. Without it, the ending comparison was hard to understand.
Tips: Distinguish the missing text from the comprehension problem it caused.
Why the other options are wrong:
- it repeated the final sentence: The website copy is missing a sentence rather than repeating it.
- it omitted the opening paragraph: The defect is at the end, not an omitted opening paragraph.
- it included an extra comparison: The comparison became difficult because content was missing. No extra comparison was added.
Correct Answer: presenting disputed details as settled facts
Passage Reference: Could you remove the claim in your notes that all the details of Merton's death are beyond dispute?
Why this is correct: Leah wants Grace to avoid presenting disputed details as settled facts. Some claims about Merton's death would need more research.
Tips: Find where Leah writes about what Grace should avoid. Compare her words with each option.
Why the other options are wrong:
- using quotations during the discussion: Leah allows use of the selected passage and does not ban quotations from it.
- discussing any part of the author’s life: She discusses Merton's life and death herself, so biographical material is not entirely forbidden.
- comparing the author’s different writings: Comparing writings is not banned. The concern is stating uncertain details about his death as settled facts.
Correct Answer: a description will appear in the newsletter
Passage Reference: Send me your revised outline by Monday, and I will include the session description in Tuesday's newsletter.
Why this is correct: A description will appear in the newsletter after Leah receives the outline. Leah plans to include it in Tuesday's issue.
Tips: Connect the Monday delivery with the specific Tuesday publication task it enables.
Why the other options are wrong:
- the session will be extended by fifteen minutes: The session remains forty-five minutes and is not extended after the outline arrives.
- attendees will be asked to purchase the book: Attendees are clearly told they do not need to buy a book.
- the website team will publish the complete outline: The website team will replace the incomplete passage, while Leah will put the session description in the newsletter.
Correct Answer: a brief introduction
Passage Reference: However, the group will include people who have never read his work, so please begin with a brief introduction rather than assume everyone knows the background.
Why this is correct: Grace will begin with a brief introduction. It will help people who are new to Merton's work.
Tips: Find where Leah talks about people who have never read the author. Read what she asks Grace to do first for them.
Why the other options are wrong:
- a review of the group’s previous discussion: No previous group discussion is mentioned for Grace to review.
- a reading of the selected passage: The selected passage receives twenty minutes after the introduction, so it is not the opening background.
- a detailed account of the author’s death: Leah asks Grace to remove certainty about death details, not open with a detailed account of them.
Correct Answer: the attached passage
Passage Reference: Please use the passage attached to this email. The earlier version on our website was missing its final sentence, which made the comparison at the end difficult to understand.
Why this is correct: Grace should use the attached passage. It contains the ending that the website copy lacks.
Tips: Choose the copy Leah supplies directly because the public web copy is known to be incomplete.
Why the other options are wrong:
- the earlier website version: The earlier website copy lacks its final sentence. Leah tells Grace to use the attachment instead.
- a passage chosen by the desk staff: Desk staff can help with optional further reading, but Leah has already chosen and attached the session passage.
- an extract from my original notes: Grace’s notes are being revised. Leah tells her to use the attached passage, not an extract from those notes.
Correct Answer: fifteen minutes
Passage Reference: I suggest spending the first ten on the introduction, twenty on the selected passage, and the remaining fifteen on questions.
Why this is correct: The plan leaves fifteen minutes for audience questions. This time remains after the introduction and passage discussion.
Tips: Keep the time for questions separate from the introduction and passage discussion.
Why the other options are wrong:
- twenty minutes: Twenty minutes is reserved for discussing the selected passage, not for the audience question period.
- twenty-five minutes: After ten minutes of introduction and twenty on the passage, fifteen of the forty-five minutes remain, not twenty-five.
- ten minutes: Ten minutes is the introduction. Questions receive the remaining fifteen minutes.
Correct Answer: further research
Passage Reference: Please distinguish what the passage says from information that would require further research.
Why this is correct: Some outside information needs further research. Grace will separate it from statements found in the passage.
Tips: Use Leah's contrast between what the passage says and what needs more evidence.
Why the other options are wrong:
- agreement from every attendee: Agreement by every attendee would not turn disputed historical details into verified facts.
- a change to the session time: The session already has a fixed forty-five-minute plan and the uncertainty is evidential, not a timing problem.
- a longer reading aloud: More reading during this session is not presented as a substitute for research into disputed details.
Correct Answer: Monday
Passage Reference: Send me your revised outline by Monday, and I will include the session description in Tuesday's newsletter.
Why this is correct: Grace promises the outline by Monday. That timing lets Leah prepare Tuesday's newsletter.
Tips: Use the newsletter's Tuesday date to confirm that the outline must arrive one day earlier.
Why the other options are wrong:
- Tuesday: Tuesday is when the newsletter appears, so it is too late for Leah's requested outline delivery.
- the day of the discussion: The day of the discussion is not supplied as the outline deadline.
- Wednesday: Wednesday comes after both the Monday deadline and Tuesday newsletter.
