Adapt Tone/Approach for an Audience Practice Test
•15 QuestionsA professor writes feedback to a high-achieving student who submitted a strong but overly confident argument essay: “Your evidence is well chosen, and your prose moves quickly, which makes the draft persuasive at first glance. But the claim currently reads as if the counterargument is naïve, and that certainty will make careful readers push back. Consider adding one sentence that concedes a legitimate limitation, then show why your position still holds. You might also replace ‘proves’ with ‘suggests’ in two places, since your sources are correlational. This isn’t about weakening your point; it’s about earning credibility with readers who value precision. My central claim is that strategic qualification can make a strong argument harder to dismiss.” The author adapts the tone of the passage to the audience by…
A professor writes feedback to a high-achieving student who submitted a strong but overly confident argument essay: “Your evidence is well chosen, and your prose moves quickly, which makes the draft persuasive at first glance. But the claim currently reads as if the counterargument is naïve, and that certainty will make careful readers push back. Consider adding one sentence that concedes a legitimate limitation, then show why your position still holds. You might also replace ‘proves’ with ‘suggests’ in two places, since your sources are correlational. This isn’t about weakening your point; it’s about earning credibility with readers who value precision. My central claim is that strategic qualification can make a strong argument harder to dismiss.” The author adapts the tone of the passage to the audience by…