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Question

Difficulty: MediumMeeting Specific Rhetorical Goals

Passage Excerpt:
Conservators at the museum face a delicate task when preparing medieval tapestries for display. Over centuries, exposure to light and humidity weakens the organic fibers, making them prone to tearing under their own weight. To support these massive textiles, conservationists stitch a sturdy linen backing to the reverse side of the tapestry, [1] which distributes the stress evenly.

Given that all the choices are true, which one best fulfills the writer's goal of emphasizing the painstaking, time-consuming nature of the conservation process?

  1. a process that requires hundreds of hours of delicate hand-stitchingAnswer
  2. B
    which is a standard method used for textiles in many European museums
  3. C
    using a specially treated fabric that matches the tapestry's weight
  4. D
    they spent months carefully sewing every inch by hand

Answer

a process that requires hundreds of hours of delicate hand-stitching
The correct option successfully integrates into the sentence grammatically and directly addresses the prompt's request. By describing the process as one requiring 'hundreds of hours' and 'delicate hand-stitching,' it directly emphasizes both the time-consuming and painstaking aspects of tapestry conservation.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the specific rhetorical goal requested in the prompt.
The prompt asks for a choice that emphasizes the 'painstaking, time-consuming' nature of the conservation process.
Understanding the precise criteria allows us to evaluate which choice meets the writer's specific intent.
2
Evaluate the choices for grammatical correctness.
The option mentioning the months spent sewing creates a comma splice and a tense shift, making it grammatically incorrect. The other three choices are grammatically acceptable.
An answer choice on the ACT English section must be both grammatically correct and rhetorically appropriate.
3
Analyze the remaining grammatically correct choices against the rhetorical goal.
The option mentioning 'hundreds of hours' and 'delicate hand-stitching' directly highlights the labor-intensive (painstaking) and lengthy (time-consuming) aspect of the work. The options regarding European museums and fabric weight do not describe time or extreme care.
Selecting the choice that best fulfills the specified goal ensures correct topic development.

Key Concept

Meeting Specific Rhetorical Goals
Estimated Time:1m 0s
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Topics

Meeting Specific Rhetorical Goals

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