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Question

Difficulty: Very hardSupporting Claims with Evidence and Details

Passage:
[1] In the mid-twentieth century, Mayan hieroglyphs were widely believed by scholars to represent only abstract calendar dates and astronomical observations. [2] Tatiana Proskouriakoff revolutionized Mayanist studies by analyzing patterns in the stone monuments, or stelae, at the ancient city of Piedras Negras. [3] She noticed that the dates inscribed on consecutive monuments matched the typical spans of human lifetimes, suggesting the carvings depicted the births, accessions, and deaths of individual rulers. [4] _She argued that these monuments served as records of political events._

The writer wants to revise the underlined portion of sentence [4] to provide the most specific, concrete visual details to support the claim that the carvings depicted the biographical events of rulers' lives. Which choice best accomplishes this goal?

  1. A
    Analyzing these monuments for decades, the historical lives of ancient kings were revealed to her.
  2. B
    She focused her analysis on the Piedras Negras monuments, which spanned several centuries of Mayan history.
  3. Her analysis identified specific glyphs associated with royal births, including the 'upended frog' symbol, and accessions, marked by a figure seated on a dais.Answer
  4. D
    Her breakthrough proved that Mayan inscriptions were complex historical documents; which was a major advancement in the field of Mesoamerican archaeology.

Answer

Her analysis identified specific glyphs associated with royal births, including the 'upended frog' symbol, and accessions, marked by a figure seated on a dais.
The correct answer successfully fulfills the rhetorical goal by providing clear, concrete visual details of the glyphs, namely the 'upended frog' symbol for births and a 'figure seated on a dais' for accessions, which directly support the claim that the carvings depicted the biographical lives of rulers.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the rhetorical goal specified in the prompt: to provide specific, concrete visual details supporting the claim that the carvings depicted the biographical events of rulers' lives.
The target details must describe specific visual symbols or markers related to biographical milestones like births or accessions.
This sets up the criteria to filter out choices that are too general or lack visual descriptions.
2
Evaluate the choices for grammatical correctness.
The option beginning with 'Analyzing these monuments' contains a dangling modifier. The option containing 'complex historical documents; which...' creates a fragment due to the incorrect use of a semicolon. These two options are eliminated.
ACT English requires all answers to be grammatically correct.
3
Compare the remaining grammatically correct options for specificity and relevance to the rhetorical goal.
The option focusing on the 'Piedras Negras monuments' is factually true and grammatically correct, but it offers only general information. The option detailing the 'upended frog' symbol and a 'figure seated on a dais' provides specific, concrete visual evidence directly linked to biographical events.
This step determines which grammatically correct choice best fulfills the specific writing goal.

Key Concept

Supporting Claims with Evidence and Details
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Topics

Supporting Claims with Evidence and Details

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