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Difficulty: EasyEvaluating Relevance for Adding or Deleting Content

[1] In 1858, Hymen Lipman patented the first pencil with an attached eraser. [2] Before this invention, writers had to carry separate pieces of rubber or use breadcrumbs to erase mistakes. [3] Rubber trees are native to South America and produce latex when their bark is cut. [4] Lipman’s design made writing far more convenient by combining two essential tools into one.

The writer is considering deleting Sentence 3 from the paragraph. Should this sentence be deleted?

  1. Yes, because it introduces a detail about rubber trees that is irrelevant to the paragraph's focus on Lipman’s invention.Answer
  2. B
    Yes, because it repeats information about erasers that has already been stated in the paragraph.
  3. C
    No, because it provides necessary background information about the materials used to make pencil erasers.
  4. D
    No, because it explains why writers previously had to use breadcrumbs to erase writing.

Answer

Yes, because it introduces a detail about rubber trees that is irrelevant to the paragraph's focus on Lipman’s invention.
The correct option correctly identifies that the sentence should be deleted because the biological origin of rubber trees is irrelevant to the paragraph's focus on the history and convenience of the pencil-eraser invention.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the main topic of the paragraph by reading the surrounding sentences.
Sentences 1, 2, and 4 establish that the paragraph is about Hymen Lipman's invention of the pencil eraser and how it made writing more convenient.
To evaluate relevance, you must first establish the main focus of the passage.
2
Analyze Sentence 3 to see if it supports the main topic.
Sentence 3 describes the biological origin and harvesting of rubber from rubber trees.
This determines whether the information in the sentence directly contributes to the topic of the invention.
3
Decide whether to keep or delete the sentence based on its relevance.
Because the biological origin of rubber is irrelevant to the history of the pencil-eraser invention, the sentence should be deleted.
Irrelevant information disrupts the flow and unity of the paragraph.
4
Evaluate the reasons in the options to find the correct justification for deletion.
The correct option correctly states that the sentence should be deleted because it introduces an irrelevant detail about rubber trees.
In add/delete questions, the correct option must contain both the correct decision (yes/no) and the correct rhetorical reasoning.

Key Concept

Evaluating Relevance for Adding or Deleting Content
Estimated Time:45s
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Topics

Evaluating Relevance for Adding or Deleting Content

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