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Difficulty: EasyPronoun Clarity and Reference

The archivist carefully removed the hand-drawn map from the protective leather binder. She had spent months searching for this rare document in the archives. Because <u>it</u> was extremely fragile, she handled the document with white cotton gloves.

Which choice is the best replacement for the underlined word in the passage?

  1. A
    NO CHANGE
  2. the mapAnswer
  3. C
    they
  4. D
    this

Answer

Replacing the pronoun with the specific noun 'the map' is the correct choice because it resolves the ambiguous reference, making it clear that the map is the item that is fragile.
Replacing the pronoun with the specific noun 'the map' resolves the ambiguity of the pronoun 'it', making it clear to the reader that the map, rather than the leather binder, was fragile.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the underlined pronoun and its potential antecedents in the preceding sentences.
The pronoun is 'it', and the preceding nouns that could act as its antecedent are 'map' and 'binder'.
To check for pronoun clarity, we must determine if the pronoun has a single, clear noun it refers to.
2
Analyze if the pronoun 'it' is ambiguous or clear in this context.
Since both 'map' and 'binder' are singular nouns and either could logically be fragile, the pronoun 'it' is ambiguous.
An ambiguous pronoun reference makes the sentence unclear and is grammatically incorrect on the ACT.
3
Evaluate the choices to find the one that replaces the pronoun with a clear, specific noun.
'the map' is the only option that specifies the noun, resolving the ambiguity.
Replacing an ambiguous pronoun with the specific noun it represents is the standard way to correct pronoun reference errors.

Key Concept

Pronoun Clarity and Reference
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Topics

Pronoun Clarity and Reference

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