Question

Difficulty: MediumSelecting Concluding Sentences and Transitions

During the nineteenth century, the printing industry underwent rapid technological growth, demanding faster methods for producing newspapers and books. To speed up the typesetting process, workers cast commonly used phrases or words into single metal plates rather than composing them letter by letter. These cast plates were named after the clicking sound made during their creation: clichés. The term eventually transitioned from a technical printing word to a metaphor for overused expressions.

Which choice most effectively concludes the paragraph by reinforcing the relationship between the origin of the term 'cliché' and its current definition?

  1. A
    In fact, French printer Emilé Baudot later adapted this method to create early telegraph systems that revolutionized communication.
  2. B
    Consequently, the word’s meaning changed over time, it is still frequently studied by modern historians.
  3. Ultimately, a term that once represented industrial efficiency in the printing shop came to signify a lack of original thought in writing.Answer
  4. D
    Indeed, the word, that once represented efficiency in printing, now describes a lack of originality in language.

Answer

Ultimately, a term that once represented industrial efficiency in the printing shop came to signify a lack of original thought in writing.
The correct choice successfully wraps up the paragraph by summarizing how a word born from the mechanical process of typesetting plates evolved into a metaphor for unoriginal expressions. It directly addresses the prompt's request to tie the term's origin to its current definition without introducing extraneous details.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the prompt's specific requirements.
The prompt asks for a concluding sentence that reinforces the relationship between the origin of the term 'cliché' (typesetting plates for printing efficiency) and its current definition (overused/unoriginal expressions).
This establishes the criteria for evaluating the choices.
2
Evaluate the choices for grammatical correctness.
One option contains a comma splice by joining two independent clauses without a coordinating conjunction. Another option contains punctuation errors by placing commas around a restrictive clause. This leaves two grammatically correct choices.
ACT English questions require sentences to be grammatically correct in addition to meeting rhetorical goals.
3
Evaluate the remaining grammatically correct choices for relevance and focus.
One option introduces new, unrelated details about telegraph systems. The other option directly connects the industrial origin of the term in the printing shop to its modern meaning of unoriginal thought in writing, satisfying the prompt's requirements.
The correct concluding sentence must wrap up the main ideas of the paragraph without introducing off-topic information.

Key Concept

Selecting Concluding Sentences and Transitions
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