Deleting an Underlined Sentence
Question
The biologist trained for three years before her first solo expedition. She also enjoyed listening to jazz in her free time. Her field notebook from that trip is now displayed in the natural history museum.
Answer choices
- Delete the sentence — it is grammatically incorrect.
- Keep the sentence — it provides necessary background.
- Delete the sentence — it is unrelated to the paragraph's focus.
- Keep the sentence — it adds personal detail.
C Correct answer: C) Delete the sentence — it is unrelated to the paragraph's focus.
The paragraph is about the biologist's training and her field notebook. Her musical taste is unrelated and breaks the topical flow. Delete it. The right reason is "unrelated to the focus," not "grammatically incorrect" (it is not).
The other options either introduce a grammatical error or change the intended meaning. The ACT consistently rewards the most concise, grammatically correct option.
Read the sentence with each option substituted in. The version that preserves meaning while obeying the underlying rule is the correct answer; on the ACT, that is almost always the shortest option that still works.
The underlying rule
A sentence that does not contribute to the paragraph's topic should be deleted, even if it is grammatical and true. Tangential biographical color is the most common type of distractor sentence on the ACT.
Why each wrong answer is wrong
- A) Delete the sentence — it is grammatically incorrect.: This option either keeps a tangential sentence or gives a wrong reason for the decision (the sentence is not grammatically incorrect; it is just off-topic).
- B) Keep the sentence — it provides necessary background.: This option either keeps a tangential sentence or gives a wrong reason for the decision (the sentence is not grammatically incorrect; it is just off-topic).
- D) Keep the sentence — it adds personal detail.: This option either keeps a tangential sentence or gives a wrong reason for the decision (the sentence is not grammatically incorrect; it is just off-topic).
Study tip
On delete/keep questions, identify the paragraph's focus in one sentence. Any sentence that does not directly advance that focus is a deletion candidate, even if it is true and grammatically perfect.
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