One paragraph, four jobs

One paragraph, four jobs

Watching the best revision change four times while the available sentences stay the same.

1. 44.1Rhetorical synthesisStandard

   For an article about community ownership, which sentence works best?

   • AThe bakery, closed in 2011, reopened in 2014 with 210 households holding a share.
   • BThe bakery opened in 1904 and closed in 2011.
   • CThe bakery bakes 400 loaves a week.
   • DThe bakery is the only shop within four miles.
   Show the answer and reasoningHide the reasoning

   The bakery, closed in 2011, reopened in 2014 with 210 households holding a share.

   Community ownership needs the ownership: the number of shareholding households is the only note that describes it, and the closure gives it something to be a response to.

2. 44.2Rhetorical synthesisStandard

   Builds on: Question 1 chose on ownership and this chooses on distance, from the same six notes. Nothing about the bakery changed between the two; only the article did.

   For an article about rural isolation, which sentence works best?

   • AThe bakery reopened in 2014 as a co-operative.
   • BFor the villagers, the bakery is the only shop within four miles.
   • CThe bakery has been trading since 1904.
   • DTwo hundred and ten households hold a share in the bakery.
   Show the answer and reasoningHide the reasoning

   For the villagers, the bakery is the only shop within four miles.

   Isolation is about distance and the absence of alternatives, which one note supplies and no other does. The ownership facts are true and belong to a different article.

3. 44.3Rhetorical synthesisChallenge

   Builds on: Questions 1 and 2 both chose a single note. This one needs two put against each other, because a judgement of success has nothing to stand on otherwise.

   For an article on whether the rescue has worked, which sentence works best?

   • AThe bakery reopened in 2014 and is still trading.
   • BThe bakery bakes 400 loaves a week, a third of what it baked before it closed.
   • C210 households own a share in the bakery.
   • DThe bakery has served the village since 1904.
   Show the answer and reasoningHide the reasoning

   The bakery bakes 400 loaves a week, a third of what it baked before it closed.

   "Has it worked" is a comparison, and only one note pair supports one: the output now against the output before. Still trading is a fact about survival, which is a weaker claim than the question asks about.

4. 44.4OrganizationChallenge

   Builds on: All three earlier questions. The point is only visible once the same note has been passed over three times for three different reasons.

   Across all four articles, which note has been usable in none of them so far, and why?

   • AThe 1904 opening date, because age alone answers none of the three questions asked.
   • BThe 2011 closure, because it is too long ago.
   • CThe 400 loaves, because production figures are unreliable.
   • DThe four-mile distance, because it describes the village rather than the bakery.
   Show the answer and reasoningHide the reasoning

   The 1904 opening date, because age alone answers none of the three questions asked.

   The date has appeared only inside wrong choices. It is a real and interesting fact that happens to bear on none of ownership, isolation or success — which is what "select the relevant note" means in practice, and why the most quotable detail is often the one to leave out.