Recognize rhetorical moves (claim, evidence, concession, counterargument) in arguments.
Name the rhetorical move before you choose the answer.
Core Idea
Argument passages often move in layers: claim, objection, evidence, concession, and rebuttal. Name the move before you pick the answer.
Understanding
Transition words often mark the move ACT wants you to name. Words like "although," "critics argue," "however," and "yet" usually signal a shift in argumentative role.
Read the sentence as part of a chain:
- Claim: the main position or point
- Objection: the opposing concern or challenge
- Evidence: support offered for a claim
- Rebuttal: the reply that pushes back against the objection
Once you know which job the sentence is doing, most answer choices get easier to sort.
Step by Step
- Locate the main claim or position in the relevant lines.
- Mark transition words that signal opposition, concession, or rebuttal.
- Decide whether the sentence functions as a claim, an objection, evidence, or a reply to an objection.
Misconceptions
- Treating any mention of an opposing view as the author's final position.
- Missing the contrast word that flips a sentence from concession to rebuttal.
- Calling a piece of support the main claim just because it sounds strong.
Worked Example
Excerpt: "Critics argue that later school start times would strain bus schedules. Yet districts that made the switch report better attendance and little long-term transportation disruption."
The sentence beginning "Yet districts..." primarily functions as:
Select an answer to see the explanation