Reading Comprehension Success in 20 Minutes a Day, 3rd Edition

Reading between the Lines
Looking at diction can be especially helpful when the
writer’s main idea isn’t quite clear. For example, in the
following paragraph—an excerpt from a letter of rec-
ommendation—the author doesn’t provide a topic
sentence that expresses the main idea. Instead, you
must use your powers of observation to answer the
question about how the author feels about the
described employee.
Paragraph A
Nicole Bryan usually completes her work on
time and checks it carefully. She is a competent lab
technician and is familiar with several ways to eval-
uate test results. She has some knowledge of the lat-
est medical research, which has been helpful.
2.
What message does the writer of paragraph A
convey about Nicole Bryan?
a.
Nicole Bryan is an exceptional employee. Hire
her immediately!
b.
Nicole Bryan is an average employee. She
doesn’t do outstanding work, but she won’t
give you any trouble.
c.
Nicole Bryan is a lousy worker. Don’t even
think about hiring her.
To answer this question, you made an inference.
Now, support your inference with specific observa-
tions about the language in this paragraph. Why do you
think your answer is correct? (An example has been
provided to get you started.)
–
D I C T I O N : W H AT ’ S I N A W O R D ?
–
9 8

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Your Observations and Inferences:
Example:
I noticed that the writer says Nicole Bryan
“usually” completes her work on time 
(observation),
which suggests that Nicole Bryan is good but not per-
fect; she doesn’t always get her work done on schedule
(inference).
The diction of the paragraph best supports
answer 
b
: The writer feels that “Nicole Bryan is an
average employee. She doesn’t do outstanding work,
but she won’t give you any trouble.” You might have
supported this inference with observations like these:
■
The writer uses the word 
usually
in the first sen-
tence, which means that Nicole Bryan is good, but
not great; she doesn’t always meet deadlines.
■
The writer describes Nicole Bryan as a “compe-
tent” lab technician. This tells us that Nicole Bryan
does her work well enough for the position, but
she is not exceptional. She could be better.
■
The writer tells us that Nicole Bryan is “familiar
with” several ways to evaluate test results. This
means that she can do her work using those evalu-
ation techniques, but she is no expert and does not
know all there is to know about evaluating test
results.
■
The writer tells us that Nicole Bryan has “some
knowledge of the latest medical research,” which
tells us that Nicole Bryan knows a little, but not a
lot; again, she’s better than someone who knows
nothing, but she’s no expert.
Now, take a look at a revised letter of recom-
mendation. The diction (the word choice) has been
changed so that the paragraph sends a different mes-
sage. Read the paragraph carefully and determine how
the writer feels about Nicole Bryan:
Paragraph B
Nicole Bryan always submits her work
promptly and checks it judiciously. She is an excel-
lent lab technician and has mastered several ways to
evaluate test results. She has an extensive knowl-
edge of the latest medical research, which has been
invaluable.