Lesson: Critical Reading - 10t05

Practice Finding The Purpose

[Page 10 of 19]

Each of the following excerpts has the same topic and scope: The topic is juvenile delinquency, and the scope is the alleged increase in delinquency in New City. Yet each one has a very different purpose.

For each of the following excerpts, select the answer choice that best describes the author's purpose. In doing so, consider what passage elements suggest or signal the author's goal. Click Continue to see our responses.

Excerpt 1

Juvenile delinquency is once again on the rise. This year alone, New City saw a nine- percent increase in the number of offenses committed by minors. Whereas one might expect this rise to be the result of an increasing number of juvenile offenders, it is in fact due to a dramatic increase in repeat offenses, brought on by lenient penalties and procedures. Family court has no provisions for dealing more harshly with repeat offenders.
  To explain To rebut To critique
  To advocate To compare or contrast To describe

Excerpt 2

Juvenile delinquency seems once again to be on the rise, with a nine- percent increase in the number of offenses committed by teens this year alone. Legislators seeking to minimize this damage are naively calling for mandatory incarceration of first-time juvenile offenders. What lawmakers have not considered is the effect on the statistics of a 12 percent increase in the number of teenagers.
  To explain To rebut To critique
  To advocate To compare or contrast To describe

Excerpt 3

This year, New City has seen the number of crimes committed by juvenile offenders increase by nine percent. A large number of repeat offenders — crimes repeated by the same offender — is cited as one prominent cause of this increase. In response, some legislators are calling for a new policy of mandatory incarceration of first offenders. The aim is to remove the opportunity for a proven delinquent to repeat an offense.
  To explain To rebut To critique
  To advocate To compare or contrast To describe


This author is merely describing a phenomenon and one group's response to it. No personal opinion of the author's comes up. The tone is that of a news report — objective and dispassionate. Note that there are no clues to suggest a forthcoming explanation, or a rebuttal of a particular idea, as in our previous examples.

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