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Craft and StructureMediumPurpose of a text on dictionary-making

Craft and Structure practice question

Readers often treat the dictionary as a courtroom: if a word is 'in,' it is legitimate, and if its definition says X, then using it to mean Y is an error. Lexicographers describe their work differently. They are recorders, not judges — a definition is a report of how speakers actually use a word, updated when usage shifts, not a ruling on how they ought to.

Which choice best describes the main purpose of the text?

  1. A. To correct a common misconception about what dictionaries doCorrect
  2. B. To argue that dictionaries should enforce proper usage
  3. C. To describe how a particular dictionary was compiled
  4. D. To trace how one word's meaning changed over time

Answer: A. To correct a common misconception about what dictionaries do

The text contrasts what people assume (dictionaries rule on correctness) with what lexicographers actually do (record usage) — correcting a misconception.

Why the other answers are wrong

B. To argue that dictionaries should enforce proper usage
The text explains that dictionaries record rather than enforce; it does not argue they should enforce.
C. To describe how a particular dictionary was compiled
No specific dictionary's compilation is described.
D. To trace how one word's meaning changed over time
No individual word's history is traced.

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