Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?

Question

The historian's account of the trial is notable for its ____: it draws on letters, household ledgers, and court records that earlier biographers had ignored.

Accepted Answer

A. thoroughness. The colon explains the quality: the account uses a wide range of sources, including ones others overlooked. Gathering more evidence than one's predecessors is 'thoroughness'.

Answer

B. brevity — 'Brevity' means shortness. An account that draws on many additional sources is unlikely to be praised for being brief, and nothing in the sentence concerns length.

Answer

C. partiality — 'Partiality' means bias. Consulting more kinds of evidence suggests the opposite of a one-sided account.

Answer

D. ambiguity — 'Ambiguity' means unclear meaning. The sentence praises the range of sources, not any vagueness in the writing.

Craft and Structure practice question

Answer: A. thoroughness

Why the other answers are wrong

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