16Hit1600
Expression of IdeasVery hardSynthesis: making a nuanced claim with a limitation acknowledged

Expression of Ideas practice question

While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes: - The 1851 census lists 412 residents in the village. - The 1901 census lists 198. - The village's lead mine closed in 1878. - Some miners moved to coal pits in the next county. - The census does not record where people went after leaving.

The student wants to attribute the village's decline to the mine's closure while acknowledging the limits of the evidence. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?

  1. A. The village lost more than half its people between 1851 and 1901, a fall that followed the lead mine's closure in 1878, though the census, which does not record where leavers went, cannot show how many of them were miners.Correct
  2. B. The village's population fell from 412 to 198.
  3. C. The lead mine closed in 1878, and some miners moved to coal pits.
  4. D. The census does not record where people went.

Answer: A. The village lost more than half its people between 1851 and 1901, a fall that followed the lead mine's closure in 1878, though the census, which does not record where leavers went, cannot show how many of them were miners.

A claim tied to the closure, with the census's silence conceded.

Why the other answers are wrong

B. The village's population fell from 412 to 198.
The fall without the cause or the caveat.
C. The lead mine closed in 1878, and some miners moved to coal pits.
The cause without the fall or the caveat.
D. The census does not record where people went.
The caveat alone.

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