Relevance: Add, Delete and Writer's Goal

American Diploma › ACT English and Reading — Complete Course

What this question type tests

Relevance questions belong to Production of Writing, the largest of the three reporting categories on the ACT English test (38–43% of the English score, the same range as Conventions of Standard English). This category is about topic development: does each sentence help the essay do its job? Grammar is not the point here. Every choice is usually grammatically correct; only one fits the writer's purpose.

You will meet three kinds of stems, always in your own words like these:

These questions often appear at a numbered point in the passage with no underline (for an addition), on an underlined sentence (for a deletion), or at the end of the essay (for the whole-essay question).

The method for add/delete questions

1. Name the focus of the paragraph in five or six words ("how we measured the paper," "why the bakery closed"). Look at the sentence before and the sentence after the point.
2. Read the new (or underlined) sentence. Ask: does it support, explain or give an example of that focus? Or does it drift to a side topic?
3. Decide Yes/No (or Kept/Deleted). Cross out the two choices on the wrong side.
4. Choose between the two reasons left. The correct reason must be TRUE about the sentence and must be the real reason. One of the two is usually inaccurate (it describes the sentence wrongly) or irrelevant (true but not why we keep/delete it).

Usually right to add/keep a sentence that: gives a specific example or evidence for the claim just made; explains a term or idea the reader needs; makes a needed link between two sentences.

Usually right to delete/not add a sentence that: introduces a new or side topic; repeats what has already been said; gives a detail that is interesting but not connected to the paragraph's point; contradicts the essay; breaks the flow between two sentences that belong together.

The method for writer's-goal questions

1. Underline the goal words in the stem: emphasise dedication, show the principal was persuaded by evidence, give the most specific location, introduce the main topic.
2. Ignore whether the choices are true or nice. All four are usually grammatical and pleasant. Only one does the exact job.
3. Test each choice against the goal words. Ask: "Does this show dedication?" — not "Is this a good sentence?"
4. Watch the precise focus. "Volunteers from several grades" shows variety, not dedication. "She smiled warmly" shows kindness, not persuasion by evidence.

Common goals and what to look for:

The method for "Suppose the writer's goal had been…" questions

1. Read the hypothetical goal carefully: what topic, and what kind of essay (explain, argue, compare, tell a personal story)?
2. In one sentence, say what the essay actually does ("a student tells how her school started recycling paper").
3. If they match, Yes; if not, No. On the ACT the answer is often No, because the goal is usually slightly different from the real essay — but do not guess; check.
4. Choose the reason that describes the essay accurately. Wrong reasons often mention a small detail from the essay as if it were the main point, or describe the essay in a way that is false.

Worked examples

Worked example 1 — add a sentence

Passage: The Aswan High Dam changed farming along the Nile. Before it was built, the river flooded every summer and left a layer of rich mud on the fields. After the dam was completed, the floods stopped. [?] Farmers had to start buying chemical fertilisers to replace the natural mud. At point [?], the writer is considering adding: "Without the yearly flood, the fields no longer received fresh mud."

Should the writer make this addition here?

• A) Yes, because it explains the link between the end of the floods and the farmers' need for fertiliser.
• B) Yes, because it gives the exact year the dam was finished.
• C) No, because it repeats the information in the previous sentence.
• D) No, because it shifts the focus from farming to the history of the dam.

Answer: A

• A) ✓ Correct: The new sentence bridges the gap: floods stopped → no new mud → fertiliser needed. True and the real reason.
• B) ✗ Wrong: Inaccurate reason: the sentence contains no year.
• C) ✗ Wrong: The previous sentence says the floods stopped, not that the mud stopped arriving — it adds a new step.
• D) ✗ Wrong: It stays on farming.

Worked example 2 — delete a sentence

Passage: Mona's first job was at a small radio station in Alexandria. She read the weather report at six every morning. __The city is known for its long seafront promenade.__ Within a year, she was presenting her own music programme.

The writer is considering deleting the underlined sentence. Should it be kept or deleted?

• A) Kept, because it describes where Mona worked.
• B) Kept, because it explains why Mona became a presenter.
• C) Deleted, because it interrupts the account of Mona's career with an unrelated detail.
• D) Deleted, because it contradicts the information about the radio station.

Answer: C

• A) ✗ Wrong: Half-right: it describes the city, not the station or her work.
• B) ✗ Wrong: Inaccurate: the promenade has nothing to do with her promotion.
• C) ✓ Correct: The paragraph traces her career step by step; the seafront breaks that sequence.
• D) ✗ Wrong: No contradiction — just irrelevance.

Worked example 3 — writer's goal

Passage: Wildlife officers in the Red Sea count the dugongs that feed on sea grass near the coast. __The animals are hard to see.__

The writer wants to give a specific reason why counting the dugongs is difficult. Which choice best accomplishes this goal?

• A) NO CHANGE
• B) The animals are shy and can stay underwater for several minutes at a time.
• C) The dugong is a relative of the manatee.
• D) Many tourists hope to see a dugong.

Answer: B

• A) ✗ Wrong: True but vague — it gives no specific reason.
• B) ✓ Correct: Two specific reasons the animals are hard to count.
• C) ✗ Wrong: Off-topic fact about the species.
• D) ✗ Wrong: Off-topic: tourists, not counting.

Worked example 4 — essay as a whole

Passage: (Imagine an essay in which a student describes her grandfather's carpentry workshop: the smell of wood, the tools on the wall, and the chair he built for her tenth birthday.)

Suppose the writer's goal had been to write a personal essay about a family member's craft. Would this essay accomplish that goal?

• A) Yes, because it describes the grandfather's workshop and a piece of furniture he made for the writer.
• B) Yes, because it explains the history of carpentry in Egypt.
• C) No, because it focuses on the writer's own hobby.
• D) No, because it gives instructions for building a chair.

Answer: A

• A) ✓ Correct: The essay is personal and is about the grandfather's craft — an exact match.
• B) ✗ Wrong: False description: the essay has no history of carpentry.
• C) ✗ Wrong: False: the craft is the grandfather's, not the writer's.
• D) ✗ Wrong: False: it describes a chair; it does not give instructions.

Practice

Read the essay and answer the 10 questions. Numbers in brackets mark either an underlined portion or a point where the writer is considering a change. Question 10 asks about the essay as a whole.

All pages in this course

Start here

• The Enhanced ACT: Complete Overview
• How to Attack ACT English

English: Conventions of Standard English

• ACT Punctuation
• ACT Grammar and Usage
• Sentence Structure

English: Production of Writing and Knowledge of Language

• Concision and Redundancy
• Relevance: Add, Delete and Writer's Goal
• Organisation: Order and Transitions
• Word Choice and Tone

Reading

• ACT Reading Strategy: Read Fast, Answer Smart
• Key Ideas and Details
• Craft and Structure
• Integration of Knowledge and Ideas

Practice tests

• ACT English — Practice Test 1
• ACT English — Practice Test 2
• ACT Reading — Practice Test 1
• ACT Reading — Practice Test 2