TACHS: Persuasive passages: pin down exactly what the writer proposes
Learn to find the proposal in an argument passage, measure its exact size and limits, and use it to answer questions about objections, support, references and tone.
How do you find what a persuasive writer is actually asking for when the choices all sound like the same idea?
Short answer
Find the proposal sentence, note exactly how much it asks for, and note what the writer wants to keep the same. The answer matches that size, and wrong choices inflate it, reverse a limit or restate the problem.
Know first: Telling a problem from a solution, Words such as I propose, we should and I suggest
Step 1 of 5
An argument passage has a problem, a proposal and limits
A persuasive passage tries to get readers to agree to a change. Its main idea is that change. Most follow a pattern: describe a problem, state a proposal, answer objections, and set limits on what is being asked.
The problem usually comes first, so the opening sentence is rarely the proposal. Look for signal words: I propose, we should, I suggest, please consider.
| Question | Where the answer is |
|---|---|
| What does the writer propose? | The proposal sentence, at its exact size |
| How does the writer answer a concern? | The sentence right after some people worry |
| Which detail supports a point? | The detail that shows that exact point, not just the topic |
| What does those duties refer to? | The nouns in the sentence just before |
| What is the writer's attitude? | How firmly the writer argues and what the writer concedes |
Once the proposal and its limits are clear, the other questions get easier.
Step 2 of 5
Measure the proposal against its limits
A letter about the library
Our school library closes at 3:30, only ten minutes after the last bell.1 Students who want a quiet place to study have nowhere to go. I propose keeping the library open until 4:30 on Tuesdays and Thursdays2, with one parent volunteer at the desk. Some people worry that the librarian already works long days.3 That is why the plan uses volunteers and asks for only two afternoons.4 The librarian would still choose which books are added to the shelves.5
- The problem, not the request.
- The proposal: one extra hour, two days a week.
- An objection.
- The answer to the objection.
- A limit: something stays the same.
Worked example: What does the writer mainly propose?
What does the writer of the library letter mainly propose?
- AKeeping the library open every evening until 9:00
- BExtending library hours on two afternoons a week
- CReplacing the librarian with parent volunteers
- DChanging the time of the last bell
- 1
Find the proposal sentence
I propose keeping the library open until 4:30 on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
- 2
Size it
One extra hour, two days a week, with a volunteer.
- 3
Check the limits
The librarian keeps choosing the books, and only two afternoons are asked for.
- 4
See why the other choices are there
A inflates the size. C reverses a limit, since the librarian keeps her role. D comes from the problem: the writer mentions the bell but never asks to change it.
Answer
Extending library hours on two afternoons a week.
Find the wrong step
A student answers: In the library letter, how does the writer respond to the worry about the librarian's long days?
- 1
Finds the worry: the librarian already works long days.
- 2
Reads the next sentence: the plan uses volunteers and asks for only two afternoons.
- 3
Picks by letting the librarian choose the books, because it is the last sentence about the librarian.
What went wrong
That sentence is a separate limit about the collection. The response to the worry is the sentence right after it.
The fix
The writer answers the worry by using volunteers and asking for only two afternoons.
Step 3 of 5
Size the proposal yourself
Read this excerpt
Every June, our school throws away dozens of jackets and water bottles that no one claimed. Most students never knew where to look for them. I propose a lost-and-found table on the last Friday of each month, run by two student volunteers. Some teachers worry that a table would block the hallway. So I would place the table in the wide space beside the trophy case. Items still unclaimed in June could go to the clothing drive, as they do now.
Check yourself · Question 1
What does the writer mainly propose?
Answer: C
The proposal sentence asks for a table on the last Friday of each month, run by two volunteers. The other choices change the size, the people or a limit.
Trap answer: Ending the clothing drive so students can keep the items
Reverses a limit
- Why it looks right
- It mentions a real detail from the excerpt and sounds like a bigger fix.
- Why it's wrong
- The last sentence keeps the clothing drive exactly as it is. A choice that removes what the writer protects can't be the proposal.
- The right answer
- A monthly lost-and-found table run by two student volunteers.
Check yourself · Question 2
Which phrase best describes the writer's attitude?
Answer: B
The writer states the plan directly, then changes the location to answer the teachers' worry. That is firm and practical.
Common mistake
I picked the choice from the first sentence because it names the topic.
- Why it's tempting
- The opening sentence is clear and important, and it mentions the same things the choices do.
- Do this instead
- The opening usually states the problem. Find the sentence with I propose or we should, and match that.
Step 4 of 5
What to remember
Remember
- Find the proposal sentence and note exactly how much it asks for.
- Note the limits: what the writer keeps the same is never part of the change.
- The answer to an objection is usually the sentence right after the worry.
Step 5 of 5
Practice on a real question
Use what you just learned on this question, then check the explanation.
In your own words
In the practice passage, which sentence states the proposal, and what does the writer say should stay the same?