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ACT English 2.2 Style 281 Views

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Description:

ACT English: Style Drill 2, Problem 2. Which choice expresses the underlined portion most concisely?

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English Language

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Transcript

00:04
Here's your Shmoop du jour, brought to you by makeup. Try the lipstick, but don't
00:08
be a dipstick.
00:09
How would you correct the underlined portion below, if at all?
00:12
Sally bought makeup she didn't need because the sales associate promised her a free gift
00:19
with purchase.

00:26
In the original sentence, we've got the term "free gift." We hear this
00:29
term all the time.
00:30
However, "free gift" is redundant because all gifts are free by definition.
00:37
The point is that we can get rid of choice (A) because of this redundancy.
00:40
Like (A), choice (B) is guilty of redundancy. The term "added bonus" is redundant because
00:45
a bonus is, by definition, something that's added to something else.
00:49
Which brings us to choices (C) and (D).
00:51
Though they relate the same basic information, (C) does so more concisely.
00:55
There's no need to say "a gift that came with purchase" when we can say "a gift
01:00
with purchase" to communicate the same idea with fewer words.
01:04
Remember, less is best.
Full Transcript