Work through the list without notes. If you cannot do a statement, follow its link, then come back. Guide = study guide; Practice = practice questions.
Understanding
- I can explain how modifiers qualify or limit the scope of a claim. (Guide: “What a modifier does to a claim”; Practice question 1)
- I can name the dimensions of scope: frequency, amount, group, place or time, condition, certainty and concession. (Guide: “The dimensions of scope”; Practice question 2)
- I can explain why the strength of a modifier should match the strength of the evidence. (Guide: “Strength: matching the modifier to the evidence”; Practice question 4)
Skills
- I can pick out words, phrases and clauses that work as modifiers in a claim. (Guide: “Words, phrases and clauses as modifiers”; Practice questions 1 and 5)
- I can revise an overstated claim using modifiers while keeping a position. (Guide: Worked example 1; Practice questions 3 and 6)
- I can write three versions of a claim for three levels of evidence. (Guide: Worked example 1; Practice question 7)
- I can avoid burying a claim under too many modifiers. (Guide: “Keeping the position visible”; Practice question 3)
Reasoning
- I can explain what a particular modifier limits and why the writer chose it. (Guide: Worked example 2; Practice question 8)
- I can say how modifiers affect the credibility of an argument. (Guide: Worked example 2; Practice question 8)
- I can explain how a public-domain writer, such as Lincoln in the House Divided passage, uses a verb to signal the strength of a claim. (Guide: “A public-domain example”)
All ticked? Move on to the Topic 7.4 study guide, Clauses and the Arrangement of Sentences.