Question 1
A student writes an essay claiming 'Culture A believes family comes before self, while Culture B believes individual freedom matters most.' What is the main problem with this claim?No clue? Show me the answer
Correct answerCorrect!
IncorrectStep-by-step walkthrough
Choose a solution method
Method #1Direct reasoningStep 1: Identify the claim's wording
The sentence states 'Culture A believes' and 'Culture B believes' as if describing real-world cultural beliefs rather than a fictional text's content.
Step 2: Apply the weak-versus-strong move guidance
The teaching content explicitly warns against flat factual claims about real cultures and recommends keeping claims about the story and its characters' choices instead.
Step 3: Interpret why this matters
Sweeping claims about cultures risk stereotyping and are not supportable by literary evidence from a single story.
Step 4: Select the answer
The problem is that it generalizes about real cultures instead of grounding the comparison in the fictional characters' choices.
Method #2Process of eliminationStep 1: Eliminate the titles option
Missing titles is a minor stylistic issue, not the central flaw the content warns about regarding cultural claims.
Step 2: Eliminate the 'while' option
There is no rule against using 'while' in a PEJ paragraph; this distractor invents a restriction not found in the content.
Step 3: Eliminate the shared theme option
Family duty versus freedom can be a valid shared theme; the issue is not theme selection but how the claim is phrased.
Step 4: Compare remaining option
Only the option about generalizing beyond the text matches the explicit common mistake described in the content.
Step 5: Confirm the answer
The correct answer identifies the sweeping cultural generalization as the flaw.
Question 2
In a PEJ paragraph comparing two stories, a student writes: 'In Story A, the son leaves home to pursue his own path. "I cannot stay, even if it breaks tradition," he says.' What is missing to complete this paragraph as PEJ requires?No clue? Show me the answer
Correct answerCorrect!IncorrectStep-by-step walkthrough
Choose a solution method
Method #1Direct reasoningStep 1: Identify what is present
The excerpt gives a Point about the son leaving home and Evidence in the form of a direct quotation.
Step 2: Apply the PEJ structure
PEJ requires exactly three steps: Point, Evidence, and Justification, with justification explaining why the evidence matters.
Step 3: Interpret the gap
The paragraph stops after the quotation, so it lacks the explanation of significance that Justification provides.
Step 4: Select the answer
The missing element is the justification, which links the evidence to a meaningful insight about the theme.
Method #2Process of eliminationStep 1: Eliminate the second evidence option
PEJ paragraphs for this body section focus on one story at a time, so a second quotation is not required here.
Step 2: Eliminate the link sentence option
The content explicitly states PEJ has no fourth 'Link' step, so this cannot be the missing piece.
Step 3: Eliminate the preference option
Stating a cultural preference contradicts the guidance against ranking cultures as better or worse.
Step 4: Compare with structure
Only the justification step logically completes the Point-Evidence pairing already shown.
Step 5: Confirm the answer
Justification is the missing third step of the PEJ paragraph.
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