Question

read the excerpt from an essay about fairy tales.

the grimms fairy tales address the experiences of people who are living in difficult situations. for example, there is the story of rapunzel. there is also the story of hansel and gretel, who had to escape their house in order to find food and were locked out.

which revision would best help the author support the thesis more effectively?

• the author should explain why hansel and gretel were locked out.
• the author should explain how rapunzels story fits into the thesis.
• the author should add one more story as an example to support the thesis.
• the author should explain why hansel and gretels situation is difficult.

Explanation:

Analyze the thesis statement

The author's thesis is: "The Grimms' fairy tales address the experiences of people who are living in difficult situations." To support this thesis effectively, any example mentioned must be clearly linked back to how it represents a "difficult situation."

Evaluate the evidence provided

Using the Supporting Evidence Analysis knowledge point, we examine the two examples:

1. "there is the story of Rapunzel." This example is merely mentioned without any explanation of her situation or how it connects to the thesis.
2. "There is also the story of Hansel and Gretel..." This example provides some detail about their struggle to find food.

Identify the weakest link in the support

Using the Grimms Fairy Tales Evolution knowledge point, we see that Rapunzel's story is left entirely unexplained. Simply stating "there is the story of Rapunzel" does not show the reader how her experience represents living in a difficult situation. Therefore, explaining how Rapunzel's story fits the thesis is the most critical revision needed to make the argument effective.

Evaluate the given options

• Option 1: Explaining why Hansel and Gretel were locked out adds minor detail but does not address the completely unsupported mention of Rapunzel.
• Option 2: Explaining how Rapunzel's story fits into the thesis directly fixes the unsupported claim, making the evidence functional.
• Option 3: Adding another story would only clutter the paragraph without fixing the existing weak evidence.
• Option 4: The text already explains that Hansel and Gretel had to escape to find food and were locked out, which sufficiently establishes their difficulty.

Answer:

• The author should explain why Hansel and Gretel were locked out.
• The author should explain how Rapunzel's story fits into the thesis. (Correct answer)
• The author should add one more story as an example to support the thesis.
• The author should explain why Hansel and Gretel's situation is difficult.