Writer’s must make critical word choices to establish the tone that will get their ideas across to a particular audience. Do the words used by a writer achieve the intended effect for the selected audience?
For example:
Consider the following:
The words used in that sentence would certainly not convince beginning college students that reading is the skill that most determines college success because:
The words are slang and negate both the serious purpose and intent of the writer, and
They are demeaning to the audience in the serious context of the topic due to the level of education of the members of the audience.
Word choices that are not appropriate for the intended audience can have the opposite effect of the author’s intent. Your ability to correctly evaluate the effectiveness of the writer’s choice of words for the intended audience and purpose is a good measure of your own understanding of the passage. Evaluating passages from the test may require more subtle skills, but the language is always the key to the correct answer.