Quick Reference 10: Check Every Part of the Goal

Reference 10: Check Every Part of the Goal

Two checks, every time. Does the sentence accomplish every part of the stated goal? Is every factual claim in the sentence actually supported by the notes? A sentence that passes only one of these checks still fails.

One-Condition Goal

Notes:

• Ceramicist Priya Rao developed a glaze technique using volcanic ash from a specific region.

• The technique reduces required firing temperature by nearly 200 degrees.

• Rao’s studio has trained forty apprentices since 2015.

• Her work has been exhibited in three countries.

Goal: explain the technical innovation behind Rao’s glaze technique.

Only the volcanic-ash mechanism and the firing-temperature reduction actually answer this goal. The apprentice count and the exhibitions are both true and both irrelevant to what the goal asked for, which is the technique itself, not Rao’s career.

Two-Condition Goal

Notes:

• A city’s library system digitized its rare manuscripts collection between 2018 and 2022.

• The digitization used a non-contact scanning method to avoid damaging fragile pages.

• Public access to the digital archive increased research requests by 300 percent.

• The original manuscripts remain in climate-controlled storage, accessible only by special request.

Goal: emphasize both the care taken to protect the originals and the resulting increase in public access.

A correct answer needs both halves: the non-contact scanning method, which shows the care taken, and the 300 percent increase in requests, which shows the resulting access. A sentence describing only the scanning method, however accurately, is incomplete. A sentence describing only the increase in access is equally incomplete. Both conditions have to survive in the same sentence.

Goal Fit With Factual Accuracy

Notes:

• Marine engineer Dele Adeyemi designed a floating breakwater built from recycled shipping containers.

• The prototype reduced wave energy reaching the shore by roughly 40 percent in testing.

• The design has not yet been tested in open-ocean conditions, only in a controlled tank.

• Adeyemi’s team is seeking funding for a full-scale trial.

Goal: explain what the prototype has been shown to do so far.

Two sentences can both sound like they answer this goal. One states that the prototype reduced wave energy by roughly 40 percent in controlled tank testing, which matches the notes exactly. Another states that the prototype has been shown to reduce wave energy by 40 percent in open-ocean conditions, which sounds equally confident and equally specific, and directly contradicts the notes: open-ocean testing has not happened yet. The second sentence fits the shape of the goal perfectly while failing the second check completely.

A sentence that sounds tailored to the goal has still only cleared half the requirement. Check the facts inside it against the notes before trusting how well it fits.