The Library Fine Pilot: Central Idea vs. Vivid Quotation
A candidate is reviewing a practice passage about a six-month pilot at a three-branch library system that eliminated overdue fines. The passage reports that 8,400 patrons had blocked accounts when the pilot began; by month six, returns of overdue items rose 12 percent, staff time spent on fine disputes fell by roughly 20 hours per week, and weekend visits increased most at the branch with the lowest median income. The author concludes that the pilot improved access more than it recovered revenue. The candidate's notes say, 'Main idea = people hate fines,' and the candidate selects a sentence about a patron who called the fine 'a punishment' as the best evidence for the central idea. The candidate also marks the 12 percent figure as 'opinion' because it is a number. A tutor has ten minutes to redirect the candidate before a timed section.
1. State the passage's central idea and identify the strongest supporting evidence. Explain why the patron quotation is weaker evidence than the usage data.
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The central idea is an evaluation of the pilot's outcomes: the author claims the pilot improved access more than it recovered revenue. The strongest evidence is the combination of the 12 percent rise in overdue returns, the roughly 20-hour weekly reduction in staff dispute time, and the largest visit increase at the lowest-income branch. These details measure access and staff burden, which are the terms of the author's comparative claim.
The patron quotation shows one person's attitude toward fines. It may help explain why the pilot was proposed, but it does not show what happened during the pilot. A quotation can support a claim about perception; it cannot by itself support a claim about access outcomes. The candidate should match evidence type to claim type rather than choosing the most vivid sentence.
2. The candidate marks the 12 percent figure as 'opinion' because it is a number. Diagnose the error and list two questions the candidate should ask about the statistic.
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The error is a category mistake: numbers are not automatically opinions. A statistic can be a factual report if it describes a measurable result, while an opinion is an evaluative judgment such as 'the pilot improved access more than it recovered revenue.' The 12 percent figure is presented as a reported result, not as the author's preference.
The candidate should ask: (1) Compared with what baseline-returns before the pilot, or a comparison branch? (2) Who collected the figure and how-library records, a survey, or self-report? Useful follow-ups include whether the statistic measures the same thing the author claims (access) and whether six months is long enough to rule out seasonal effects. The presence of a number does not settle reliability, but it does not make the statement subjective either.
3. Write a one-sentence summary of the passage that keeps the author's conclusion and avoids the patron's opinion.
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During a six-month fine-elimination pilot across three branches, overdue returns rose 12 percent and staff dispute time fell by about 20 hours per week, leading the author to conclude that the pilot improved access more than it recovered revenue.
This sentence keeps the outcome data and the author's comparative evaluation. It drops the patron quotation because that quotation illustrates attitudes, not the pilot's results. It also avoids saying 'people hate fines,' which is a broad attitude claim the passage does not establish.