Question 125·Medium·Words in Context
Biographer Ellen Hampton contends that the novelist’s early diaries are so intimately personal that they were never intended for public view; to publish them now, Hampton argues, would be a(n) _____ of the writer’s privacy.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?
For Words-in-Context questions, first reread the sentence and use the surrounding phrases to predict the general meaning and tone (positive/negative, approving/disapproving) of the missing word. Then, quickly sort the answer choices by meaning and connotation, eliminating any that are clearly too positive, too negative, or off-topic. Finally, plug the remaining choice into the sentence to check that it fits both the logic and tone smoothly, without forcing or stretching the meaning.
Hints
Use the description of the diaries
Focus on the phrases “so intimately personal” and “never intended for public view.” What does that suggest about how the writer felt about others reading the diaries?
Notice the tone around publishing the diaries
Does the biographer seem to think publishing the diaries would be something good and respectful, or something wrong and harmful to the writer’s privacy?
Sort the answer choices by positive vs. negative
Decide which options describe positive actions (like honoring or approving something) and which describe a negative action. Which kind of word is needed to match the idea of harming someone’s privacy?
Step-by-step Explanation
Understand the situation in the sentence
Focus on the key details: the diaries are “so intimately personal” and “never intended for public view.” This tells you the writer wanted these diaries to remain private, and showing them to the public goes against that wish.
Predict the general meaning needed
Because the diaries were meant to be private, publishing them would be something bad done to the writer’s privacy. The missing word should describe a negative action that harms or intrudes on that privacy, not something positive or neutral.
Evaluate each answer choice against that meaning
Check each option:
- concession: means giving in, yielding, or granting something (for example, a discount or a compromise). That is not about harming privacy.
- endorsement: means approval or support. Publishing the diaries is not being presented as approving privacy; it’s described as doing something wrong to it.
- celebration: means honoring or joyfully observing something. The tone here is serious and negative, not happy or honoring. None of these three words matches the idea of doing something wrong to someone’s privacy.
Select the word that matches “harm to privacy”
The remaining choice, “violation,” means breaking a rule, right, or boundary—such as violating someone’s privacy. That exactly fits the idea that publishing private diaries would improperly intrude on and harm the writer’s privacy, so the correct answer is D) violation.