A words in context question about a claim tests how well you can match a word’s meaning to the evidence. Read the whole text and follow the turn to see which evidence the final sentence sums up. Ask what the claim says and what the evidence shows about that exact claim. Predict the blank in plain words, then test each choice by its meaning. A word can share your prediction’s negative feel but make a stronger judgment than the text allows.
Hints
- Hint 1
Start with the claim in the final sentence. What does the publisher say about the order, rather than the amount of writing included?
- Hint 2
Follow the turn into Vale’s letters. Which sequences does she reject or discuss approvingly?
- Hint 3
Look for a way to distinguish the two approved alternatives. Do the letters tell you which one became Vale’s final preference?
Step-by-step
Follow the evidence about the order
Step 1Separate content from order
The editor included every surviving passage, which shows the book is complete in content. What is the claim beside the blank about? It says this order reproduces Vale's intended structure, so we need to judge whether the sequence matches Vale’s wishes. Complete content doesn't settle the intended order.
- Step 2
Predict from the letters
The passage turns from completeness to the letters: do they identify Vale’s intended sequence? Vale rejects one sequence but discusses two incompatible alternatives approvingly, so her approval doesn't pick a single order. Because neither discussion is dated, we can't tell which alternative, if either, became her final preference. The published order follows one of those alternatives, so it could match her intention. But a possible match isn't a confirmed one, so predict not backed up by the evidence.
- Step 3
Check what each word claims
Implausible means unlikely to be true, but Vale’s approval gives no reason to call the chosen order unlikely. Mistaken means wrong, yet the letters don't prove the order wrong. Disingenuous means not sincere or honest, and nothing shows that the publisher tried to mislead readers. These judgments go beyond what the letters show about the publisher's claim that this order reproduces Vale's intended structure.
- Step 4
Name the lack of support
Which word names the missing support? Unsubstantiated means not backed up by evidence, so it describes the publisher's claim that this order reproduces Vale's intended structure without saying the published sequence is wrong. Choice A.