ACT® · Reading — Integration of Knowledge and Ideas: Synthesis of Multiple Texts
Building Two Argument Maps Side by Side
Building two argument maps means giving each passage its own claim node with its own reasons hanging beneath it, so comparing the two becomes a matter of lining up nodes instead of rereading.
Paired passages always argue something, even when they sound like reporting. The fix is to find each passage's one main claim first, write it down, then hang every reason, number, or example from that passage underneath its own claim and nowhere else. A zoo bulletin claiming zoos conserve species gets its claim node plus the reintroduction count beneath it. A behaviour review claiming captivity distorts animals gets a separate claim node plus its pacing statistic beneath that. Two short columns, not one long paragraph of notes.
The separation matters because paired questions ask you to compare, and comparison breaks down the moment the two sets of reasons blur together in your head. While reading the second passage, resist the urge to fold its points into the first passage's list. Start a fresh column the moment you sense a second claim forming, even mid-sentence, and only connect the two maps afterward, drawing an agreement edge where the reasons support each other and a disagreement edge where they clash.
This skill sits right next to questions about how two texts relate across time or genre. When passages are a century apart, or one is older and one modern, the claims can still line up side by side, but the reasons underneath will assume different worlds: a 1920s essay's telephone count versus a modern essay's constant digital reach. The map stays two-claim, two-column; only the evidence underneath changes character.
Key terms
- claim node
- The one main point a passage is arguing, written down before any of its supporting reasons.
- argument map
- A claim with its supporting reasons arranged beneath it, built separately for each passage.
- agreement edge
- A line drawn between the two maps where one passage's reasons support or echo the other's.
- disagreement edge
- A line drawn between the two maps where one passage's reasons conflict with the other's.
Watch it explained
- How it worksHow does each text become a claim node with all its reasons hanging beneath it?
- How it worksHow do you keep two maps separate in memory while you are reading the second text?
- Worked exampleShow me mapping one text arguing zoos conserve species against one arguing they distort behaviour.
- Going furtherWhat changes about the maps when the two texts were written a century apart?
Check yourself
End of topic.