ACT English 1.11 Passage Drill

The underlined portion is an introductory phrase, so its job is to set the stage for

the sentence to come. Usually, it's best to do this in as few words as possible. People

tend to tune out when it takes too long to get to the main event.

Choice (B) is redundant, making it an obvious elimination. "As is usually the case" and

"in general" get across the same basic meaning. Therefore, there's absolutely no need to use

both phrases--unless one enjoys being redundant.

(A) introduces the sentence with the phrase "what you can expect is." Not only is this

phrase wordy, it's also awkward because it implies that the rest of the sentence will

be in the future tense. If we're expecting something, that means it hasn't happened yet,

right? The verbs in the sentence--"are" and "buy"--are both in the present tense, so this

introductory phrase sets up a false expectation. Sorry, (A), but we hate being disappointed.

This brings us to choices (C) and (D), which offer the phrases "in a general case" and

"in general." Our choice isn't too hard since we know we want the shortest introductory

phrase possible. "In general" is the shortest option, making (D) the best answer.

The shortest option is often best, except in the NBA draft.