TACHS: Comparing viewpoints: find the one question two speakers answer differently
Learn to sum up each speaker in a discussion, separate what they agree on from what they dispute, and read polite concessions without mistaking them for a change of mind.
When two people discuss a story, how do you name the real difference between their views?
Short answer
Sum up what each speaker keeps coming back to, set aside what they agree on, and state the one question they answer differently. Check that each half of a choice matches the right speaker.
Know first: Following who says what in a dialogue, Telling an opinion from a fact
Step 1 of 5
Two speakers usually share facts and split on one question
When a passage is a discussion between two people, each speaker has a viewpoint: what they think matters most. They usually agree on many facts and disagree about one central question.
Discussions are full of polite moves. A speaker may say good point or I'll grant that and still keep the main position. Track what each person repeats. Repeated points are the core of a view.
| Step | What to write in your head |
|---|---|
| Speaker A | A cares most about... (the point A repeats) |
| Speaker B | B cares most about... (the point B repeats) |
| Shared ground | What both accept. This is never the difference. |
| Central difference | The same question, answered two ways |
| Concessions | Lines like that's true or good point. The speaker sees the point and keeps the view. |
The map also answers detail questions about who said what and inference questions about a speaker's last line.
Step 2 of 5
Map each speaker before you compare
Worked example: A film made from a book
Ava: The movie cut every scene in the grandmother's garden. Without them, I don't understand why the sisters fight so hard to keep the house.
Kai: The garden scenes were lovely, but the film kept the argument between the sisters. That argument is what the story is really about.
Ava: The argument is good. I just think the garden explained it. Why else would the house matter so much?
Kai: Maybe the actors show it. I understood their feelings from the way they talk about their childhood.
What is the central difference between Ava's and Kai's views?
- AAva thinks the film needed the garden scenes to explain the sisters' motives; Kai thinks the film shows those motives in other ways.
- BAva disliked the book; Kai preferred it to the film.
- CAva thinks the sisters should sell the house; Kai thinks they should keep it.
- DAva thinks the argument scene should be cut; Kai wants it longer.
- 1
Map Ava
The garden scenes explain why the house matters. She makes that point twice.
- 2
Map Kai
The film still shows the sisters' feelings, through the argument and the acting.
- 3
Set aside shared ground
Both say the argument scene is good.
- 4
See why the other choices are there
B invents opinions about the book. C turns a debate about the film into a debate about what the characters should do. D contradicts Ava, who calls the argument good.
Answer
Ava thinks the film needed the garden scenes; Kai thinks it shows the motives in other ways.
Wrong: When Ava says The argument is good, she has come around to Kai's view.
Right: When Ava says The argument is good, she grants Kai a point and then repeats her own: I just think the garden explained it.
A concession is followed by the speaker's main point again. Read the sentence after the polite line before deciding someone changed their mind.
Step 3 of 5
Compare two readers yourself
Read this discussion
Nia: The new field guide to backyard birds has beautiful paintings, but I kept wishing for photographs. A painting shows a perfect robin. A photograph shows the robin I actually see at the feeder.
Omar: I think the paintings are the guide's best feature. The artist draws every bird in the same pose, so you can compare a wren's beak with a sparrow's at a glance.
Nia: Comparing is easier, I'll grant that. But birds at the feeder don't hold the same pose. I need to recognize the real thing.
Omar: That's fair for a quick look outdoors. I'd still say a beginner learns the differences faster from the paintings.
Check yourself · Question 1
What is the central difference between Nia's and Omar's responses?
Answer: A
Nia keeps returning to recognizing real birds outdoors. Omar keeps returning to how easily the paintings can be compared. That's the same question, what makes the pictures useful, answered two ways.
Trap answer: Nia thinks the paintings are poorly made; Omar thinks they are beautiful.
Half right, half invented
- Why it looks right
- Omar's half fits, since he calls the paintings the guide's best feature, so the whole choice feels close.
- Why it's wrong
- Nia calls the paintings beautiful. Both speakers share that ground, so it can't be their difference.
- The right answer
- Nia wants pictures that look like birds seen outdoors; Omar values pictures that make birds easy to compare.
Check yourself · Question 2
What can you infer from Omar's last line, “That's fair for a quick look outdoors. I'd still say a beginner learns the differences faster from the paintings”?
Answer: C
Omar concedes that photographs help for a quick look outdoors, then repeats his position with still. That's a concession. His view hasn't changed.
Common mistake
I thought the speaker who said good point had lost the argument.
- Why it's tempting
- Agreeing with something sounds like giving in, especially near the end of a discussion.
- Do this instead
- Read the line after the concession. If the speaker restates the main point, the view hasn't changed.
Step 4 of 5
What to remember
Remember
- Sum up each speaker by the point they keep repeating.
- What both speakers accept is shared ground, never the central difference.
- Check each half of a two-part choice, and remember that a concession doesn't change a speaker's view.
Step 5 of 5
Practice on a real question
Use what you just learned on this question, then check the explanation.
In your own words
In the practice question, what point does each speaker keep returning to, and what do they agree on?