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January Book Club: 'Heart: A History'"

by Randi Hutter Epstein

Then we learn that the concept for this machine began with one doctor’s brazen idea of connecting a patient to another patient’s blood supply.

"Bloody and Beating" by Randi Hutter Epstein, from THE NEW YORK TIMES, November 5, 2018. Copyright © 2018 by The New York Times Company. All rights reserved. Used under license.

Question
Use the sentence to answer the question.

This sentence is from the summary portion of a book review. Select “Yes” or “No” to show whether each change would make the sentence more objective.

(2 points)
Yes No
remove the word “supply”

remove the word “brazen”

change “concept” to “brilliant idea”

change “we learn” to “readers learn”

1 answer

Here are the responses to whether each change would make the sentence more objective:

  1. remove the word “supply” - No (Removing "supply" would make the sentence less clear, which does not contribute to objectivity.)

  2. remove the word “brazen” - Yes (The word "brazen" adds a subjective connotation; removing it would make the sentence more objective.)

  3. change “concept” to “brilliant idea” - No (The phrase "brilliant idea" is subjective, while "concept" is more neutral.)

  4. change “we learn” to “readers learn” - Yes (Changing "we learn" to "readers learn" makes it more objective by removing the personal pronoun.)