Question

When cold season approaches, many people take precautions to avoid colds and flu. The flu shot is a first line of defense. Doctor's offices and pharmacies dispense shots. Many clinics, community groups, and public health departments offer free shots. Healthy eating, drinking plenty of fluids, and getting enough sleep are also important guards against winter illness.

The most important step of all, in order to stay well during cold season, is washing your hands frequently. Colds and flu are transmitted through your hands. The most common cold virus is the rhinovirus. You pick up and pass on flu and cold viruses whenever you touch surfaces contaminated by other people. Doorknobs, handles, faucets, food-cart and basket handles, elevator buttons, public phones, tables, and trays, to name a few, can all carry viruses and bacteria. Touching your nose or rubbing your eyes after an outing are the quickest way to pick up germs on your hands. So, pay attention and keep washing!

In three to five sentences, identify the main claim of the passage and explain some examples of supports for that claim. Identify a sentence in the second paragraph that contains an irrelevant detail. Describe at an 8th grade level.

Answer 1

The main claim of the passage is that washing your hands frequently is the most important step to stay well during cold season. The passage supports this by saying colds and flu are spread through your hands, explaining you pick up viruses from touching contaminated surfaces (doorknobs, faucets, elevator buttons, shopping-cart handles, etc.), and warning that touching your nose or rubbing your eyes transfers germs to you. A sentence in the second paragraph that contains an irrelevant detail is: "The most common cold virus is the rhinovirus." That fact about the virus name does not help prove that handwashing is the best way to avoid getting sick.