Drawing a Conclusion

1. Drawing a Conclusion

2. In 1999, archaeologists discovered three perfectly preserved Incan mummies high atop a volcano in the Andes. Unlike other mummies, these were preserved by nature, not human efforts. The extreme cold of the mountains “freeze-dried” the boy and girls 500 years ago. Buried with them were valuable artifacts, including gold and silver statues, beautiful fabrics, and pots of food. Ancient cultures as far away as Siberia and Egypt surrounded their mummies with similar treasures.

3. BASED on the above passage, draw a conclusion about mummies: • A. Five hundred years ago, people were creating both kinds of mummies • B. Both methods were used by most ancient cultures • C. Both were considered important enough to be buried with valuable objects • D. Children, as well as adults, were made into both kinds of mummies.

4. Step 1: • Identify the topic of the paragraph.

5. Identify the TOPIC: • The TOPIC is mummies and what they have in common.

6. Step 2: • Study the answer choices, ruling out those that are clearly wrong.

7. Wrong answers • I think choice A is wrong because the passage doesn’t mention when the Egyptian mummies were made. • I think choice D is wrong because the passage doesn’t mention adults at all.

8. Step 3 • Reread the passage to find evidence that supports the remaining answer choices: • B. Both methods were used by most ancient cultures • C. Both were considered important enough to be buried with valuable objects

9. In 1999, archaeologists discovered three perfectly preserved Incan mummies high atop a volcano in the Andes. Unlike other mummies, these were preserved by nature, not human efforts. The extreme cold of the mountains “freeze-dried” the boy and girls 500 years ago. Buried with them were valuable artifacts, including gold and silver statues, beautiful fabrics, and pots of food. Ancient cultures as far away as Siberia and Egypt surrounded their mummies with similar treasures.

10. Drawing your conclusion • Since the writer does not say that other cultures used both methods, answer choice B is wrong. There is evidence for choice C because in the last sentence the writer says that other cultures also surrounded their mummies with treasures. Both kinds of mummies must have been important, or they wouldn’t have been buried with so many valuables. Choice C is correct.