Check whether a detail is settled
Read for meaning first. Select a highlighted word if you want a closer look.
A definite room number replaced the draft invitation's vague reference to meeting near the library after lunch. A patent mismatch between the poster's room number and the printed map made another error easy for the student editor to spot. The apparent simplicity of changing the event address faded when the editor found three older notices directing visitors elsewhere. She checked each version, corrected the conflicting details, and asked a classmate to follow the revised directions from the main entrance.
With a definite destination printed on every notice, the classmate could follow the route without asking where the group might meet. A patent error in the first map still needed correction because its arrow pointed toward a locked side entrance. The apparent agreement among the posters had initially concealed that problem: identical room numbers did not ensure that the directions led there. After the classmate tested the revised route, the editor replaced the final map and marked the invitation ready to send.
Before you move on
Look away from the passage. Can you explain each focus word in your own words?
Original fictional passages for vocabulary practice.