Challenge Your Exam Readiness With Our Free NDRT Practice Questions

“Trenchant” describes commentary that is sharp, penetrating, and keenly perceptive. In argumentative writing, a trenchant critique cuts through clutter, exposing weaknesses in logic or evidence. The stem states that the critique “forced lawmakers to revisit key assumptions,” signaling analytical power rather than vagueness or theatrics. “Incisive” (B) matches that sense exactly: cutting and clear. “Equivocal” (A) would mean ambiguous or noncommittal—unlikely to move policy. “Belated” (C) concerns timing, not analytical force. “Histrionic” (D) suggests melodramatic style, which may generate noise but not necessarily substantive reconsideration. On Nelson–Denny vocabulary items, anchor meaning in effect: if writing causes reassessment, it is probably incisive, cogent, or compelling. Build synonym clusters—trenchant, incisive, acute, piercing—and contrast them with diffuse or equivocal language. A quick substitution confirms fit: “the columnist’s incisive critique” preserves tone and causal logic. Precision with these evaluative adjectives improves interpretation of op-eds and policy analyses where author stance and argumentative strength drive comprehension and inference questions.