Indicate the alternative that both correctly evaluates the following sentence and correctly explains the reason for the evaluation. “As soon as you provide your date of birth on Line 2, your application for a flexible spending account will be processed.”

a) Good positive emphasis because it focuses on the action the reader should take rather than on the fact that information was omitted from the form
b) Good positive emphasis because money is tight for most people these days
c) Lacks positive emphasis because this is an insignificant reason to hold up an application for a benefit open to all employees
d) Lack positive emphasis because the employee should know better than to make such a mistake

I'm very confused... I'm convinced that (B) and (D) are not correct though. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Unless there is the possibility of the person being a juvenile, what does the date of birth have to do with a flexible spending account? I would pick C.

To evaluate the sentence and explain the reason for the evaluation, let's analyze each alternative provided:

a) Good positive emphasis because it focuses on the action the reader should take rather than on the fact that information was omitted from the form.

This option aligns with the sentence's evaluation. The sentence does indeed emphasize the action the reader should take - providing their date of birth on Line 2. It does not explicitly mention the omission of information from the form, so it can be considered a positive emphasis.

b) Good positive emphasis because money is tight for most people these days.

This option is not a correct evaluation or explanation. It brings up an unrelated topic of money being tight for people and does not address the content or emphasis of the original sentence.

c) Lacks positive emphasis because this is an insignificant reason to hold up an application for a benefit open to all employees.

This option does not appropriately evaluate or explain the sentence. It argues that the reason provided in the sentence (providing date of birth) is insignificant and suggests that it should not hold up the application. However, the sentence does not mention any significance or lack thereof regarding the reason.

d) Lacks positive emphasis because the employee should know better than to make such a mistake.

This option does not accurately evaluate the sentence or explain the reason for the evaluation. It implies that the sentence lacks positive emphasis because the employee should know better, but there is no mention of a mistake or the employee's knowledge in the original sentence.

Based on the analysis of each alternative, option a) is the correct choice. It accurately evaluates the sentence by recognizing the positive emphasis on the action the reader should take, rather than focusing on the omission of information.