Government Says Medical Schools Use Race to Pick Students

💡 The 'People' Word Pattern

In this text, we see words for groups of people. To reach A2, you need to know how to talk about who someone is.

The Word List:

• Students $\rightarrow$ People who learn
• Doctors $\rightarrow$ People who fix health
• Government $\rightarrow$ People who make laws

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⚡️ Action Words (Verbs)

Look at how the text describes changing or stopping things. This is a key A2 skill:

1. Use (to employ something) $\rightarrow$ Use race to pick students.
2. Stop (to end something) $\rightarrow$ Stop programs.
3. Help (to make things easier) $\rightarrow$ Help sick people.

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⚖️ Opposite Ideas

English uses simple words to show a fight or a difference of opinion:

The Government says... $\rightarrow$ It is against the law. BUT $\rightarrow$ (This word changes the direction!) The Schools say... $\rightarrow$ Their rules are good.

⚡ The 'Nuance Shift': Moving from Simple to Sophisticated

At the A2 level, you usually say "The government says..." or "The schools say...". To reach B2, you need to stop using the word 'say' for everything. Look at how this article describes a legal battle using Reporting Verbs.

🧩 The Vocabulary Upgrade

Instead of 'say', the text uses these high-impact verbs:

• Asserts $\rightarrow$ To say something strongly and confidently.
• Alleges $\rightarrow$ To say something is true, even though it hasn't been proven yet (very common in law!).
• Emphasize $\rightarrow$ To give special importance to a point.
• Insist $\rightarrow$ To refuse to change your opinion.

🛠️ Practical Application: The 'B2 Logic'

Notice the difference in energy between these two sentences:

A2 Style: The DOJ says the schools are wrong. The schools say they are fair.

B2 Style: The DOJ alleges that the schools are using illegal methods, while the universities insist that their processes are fair.

Why this matters: Using alleges instead of says tells the reader that there is a legal dispute. It adds precision.

💡 Quick Strategy: 'The Holistic Flip'

The article mentions "holistic admissions."

• A2 meaning: Looking at everything.
• B2 context: A comprehensive approach that considers all factors, not just one (like a test score).

When you want to describe a 'complete' or 'all-around' view of a problem in your speaking exams, use holistic instead of 'all the parts'.

The Architecture of Legalistic Abstraction

To move from B2 to C2, a student must stop seeing words as mere 'vocabulary' and start seeing them as discursive markers. The provided text is a masterclass in nominalization and distanced attribution, a hallmark of high-level academic and legal English.

⚡ The 'C2 Pivot': From Action to Concept

B2 learners describe actions: "The DOJ says that schools used race to help students." C2 masters describe phenomena: "This contention is predicated on a statistical analysis..."

Observe the phrase "predicated on." While a B2 student might use "based on," the C2 choice implies a logical foundation or a prerequisite condition. It transforms a simple relationship into a formal architectural claim.

🔍 Anatomy of the 'Hedged' Allegation

In professional C2 discourse, directness is often replaced by precision through attenuation. Look at the cluster of verbs used here:

• Asserts $\rightarrow$ Circumvented $\rightarrow$ Alleges

These aren't synonyms. Asserts implies a confident statement of fact; circumvented implies a strategic evasion of a rule; alleges indicates a claim that has not yet been proven in court. The ability to switch between these based on the legal status of the claim is the difference between a fluent speaker and a masterful one.

🛠️ Syntactic Sophistication: The 'Substantive' Noun Phrase

Consider the phrase: "...the application of ‘disparate impact theory’ to argue that race-neutral policies yielding diverse outcomes are discriminatory."

Breakdown for the C2 Aspirant:

1. The Nominal Head: "The application of..." (Starting with a noun rather than a verb creates an objective, detached tone).
2. The Participial Modifier: "...policies yielding diverse outcomes..." (Using yielding instead of which yield compresses the sentence, increasing information density—a key requirement for C2 proficiency).

Scholarly Insight: The text employs counter-positioning (e.g., "Conversely") not just to show contrast, but to signal a shift in the epistemological framework—moving from the DOJ's quantitative logic (scores/GPAs) to the educators' qualitative logic (holistic competency).