THE VOCABULARY DETECTIVE
The anonymous message
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ambiguous
deliberate
impartial
corroborate
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On voting morning, an unsigned message appeared above the student council ballots: “The candidate who promised change has already changed the plan.” Luis’s supporters blamed Harper. Harper’s supporters blamed Luis.
The message was ambiguous. Had someone improved a proposal, or broken a promise? Both readings seemed possible. Its placement looked deliberate to one student: surely someone had planned to put it where voters would see it. Another student wondered whether the page had reached the board by mistake.
The adviser asked Samira to make an impartial review. She would favor neither candidate and would apply the same checks to both accusations. Samira wanted a source record and another piece of evidence that could corroborate it, supporting the account beyond a single person’s claim.
She collected a file history and the notice-board paperwork. First she needed to establish where the sentence came from. The reason it appeared above the ballots was a separate question.