Step 105: Political Words
Reading fluency — A literary graded story
📖 Read — Election Day in Ohio
It's election day in a small Ohio city, and the library has become a polling station. Citizens line up before work, coffee in hand, to cast their ballots for mayor. The two candidates have campaigned for months: the current mayor points to new roads and a balanced budget; her challenger argues that housing costs need a new policy and pledges to freeze rents for two years.
By nine o'clock, the count is close — the mayor wins by a margin of 312 votes, a majority of less than one percent. In her speech, she thanks the voters and her opponent in the same breath: “Democracy is not the winner shouting. It's the loser staying in the conversation.” Supporters of both campaigns applaud — perhaps the most political sound of all: citizens who disagree, in the same room, in peace.
🧩 Grammar — Civic Vocabulary with a Neutral Tone
Civic English works when it's EVEN-HANDED: describe every side with the same verbs. Supporters argue; critics argue — not 'supporters explain, critics whine'. The promise verbs: pledge to / promise to / plan to (candidates pledge to build…). The counting verbs: win/lose by a margin of…, cast a ballot (= vote, formally), count the votes. Attribute everything: According to the results… — and keep Step 99's loaded words out of your own descriptions. Neutrality is a skill, not an accident.
- Voters cast their ballots early.
- She pledged to cut taxes.
- He lost by a margin of 200 votes.
- According to the results, turnout was high.
🏗️ Key structures
- cast a ballot / vote for ___ — Thousands cast their ballots before noon.
- pledge to ___ / promise to ___ — The candidate pledged to repair the roads.
- win / lose by a margin of ___ — She won by a margin of 312 votes.
⭐ Idiom & natural phrases
Many voters are still on the fence.
🔤 New words
the process of choosing leaders by voting
The election is in November.
a person who wants to be chosen for a position
Two candidates are running for mayor.
the paper or form you use to cast your vote
Mark your ballot carefully.
an official plan or set of rules for an area (health policy, tax policy)
The new housing policy starts in June.
a legal member of a country or city, with rights and duties
Every citizen can vote.
the group of people who run a country or city
The government announced a new plan.
more than half of a group or of the votes
She won with a clear majority.
not having made a choice yet (voters who are on the fence)
Ten percent of voters are undecided.
🎧 Say it with me
Citizens cast their ballots at dawn. The candidate pledged to listen; the mayor won by a narrow margin — and nobody stayed on the fence.
🎤 Your turn to speak
Report an imaginary election neutrally: one pledge with 'pledged to', one result with 'margin of', and one attribution with 'According to'.
Say it out loud three times. Even better: record it on your phone and listen — your ear is your best teacher.
✍️ Your turn to write
Write a neutral 5-sentence news report about a school or city election. Use cast ballots, pledged to, margin of, and according to.
See a model answer
Students at Lincoln High cast their ballots on Friday to elect a new student president. Candidate Ana Ruiz pledged to extend library hours, while her opponent, Ben Cole, promised more funding for sports. According to the final count, Ruiz won by a margin of just 14 votes. Turnout reached 82 percent, the highest in the school's history. Both candidates thanked the voters and promised to work together.
Self-check: capital letters? Full stops? Did you use the grammar of this step?
📝 Quick check
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