#27 - Concept Reference, Must Be True

[Administrator]

Complete Question Explanation

The correct answer choice is (D).

Answer choice (A):

Answer choice (B):

Answer choice (C):

Answer choice (D): This is the correct answer choice.

Answer choice (E):

This explanation is still in progress. Please post any questions below!

[lathlee]

I am asking from 8-114 lesson books,

in Q 27.the correct answer is D regarding true of southern planters in the US, " Few of them relied on intermediaries to manage their estates. according to the answer sheet"

, the back answer page says the correct info for this question is located in line 30-34:

"'In Russia, most serfs rarely saw their owners, who tended to rely on intermediaries to manage their estates, while most southern planters lived on their lands and interacted with slaves on a regular basis."

the text never ever directly state Few of Southern planters relied on intermediaries it only says the somewhat of a logical opposite version of few, MOST, lived and interacted with slaves so my question is can we really inductively reduce to such level that few of southern planters in the US relied on intermediaries on managing their estates? The readers only know MOST of them(Southern planters) managed their estates. Without any direct information of how NON-Most southern planters possibly could have managed their estates, how can we say the correct answer is D) " Few of them relied on intermediaries to manage their estates. according to the answer sheet"

[Adam Tyson]

Two things to consider here, lathlee. First, remember that the answer doesn't have to be absolutely true and proven by the passage. Rather, it needs to be the one that is most strongly suggested. The language in those lines sets up a contrast between Russia and the United States, telling us that Russian farmers relied heavily on intermediaries because they rarely interacted directly with the serfs, and that is contrasted with the United States where farmers tended to live on the land and interact directly with the slaves. While "few" is a relative term and can't be easily proven based solely on being "not most", it is strongly suggested by that contrast coupled with the "most". At least relatively speaking, in the United States few farmers (compared to those in Russia) relied on intermediaries.

Second, remember to pick the best answer, always. Is there a better answer choice here, one that is more strongly supported? If not, then it doesn't matter that this answer is imperfect and not proven. As long as it is the best answer, it is the right answer. Don't waste time and effort arguing with the answer, trying to show that it isn't perfect. Instead, focus on the task at hand - selecting the best answer from among the choices presented.

[brigrieff]

Hi!

I was between B and D for this question and decided to go with B as my choice. Is this the incorrect answer because it represents an Opposite answer? I am just trying to learn how to categorize the wrong answers!

Thanks!

[Adam Tyson]

That's correct, brigrieff! Only 2% of slaves worked on those larger plantations, so 98% must have worked on smaller ones with 100 or fewer slaves. That pretty strongly suggests that most plantation owners had 100 or fewer slaves. B says just the opposite, and so is not supported by the passage. Good job!