#13 - Concept Reference, Must Be True, Author's Perspective

[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!

[taylorballou]

Hello,

Could you confirm why answer choice E is incorrect? I think I focused too much on the critical comments the author made in the last paragraph. While I think the author is skeptical of the technique in certain situations (e.g. if the evidence is too negative to "spin" positively, the jurors may develop a "negative impression" early on), but I suppose those are minor possibilities compared to the long list of evidence showing the effectiveness of "stealing thunder."

Similarly, I thought answer choice D was wrong because it did not address any of the caveats explained in the last paragraph.

Thank you,

Taylor

[James Finch]

Hi Taylor,

This question doubles down on its use of recency bias to try and throw off test takers. The passage spends all but the final sentence praising the "stealing thunder" trial technique, including experimental evidence of its effectiveness, before throwing in a caveat for certain use cases in that last sentence. So the overwhelming majority of the passage is positive, with a recommendation against using the technique only when the "information is very damaging."

With that in mind, we look closely at answer choices (D) and (E) (note how the incorrect answer comes immediately after the correct one). (D) works on each level, although it does omit the caveat presented in the final sentence: the tone is approving overall, and the second paragraph explains the experimental evidence as well as the psychological theory behind the technique.

(E) misses the mark by being off about the tone ("skeptical" is too strong for only presenting a single caveat affecting only some use cases) while then adding in a condition not presented in the passage at all: only lawyers with "lengthy experience in courtroom strategies." The introduction of a new element not present in the passage should immediately set off red flags and move this answer choice from Contender to Loser status.

Hope this helps!

[mthomp24]

Could you explain why C is incorrect? I was between C and D, but I picked C because I felt it captured the sentiment that there could be a drawback to stealing thunder (the perspective from the final paragraph). Is it because the answer choice is too strong considering the amount of time the author spent on it?

[James Finch]

Hi M Thomp,

The issue with (C) are that it doesn't address the overall positive view that the author has of "stealing thunder" as a technique, nor the evidence backing up this positive assessment. Moreover, it mentions specifically anecdotal evidence against the use of stealing thunder, but the author of the passage doesn't mention any anecdotal evidence in the last paragraph, where the caveats regarding use of the technique are. So (C) doesn't reflect anything that is seen in the passage, while (D) has clearly identifiable elements that we can refer back to in the passage.

Hope this helps!

[mollylynch]

Is B wrong because the author only talks about stealing thunder during the opening statements and not later on in a case?

[Luke Haqq]

Hi mollylynch!

For answer choice (B) to be correct, there would need to be something more explicit in the passage that limits its use to a particular segment of litigation.

Even if the only examples of stealing thunder were in opening statements, that alone isn't sufficient to conclude that it is a strategy only applicable to opening statements. One place to look is the definition of "stealing thunder" given as the first sentence of the passage. Nothing in the definition suggests that it is a strategy only used in opening statements. Rather, the definition defines it broadly as a "courtroom strategy," not one necessarily confined to a specific point in litigation.