#20 - Global Reference, Main Point

[Administrator]

Complete Question Explanation

The correct answer choice is (B).

Answer choice (A):

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

Answer choice (C):

Answer choice (D):

Answer choice (E):

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

[T.B.Justin]

Hey,

I had this down to B and D, they both, to me, seem to express the basic idea of what is happening in the passage. I suppose that D more accurately speaks to the latter half of the passage, and B speaks more effectively to the entire passage, thus perhaps why B is correct.

As for the detailed aspects.

D says, "in contrast to the standard theory of evolution" (which I find enough of an expression of paragraph 1) and ignores mentioning anything from paragraph 2, which B mentions in reference to the "Lamarckism mechanism."

Is this the gist of what is going on here?

Thanks!

[Jay Donnell]

Hey!

In helping to discern between often painfully similar answer choices in Main Point questions in RC, it's crucial to watch the tone and logical force of the answers.

Here, answer choice D presents an attitude that was far too strong and negative based off of the author's positioning in the passage. It loses me with "highly speculative and rest on purely circumstantial evidence."

The author did use the word 'speculative' in the passage, but the context differs pretty greatly: "...they have devised an elegant, but speculative, story..."

Same can be said for the latter half of the answer, where the use of the term speculative distorts its original mention: "Evolutionary mechanisms are never observed directly, so we must make do with circumstantial evidence."

Answer choice B catches not only the broader synopsis but a more accurate depiction of the author's perspective. The author keeps reasonably detached and avoids imbuing much if any of their own opinion, instead chooses language like 'they claim' and 'other biologists are not so easily swayed.' B matches that sentiment here which is crucial.

You're right that D is also dinged for not mentioning Lamarck, but I wanted to call attention to those points above to help further clarify this question and hopefully help with future passages!

[CJ12345:]

Hi, Powerscore,
I did not choose B because the phrase "devised an account of a mechanism" threw me off. In the passage, the author said they "devise a story using known biological mechanisms." Thus, I thought B is factually inaccurate to say that they "devise a mechanism". Instead, they simply used a known mechanism.

In D, is it accurate to say that if the author's opinion is not the main thesis that the passage is trying to argue about, any AC that is simply stating the author's opinion is not the main point? And I am still not quite convinced why you say D is too strong. I think stating "highly speculative" and "purely circumstantial evidence" is reasonable.

[Rachael Wilkenfeld]

You left out a key word from answer choice (B), CJ. It doesn't say they devised a mechanism. The answer choice said they devised an account of a mechanism. The word "account" there means story. They developed a story about how the mechanism would potentially work. That's almost exactly what you said you were looking for in an answer choice, CJ.

The language in answer choice (D) is just too strong, and not even consistent with the beliefs of the author. Answer choice (D) uses "circumstantial evidence" as something to be ignored or completely discounted. While that's a tempting position to take, that's not the one the author takes here. Take a look at the final paragraph to see how he acknowledges that circumstantial evidence is all that we have when we look at evolution.

Hope that helps!