#18 - Main Point

[Chandler H]

Main Point (MP)
(See the complete passage discussion here: viewtopic.php?f=895&t=38305)

The correct answer choice is (B).

The correct answer choice describes the author's tone and structuring of the passage. The author is positive about renewable energy (lines 10-15), but believes that renewable energy resources must be implemented with local participation.

[ikim10]

I was stuck between (A) and (B). Could someone explain what makes (B) correct? I thought the language used in (B) was too strong, so went with (A).

(A) seemed correct to me because in the first paragraph, the author discusses reasons why renewable energy sources must be used by providing its advantages. The passage also later explains why certain promising technologies cannot be implemented profitably through the Brazil example, where investors missed the opportunity to stimulate local production.

[Jeff Wren]

Hi ikim,

It's interesting that you felt the language in Answer B was too strong because it is actually Answer A that has the stronger language of the two, and it is really that language that makes Answer A incorrect here.

Let's look at Answer A in more detail.

Answer A states "summarizing the reasons why renewable energy resources should be used and explaining why certain promising technologies cannot be implemented profitably."

Answer A is an example of a half-right, half-wrong incorrect answer, which are very common on Must Be True and Main Point questions, especially in Reading Comprehension. The first half of the answer sounds pretty good. Notice how it is very similar to the first half of Answer B (below).

Unfortunately, the second half creates a problem. "Explaining why certain promising technologies cannot be implemented profitably" literally means here that there are certain promising technologies mentioned in the passage that cannot be implemented profitably no matter what. That is the very strong language that I referred to earlier. Nowhere in the passage does it state that certain technologies cannot ever be implemented profitably. The example of Brazil that you mention doesn't show that the technology cannot (ever) be implemented profitably. Instead it just shows an example of one wrong way to do it.

That example gets contrasted with the example in India of the right way to do it. The fact that the Brazil example used solar and the India example used wind turbines isn't the critical difference in why Brazil failed and India succeeded. The difference was in how the two technologies were implemented rather than any difference in the technologies themselves. This is explicitly clarified in the final sentence of the passage, "Because the Danish agency, unlike its U.S. counterpart, recognized the importance of local involvement at all levels, the project has a good chance of remaining competitive and profitable for the long run" (lines 58-62).

Answer B states "arguing for the advantages of renewable energy resources and illustrating with examples what factors will favor their successful implementation."

The first half of Answer B is pretty similar to the first half of Answer A and both correctly get at the same idea.

Unlike Answer A, Answer B doesn't claim that certain technologies cannot be implemented profitably. Instead it just mentions factors that favor their successful implementation, which is what the two contrasting examples of Brazil and India illustrate, i.e. what works and what doesn't work.