#19 - Passage Comparison

[bli2016]

Hi, I chose E and was wondering why B is the better answer choice. I chose E because passage B mentions that "recent research... calls into question..." (lines 59-60), implying that there are still unanswered research questions. I thought B was odd because it focused on those writing about the topic and not everyone generally holding the opinion that human language and animal language are fundamentally different. Would appreciate some help in this! Thanks

[Adam Tyson]

Hey there bli2016, thanks for your question. Here are my thoughts.

Answer E talks about the author of passage B's "refusal to commit" to a particular position. That's pretty strong language. Does he truly refuse to commit? Is he all that circumspect? I don't think so. That sounds like someone who is playing hard to get, dancing around the issues without taking any clear stand. But author B does take a stand, and it's against the position he describes earlier as circular (and thus flawed). He tells us that recent research narrows the perceived gap between animal and human communication, and that sounds more like an endorsement of a particular view than a refusal to commit to any view.

The disapproval mentioned in answer B is of those folks making the circular argument that he described - animal communication lacks intention, and therefore it's different from human communication because human communication has intention. This differs from passage A because author A shows no signs of any such disapproval, but rather accepts the research findings of others without questioning them.

I too like E at first glance, but ultimately determined that B was better for the reasons described herein. Author B does have a position and is not at all circumspect, and his position is critical of other researchers while author A is not.

Take another look and see if that makes sense to you, and then let us know if we can be of any further help. Good luck!

[miriamson07]

Hello,

I cannot find any evidence in the passage that the research discussed in passages A and B are “writing.” The answer choice explicitly describes the research as “writing,” which I find odd. Am I missing anything here?

[Jeff Wren]

Hi miriamson,

You're correct that the word "writing" never appears in the passage, but that isn't really a problem in this answer.

This is one of those situations where the answer is simply using another word for the one used in the passage. Correct answers often use synonyms (or describe the idea in another way) in attempt to "disguise" the idea rather than using the exact word used in the passage.

Research generally involves writing on the topic. Researchers usually write papers based on their research for publication in scientific journals, which is how other scientists/researchers learn about their work.

This is where prephrasing the answer before looking at the answers can be so helpful. The tone of Passage B is much critical/negative toward the researchers and philosophers that the passage discusses, describing their arguments as circular (line 53), which is a type of flaw.

Answer B, which begins with the word "disapproving" is the only answer that captures this negative tone. While the exact word "writing" may not have been part of our prephrase, it's not a dealbreaker. This answer still captures the tone of Passage B (as compared to Passage A) better than any of the other answers.