#27 - Specific Reference, Purpose/Function

[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!

[avengingangel]

So, I had a really hard time choosing between B & C for this one. They both seem like great answers. Then, I ultimately chose C (of course), and after reading the explanation in the Course book I'm still not convinced why/how B is better than C [which, reminds me to ask, are there not full explanation of RC questions on the forums?] .

To me, it does make sense that the author uses the phrase, "...despite his own descriptions of the complicated bureaucratic nature of the programs" to point out the irony of him also recommending making drastic changes to the program. ("Ok, I know I've just told you this thing is SUPER hard to change, but, hey, you (or someone else, anyone really) should definitely go hugely change it, and no, I will not provide any attainable, realistic ways to do it" see, irony!)

It's really more so that the phrase in question uses irony to express the disappointment. So, yeah, I still don't see why B is superior to C. -- I get why B is definitely the correct answer, but I what I'm not getting is why C is definitely NOT correct answer. (FTR , the ONLY thing that gave my pause on C was that it used "concluding." I don't think the passage necessarily said he concluded his study with the recommendations (despite that that's usually how studies go). But the book explanation did not cite this as a reason this answer is wrong, so, yeah).

And, if you're thinking, "Well Avenging, you tell me why you didn't chose B then??" I would reply, that the words right before the 'bureaucratic nature' description note that 'T...does not offer enough concrete solutions..." So,I looked back at B, and then looked back at that sentence, and then looked back at B and thought, well, I can't be sure that the author thought those solutions (or lack of enough concrete solutions) were necessarily "overly general." I would have liked to see either "not enough specific solutions" in the passage, OR "disappointment in his too abstract recommendations" in that answer choice for me to pick it. (That thought process makes total sense, right?? We should totally right LSAT and tell them they're wrong & silly & to give me a million dollars, right ??!)

[Emily Haney-Caron]

Hi avengingangel,

I think so much of this comes down to tone. The "Unfortunately" at the start of the sentence makes clear the tone is one of disappointment; not just pointing out a fact, but rather framing it as a let down. I understand what you're saying about wanting the word "specific" to appear, but really, that is what the author is conveying, just without using that word; there are not enough concrete solutions for how to actually implement these changes, which means that he gives a general recommendation but doesn't give the detail about how to achieve it. If I told you, "We really should take our cat to the best vet in the city," that's a general recommendation, but it leaves out the concrete details of how to carry it out (which might be, first, we should look at the Yelp reviews for all the vets in the city, then we should choose the top 10 and call the veterinary licensing board in the state and ask if any of them have ever had complaints filed against them, then we should ask friends if they know anything about any of the vets remaining on the list...you get the idea). The idea in the passage parallels that. Does that help?