#10 - Concept Reference, Must Be True

[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!

[ksandberg]

Hello,

I chose answer E for this question, based on lines 27-32: "Competing for votes, parties seek to offer different sections of the electorate what they most want; they do not ask what the majority thinks of an issue, but what policy commitments will sway the electoral decisions of particular groups". I took this to mean that polyarchy diffuses power by holding politicians accountable to the interests of the electorate. I was between answer B and E, but chose E because I thought B was too specific to holding government accountable before the election but not necessarily after. I can see now that lines 27-32 only discuss the time period before the election when parties are competing for votes, which means that B is more representative than E. Is this line of thinking correct? Can you please explain why B is correct and E is not? Thank you for your time.

[AthenaDalton]

Hi there,

You've answered your own question! You zeroed in on the right lines of the passage that talk about parties finding out what voters want to get votes during an election. Answer choice (B) parrots almost this exact language, which makes it the correct choice.

Answer choice (E) goes a bit beyond what's suggested in the passage by saying that political parties ensure elected officials accurately reflect the position of the electorate. We know the function of political parties during an election, but not necessarily during the actual governing period. Without clear support for this answer choice in the passage, we can eliminate it.

Good luck studying!

Athena Dalton