#17 - Specific Reference, Strengthen

[Administrator]

Please post below with any questions!

[15veries]

So is the line 41~"fear" is the part support E? (=ritual)

[Adam Tyson]

I see "fear" at line 43, 15veries, and yes indeed, that's the connection we need to see why answer E helps out. If there is evidence of rituals designed for the purpose of protection, that suggests some fear of the woodland areas or something in those areas.

Good job!

[Alexander Rothschild]

Would you mind explaining why "D" is wrong?

[Adam Tyson]

Hey there Alexander, thanks for the questions. Looking at D, that seems like a pretty tenuous connection to the proposal that paths were formed originally because of fear, don't you think? There could be many other reasons why modern urban dwellers are anxious in the wilderness besides some sort of connection to those Mesolithic folks. Besides, we are to pick the best answer, not just one that could work, and E, with its reference to pre-modern people, gets us a lot closer to the source than modern urban folks do.

Let me flip this around on you for a second - what is it about D that makes it a contender for you? What makes this answer the best answer of the five choices we've been given? Give that some thought and tell us what you think. It's not about why an answer is wrong, but about why an answer is better.

Looking forward to your reply!

[ClaudiaK32]

I was between answer choices A,C and E and am unclear as to why E is more valid than the other two. From my perspective, the second to last paragraph was equally focused on two things - the existence of prescribed pathways (which is why I would choose A or C) and the fear of the wooded surroundings (which is why I would choose E). Can someone please help! (this section of reading comp seems especially hard to me!)

[Charlie Melman]

Hi Claudia,

The paragraph argues that these peoples created pathways because of their fear of the forest. Answer choice (E) is the only answer choice that establishes that they feared the forest. Answer choices (A) and (C) only establish that they had clearings.

Hope this helps.

[vedan22]

Hi -

Wouldn't maps (as referenced in answer choice C) prevent fear from getting lost (as is referenced in the paragraph)? I was between C and E and chose C because it most clearly connected the two ideas (pathways and fear of wooded areas), whereas E only established the fear aspect.

Thanks!

[Adam Tyson]

Thanks for your question, vedan22. First, let me say that I see two possible ways of reading answer choice C, the map answer. One reading, which I think is the one you are using, is that the maps in question were used by the premodern humans. If they made and used maps of their pathways, what would those maps tell us about why they used pathways? To say that they used them out of fear requires a bit of a stretch and some outside information. Do we use maps only because we fear getting lost? Even today I don't think that's the case. We also use maps to agree on meeting places, and to identify to others where they should go. Oh, you want to find good berries? Take a look at this map and I'll show you where I found some! While maps may be used in part out of fear of getting lost without them, fear of getting lost is not the only reason for using a map. Even if we read answer C as referring to maps used by the premodern humans, I don't think it helps us all that much.

Worse than that, though, is that such a reading would, in my opinion, be incorrect. The structure of the sentence - "maps showing pathways used by certain recent premodern human populations" - is such that the "used by" refers not to the maps but to the pathways. The pathways, not the maps, are the immediate antecedent here. If we were trying to say that the maps were used by the premodern humans, we probably say instead "maps used by certain premodern humans showing pathways" or something like that. The maps in this answer choice are of the pathways, but may not have been used by the premodern humans at all, but may have been drawn later by archaeologists or geographers. If that's so, then the maps tell us nothing at all about why those premodern folks used pathways, only where the pathways were and where they went.

In either case, since we are trying to strengthen the claim in the second to last paragraph that fear was the motivating factor for using paths, maps don't help. Perhaps they used maps out of fear, or perhaps they were just being helpful and efficient, or perhaps they weren't using maps at all. E is the better answer because it is evidence of fear of some sort - you don't do a ritual for protection unless you are afraid of something and want protection from it, right?

I hope that clears things up for you!

[vedan22]

Super helpful - thanks!