#27 - Global Reference, Main Point

[Administrator]

Complete Question Explanation

The correct answer choice is (E).

Answer choice (A):

Answer choice (B):

Answer choice (C):

Answer choice (D):

Answer choice (E): This is the correct answer choice.


This explanation is still in progress. Please post any questions below!

[Sdaoud17]

How come E is the Answer not C ?
Thank you

[Steve Stein]

Hi Sdaoud17,

Thanks for your question. It's often quite helpful for us to know how you approached the question, what you didn't like about the right answer choice, and perhaps why you might have been drawn to particular wrong answer choices.

In this case, the problem with C is that the author discusses new theories, but does not explain the causes behind any particular shift in the debate--the author does not "account for the shift." E, on the other hand, is much easier to defend--the author does indeed introduce several theories, as well as their shortcomings in the final paragraph.

I hope that's helpful! Please let me know whether that clears this one up--thanks!

~Steve

[Seanjohn399]

Why is B wrong? I see why e is a better answer choice, b does not address all the other aspects of the passage.

[Rachael Wilkenfeld]

Hi SeanJohn and welcome to the forum.

The main purpose here is not to advocate for a specific alternative to the classical theories, as answer choice (B) would suggest. We know there are many critics of the classical theories, but the author does not present an alternative. There is no new model described and supported in the passage. Rather, the passage is devoted to describing classical models, and explaining why none of them are sufficient to explain the civil rights movement. Answer choice (E) on the other hand, describes the purpose of the passage quite well. It describes and explains the shortcomings of each of the classical theories.

Hope that helps!
Rachael

[ashpine17]

i thought e did describe what was going on but wasn't the main purpose: i thought taking about the theories and issues with accepting them was only a means to an end, which was to talk about potential theories to correctly explain social movements

[Adam Tyson]

One thing to consider when prephrasing the purpose of any RC passage, ashpine17, is that the purpose is never just to talk about something. Go beyond just looking at what the passage talks about, and ask yourself why they are talking about it. What does the author want to accomplish by talking about it?

This author wants to show us that there are several prominent theories offered to explain a certain phenomenon, but they all have certain problems, none of them is clearly correct, and more information is needed. Answer E does a far better job of capturing all of that than any of the other answer choices.

Our author never does get around to offering any alternative theories, so their purpose can't be about correcting the situation. They did suggest a possible test for the theories they discussed, but then told us that the test failed to support any of those theories. Thus, the purpose is more about pointing out the failures of those theories than it is about other, better theories.