#20 - The public’s welfare can be undermined by its own

[Rachael Wilkenfeld]

Exactly, cnyberg. It's so helpful to learn those sorts of traps so that you can watch out for them in questions like this one.

[Henry Z]

I knew the first sentence was the main point but I chose (B) over (A), because (A) has a red flag concept shift from "welfare" to "the BEST interests". Usually the answer choices of a Main Point Q are the exact sentences from the stimulus, but this one is like the Main Point Q in Reading Comprehension, with each choice paraphrased.

So I wonder, for Main Point Q in LR, do we ever need to paraphrase the stimulus, or we just need to find the original single sentence, even tho it may be slightly differently worded? Can we eliminate (B), for example, because it combines different sentences of the stimulus?

[Adam Tyson]

Sometimes the correct answer to a Main Point question will paraphrase the claim that was in the stimulus, and "welfare" does mean "best interests" in this context. The problem with answer B is that it is placing responsibility exclusively on the journalists, while the author is placing the blame on the members of the public, with the journalists just responding to their desires.

[boehmejayne@gmail.com]

D is wrong because it doesn't talk about the public's welfare? The public's welfare, or best interests, is part of the main conclusion; therefore, it needs to be a part of the answer to this main conclusion problem.

[srusty]

D is wrong because it doesn't talk about the public's welfare? The public's welfare, or best interests, is part of the main conclusion; therefore, it needs to be a part of the answer to this main conclusion problem.

Hi, you got that absolutely right! Answer choice (A) does the best job of rephrasing the conclusion, which we find in the first sentence. Answer choice (D), on the other hand, provides support to the claim, and is an example of how "the public's welfare can be undermined by its own tastes."