#9 - Global Reference, Must Be True, Purpose/Function

[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!

[goingslow]

Hi there! Would it be possible for you to elaborate on the difference between (A) and (E), and which one is a closer match with the passages?

Many thanks!

[Luke Haqq]

Hi goingslow!

Happy to address those answer choices.

The question stem asks about "the purpose of passage A and the purpose of passage B, respectively." The two answer choices you mentioned are:

(A) persuade and inform
(E) advocate and deflate

Without considering the subject matter of either paragraph yet, if these were your two contender answers, it's worth noting what seems to be a key aspect that makes these answer choices quite different from one another. Namely, the verbs in answer choice (A) are both generally positive or at least neutral actions. In answer choice (E), by contrast, the two verbs seem far more in contrast to one another--e.g., attorneys "advocate" for their own clients while they might seek to "deflate" the opposition.

This seems worth noting because, if pressed for time, having a basic understanding of how the passages relate to one another (e.g., are they in agreement or disagreement, discussing the same or different subject matter, etc.) could be enough to get you to the right answer. If you gleaned that the passages were markedly different, for example, this would seem to lend support to answer choice (E).

And it proves to be the case in looking to the specific substance of the passages that they are quite different in tone and aim. Passage A is much more pro-markets in comparison with Passage B. For example, the former states in the first paragraph that "Markets, such as stock exchanges, distill the collective wisdom of millions of individuals into a single number ... What's more, markets reward people who are right." That paragraph also suggests these aspects of markets may be more reliable than "other information-gathering institutions, such as committees and polls."

Passage B, by contrast, starts out, "Markets are not infallible." This alone should make answer choice (E) a clear winner over (A) because it contrasts so sharply with Passage A. For a further example, the Iowa Electronic Markets project is mentioned in both passages--in Passage A it is used to attest to the virtues of markets in providing forecasts, whereas in Passage B the same project is mentioned in a more critical light.

(E) is the right answer because it suggests dissimilarity, and these passages indeed have very different perspectives from one another with respect to markets.

Hope that helps!

[goingslow]

Hi Luke, thanks for your prompt response! I appreciate your thoughts regarding (E). I do see that the attitudes of two passages are in stark contrast, and that contrast is conveyed in (E).

I would still argue that (A) is descriptively accurate though. Passage A seeks to persuade readers of the virtues of markets, and Passage B wants to inform the readers that markets have shortcomings and just aren't that amazing because they merely reflect the majority opinion which can be faulty. What are your thoughts about this line of reasoning?

Thanks in advance!

[Rachael Wilkenfeld]

Hi goingslow,

"Inform" doesn't match the language we see in Passage B. "People should get over it" is much stronger than just information. It's attempting to persuade the reader of a particular position. Inform is a much more neutral term. The author may take a position in a passage meant to inform, but you won't walk away with the sense that an author has a strong loud view. In Passage B, we walk away with a clear, strong opinion. We'd want the primary purpose to address that clear opinion.

Hope that helps!

[goingslow]

Thanks so much Rachael!

[Cmoeckel]

Hey, I initially went E has to be right, but then reined in the horses and looked at it again. Perhaps, I thought, the language in E is too strong and hey A is not really advocating, but merely presenting a positive opinion about the market being efficient. The only time A comes close to making an opinion of their own is when they say it's efficient, but hey they put "efficient" in quotation marks, making it less adamant and more objective. So, I turned to next best choice -- C. Whereby my thought process here was that A is presenting a view on the market as efficient, and B is interpreting that position as bad. Thoughts? Where'd I go wrong here?

[Rachael Wilkenfeld]

Hi Cmoeckel,

Passage A is advocating for market efficiency, using phrases such as "with amazing efficiency", "reward people who are right," and "lightning fast and very accurately," These are very powerful phrases, showing the author's viewpoint here that markets are good and valuable. Presenting, like informing in answer choice (A), is just too neutral of a term. It doesn't get the strong judgments of Passage A. Additionally, Passage B is not really interpreting Passage A. We can't assume the authors are even aware of one another. They are completely different passages. Even if you are just saying that the author of Passage B is interpreting the view of markets as good, that's not quite right either. The author of Passage B is giving information about the specific market that makes the market look less reliable.

Hope that helps!

[Cmoeckel]

thanks rachel. Fair points and that does help