#21 - Global Reference, Must Be True, Author's Perspective

[sblack1998]

I have taken this RC section twice and come up wrong on this question both times. I was able to eliminate B and D both times. I chose A and E. I understand why C is correct. And I think my mistake with A was that I used the info comparing fruit flies and nematodes to make an inaccurate inference. With E, I used the following info from the passage, "A similar sperm-driven mechanism is also thought to establish body orientation in some comparatively simple vertebrates such as frogs, though apparently not in more complex vertebrates such as mammals. Research indicates that in human and other mammalian embryos, polarity develops much later, as many stages of cell division occur with no apparent asymmetries among cells. are wrong so I won't get tripped up on this in the future." Where did I go wrong?

[Adam Tyson]

Answers A and E have a similar problem, sblack1998, and that is that they both generalize the information in the passage too far to say the author would be likely to agree with either of them. While the passage tells us something about SOME simple organisms and some more complex ones, it's not enough to support such broad claims about simple organisms generally.

This is a Must Be True type of question, so we have to base our answer on just the facts given in the passage, and we cannot pick answers that are too extreme, too generalized, or not based on just those facts. Answers A and E violate those Must Be True rules, and that's why they are both unacceptable. C, however, follows directly from the facts and is a supported inference, making it the best answer of the bunch!

[mmblee21@gmail.com]

Do you mind specifying where we can follow that scientists will try to determine where polarity is established in humans? I'm struggling to see it from the passage.

[Rachael Wilkenfeld]

Hi mmblee21,

Right before the final paragraph, there is a line that talks about how polarity is established in mammals is a "tempting mystery" to researchers. We can infer that researchers will try to discover how polarity is established in humans. Structurally, that makes sense as part of the argument. The second paragraph of the passage describes how different animals establish polarity, and how more complex animals are a mystery to researchers.

Hope that helps!

[sofisofi]

Hi,
Could you explain why D is incorrect, Im having a hard time understanding why
thanks!

[Rachael Wilkenfeld]

Hi sofisofi,

Answer choice (D) is somewhat contradicted by the last paragraph of the passage. It tells us that after polarity is established, there is a remarkable similarity among different lifeforms. Answer choice (D) says that there is little similarity among the different organisms after polarity is established. Once there's polarity, the process is very similar, according to the passage. So not only is answer choice (D) not supported by the passage, it seems to be contradicted by the passage.

Hope that helps!

[ashpine17]

How are we supposed to know to pay attention to something like that? I’m sure many readers overlook the “tempting mystery”

[Adam Tyson]

Absolutely nobody should overlook that kind of language, ashpine, because it's language like that which tells us so much about what the author thinks and feels and believes! That's the kind of thing you should be actively looking for while reading, rather than getting deep into the details of the topic. Success in reading comp means changing your focus, and looking for those linguistic clues that tell us the author's tone and purpose and their main point, rather than getting all stuck in the weeds of the subject matter. When you see the author call something a "tempting mystery," you absolutely MUST get excited about finding that indication of their viewpoint!

Train yourself to read for the purpose of understanding the author of the passage, rather than understanding the subject of the passage, and you'll find that you are much better prepared for the majority of the questions. Emotionally loaded language, words of praise or criticism or concern, and even just noticing that the author talks much more about one thing than about another can give you crucial clues to where they are coming from.