#13 - It is a mistake to think, as ecologists once did, that

[Administrator]

Complete Question Explanation

Main Point. The correct answer choice is (B)

This stimulus provides that no set of attributes could prepare an organism for every condition, so perfect adaptation is impossible. Thus, natural selection will not result in perfectly adapted organisms.

The question stem asks us to identify the main conclusion of the passage, which is prephrased in the first sentence of the stimulus.

Answer choice (A): It is accurate to assert that, according to the stimulus, perfect adaptation is impossible, but it does not reflect the author’s main conclusion, rather, it supports the author’s main conclusion, which is that perfect adaptation will not result from natural selection.

Answer choice (B): This is the correct answer choice, as it restates the prephrased answer above: Since there can be no perfect adaptation, it would be a mistake to presume that natural selection will result in perfect adaptation.

Answer choice (C): This is a restatement of one of the premises of the stimulus, offered in support of the main conclusion, that it would be a mistake to presume that natural selection will result in perfectly adapted organisms.

Answer choice (D): This statement is accurate but does not reflect the main conclusion of the argument; rather, it restates one of the premises provided in support of the main conclusion, which is stated in the first sentence.

Answer choice (E): This too is true, but the author of the stimulus asserts that it would be a mistake to hold such beliefs, so this certainly does not represent the main conclusion of the passage.

[ntusss]

Hi,

I know that choices other than (B) are worse, but I wonder if the word "never" in (B) would be too strong for this answer to be correct? Or maybe we don't need to worry about "strong wording" in main conclusion questions?

Thanks in advance!

[Paul Marsh]

Hi ntusss! You're right that "never" is a very strong word on the LSAT - it's a good instinct to be skeptical of it.

However, for Main Point questions like this, all we're worried about is exactly reproducing the conclusion of the argument in the stimulus. The conclusion here is a refutation of the views expressed by the ecologists in the first sentence. When a conclusion is structured like that, it's helpful to think to yourself exactly how you'd express it before you move onto the answer choices. It's not going to be, "The ecologists are wrong", instead the conclusion is written out as the opposite of the ecologists' views. So I would summarize it as something like, "Natural selection will not result in organisms that will be perfectly adapted to their environments." (B) expresses that almost exactly.

So while "never" is a strong word, don't let it scare you off an answer choice that reproduces the conclusion perfectly.

Hope that helps!