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- Sat Jul 01, 2017 11:04 am
#36719
Complete Question Explanation
(See the complete passage discussion here: lsat/viewtopic.php?t=14608)
The correct answer choice is (E)
Answer choice (A): This answer choice tests readers’ understanding of the relationship between the
two studies described in the passage. The results of the study involving high school students indicated
that the conversational situation is linked to the amount of code-switching present. The researchers did
not make any claim regarding speakers’ awareness of code-switching. Code-switching does not have to
be conscious for it to be linked to conversational factors. That is, the third paragraph is not given in an
attempt to refute the second.
Answer choice (B): The passage refers to only two studies – the study of Puerto Rican American high
school students in one community and the study of a Puerto Rican American family in another. The
passage contains no dates and never indicates which of the two studies came first. Did linguists conduct
relevant research prior to the study of the high school students? Perhaps, but that cannot be known for
certain. Did this research lead the researchers to predict different results? Again, this cannot be known.
The passage does contain enough information for test takers to reasonably infer that the author would
agree with this statement.
Answer choice (C): Again, there is no information regarding what research was conducted when. Since
the high school study is discussed earlier than the family study, readers are tempted to conclude that the
high school study took place first, but this cannot be determined with any certainty. Further, the wording
“all except the most unusual or nonstandard contexts” is too extreme. While researchers believe that
most code-switching is explained by situational factors (line 11), rhetorical code-switching, such as that
found among the family, cannot correctly be considered a “most unusual or nonstandard” context.
Answer choice (D): This contradicts the results of the high school study, which demonstrated a high
awareness of which situational factors influence the choice of language. If the high school students
were usually unaware of these factors, they would likely have been far less consistent in responding to
congruent conversational situations. The author would not be likely to agree with this statement.
Answer choice (E): This is the correct answer choice. In the third paragraph, the author explains that
rhetorical code-switching “tends to be…used only sparingly to achieve certain rhetorical effects” (lines
47-49). He or she then explicitly notes that “this was the case with a study of a family of Puerto Rican
Americans” (line 52). Since this study is used as an explicit example to support the author’s conclusion,
answer choice (E) is the correct answer.
(See the complete passage discussion here: lsat/viewtopic.php?t=14608)
The correct answer choice is (E)
Answer choice (A): This answer choice tests readers’ understanding of the relationship between the
two studies described in the passage. The results of the study involving high school students indicated
that the conversational situation is linked to the amount of code-switching present. The researchers did
not make any claim regarding speakers’ awareness of code-switching. Code-switching does not have to
be conscious for it to be linked to conversational factors. That is, the third paragraph is not given in an
attempt to refute the second.
Answer choice (B): The passage refers to only two studies – the study of Puerto Rican American high
school students in one community and the study of a Puerto Rican American family in another. The
passage contains no dates and never indicates which of the two studies came first. Did linguists conduct
relevant research prior to the study of the high school students? Perhaps, but that cannot be known for
certain. Did this research lead the researchers to predict different results? Again, this cannot be known.
The passage does contain enough information for test takers to reasonably infer that the author would
agree with this statement.
Answer choice (C): Again, there is no information regarding what research was conducted when. Since
the high school study is discussed earlier than the family study, readers are tempted to conclude that the
high school study took place first, but this cannot be determined with any certainty. Further, the wording
“all except the most unusual or nonstandard contexts” is too extreme. While researchers believe that
most code-switching is explained by situational factors (line 11), rhetorical code-switching, such as that
found among the family, cannot correctly be considered a “most unusual or nonstandard” context.
Answer choice (D): This contradicts the results of the high school study, which demonstrated a high
awareness of which situational factors influence the choice of language. If the high school students
were usually unaware of these factors, they would likely have been far less consistent in responding to
congruent conversational situations. The author would not be likely to agree with this statement.
Answer choice (E): This is the correct answer choice. In the third paragraph, the author explains that
rhetorical code-switching “tends to be…used only sparingly to achieve certain rhetorical effects” (lines
47-49). He or she then explicitly notes that “this was the case with a study of a family of Puerto Rican
Americans” (line 52). Since this study is used as an explicit example to support the author’s conclusion,
answer choice (E) is the correct answer.
