#2 - Specific Reference, Must Be True, Purpose

[Administrator]

Question Line Reference
(See the complete passage discussion here: lsat/viewtopic.php?t=27529)

The correct answer choice is (B)

The justification for the correct answer can be found on:

(Lines 8-11): “encourage respect…or religion.”
(Lines 20-22): “to take…human rights.”

[S77]

Hi there,

I am wondering if someone could offer a more detailed explanation for the following answer:

Q2. Correct Answer is B.
- What indicates that the author is implementing quotes for the purpose of, "comparing the strength of the human rights language in the two documents"?

Thanks in advance for the help!

[Ron Gore]

Thank you for your question, S77.

This is classified as a Purpose/Function question, that falls within the Prove family of questions and is a Specific Reference and Concept Reference level question. To answer it, you need to refer to the context around the reference, including the viewpoints presented there.

In this case, the quoted language provides a historical perspective into the development of the UDHR, which the passage implies is essentially a compromise treaty. The compromise is between the protections offered by Article I of the 1945 UN Charter, quoted in lines 8-11, and the demands from certain stakeholders who lobbied for proposals with stronger language, such as that quoted in lines 20-22. From the language throughout paragraphs two and three, we can infer the author is not satisfied with the protections offered by Article I, and would have supported the proposed language quoted in lines 20-22. By quoting both documents, the author provides the competing viewpoints that resulted in a middle-ground solution, the UDRH.

Ron

[S77]

Thanks so much for your help, Ron. That answers my question.

[Khodi7531]

I'm confused on why the answer can't be E. Prose may be the only weird part, and I can see how B is correct - although under time I double X'd it because I thought it was more than that - but how does one get rid of E? It is calling out the difference in the use of language between the two.

I understood that 8-11 was part of the issues with the document that the language was weak. So then they "vigorously" strengthened it. I didn't think they were "comparing strengths" more than giving these documents more substance at definitions.

Thoughts?

[Adam Tyson]

Let's step back a moment here, khodi, and think about the prephrase here. Why did the author provide these quotes? Did you think the author wanted, as part of his overall purpose in the passage, to compare stylistic differences? Was he concerned about variations in prose? Or, was your prephrase more along the lines of "to show how one document was passive and the other was active" or "to show a difference in the intended effects of the two documents," or something like that?

Style is the furthest thing from this author's mind! He is all about substance, and the effects of these two documents. Answer E should be easy to eliminate if we just keep the main point and purpose of the passage in mind, and if we have a strong prephrase about why these quotes were included. You must, must, must prephrase! That will protect you from selecting answers like E here. Go into the answer choices prepared, and you won't be fooled or distracted by answers that might be true but which do not actually answer the question.

Give that another go!