Hello, everyone. I came across this question today in my studies, and I thought I would write an in-depth response for the benefit of the community.
Quote:
Hunter: Hunters alone are blamed for the decline in Greenrock National Forest's deer population over the past ten years. Yet clearly, black bears have also played an important role in this decline. In the past ten years, the forest's protected black bear population has risen sharply, and examination of black bears found dead in the forest during the deer hunting season showed that a number of them had recently fed on deer.
In the hunter's argument, the boldface portion plays which of the following roles?
In any
boldface question, you want to read the passage in the same way you would any other. Pay attention to context, how one sentence relates to those around it, and it is hard to go wrong, even if some such questions toss in more legalese than I would like.
- The first sentence presents a view, but it is in no way an argument. That is, we cannot establish whether hunters alone are blamed for something, but it is clear that the hunter believes so.
- The second sentence starts with a strong opinion—yet clearly—a dead giveaway that this is an argument or conclusion of some sort. Taken together, the first and second sentences follow a point-counterpoint argument: hunters alone are blamed for something (sentence one), yet black bears are at least in part to blame (sentence two).
- The third sentence acts as a premise to the argument made in the previous sentence—the hunter mentions findings that would support the argument. In a different passage, you might see an inversion of these two sentences: In the past ten years... Clearly, black bears...
Now that we have an understanding of the passage and how the sentences work together, we can make quick work of the answer choices.
Quote:
A. It is the main conclusion of the argument.
The
boldface is the only conclusion of the argument, so we can call it the
main conclusion. If you can find a conclusion in the first or third sentences, you have a better eye than I.
Quote:
B. It is an objection that has been raised against the main conclusion of the argument.
If you get too fixated on
yet and fail to read the entire answer choice, you might blunder into this option. But rather than
yet, it is
clearly that ought to stand out. Judgmental or self-evident language—
clearly,
obviously,
wrong, and so on—is used to formulate an argument. In the passage, the
objection is the argument, and it does not turn against itself.
Quote:
C. It is a judgment that the argument opposes.
Similar to what we encountered in the previous answer choice, it cannot be said that the
boldface opposes the argument, since they are one and the same.
Quote:
D. It is a finding that the argument seeks to explain.
The only
finding in the passage comes in the third line, as evidence used to bolster the argument. If you think of a finding as a
discovery or as
evidence, you can see how line two does not fit. Compare the neutral presentation of information in the third sentence to the emotionally charged language of the second. There should be no doubt about which one could be called a finding.
Quote:
E. It provides evidence in support of the main conclusion of the argument.
Once again, the
boldface is the main conclusion of the argument, so we cannot say that it
supports that argument. Furthermore,
evidence should be factual, neutral in its presentation, not framed by judgmental language. If I say 2 + 2 is 4, that is factual; if I say
clearly 2 + 2 is 4, a factual statement has morphed into an argument. Why should it be self-evident that 2 + 2 is 4?
Boldface questions provide an opportunity to learn how to read
all types of passages. They force us to engage with the text on a sentence-by-sentence level, something we ought to be doing anyway to avoid making uninformed guesses.
Good luck with your studies.
- Andrew
close
30 Jul 2019, 05:49
45%
(01:34)
wrong 
