KAPLAN OFFICIAL EXPLANATION
Step 1: Identify the Question TypeAny question that asks us to identify the roles played by statements in boldface is a Bolded Statement
question. Our task is to find the structure of the stimulus and to determine the structural functions
of the statements in bold type.
Step 2: Untangle the StimulusThis stimulus includes two contradictory opinions: the author’s opinion, stated in the third sentence,
and the “one opinion” the author is arguing against (we’ll call this the opponent’s opinion),
stated in the first sentence. The opponent believes that the more candidates there are running for
office, the more voters will turn out at the polls. The first bolded statement serves as the opponent’s
evidence: More voters will turn out because the more candidates there are, the more likely voters
are to find one they like and consequently want to vote for. The author counters the opponent,
implying that in actual practice, the more candidates there are, the fewer voters will turn out. The
second bolded statement serves as the author’s evidence: The more candidates there are, the more
alike they all look to voters.
Step 3: Predict the AnswerBoth bolded statements, then, are evidence—the first for the opponent’s position and the second
for the author’s.
Step 4: Evaluate the Choices(E) matches our prediction, though the wording of this choice makes it a bit tricky. The first bolded
statement definitely explains why the opponent holds the position he does. So far, so good. We
know that the second bolded statement is the author’s evidence. Because the author is contradicting
the opponent, the author’s evidence does in fact serve to “undermine” the opponent’s view.
Finally, the second bolded statement directly contradicts the first bolded statement. The first says
that the more candidates there are, the more likely a voter will be to find one she likes. The second
says that the more candidates there are, the more similar they start to seem, which implies that
it will be more difficult for voters to find candidates they like. It follows that the final piece of
choice (E), “by contradicting [the first bolded statement],” is also correct and (E) is the correct
answer. (A) is incorrect because the second bolded statement supports the author’s view, not the
opponent’s. (B) is incorrect because both bolded statements are evidence for an opinion, not the
opinion itself. (C) is incorrect because the second statement is, again, evidence for an opinion, not
the opinion itself. (D) is incorrect because the first bolded statement is evidence, and the second is
evidence for the author, not the opponent. Choice (E) is correct.