Many historians consider the Marshall Plan one of the United States’

2. Which of the following statements best describes the function of the last sentence in the passage?

Difficulty Level: 650

Explanation

STEP 1: ANALYZE THE QUESTION STEM

The phrase “best describes the function . . .” identifies this as a Logic question. The correct answer to a Logic question will explain how or why the author uses a feature of the passage, not the content of the feature. The context clue “last sentence in the passage” identifies the feature.

STEP 2: RESEARCH THE RELEVANT TEXT

Always begin the research for a Logic question with the purpose of the passage; then predict the relationship of the specified feature to the author’s purpose. From the passage map, the author’s purpose is to “describe three historians’ views” of the Marshall Plan. The final sentence is one of those views, that of LaFeber, who is described as critical of the motives of the United States in offering the Marshall Plan; he believes the Marshall Plan was primarily intended to bind the U.S. and European economies and to revitalize industry in the United States. Consult the passage map to refresh your memory of the opinions of the other two historians: “Many historians” think it was very good; Behrman is firmly in the “Marshall Plan was a success” camp; and Ferguson is somewhere in the middle.

STEP 3: MAKE A PREDICTION

A good prediction would be to describe a historian’s view that is critical of the Marshall Plan.

STEP 4: EVALUATE THE ANSWER CHOICES

(A) matches the prediction and is correct. The “many” historians in the first sentence believe the Marshall Plan was a major foreign policy success. LaFeber’s view undermines this idea by pointing out the possibility that the intended benefit of the Marshall Plan devolved to the United States, not Europe.

(B) is not discussed in the passage and is incorrect. The author simply presents the differing views of the historians and does not “resolve” them.

(C) and (E) are 180, or opposite, choices. In the last sentence, LaFeber is challenging, not supporting, the idea that the Marshall Plan was a foreign-policy success.

(D) is a misused detail from the text. The passage discusses the “multiplier effect” that impacted the return on the dollars spent on the Marshall Plan, but LaFeber’s view on the “multiplier effect” is not mentioned.

Answer: A