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15 Apr 2019, 04:45
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Difficulty:
65%
(hard)
Question Stats:
55% (01:43) correct
45%
(01:40)
wrong
based on 1061
sessions
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Since no one returns from death, we can never be certain about what passes through the mind of the dying person. For the unconscious, the confused, and the heavily sedated, these final moments are probably meaningless. However, for the mentally alert, it is quite possible that death presents itself as an unbelievably glorious experience, a flight into an entirely new universe of sensation. Why should we think so? Some people who have been reprieved from “certain” death at the last moment have experienced what goes through the consciousness of those who are not so fortunate. For example, parachutists who have survived falls report experiences that resemble psychedelic “trips.”
The primary point of the argument in the passage is
(A) no one returns from death
(B) dying can be a glorious experience
(C) we can never know what passes through the mind of a dying person
(D) some people are reprieved from death at the last moment
(E) some people “die”, yet live to report their, experiences
The primary point of the argument in the passage is
(A) no one returns from death
(B) dying can be a glorious experience
(C) we can never know what passes through the mind of a dying person
(D) some people are reprieved from death at the last moment
(E) some people “die”, yet live to report their, experiences
05 Nov 2019, 09:32
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First off, this is a type of LSAT logical reasoning that doesn't have a direct counterpart on GMAT critical reasoning, so don't expect to see a question just like this on the GMAT. Inference, assumption, strengthen, weaken - those questions all exist pretty much identically on both the LSAT and GMAT, but the LSAT has a few question types (those involving formal logic and the "contrapositive," these that ask for the main point instead of to draw a conclusion or strengthen/weaken a conclusion) that extend past the scope of GMAT CR.
That said, there are two pretty big context clues here that can help you learn lessons applicable to GMAT CR and RC. In finding the main point of the argument, I'd look at:
1) The word "however" - a common line of rhetoric involves an author bringing up a generally-accepted or at least logically-coherent point and then using "however" to transition to a more narrow/recent/proposed main point (e.g. "in general, people believe X. However, recent research suggests Y..."). The word "however" is a good place to look both in CR and in RC for a shift from conventional wisdom or introductory context to what the author is really trying to get at.
2) The sentence "Why should we think so?" An important method for finding an author's conclusion in a CR context is what we call at Veritas Prep the "Why Test" - in order to be a conclusion, a statement needs to have something else in the paragraph explaining why that's true. If there's no explanation of why, it's just given as a premise or as context. Here the author even uses the word "why" to show you that he's using the next sentence to explain the previous one as a claim he's making. That signals that he's building a case for "it is quite possible that death presents itself as a glorious experience."
So look out for these rhetorical devices: the word "however" is commonly used as a transition from background information (or a conflicting viewpoint) to the author's main point, and words that signal evidence (because, since, or a sentence saying "why should we think that?") can signal that the author is about to give reasons why his main point should be believed.
That said, there are two pretty big context clues here that can help you learn lessons applicable to GMAT CR and RC. In finding the main point of the argument, I'd look at:
1) The word "however" - a common line of rhetoric involves an author bringing up a generally-accepted or at least logically-coherent point and then using "however" to transition to a more narrow/recent/proposed main point (e.g. "in general, people believe X. However, recent research suggests Y..."). The word "however" is a good place to look both in CR and in RC for a shift from conventional wisdom or introductory context to what the author is really trying to get at.
2) The sentence "Why should we think so?" An important method for finding an author's conclusion in a CR context is what we call at Veritas Prep the "Why Test" - in order to be a conclusion, a statement needs to have something else in the paragraph explaining why that's true. If there's no explanation of why, it's just given as a premise or as context. Here the author even uses the word "why" to show you that he's using the next sentence to explain the previous one as a claim he's making. That signals that he's building a case for "it is quite possible that death presents itself as a glorious experience."
So look out for these rhetorical devices: the word "however" is commonly used as a transition from background information (or a conflicting viewpoint) to the author's main point, and words that signal evidence (because, since, or a sentence saying "why should we think that?") can signal that the author is about to give reasons why his main point should be believed.
Updated on: 30 Jun 2020, 19:22
Originally posted by AnthonyRitz on 05 Nov 2019, 13:31.
Last edited by AnthonyRitz on 30 Jun 2020, 19:22, edited 1 time in total.
Last edited by AnthonyRitz on 30 Jun 2020, 19:22, edited 1 time in total.
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This is a Main Idea question -- a rare (for the GMAT) sub-type of Method of Reasoning.
Treat Main Idea questions essentially like Role of Boldface Portion(s) questions. Specifically, Main Idea wants you to find the conclusion stated within the given passage. To find it, rely on indicator words and other tools to break down the argument. Brian mentions that and the Why Test, and I agree.
The most important words here are "since" -- premise indicator -- and "however" -- counterargument indicator. I'd also draw attention to "why" -- in this usage, suggestive of a conclusion followed by a premise explaining it -- and "for example" -- premise indicator.
Using these words alone, we can say the following:
* "no one returns from death," must be premise because of "since."
* "we can never be certain about what passes through the mind of the dying person" must be some manner of conclusion since it fits the common "since [premise], [conclusion]" structure. But since it's immediately followed by "however" and switching sides in the argument, it's not plausibly the ultimate conclusion we're looking for.
* "Some people who have been reprieved from “certain” death at the last moment have experienced what goes through the consciousness of those who are not so fortunate." must be premise, since it follows and attempts to answer the preceding "why" question.
* "parachutists who have survived falls report experiences that resemble psychedelic “trips.”" must be premise because of "for example."
All that's left is "for the mentally alert, it is quite possible that death presents itself as an unbelievably glorious experience, a flight into an entirely new universe of sensation." This must represent the ultimate conclusion. (And, although it's not necessary to be so abstemious, I can say that without even really needing to read and understand almost anything besides the indicator words!)
B is the only answer that plausibly describes the sentences we've identified as the conclusion.
Treat Main Idea questions essentially like Role of Boldface Portion(s) questions. Specifically, Main Idea wants you to find the conclusion stated within the given passage. To find it, rely on indicator words and other tools to break down the argument. Brian mentions that and the Why Test, and I agree.
The most important words here are "since" -- premise indicator -- and "however" -- counterargument indicator. I'd also draw attention to "why" -- in this usage, suggestive of a conclusion followed by a premise explaining it -- and "for example" -- premise indicator.
Using these words alone, we can say the following:
* "no one returns from death," must be premise because of "since."
* "we can never be certain about what passes through the mind of the dying person" must be some manner of conclusion since it fits the common "since [premise], [conclusion]" structure. But since it's immediately followed by "however" and switching sides in the argument, it's not plausibly the ultimate conclusion we're looking for.
* "Some people who have been reprieved from “certain” death at the last moment have experienced what goes through the consciousness of those who are not so fortunate." must be premise, since it follows and attempts to answer the preceding "why" question.
* "parachutists who have survived falls report experiences that resemble psychedelic “trips.”" must be premise because of "for example."
All that's left is "for the mentally alert, it is quite possible that death presents itself as an unbelievably glorious experience, a flight into an entirely new universe of sensation." This must represent the ultimate conclusion. (And, although it's not necessary to be so abstemious, I can say that without even really needing to read and understand almost anything besides the indicator words!)
B is the only answer that plausibly describes the sentences we've identified as the conclusion.
