pg 103 Identify the Question Stem Drill

[alliewad95]

For question 1, I thought it would be "strengthen/ support.." because the question says "most helps to explain the viewpoint...". Why is this question type a "resolve the Paradox" and not a "strengthen/ support" type question?

[alliewad95]

Also, why is #2 a "Must Be True" question instead of an Assumption question? I thought it was an assumption question because it employs the word "inferred.."

[Claire Horan]

Hi Alliewad95,

Question 1 is very difficult without a stimulus to show that there is a paradox that needs resolving. What you should notice, though, is that it asks you to assume each answer choice is true and apply it to the stimulus AND that the answer choice will help EXPLAIN. You got the first part, since you thought it was a strengthen/support, but an answer choice that strengthens the argument in the stimulus will not really EXPLAIN it. We need explanations when things are not readily apparent, or when they are confusing...an explanation will help RESOLVE A PARADOX. Again, this question was really difficult without a stimulus, so don't sweat it too much.

As for Question 2, this is a mistake you will want to remember well, since the word "inferred" is used often. It's important to consider words in the context they are used to know which part of the question we are taking as true, the stimulus or the answer choice. We are trying to "infer" something from the stimulus. So we are taking the stimulus as true and applying it to the answer choices. "Infer" means to deduce or conclude, so the question stem is basically saying, "Based on the stimulus, what can you conclude?" Once you decode the question stem, you see that this is just a run-of-the-mill Must Be True question!