- PowerScore Staff
- Posts: 8916
- Joined: Feb 02, 2011
- Thu May 25, 2017 1:42 pm
#35371
Complete Question Explanation
Main Point. The correct answer choice is (B)
The anthropologist addresses the belief that chimpanzees speak some form of human language.
She concedes that human language might exist in some species from which humans evolved (“this
general line of argument may be reasonable”), but ultimately disagrees with its conclusion (“it
simply does not follow that chimpanzees have anything like human language”). As evidence, the
anthropologist claims that humans did not evolve from chimpanzees; instead, both evolved from a
common ancestor, which makes it plausible that the evolution of human language began after the
extinction of that ancestor.
When reworded, the stimulus has the following structure:
Argument:
a concession (“this general line of argument may be reasonable”), but immediately presents a
counterpoint (the conjunction “but” serves to introduce a counterpoint, and a possible conclusion).
Since the last sentence provides grounds for accepting the assertion in the preceding one, the
statements in the last sentence function as premises for the anthropologist’s conclusion.
Your ability to quickly identify the correct answer to a Main Point question is directly tied to
your understanding of the structure of the argument and its conclusion. Since the correct answer
is often simply a paraphrase of the conclusion, test makers can introduce competing viewpoints,
counterarguments, and subsidiary conclusions in order to increase the level of difficulty of the
question.
Answer choice (A): This answer choice is incorrect because the author never argued that humans
evolved from some extinct species.
Answer choice (B): This is the correct answer choice, despite the relatively convoluted language
used to describe it. The anthropologist agrees with the belief that human language must exist in
some species from which humans evolved, but rejects the view that chimpanzees are that particular
species. Consequently, she argues that chimpanzees have nothing like human language, i.e. the
agreed-upon belief has “no clearcut linguistic implications for chimpanzees.” This position is
expressed in the third sentence of the stimulus, and the evidence for it is presented in the fourth
sentence.
Answer choice (C): The author never argued that the communicative systems of chimpanzees are
cruder than human language; this point was made in the second sentence, which contains a premise
for the opposing conclusion.
Answer choice (D): While the anthropologist rejects the view that chimpanzees have anything like
human language, she makes no attempt to explain language as a by-product of human intelligence,
let alone argue that chimpanzees lack such intelligence. This statement falls entirely outside the
scope of the argument.
Answer choice (E): Although the author would agree that the evolution of human language might
have begun after the disappearance of an extinct species from which both humans and chimpanzees
evolved, the language used in the last sentence of the stimulus is more speculative than assertive
(compare “might easily have begun” to “began”). Furthermore, this sentence functions as a premise
in support of the conclusion that chimpanzees do not possess human language. Do not fall into the
trap of assuming that the last sentence of the stimulus will always contain the conclusion: oftentimes,
the conclusion is hidden somewhere else the argument, especially in Main Point questions.
Main Point. The correct answer choice is (B)
The anthropologist addresses the belief that chimpanzees speak some form of human language.
She concedes that human language might exist in some species from which humans evolved (“this
general line of argument may be reasonable”), but ultimately disagrees with its conclusion (“it
simply does not follow that chimpanzees have anything like human language”). As evidence, the
anthropologist claims that humans did not evolve from chimpanzees; instead, both evolved from a
common ancestor, which makes it plausible that the evolution of human language began after the
extinction of that ancestor.
When reworded, the stimulus has the following structure:
Argument:
- Premise: Human language is a trait that evolved gradually.
Premise: Humans evolved from chimpanzees.
Conclusion: Something like human language must exist in some species from which
humans evolved, such as chimpanzees.
- Premise: Humans did not evolve from chimpanzees, as both species evolved from a
common ancestor.
Premise: The evolution of human language might have begun after the extinction of that
common ancestor.
Conclusion: The belief that language might exist in some species from which humans
evolved is reasonable, but that does not mean that chimpanzees have human
language.
a concession (“this general line of argument may be reasonable”), but immediately presents a
counterpoint (the conjunction “but” serves to introduce a counterpoint, and a possible conclusion).
Since the last sentence provides grounds for accepting the assertion in the preceding one, the
statements in the last sentence function as premises for the anthropologist’s conclusion.
Your ability to quickly identify the correct answer to a Main Point question is directly tied to
your understanding of the structure of the argument and its conclusion. Since the correct answer
is often simply a paraphrase of the conclusion, test makers can introduce competing viewpoints,
counterarguments, and subsidiary conclusions in order to increase the level of difficulty of the
question.
Answer choice (A): This answer choice is incorrect because the author never argued that humans
evolved from some extinct species.
Answer choice (B): This is the correct answer choice, despite the relatively convoluted language
used to describe it. The anthropologist agrees with the belief that human language must exist in
some species from which humans evolved, but rejects the view that chimpanzees are that particular
species. Consequently, she argues that chimpanzees have nothing like human language, i.e. the
agreed-upon belief has “no clearcut linguistic implications for chimpanzees.” This position is
expressed in the third sentence of the stimulus, and the evidence for it is presented in the fourth
sentence.
Answer choice (C): The author never argued that the communicative systems of chimpanzees are
cruder than human language; this point was made in the second sentence, which contains a premise
for the opposing conclusion.
Answer choice (D): While the anthropologist rejects the view that chimpanzees have anything like
human language, she makes no attempt to explain language as a by-product of human intelligence,
let alone argue that chimpanzees lack such intelligence. This statement falls entirely outside the
scope of the argument.
Answer choice (E): Although the author would agree that the evolution of human language might
have begun after the disappearance of an extinct species from which both humans and chimpanzees
evolved, the language used in the last sentence of the stimulus is more speculative than assertive
(compare “might easily have begun” to “began”). Furthermore, this sentence functions as a premise
in support of the conclusion that chimpanzees do not possess human language. Do not fall into the
trap of assuming that the last sentence of the stimulus will always contain the conclusion: oftentimes,
the conclusion is hidden somewhere else the argument, especially in Main Point questions.