- Mon Aug 21, 2017 1:48 pm
#38595
There are two big problems with answer E, bk1111, and you've identified one of them. "Generally" means more often than not, or most of the time. Synonyms include "usually" and "typically". Information about what "often" happens tells us only that they happen with some frequency. That doesn't prove that they happen more often than not. I often have trouble sleeping, knowing that there are unanswered questions here in the forum, but that only happens to me about 2 nights out of 5. That's still often, as far as I am concerned, but not nearly the majority of the time. I don't generally have trouble sleeping, but I often do.
The second problem with E is that it brings up something completely unsupported by the stimulus. Where does the stimulus tell us anything about who uncovers the clues, or that any clues are misleading? The dull companion and the brilliant detective use the same clues, and the problem is that the dull companion is misunderstanding or misinterpreting them. The clues aren't misleading, but the dull companion's analysis of them may be, and for all we know those clues are all discovered by the brilliant detective. Way too much new information in that answer for us to select it as a "most strongly supported" answer choice!
I hope that gives you some clues about how to approach the next question like this one. Good luck!
Adam M. Tyson
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