#1 - Main Point

[moshei24]

This MP question was more difficult than the average one. I chose C after changing it from D to B. B was the right answer. Is B correct because C and D were too specific, while B was the most broad answer choice of the 3?

Thanks!

-Moshe

[Adam Tyson]

I would say that answer C is too narrow - it's a true statement, but not the main point, which is more broad. D is incorrect because it's backwards - research into textiles did not cause the changes in archaeology, because those changes came first. Look to most of the second paragraph for support for that idea, and especially at lines 36-41.

Adam

[moshei24]

Aha, thank you!

[Khodi7531]

So I have a question with this one. I knew the main point of the passage was best summarized at the end of the first paragraph - line 14 to 18. They dealt with obstacles and yada-yada...is that correct? If so, can I place emphasis on that part of the passage when looking for answers like MP and passages function (like question 5)?

I liked B and D i'm not really sure what pushed me to circle D. I was turned off by B's "new approaches" because I didn't think it would be pointed out to in a MP question - referring to the new successful modern methods of radiocarbon dating and so on.

[Adam Tyson]

That sounds like a solid plan of attack for this passage, khodi! If by the time you finish reading you have a good sense of the Main Point and where to find it, that can also lead you to good ideas about the tone, the purpose/function of the passage, the structure of the passage, author agreement, and more. That's why we emphasize the importance of prephrasing the Main Point, even before you know whether a Main Point question is coming!

The support for "new approaches" is found starting just after the lines you cited, beginning at line 19.

Answer D is off because it is far too broad an answer. This passage is only about textiles, not about "sweeping changes in the field of archaeology".

[jpart3]

I'm not amazing at RC and I ended up with a wrong answer (C) on this passage, but here's how I found B as the answer on the second go-around:

(A). This can be eliminated because it assumes too much unstated information. We don't know that archaeology as a whole is expanding and we don't know how the field is changing in terms of cultural demands outside of placing more emphasis on studying ancient women and their crafts (which is pretty narrow).

(C). I fell for it, and 1 out of 5 test-takers did too, but C has a mis-stated relationship in it. C tells us research has advanced so much that we can now replicate ancient methods and production techniques. The passage does not tell us this. It is a new method, but we are never told that technology per se brought this about. This is also too narrow because it ignores the impact the new technology has outside of this effect.

(D). This is wrong for a similar reason as C. D tells us research into textiles revolutionized archaeology as a discipline by introducing applied technology and to re-evaluating 'useless' objects. But this relationship is either co-incidental or outright reversed. We're told this change happened before and possibly during this change in textile research, so it's not reasonable to assume textiles changed the field.

(E). This (like A) makes unwarranted claims. We are never told that reconstruction is more significant than radiocarbon or the other techniques. We may be given examples of reconstruction's success, but this is never given in a comparative sense to the new technological methods.

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So why B?

B acknowledges all of the new advances ("diversity of new approaches"). This includes the changes in archaeology as a discipline, the new tech, and reconstruction methods. We are also told about scant evidence existing in the field, which acknowledges the statements made in the first paragraph. Finally, we are told that with these conditions we are learning much from inference, which is demonstrated by radiocarbon dating, using isotopes to determine the source of textile materials, and recreation to solve the Athena statue mystery. This hits all the big highlights of the passage in a brief but succinct statement while also correctly stating the relationship.