#10 - Parallel, Except

[Rachael Wilkenfeld]

Hi nivernova,

In Passage B, the end of the second paragraph gives us one example of the criticism. It states that law students are told to pretend there is no real, emotional story behind the legal facts and cases that they learn. The passage suggests that this abstract style of writing is disconnected, and worse than a more rich and more creative text that could exist should lawyers embrace more of the narrative form when writing.

Hope that helps!

[Dancingbambarina]

Hey LSAT2018 and AM4747, my view of this question is that it is NOT a form of EXCEPT question. That would only be the case if the stem said something like "the passages are parallel in each of the following ways EXCEPT".

Instead, treat this like a much more straightforward Must Be True question. Imagine that the stem said "which of the following describes a difference between the two passages" (because that is really what it's asking). The four wrong answers wouldn't have to describe similarities or anything parallel, although they could. Rather, they would just not describe a difference. Answer A, for example, does not describe a difference in the passages because the author of passage A neither presents nor rejects opposing arguments. In any Must Be True question, the correct answer is based on the facts contained in the stimulus (or passage, in RC). If the answer describes something that did not happen, it's a wrong answer because it violates that "Fact Test."

An answer that fails to describe what happened in the two passages cannot describe a way that the passages are not parallel! The answer has to describe something that happened, and that thing has to be different (not parallel) in the two passages.

If you're struggling with that, consider hypothetical answer choice F:

"Passage A offers recipes for a delicious meal, while Passage B criticizes those recipes for being unhealthy."

This is not something parallel, because recipes weren't in there. But it also doesn't describe a way that the passages are not parallel, because it doesn't describe anything about the passages.

Weird question! I would expect to see something like that one come around again on a future test, because it is so unusual and challenging. Study that one as you move forward, and good luck!

Would there be any other question types that play on this same format? I cannot imagine a "not strenghten" working out quite like this, or an evaluate the argument question...

Thank you so much