- PowerScore Staff
- Posts: 8916
- Joined: Feb 02, 2011
- Sat Mar 21, 2015 11:00 pm
#36446
Complete Question Explanation
(See the complete passage discussion here: lsat/viewtopic.php?t=7465)
The correct answer choice is (E)
A question that asks you to extend the author’s ideas and add a concluding sentence is best classifi ed
as a Main Point question. Of course, any added sentence must also be in agreement with the details
of the fi nal paragraph, specifi cally the content of the fi nal sentence, which reads: “In fact, there
is already a tradition of peripheral reinterpretation of traditional wording; for example, the oath’s
vaguely and archaically worded proscription against “cutting for the stone” may once have served
to forbid surgery, but with today’s safer and more effective surgical techniques it is understood to
function as a promise to practice within the confi nes of one’s expertise, which remains a necessary
safeguard for patients’ safety and well-being.” Note that this fi nal sentence involves reinterpretation,
so it is quite likely that the correct answer will address interpretation as well.
Any choice that agrees with and extends the main point is possibly correct, and any choice that
opposes the main point can be eliminated. Choices that bring in somewhat irrelevant lines of thought
or lines of thought that occurred early in the passage can also be eliminated.
Answer choice (A): Although this answer addresses interpretation, the author’s point was not that
reinterpretation of the oath is “so easy.” Further, the author is unlikely to close the paragraph by
disagreeing with the statement that opened the paragraph, namely that the historical issue was
irrelevant (lines 34-36).
Answer choice (B): This sentence undermines one of the author’s main contentions, and it is unlikely
that the author would add a sentence that performs that function.
Answer choice (C): This answer choice is incorrect because the author has already admitted that
changes in the medical profession (line 57: “today’s safer and more effective surgical techniques”)
have already caused a reinterpretation of some of the oath’s language. Further, the motivations of the
critics are not under discussion, just the criticisms they have made.
On a different track, the author’s argument is very measured, and it is unlikely that the author would
be willing to add a somewhat insulting attack (“a failure of imagination”) on the critics of the oath.
Answer choice (D): The fi nal sentence of the passage states that there is a “tradition of peripheral
reinterpretation of traditional wording.” That wording is narrower than the wording in this answer
(“tradition of reinterpretation of the Hippocratic oath”), and thus this answer goes beyond the scope
of the passage.
In addition, the focus on “modern ideas about medical ethics must be much more fl exible than they
have been in the past” is also somewhat at odds with the author’s statements because the author
believes that certain values—benefi cence, for example—should not be fl exible.
Finally, the fact that this response does not serve to develop the main point is cause for concern.
Answer choice (E): This is the correct answer choice. The author believes that the core values
of benefi cence and professionalism must be retained, and that on the whole the oath requires slight
modifi cations and additions to refl ect modern capabilities and issues. That rules out a “wholesale
revision” of the oath because a wholesale revision includes more than just surface changes, and such
changes would confl ict with the description in lines 50-52. So, it makes sense to add a sentence that
concludes that there is no need for a wholesale revision.
In addition, this response more explicitly states part of the author’s point, and that improves the
passage by making it easier to understand. Thus, this is not only a correct choice but also a somewhat
desirable addition to the passage.
(See the complete passage discussion here: lsat/viewtopic.php?t=7465)
The correct answer choice is (E)
A question that asks you to extend the author’s ideas and add a concluding sentence is best classifi ed
as a Main Point question. Of course, any added sentence must also be in agreement with the details
of the fi nal paragraph, specifi cally the content of the fi nal sentence, which reads: “In fact, there
is already a tradition of peripheral reinterpretation of traditional wording; for example, the oath’s
vaguely and archaically worded proscription against “cutting for the stone” may once have served
to forbid surgery, but with today’s safer and more effective surgical techniques it is understood to
function as a promise to practice within the confi nes of one’s expertise, which remains a necessary
safeguard for patients’ safety and well-being.” Note that this fi nal sentence involves reinterpretation,
so it is quite likely that the correct answer will address interpretation as well.
Any choice that agrees with and extends the main point is possibly correct, and any choice that
opposes the main point can be eliminated. Choices that bring in somewhat irrelevant lines of thought
or lines of thought that occurred early in the passage can also be eliminated.
Answer choice (A): Although this answer addresses interpretation, the author’s point was not that
reinterpretation of the oath is “so easy.” Further, the author is unlikely to close the paragraph by
disagreeing with the statement that opened the paragraph, namely that the historical issue was
irrelevant (lines 34-36).
Answer choice (B): This sentence undermines one of the author’s main contentions, and it is unlikely
that the author would add a sentence that performs that function.
Answer choice (C): This answer choice is incorrect because the author has already admitted that
changes in the medical profession (line 57: “today’s safer and more effective surgical techniques”)
have already caused a reinterpretation of some of the oath’s language. Further, the motivations of the
critics are not under discussion, just the criticisms they have made.
On a different track, the author’s argument is very measured, and it is unlikely that the author would
be willing to add a somewhat insulting attack (“a failure of imagination”) on the critics of the oath.
Answer choice (D): The fi nal sentence of the passage states that there is a “tradition of peripheral
reinterpretation of traditional wording.” That wording is narrower than the wording in this answer
(“tradition of reinterpretation of the Hippocratic oath”), and thus this answer goes beyond the scope
of the passage.
In addition, the focus on “modern ideas about medical ethics must be much more fl exible than they
have been in the past” is also somewhat at odds with the author’s statements because the author
believes that certain values—benefi cence, for example—should not be fl exible.
Finally, the fact that this response does not serve to develop the main point is cause for concern.
Answer choice (E): This is the correct answer choice. The author believes that the core values
of benefi cence and professionalism must be retained, and that on the whole the oath requires slight
modifi cations and additions to refl ect modern capabilities and issues. That rules out a “wholesale
revision” of the oath because a wholesale revision includes more than just surface changes, and such
changes would confl ict with the description in lines 50-52. So, it makes sense to add a sentence that
concludes that there is no need for a wholesale revision.
In addition, this response more explicitly states part of the author’s point, and that improves the
passage by making it easier to understand. Thus, this is not only a correct choice but also a somewhat
desirable addition to the passage.