Q23

[renata.gomez]

HI,

Could someone go through the choices C and D with me?

Is C wrong because it doesn't really explain?

Thank you!

[ohthatpatrick]

Question Type:
Purpose of Information

Answer expected in lines/paragraph:
2nd Paragraph (although we still want the overall purpose from the first paragraph to contextualize the 2nd)

Any prephrase?
In 9-13, the author makes a big claim: "jurors may commit inferential errors". The 2nd paragraph seems to flesh that out by listing different types: prior conviction = guilt, gross evidence = incriminating, boring testimony = unimportant, complicated stuff = ignore it. So I would prephrase something like "provide various examples of inferential errors that jurors make".

Correct answer:
E

Answer choice analysis:

(A) "refute" = extreme. Plus, the 2nd paragraph is more likely to SUPPORT the idea that fact finding is complicated.

(B) The author isn't emphasizing anything to lawyers/witnesses. She's just listing types of inferential errors.

(C) This relates to 22-27, but it doesn't relate to the rest of the paragraph. There are no commonly held beliefs about gross, bloody evidence or about boring testimony or about complex or voluminous evidence.

(D) Yes! This matches our prephrase well.

(E) The author doesn't include any recommendation in the 2nd paragraph.

Takeaway/Pattern: Often, the correct answer to "purpose of a paragraph" sounds like a rephrasing of the paragraph's topic sentence. Other times, like here, the "topic sentence" is really the last sentence of the previous paragraph. The second paragraph basically fleshes out the claim in line 9-13.

#officialexplanation