Reading comp PrepTest 141 · Section 1 · Question 7

Passage

Questions 1-7  .       Charles Darwin objected to all attempts to reduce  . his theory of evolution to its doctrine of Remaining source text redacted.
Passage walkthrough
Passage SummaryTopic: Science

Paragraph 1
  • Paragraph note
    • A theory is introduced, and a new interpretation at odds with the original
  • Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
    • Darwin - Natural selection is the primary but not only driver of evolution
    • Strict Constructionist Darwinists (SCD) - Natural selection explains 1) all attributes, and 2) survival
Paragraph 2
  • Paragraph note
    • An implication of the new interpretation is shown to be wrong
  • Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
    • Natural selection - adaptations to environment to reproduce more
    • If SCDs are right, then all traits/survival due to adaptations
    • Nature has many examples where that's not the case
Paragraph 3
  • Paragraph note
    • Examples - DNA/traits (rebuts SCD view #1)
  • Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
    • Neutral, nonadaptive changes that persist and change traits but don't affect reproduction
Paragraph 4
  • Paragraph note
    • Examples - Survival/traits (rebuts SCD view #2)
  • Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
    • Dinosaurs/mammals during meteorite strike - former died out and latter survived based on traits they had
    • Example of survival based on "dumb luck," not adaptation
Main Point:
Examples of DNA mutations and events from history show that the assumptions and implications of the Strict Constructionist Darwinists, who hold natural selection explains all traits and survival, are wrong.

Key Lines:
Lines 3-4 - The traditional view is noted
Lines 8-12 - The new view is described
Lines 16-22 - The Author rebuts the new view by showing a necessary implication of it to be false (counterexamples)
Lines 27-28 - The Author highlights new information calling into question a part of the new view
Lines 37-40 - The Author highlights analysis that calls into question a part of the new view

Meta-Structure:
Traditional vs. New View - Usually, the Author brings up a new view in order to advocate for it, but here, she instead undermines it. She uses examples in two different areas (genetics in Paragraph 3; paleontology in Paragraph 4) to show that individual elements of the new view are wrong (Paragraph 3 - their view on adaptations and reproductive success; Paragraph 4 - their view on adaptations and species survival).

Last Thoughts:
We expect that a good number of questions are going to rely on us distinguishing between the role and examples in Paragraphs 3 and 4. It's almost always key to know the role of each paragraph and the locations of examples, so having a strong understanding of these two paragraphs will be key.

Also, note that as introduced in the first paragraph, the SCD view focuses on two things—"aspect[s] of every species' form and behavior", and "the success or failure of species." Whenever there are multiple "parts" to a view, you should check to see if that ends up being reflected in the structure. Here, it would have been easy to miss that, while Paragraph 2 addresses the view as a whole, Paragraphs 3 and 4 each address an individual part of it. Paragraph 3 addresses the first part about form and behavior, and Paragraph 4 addresses the second part about survival. Noting this should make it easier to distinguish these two paragraphs as we work through the questions.

It's very common for a passage to break down an argument into constituent parts and then address them individually, though it doesn't always do so explicitly—in this case, it's not particularly explicit! But if you can find such a breakdown and structure to the passage, you'll be in very good shape for tackling the questions.

Question prompt

The primary purpose of Remaining source text redacted.
Why the credited answer is right

Credited answer: C

The notes below walk through why it fits the stem and how to eliminate the rest.

Question Type

Science

Answer choices

  1. A
    argue in favor of Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice A is not credited
    Incorrect. (Lines 19-22) The Author argues against the recently proposed view of the Strict Constructionists, so this answer is the opposite of the purpose of the passage.
  2. B
    summarize a contemporary debate
    Why choice B is not credited
    Incorrect. (Lines 19-22) The Author takes a side in the debate by showing counterexamples to an implication of the one view.
  3. C
    demonstrate that a particular Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice C matches the stem
    Correct. Question Type:
    Main Point

    Strategy Overview:
    Review the main point and abstract away from it to determine the primary purpose

    Answer Anticipation/Relevant Lines:
    The primary purpose of each passage is the same—to prove the main point. So we start from there and then abstract away from it to frame it as the purpose behind the passage.

    Here, the main point, as we stated it, is:

    Examples of DNA mutations and events from history show that the assumptions and implications of the Strict Constructionist Darwinists, who hold natural selection explains all traits and survival, are wrong.

    That focuses strongly on rebutting the new interpretation of Darwinism and natural selection put forward by a specific group. So the Author's primary purpose in writing this passage was to argue against that new view. Let's find an answer reflecting that.

    Answer Explanation:
    (Lines 19-22) The Author describes an implication of a view to highlight that there are "numerous" counterexamples in nature. She wrote this passage to rebut the view of the Strict Constructionist Darwinists, so this is the correct answer.

    Key Takeaway:
    These Main Point questions that ask about the primary purpose tend to repeat themselves and reflect the argument structure and method of reasoning. That means a great way to review this question is to think about other passages you've read that would be described by each answer!
  4. D
    criticize the proponents of Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice D is not credited
    Incorrect. (Lines 5-8) The traditional theory is the original Darwinism, and the view being rebutted is one that "has recently risen" (Line 6).
  5. E
    explain why a particular Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice E is not credited
    Incorrect. (Lines 5-8; Lines 19-22) While the theory "has recently risen" (Line 6), there's no indication that it's gaining in popularity past its initial creation, and the Author wrote this passage to rebut that view, not explain why it's so popular.

What this tests

Question analytics

Based on historical answer selection rates for this question.

Answer choice distribution

  1. A 2%
  2. B 3%
  3. C Credited 85%
  4. D 10%
  5. E 1%

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