Reading comp PrepTest 145 · Section 1 · Question 24

Incorrect. (Lines 55-59) The only objection raised is that it's evidence may have a less radical explanation. That's a single objection, not various objections, so this answer is incorrect.

Incorrect. (Lines 55-59) In this paragraph, even the opposing point seems to accept that Steele's evidence exists—those biologists believe there's another explanation for it, not that his observations are wrong. And the Author doesn't explicitly take their side, so this answer is incorrect—she's not "dismiss[ing]" anything.

Incorrect. (Lines 44-45) The central question in this paragraph is whether the theory already outlined actually occurs. Since the question is about the existing theory happening, and there's no discussion of the evidence backing it up in some ways but not others, there's no suggestion of revision.

Incorrect. (Lines 55-59) This answer is trying to get you to think that since the other biologists claim there's a less radical explanation for Steele's evidence, that suggests further research. However, that's not the case. First, those explanations might rely on already known biological phenomena and thus not require further research. Second, the Author herself doesn't state that there needs to be more research done. Third, even if we say that she does think there's future research that can be done in this area, it's an inference from only one sentence in the paragraph—hardly the main point of it!

Correct. Question Type:
Argument Structure

Strategy Overview:
Review our note on the role of Paragraph 4 and define it in the context of the main point

Answer Anticipation/Relevant Lines:
After reading Paragraph 4, we noted that it had three primary elements—a question, the presentation of evidence, and the raising of a disagreement.

The question asked whether what Steele proposed happens actually ever happens. And the evidence presented is Steele's evidence that it does. We know that a passage that asks a question and then advocates for an answer has that answer as the main point, and that's no different for a question that defines a paragraph. Since the answer here is that Steele claims to have evidence that his proposed mechanism happens, then a primary purpose of the paragraph is to present that evidence.

The other part of the paragraph is the raising of a disagreement—biologists who think that Steele is wrong. However, while Steele's evidence is specifically noted (the "signature" in the genes), the other biologists don't have any that is stated—they just believe there must be a less radical explanation for this pattern.

So the correct answer could reflect either the presentation of Steele's evidence or the raising of the debate over it, but since both have to do with the evidence, the evidence serves as an answer to a question raised at the beginning of the paragraph, and Steele's evidence is specific while the opposing evidence isn't stated at all, we should expect the answer to focus primarily on this paragraph as a place where Steele's evidence is raised.

Answer Explanation:
(Lines 44-45; Lines 48-55) The Author starts with a question—does Steele's process actually happen? And her answer—Steele claims to have evidence showing that it does. Since presenting that evidence answers the Author's question for the paragraph, and even the note about the opposing scientists is based on the presentation of this evidence (they believe there's likely an alternative explanation for it), raising that evidence (and analyzing it) is the primary purpose of the paragraph, making this the correct answer.

Key Takeaway:
One way to approach these primary function questions is to start with the central topic of whatever is being asked about. The Author's purpose must in some way reflect the topic, as she wouldn't write a section on a topic that wasn't related to the purpose of that section. Here, the topic of the last paragraph was the evidence supporting Steele's hypothesis, and so we should have focused on answers discussing that evidence.