PrepTest 141
[lcid:3660] Prep Test 141 LSAT — Reading Comp — S1
Reading comp
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
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.
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 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 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 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
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
Which one of the
Remaining source text redacted.
Why the credited answer is right
Credited answer: A
The notes below walk through why it fits the stem and how to eliminate the rest.
Question Type
Science
Answer choices
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AEvidence from two areas Remaining source text redacted.
Why choice A matches the stem
Correct. Question Type:
Main Point
Strategy Overview:
Reiterate the main point that we stated after reading the passage
Answer Anticipation/Relevant Lines:
In this passage, the Author brings up a new view—that of the Strict Constructionist Darwinists (Lines 8-12) that has two parts to it. She then brings up a necessary implication of this view (Lines 16-19) that she argues is false (Lines 19-22), thus setting up a rebuttal of their view.
She does this first by bringing up examples that rebut the first part of their view (Paragraph 3), and then an example that rebuts the second part (Paragraph 4).
From that, we said the main point 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.
Answer Explanation:
(Lines 19-22; Lines 29-30; Lines 37-40) The Author sets up her argument as a rebuttal to the views of Strict Constructionist Darwinists through the first two paragraphs. She then uses examples and research first from genetics (Paragraph 2) and second from paleontology (Paragraph 3) to call individual elements of their belief into question—evidence from two areas of science. This answer also correctly characterizes the beliefs of this group (Lines 8-9), so it's the correct answer.
Key Takeaway:
Note how this answer reflects the structure of the passage that we uncovered by really digging deep. The passage presented two parts to the new view, and we found those two parts reflected in two separate paragraphs, each which focused on a different example or set of examples. This answer brings in that split. -
BAccording to strict constructionist Remaining source text redacted.
Why choice B is not credited
Incorrect. (Lines 8-12) This answer reflects a part of the new view as stated in Paragraph 1, but the Author uses the next three paragraphs to rebut it, and this answer misses that. -
CNew evidence demonstrates that Remaining source text redacted.
Why choice C is not credited
Incorrect. (Lines 29-31) This answer reflects only Paragraph 3, so it's missing a lot of the Author's argument against the Strict Constructionist Darwinists. -
DStrict constructionist followers of Remaining source text redacted.
Why choice D is not credited
Incorrect. (Lines 8-12) This more or less captures the view of the Strict Constructionist Darwinists, but the passage is set up as a rebuttal to their view. -
EEvidence from the study Remaining source text redacted.
Why choice E is not credited
Incorrect. (Lines 37-40) First, note that the passage never uses the phrase "survival of the fittest"—this answer is trying to get you to bring in outside info! Also, it focuses on the study of population genetics—that was Paragraph 3, but Paragraph 4 brings up different studies. This answer conflates a few ideas (mainly those in Paragraphs 3 and 4) and doesn't even mention the Strict Constructionist Darwinists, whose viewpoint is explicitly rebutted in the passage, so it misses the mark.
What this tests
Discussion
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Started by ShawnHill