LSAT PrepTest 44 Section 1 Question 17 Explanation | Reading Comprehension

I didn't write the following blog post. It was already on the blog when I took over the URL. The following blog post may contain mistakes. -Steve

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Here's a Reading Comprehension question from the October 2004 LSAT.

Let's come up with some paragraph summaries that, on the real test, I strongly suggest you guys write down next to each paragraph (they can and should be shorter than this and probably in shorthand, but you guys wouldn't understand my shorthand/abbreviations, so I wrote it out):

Paragraph 1: Neurotropic factors, discovered by Levi-Montalcini (L-M), regulate nerve cells

P. 2: L-M discovers nerve growth factor (NGF) by experimentation

P. 3: More NGF specifics found in later research

We see, then, that the third paragraph gives more information about the discovery, NGF, mentioned in the second paragraph. Our summaries help us a lot, I think, in making this observation. So, let's pre-phrase an answer. The purpose of the third paragraph in relation to the second is something like "to elaborate on a discovery introduced in the second paragraph." We see right away that this fits choice C quite well, since both say the 3rd paragraph elaborates on the preceding one. Let's go through the other choices quickly:

A) Out of scope. The 3rd paragraph elaborates on the subject of the 2nd, but it never says that the conclusions regarding NGF need more verification. It just provides some additional information about NGF...it doesn't say more evidence is needed to make sure the conclusions about NGF are right.

B) The opposite of what the passage is really saying. The 3rd paragraph expands on the 2nd paragraph. It doesn't contradict or undermine it, or say it's wrong.

C) Correct.

D) Out of scope. The 3rd paragraph specifically discusses NGF, not similar, or analogous, substances.

E) Wrong for the same reason as B. The 3rd paragraph, as our summaries make clear, doesn't undermine the 2nd. Rather, it supports it and expands on it.

Remember:

1) Use short paragraph summaries to help answer questions. They give you a good idea of where the passage has gone (which is helpful on a somewhat technical and challenging passage like this one; you could easily get so lost in the details that the overall picture would be obscured, but summaries prevent that). Write them down alongside each paragraph. They needn't be more than a few words.

2) Eliminate answer choices that say the opposite of what the passage is really saying or discuss information outside the passage's scope (things the passage never brings up). These two simple categories can usually eliminate all the wrong answer choices, as we've seen literally dozens of times on this blog.

3) Don't forget to pre-phrase an answer whenever possible. It saves time and increases accuracy.