LSAT PrepTest 44 Section 1 Question 16 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.

First, let's recall our paragraph summaries:

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

Given this, let's make a pre-phrase. The author would probably think the discovery of NGF was important mostly because "it gave insight into neural development". We see that A fits this pretty well, since both emphasize the importance of the discovery to a broad understanding of the development of the nervous system. Let's go through the other choices quickly:

A) Correct.

B) Too narrow in scope. The process she developed is mentioned but most of the passage focuses on NGF itself, not how great the process of tissue culturing is.

C) Too narrow in scope again. This is one important aspect of L-M's research, but notice how, in the third paragraph that NGF is said to direct development to "specific 'target' cells" and thus, guide development, not just regulate which cells, out of the many that are initially present, survive (line 53).

D) Again, too narrow in scope. The passage talks about NGF aiding in development and doing a lot of complex things. Its most salient feature isn't just that it causes a biochemical reaction. That's not what makes it stand out, as the passage, in its focus on how NGF influences neural development, suggests.

E) Again, too narrow in scope to be right. The substance isn't only made by mouse tumors and it effects not just growth in general but what cells grow and what ones die and what path the development takes. This choice doesn't capture that.

Remember:

1) Be sure to use summaries and pre-phrase when possible.

2) Avoid choices that are too narrow in scope if the question's asking about the passage's main point and most salient features. Some minor detail or small piece of the passage won't be the right answer here.