LSAT PrepTest 43 Section 1 Question 9 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 a Reading Comprehension question from the June 2004 LSAT.

The paragraph summaries we wrote forthe last RC question should help here:

P 1: Situational/rhetorical factors explain most code-switching

P 2: Where, what, and who is in the conversation affects it

P 3: Sometimes code-switching done just for rhetoric's sake

As its summary makes clear, the third paragraph talks about code-switching for the sake of rhetoric, whereas the previous one talks about situational factors that can cause code-switching (and the first introduces all of these reasons for switching languages). So, our pre-phrase of what the third paragraph's function is should be something like "it shows that rhetoric is one reason for code-switching." C fits well, we notice, since it mentions how that paragraph introduces another explanation for code-switching. Let's go through the other choices quickly:

A) The opposite of what we're looking for; clearly, the 3rd paragraph's explanation (rhetoric) is an additional explanation for code-switching, not a new general theory that challenges the other explanations the author previously mentioned (situational reasons, etc.). It says at the paragraph's beginning that "situational factors do not account for all code-switching," meaning that they do account for some and that rhetoric is just an additional explanation.

B) Wrong for the same reason as A; this is just an additional explanation.

C) Correct.

D) Too narrow in scope. The paragraph is advancing another reason for code-switching (rhetoric), not just reporting what the family does. What they do is just evidence for this theory.

E) Again, too narrow in scope. The author does say that this code-switching can be unconscious, but the main point of the paragraph is that rhetoric can be a reason for code-switching. Its first two sentences make this clear, saying that rhetoric is another explanation for code-switching, in addition to situational factors mentioned in the preceding paragraph.

Remember:

1) Use summaries and a pre-phrase to answer questions quickly and accurately.

2) Get rid out choices that are the opposite of what the passage says (they can't be function of the paragraph if they contradict it, as two choices here did) and that are too narrow in scope (if the choice addresses only a small part of the paragraph, it can't be describing the paragraph's overall role, which is what the question's asking about).