MCAT Critical Analysis and Reasoning Skills Question 10: Answer and Explanation

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Test Information

Question: 10

4. Which of the following is an assumption made by the author in the second paragraph?

  • A. The response to Fries's Rebellion was more heavy-handed than the response to Shays' Rebellion.
  • B. The British monarchy is entirely unlike the US federal government that eventually replaced it.
  • C. A significant number of Americans today are unfamiliar with the rebellions that occurred after the Revolution.
  • D. The British played a covert role in the rebellions that took place after their defeat in the American Revolution.

Correct Answer: C

Explanation:

Be sure to stick to the discussion in P2, since the question stem specifically references it. There, the author suggests that "many Americans would now assume" that the rebellions described in P1 were against British authorities, when they were actually against American ones. In suggesting that many Americans will make that assumption, the author is actually assuming these individuals are unfamiliar with the events described, and would not be able to recognize them from the descriptions. This matches with choice (C).

(A) Though there is the suggestion at the end of P4 that the reactions to the Whiskey Rebellion and Fries' Rebellion were both "heavy-handed," this is not an assumption made in P2.

(B) Opposite. The author deliberately compares the American Revolution against the British monarchy to these rebellions against American authorities in order to highlight similarities, not differences.

(D) Out of Scope. There is no suggestion in the passage that the British played any role in these Rebellions. The British are merely raised as a point of comparison.

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