MCAT Critical Analysis and Reasoning Skills Question 103: Answer and Explanation

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Test Information

Question: 103

4. Which of the following statements best summarizes the author's central purpose?

  • A. To express her appreciation of Important Artifacts and to explain how it gave her an elevated awareness of the meaning of objects
  • B. To praise Shapton's defense of animism inherent in the pages of Important Artifacts
  • C. To laugh at the irony that the objects that once meant so much to Doolan and Morris as a couple become, after their breakup, objects of little to no worth
  • D. To heighten the reader's awareness of everyday objects and those objects' potential to speak for us and tell stories of the events of our lives

Correct Answer: D

Explanation:

D This is a Main Idea/Primary Purpose question.

A: No. The author makes no such evaluation of different forms of protest. Be sure not to be overly influenced by paragraph 1 of the passage when determining the author's primary purpose.

B: No. This answer uses language that is too extreme; the author's does not go so far as to assure us democracy will fail under certain circumstances.

C: No. This answer choice is too broad. The correct answer must focus on the key issues of the passage: protest, public support, and the stability of democracies. Furthermore, this answer is too negative. While the passage does suggest that free speech is related to peaceful protest (paragraph 2), the author doesn't go so far as to suggest that it has harmful effects.

D: Yes. Although it uses vague language to do so, this answer does address the main focus of the passage. The factors that would influence stability of a democratic political system (a "certain type of political system"), according to the passage, would be the level and type of support and/or dissent.

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