MCAT Critical Analysis and Reasoning Skills Question 18: Answer and Explanation

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Test Information

Question: 18

2. Based on the passage, what is the author's most likely reason for regarding a U-shaped curve as "potentially disconcerting" (paragraph 1)?

  • A. Inequality has returned to a level not seen since before the Great Depression.
  • B. Deliberate choices by political leaders have led to an increase in inequality.
  • C. The extreme polarization of wealth has detrimental consequences for society.
  • D. The growth in inequality shows how capitalists are motivated solely by greed.

Correct Answer: C

Explanation:

Choice (A), Inequality has returned to a level not seen since before the Great Depression, may seem tempting because it mentions the Great Depression, but it simply restates the author's description of the U-curve without explaining it, a typical Faulty Use of Detail trap.

The issue with choice (B), Deliberate choices by political leaders have led to an increase in inequality, is different: it offers an explanation, but the wrong one. It may be true that the author's primary argument concerns the causes of this increase in inequality, but this question asks specifically about the evaluation the author makes of this increase. Asking for the reason that an outcome is good or bad is conceptually distinct from asking for the cause of that outcome.

Although (C), The extreme polarization of wealth has detrimental consequences for society, does not employ the word inequality like the other options, it does use a synonymous phrase. Moreover, unlike the previous choices, this actually gives a reason for why this trend could be disturbing: it carries negative social consequences. The author does suggest that the wealth inequality of the 1920s was responsible for an event so negative that it came to be known as the Great Depression, so this is precisely what we were looking for.

Choice (C) matched the prediction made in the Plan step. It can be confirmed as the correct option by a brief consideration of the final contender, (D), The growth in inequality shows how capitalists are motivated solely by greed. While greed may not be an emotion that most people applaud, choice (D) is similar to (B) insofar as it addresses the cause of the outcome rather than an appraisal of its value. Thus, we can be confident that (C) is right.

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