MCAT Critical Analysis and Reasoning Skills Question 35: Answer and Explanation

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Question: 35

2. The author's claim that in mathematics failure was so nearly universal that no attempt at grading could have had value is most inconsistent with which of the following statements also made in the passage?

  • A. Instructors generally reach a fairly accurate gauge of their scholars' powers.
  • B. The four years passed at college were, for his purposes, wasted.
  • C. The entire work of the four years could have been easily put into the work of any four months in after life.
  • D. He regarded himself as the only person for whom his education had value, and he wanted the whole of it.

Correct Answer: A

Explanation:

A This is a Structure question.

Note: The correct answer will be the statement made elsewhere in the passage that most contradicts the statement cited in the question stem. If a statement in an answer choice is on a different issue, it will not be inconsistent (that is, the two statements would be consistent in that they could both be true).

A: Yes. Following the statement that grading could have had little value, the author states: "whether he stood fortieth or ninetieth must have been an accident or the personal favor of the professor" (paragraph 2). This suggests that grades or rankings did not in fact reflect the skill or accomplishment of the student. This would be inconsistent with the claim cited in choice A (from paragraph 4) that instructors accurately evaluate their students.

B: No. The claim that the four years were wasted is consistent with the author's critique of how professors graded.

C: No. The quote in this choice is on a different issue: that Adams was interested in only a small portion of his course material (paragraph 3). Therefore the two claims are not inconsistent with each other.

D: No. This refers to a somewhat different issue (Adams' self-centeredness (paragraph 2)), rather than the value or accuracy of the grading. Furthermore, to the extent that this statement relates to the existence of other students (who were also graded by the same standards), it is consistent, not inconsistent with the claim in the question stem.

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