MCAT Critical Analysis and Reasoning Skills Question 56: Answer and Explanation
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Question: 56
4. The author's argument in paragraph 8 that the progressive and conservative camps locate their claims in different conceptions of fair representation is supported:
- A. weakly, because no descriptions or examples of these different concepts are provided.
- B. weakly, because this claim conflicts with the centrist argument that the Voting Rights Act is atheoretical.
- C. strongly, because it is based on Sunstein's conception of "background principles."
- D. strongly, because it implies that the same facts may be interpreted in different ways by different people.
Correct Answer: A
Explanation:
A This is an Evaluate question.
A: Yes. This statement is weakly supported. The author makes the claim but gives no supportive evidence to prove the claim. We don't know what those different conceptions are, or how significantly they might differ.
B: No. The first word of the choice is correct, but the rest of it is incorrect. The entire point of the passage is largely to disprove the centrist argument. Simply conflicting with an opposing position is not itself a weakness.
C: No. While the claim cited in the question follows from the discussion of Sunstein's idea (paragraph 7), the concept of the existence of background principles does not itself support the claim that conservatives and progressives have different concepts of fair representation.
D: No. The second part of the choice is accurate (see paragraph 8), but the evaluation ("strongly") is incorrect. This choice essentially reverses the relationship between parts of the argument. The implication of a claim (that is, the conclusion based on it) does not itself provide support for the claim.