PrepTest 115, Section 2, Question 6
Poor writers often express mundane ideas with elaborate(32 more words not shown)
Which one of the following(5 more words not shown)
- Athe simpler the(5 more words not shown)
- Binattentive readers are(4 more words not shown)
- Conly the most(8 more words not shown)
- Da writing style(9 more words not shown)
- Ealert readers are(9 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
Using a bigger word doesn't make the idea better. If the idea is ordinary, elaborate language can make it harder to understand without giving an attentive reader anything more worth understanding.
That's the problem the author describes. Some readers may be impressed by the fancy presentation but miss the meaning. Others recognize the attempt to dress up an ordinary idea. Neither reaction gives us much reason to recommend that approach.
What we’re looking for
We need a principle to complete the passage. My first prediction is something like “Keep it simple and straightforward.” Let's check the exact wording of the answers.
Working the answers
- A
This is tempting because it sounds like “keep it simple.” But it turns that advice into a rule that every step toward simplicity improves the writing. Would reducing a fifth-grade reading level to a first-grade reading level necessarily make an explanation better? Perhaps we'd lose distinctions that matter.
The passage criticizes complicated language used for mundane ideas. It doesn't rank every possible writing style from simplest and best to most complex and worst. The appropriate level could depend on what the writer needs to explain.
- B
The author describes how inattentive readers may react, not whether they deserve to be readers. We could try to write more clearly so they understand. Nothing supports giving up on them.
- C
We haven't compared the ability of talented and less talented writers to use complex styles successfully. The problem described is a mismatch between elaborate language and ordinary ideas. C adds a claim about who alone can write in a complex style.
- DCorrect
Match the style to the ideas instead of making the style more complicated than the ideas require. That addresses both problems: confusing readers who don't see through the language and looking pretentious to readers who do. Unlike A, it doesn't require us to keep simplifying even when the idea itself needs a more developed explanation.
- E
Inattentive readers can be sensitive to style too: the passage says they may be impressed by it. Alert readers are better at seeing through the pretentiousness in this example. That doesn't make them the only people who notice or react to how something is written.
More Must Be True questions
Learn the LSAT our way
Our platform drills Must Be True questions at your level and adjusts as you improve.