PrepTest 157, Section 1, Question 8
Grammarians of the prescriptive school take it as(452 more words not shown)
The passage most strongly suggests(12 more words not shown)
- AThe conflict between(17 more words not shown)
- BAlthough the prescriptivist(19 more words not shown)
- CMoral considerations should(10 more words not shown)
- DScientific methods can(19 more words not shown)
- EThe successful attempts(18 more words not shown)
Reading the passage
The author doesn't merely list two schools. In the final paragraph, successful regulation becomes a reason to question the claim that language change cannot be influenced. The writer rejects the unsupported explanation that the same results would always have occurred anyway, then points to people's capacity to be persuaded.
What we’re looking for
Look for that limited defense, not a new program for grammar or a sweeping rejection of science or morality.
Working the answers
- A
No third school synthesizing the two approaches is proposed. Explaining objections and responses doesn't automatically amount to recommending a new approach.
- B
The author discusses the case for shared standards but does not endorse the added claim that word origins should have no influence. Reporting the disagreement over “data” isn't taking that particular side.
- C
The egalitarian objection does raise a moral concern. The response argues that the standard can be inclusive; it does not say moral considerations must be excluded from every recommendation.
- D
The writer denies that linguistic laws operate just like physics. That doesn't imply scientific methods can contribute nothing to studying grammar. The conclusion is about the possibility of persuasion, not the uselessness of science.
- ECorrect
Some regulation succeeds, and the writer uses that point to challenge the assumption that efforts to influence language are ineffective. The later statement that individuals are “subject to persuasion” explains how such efforts can matter. E connects those parts without claiming every prescriptive intervention works.
More Author's Opinion questions
Learn the LSAT our way
Our platform drills Author's Opinion questions at your level and adjusts as you improve.