The system of patent-granting, which confers

[RonPurewal]

in any case --

before we can discuss this passage (and the accompanying problems( further, we're going to need proof that this material actually comes from the FREE GMATPrep software.

specifically, we need to see screenshots from the FREE software before we can discuss these problems further. thank you.

[SaswataD936]

I am confused between A and C,
At first i guss C,
after reading above explanation , A is correct , C is incorrect, and another one posted in beat the gmat, as following
[redacted]

^^ i've done my best to explain this in the thread already. i don't really have anything to add to my previous explanations.

the most problematic thing about choice C is the word "connection" -- the whole point of the passage is that there WASN'T a connection between patenting and quality.

For this question, correct answer is C. Its a GMATPREP1 free exam question. Screenshot attached.

https://s3.postimg.org/590l9ppnn/GMATPrep_1_RC.jpg

With regards,
Saswat.

[Sage Pearce-Higgins]

Thanks for providing that. Do you have a question about this problem?

[SaswataD936]

Thanks for providing that. Do you have a question about this problem?

Initially I was stuck between A and C. But finally I chose A, which is wrong.

The passage shows how semiconductor industry squeezed more patents from existing budget and how it used patenting as strategic purpose. These were indeed unexpected results of patenting systems.
I understand that correct answer must be C as it is the OA. But how to Eliminate A?


With regards,
Saswata.

[StaceyKoprince]

This is a common trap—good to learn. The content of choice (A) is mentioned in the passage—but discussion of the study itself is not the primary purpose of the passage. Rather, the study is used as an example to illustrate a broader point: that patents were intended to encourage innovation but sometimes did the opposite.

I would call answer (A) a Too Narrow trap. It is in the passage—but it is not the primary point of the passage.

[Fabrizio FitzgeraldF611]

oh, and, also, only the first paragraph deals with "innovation". the second paragraph deals with patent quality (which is a different thing measured in different ways), not with "innovation".

so, not only does choice (c) flip the content of the first paragraph entirely on its head, but it also fails to address the second paragraph altogether.

Hello everyone,

I'm reviewing this question as it came up in my GMAC official practice test. I chose A but the correct answer appears to be C!

Please see screenshot here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/oAEje1fNo9NUihVU9

I'm very confused... Which one is correct?

(As a side note, I found that another couple of V questions I got wrong were labelled in this forum as "badly written" or ambiguous by different instructors...what's going on with the official practice test?)

[Sage Pearce-Higgins]

Thanks for sharing that problem. It's very rare to find badly written problems on official GMAC practice tests (I don't know which ones my colleagues are referring to - please feel free to add questions to those threads). This certainly isn't one of them and the answer is definitely C.

One principle that we can use when answering RC problems is that every word in the right answer has to be correct. For this, I encourage you to apply a technique I call "matching". In answer A it refers to 'a study' - match that to the text. I can only find 'studies' mentioned. Also, the answer mentions 'unanticipated results'. Not only does this mean that we need to find multiple results, but the passage must indicate that they weren't anticipated.

Apply the same approach to answer C, and I think you'll find it passes the test.

[AyeshaK565]

RonPurewal spent some time earlier in the post advocating AGAINST answer choice (C) the connection between patenting and innovation in the semiconductor industry during the period from 1982 to 1992. I did not select that answer choice for the same logic he used to discredit it (in other words, answer choice C falls into the 'too narrow' trap as the later part of the passage does not show the connection between patenting and innovation). While I can understand the logic that discredits/disproves the other answer choices, I do not know understand why (C) HAS to be right. Can you please help me?

The passage is primarily concerned with discussing:
(a) a study suggesting that the semiconductor industry’s approach to patenting during the period from 1982 to 1992 yielded unanticipated results
(b) a study of the semiconductor industry during the period from 1982 to 1992 that advocates certain changes in the industry’s management of the patenting process
(c) the connection between patenting and innovation in the semiconductor industry during the period from 1982 to 1992
(d) reasons that investment in research and development in the semiconductor industry did not increase significantly during the period from 1982 to 1992
(e) certain factors that made the period from 1982 to 1992 a time of intense patenting activity in the semiconductor industry

[Sage Pearce-Higgins]

Thank you for pointing that out. I've been through the thread carefully, and it looks like there's a mix up. Somebody posted that the correct answer to that general question is A, but, in fact, it's C. It looks like Ron, uncharacteristically, didn't check very carefully, so please disregard Ron's discussion of this problem.

However, I should note that this is one of the trickier general problems that I've seen. Elimination is probably the best approach, but let's delve into answer C:

The passage is primarily concerned with discussing the connection between patenting and innovation in the semiconductor industry during the period from 1982 to 1992

I would interpret 'connection' here as 'relationship' or 'correlation'. The passage makes the argument that increased patenting was not the result of increased innovation, i.e. that there was no positive correlation between patenting and innovation in the period 1982 to 1992. The discussions of patent quality, citations, and strategic purposes are parts of that argument.

Although I encourage students to read the whole passage in RC problems at a medium-speed before doing the first problem, I also encourage you to look carefully at the first sentence. Here, the passage starts with a general statement about patents as an incentive to innovation. The rest of the passage is a counterexample of this.