Q10

[Ejd5050]

I just stunk at this passage (one wrong on the section otherwise)--so take my comments with a grain of salt, I am certain I completely messed up the scale for this one, and being the first to post about this question doesn't give me much confidence but I have to take issue with the correct answer choice D.

More specifically, the usage of the word "sounds". I recognize from the passage (particularly paragraph 3) that the switch to Spanish is in fact for expressing attitudes. But isn't there a difference between words that sound expressive and words that are expressive?

I know this is the best answer based on the choices, I guess this is just symptomatic of a larger issue I have with certain LSAT questions--sometimes we are expected to be incredibly attuned to the minutiae of meanings and sometimes we aren't.

[ManhattanPrepLSAT1]

I completely understand your frustration on this one.

Some details are important. Language that relates the organization of the argument, causation, correlation, quantification, certainty, recommendations, etc is consistently useful for understanding the argument, anticipating a gap in the reasoning, and eliminating incorrect answer choices. In general, those language cues are really important to look out for and use as you construct your perception of the argument.

But the difference between a word that "sounds expressive" and "is expressive" is so vague you probably wouldn't get the same response from two people as to what that difference is. So you wouldn't want to use that level of precision since no general consensus on the difference is likely to be found.

I know this is the best answer based on the choices

In places where you expect a challenge start by being picky with language and ease up if you end up with no answer choices. In those areas where you expect a lower degree of difficulty, start by giving them lots of flexibility on language and tighten up only if you end up with more than one answer choice.

For others who may ready this thread later, I'll go ahead and walk through the incorrect answer choices:

(A) is unsupported. We're looking for emphasis of expression - not the failure to know some words.
(B) is unsupported. We're not looking for an author's invented words.
(C) is unsupported. We're not looking for the preference for language of the person with whom your speaking.
(E) is unsupported. We're not looking for the maintenance of language fluency.

Hope that helps!