It seems I always have problems approaching "what could most logically be added to the end of the last paragraph of the passage" kind of questions.
Answer (C), by adding the universal vote element, seems to be adding too much new connections that wasn't mentioned in the passage.
Your help on this type of questions will be greatly appreciated!
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- yuewang810
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Vinny Gambini
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Re: Q4
Hi yuewang810!
This kind of inference question is challenging! A good passage map is a great asset to have on this kind of question. A passage map should answer these questions:
What is the big idea of each paragraph?
How does each paragraph fit into the passage as a whole?
The passage as a whole discusses the pros and cons of jury trials. The author ultimately argues for jury trials as "one of a handful of democratic institutions that allow individual citizens, rather than the government, to make important societal decisions" (lines 1-3).
In the last paragraph, the author offers strong support for the unanimity requirement. He argues that the requirement helps maintain fairness by ensuring that each juror’s opinion is heard.
The right answer should connect to the author’s general argument for jury trials, and to the last paragraph's focus on the opinions of individual jurors.
Let’s work from wrong to right on this one (and in general on this kind of question).
(A) is out of scope. The author doesn’t give "critics" further airtime in his last paragraph. Also, no "separate tradition" was ever discussed.
(B) seems possible; at least it's not grotesquely out of scope. However, "public debate" makes this answer choice unsupported. Fair hearings, not public debates, give people faith in the fairness of the justice system.
(D) is contradicted. The author does not believe that the integrity of the legal system has been undermined.
(E) is out of scope. The author never discusses the scientific-ness of prosecutors or defense attorneys.
(C) is not an obviously perfect fit, but its emphasis on "the opinion of each juror" matches the main idea of the final paragraph. Its discussion of the universal vote perhaps seems random, but the vote connects back to the first lines of the passage where the author talks about democracy. In this sense, (C) connects to both the final paragraph and the passage as a whole.
Hope this helps!
This kind of inference question is challenging! A good passage map is a great asset to have on this kind of question. A passage map should answer these questions:
What is the big idea of each paragraph?
How does each paragraph fit into the passage as a whole?
The passage as a whole discusses the pros and cons of jury trials. The author ultimately argues for jury trials as "one of a handful of democratic institutions that allow individual citizens, rather than the government, to make important societal decisions" (lines 1-3).
In the last paragraph, the author offers strong support for the unanimity requirement. He argues that the requirement helps maintain fairness by ensuring that each juror’s opinion is heard.
The right answer should connect to the author’s general argument for jury trials, and to the last paragraph's focus on the opinions of individual jurors.
Let’s work from wrong to right on this one (and in general on this kind of question).
(A) is out of scope. The author doesn’t give "critics" further airtime in his last paragraph. Also, no "separate tradition" was ever discussed.
(B) seems possible; at least it's not grotesquely out of scope. However, "public debate" makes this answer choice unsupported. Fair hearings, not public debates, give people faith in the fairness of the justice system.
(D) is contradicted. The author does not believe that the integrity of the legal system has been undermined.
(E) is out of scope. The author never discusses the scientific-ness of prosecutors or defense attorneys.
(C) is not an obviously perfect fit, but its emphasis on "the opinion of each juror" matches the main idea of the final paragraph. Its discussion of the universal vote perhaps seems random, but the vote connects back to the first lines of the passage where the author talks about democracy. In this sense, (C) connects to both the final paragraph and the passage as a whole.
Hope this helps!
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