Q6

[lhermary]

Why is the answer E and not D?

Thanks

[hyewonkim89]

The first paragraph states most code switching can be explained by either situational or rhetorical factors. Then the author explains situational factors in the second paragraph and briefly rhetorical in the last paragraph.

(D) is unsupported by the passage because the author never mentions anything about linguists "revising" their beliefs about code switching.

[tommywallach]

Hey There,

Hye is absolutely right. Even though the final paragraph here may look like a revision, it's just linguists studying a slightly different group. It isn't meant to be a correction to the previous paragraph. (Though that is why this answer choice is tricky!).

-t

[jlouis17]

Why is B incorrect? My take on the passage was that we cannot pin point any specific reason why code-switching occurs.

[tommywallach]

Hey Guys,

Why don't I take this one from bottom to top?

This passage is about code-switching. You could argue there aren't really two sides, or you could argue:

Code-switching is explicable
Code switching is not explicable

(In this dichotomy, the whole passage is under explicable)

You could also argue:

Code-switching is situational
Code-switching is rhetorical

Anyway, the outline looks like this:

P1: Sets up the term
P2: Examples of code-switching as situational, with complexities
P3: Examples where code-switching is rhetorical

Now let's look at the answer choices:

(A) is wrong because the passage isn't about Puerto Ricans; it uses Puerto Ricans to make a point about code-switching as a general phenomenon. Also, the passage isn't about how it affects lives, just what it is.

(B) is true, but it's not the main idea of the passage. Remember, the question isn't simply asking "Which of these things is stated by the passage?" (because this is stated right in paragraph 1), it's asking about the main idea. And the main idea definitely isn't to talk about the times that code-switching isn't explicable; both paragraph 2 and paragraph 3 describe examples where code-switching is explicable.

(C) compares the examples in paragraph two with the examples in paragraph 3, which the passage never does.

(D) says that the linguists revised their beliefs, but we are never told about any contradictory and pre-existing beliefs.

(E) CORRECT. The last sentence of the first paragraph is basically saying the exact same thing as this answer choice.

Hope that helps!

-t