Q9 - Ph.D programs are valuable only if they inculcate

[ohthatpatrick]

What does the Question Stem tell us?
Determine the Function

Break down the Stimulus:
Conclusion: Doctoral dissertations shouldn't be required in Humanities.
Evidence: Dissertations are only useful if they instill good scholarship and facilitate the student getting into the field. But writing long dissertations is impractical for a newbie, who will react with crappy work or take forever to finally enter the field. Either way, it's working against the goals of the Ph.D program.

Any prephrase?
They're asking us about the Main Conclusion, so that's an easy prephrase.

Correct answer:
C

Answer choice analysis:
A) This says Premise. We want Conclusion.

B) Not an example to illustrate (still Premise). We want Conclusion.

C) Bingo. Conclusion.

D) Provides evidence = Premise. We want Conclusion.

E) Confirming an observation = Support. We want Conclusion. The fact that the dissertation frustrates students and goes against the goals of the Ph.D program CONFIRMS THE OBSERVATION that we shouldn't require dissertations in the Humanities.

Takeaway/Pattern: The #1 thing to do for Determine the Function is find the Conclusion. Here, it was attached to the Conclusion trigger word "hence", and all the claims after that sentence helped to make a case for why we shouldn't require a dissertation.

#officialexplanation

[danifarahi]

WHY IS THE ANSWER C????????