Description Questions

　　Description questions， as with main idea questions， refer to a point made by the author. However， description questions refer to a minor¹ point or to incidental information， not to the author‘s main point.

　　The answer to a description question must refer directly to a statement in the passage， not to something implied by it. However， the correct answer will paraphrase² a statement in the passage， not give an exact quote. In fact， exact quotes （“Same language” traps） are often used to bait wrong answers.

　　Caution： When answering a description question， you must find the point in the passage from which the question is drawn³. Don‘t rely on memory——too manyobfuscating tactics are used with these questions.

　　Not only must the correct answer refer directly to a statement in the passage， it must refer to the relevant statement. The correct answer will be surrounded by wrong choices which refer directly to the passage but don‘t address

　　the question. These choices can be tempting⁴ because they tend to be quite close to the actual answer.

　　Once you spot the sentence to which the question refers， you still must read a few sentences before and after it， to put the question in context. If a question refers to line 20， the information needed to answer it can occur anyswheresfrom line 15 to 25. Even if you have spotted⁵ the answer in line 20， you should still read a couple more lines to make certain you have the proper perspective.

　　Example： （Refer to the first passage.）

　　According to the passage， the inquisitorial system differs from the adversarial system in that

　　（A） it does not make the defendant⁶ solely⁷ responsible for gathering⁸ evidence for his case

　　（B） it does not require the police department to work on behalf of the prosecution⁹

　　（C） it does not allow the victim the satisfaction of private vengeance¹⁰

　　（D） it requires the prosecution to drop a weak case

　　（E） a defendant who is innocent would prefer to be tried under the inquisitorial system

　　This is a description question， so the information needed to answer it must be stated in the passage——though not in the same language as in the answer.

　　The needed information is contained in the fourth sentence of Paragraph 3， which states that the public prosecutor¹¹ has to investigate on behalf of both society and the defendant. Thus， the defendant is not solely responsible for investigating his case. Furthermore， the paragraph‘s opening implies that this feature is not found in the adversarial system. This illustrates¹² why you must determine the context of the situation before you can safely answer the question. The answer is （A）。

　　Writing Technique Questions

　　All coherent writing has a superstructure or blueprint¹³. When writing， we don‘t just randomly¹⁴ jot¹⁵ down our thoughts； we organize our ideas and present them in a logical manner. For instance， we may present evidence that builds up to a conclusion but intentionally¹⁶ leave the conclusion unstated， or we may

　　present a position and then contrast it with an opposing position， or we may draw an extended analogy.

　　There is an endless number of writing techniques that authors use to present their ideas， so we cannot classify every method. However， some techniques are very common to the type of explanatory or opinionated writing found in GM

AT passages.

　　A. Compare and contrast two positions.

　　This technique has a number of variations， but the most common and direct is to develop two ideas or systems （comparing） and then point out why one is better than the other （contrasting）。

　　Writing-technique questions are similar to main idea questions； except that they ask about how the author presents his ideas， not about the ideas themselves. Generally， you will be given only two writing methods to choose from， but each method will have two or more variations.

　　Example： （Refer to the first passage.）

　　Which one of the following best describes the organization of the passage？

　　（A） Two systems of criminal justice are compared and contrasted， and one is deemed to be better than the other.

　　（B） One system of criminal justice is presented as better than another. Then evidence is offered to support that claim.

　　（C） Two systems of criminal justice are analyzed¹⁷， and one specific example is examined in detail.

　　（D） A set of examples is furnished. Then a conclusion is drawn from them.

　　（E） The inner workings of the criminal justice system are illustrated¹⁸ by using two systems.

　　Clearly the author is comparing and contrasting two criminal justice systems …… Indeed， the opening to paragraph two makes this explicit¹⁹. The author uses a mixed form of comparison and contrast. He opens the passage by developing （comparing） both systems and then shifts to developing just the adversarial system. He opens the second paragraph by contrasting the two criminal justice systems and then further develops just the inquisitorial system. Finally， he closes by again contrasting the two systems and implying that the inquisitorial system is superior.

　　Only two answer-choices， （A） and （B）， have any real merit. They say essentially²⁰ the same thing——though in different order. Notice in the passage that the author does not indicate which system is better until the end of paragraph one， and he does not make that certain until paragraph two. This contradicts thesgroupsgiven by （B）。 Hence the answer is （A）。 （Note： In （A） thesgroupsis not specified²¹ and therefore is harder to attack， whereas in （B） thesgroupss definite and therefore is easier to attack. Remember that a measured response is harder to attack and therefore is more likely to be the answer.）

　　B. Show cause and effect.

　　In this technique， the author typically shows how a particular cause leads to a certain result or set of results. It is not uncommon²² for this method to ntroduce a sequence of causes and effects. A causes B， which causes C， which causes D， and so on. Hence B is both the effect of A and the cause of C.

　　Example： （Mini-passage）

　　Thirdly， I worry about the private automobile²³. It is a dirty， noisy， wasteful²⁴， and lonely means of travel. It pollutes the air， ruins the safety and sociability²⁵ of the street， and exercises upon the individual a discipline which takes away far more freedom than it gives him. It causes an enormous amount of land to be unnecessarily abstracted from nature and from plant life and to become devoid²⁶ of any natural function. It explodes cities， grievously impairs²⁷ the whole institution of neighborliness， fragmentizes and destroys communities. It has already spelled the end of our cities as real cultural and social communities， and has made impossible the construction of any others in their place. Together with the airplane， it has crowded out other， more civilized²⁸ and more convenient means of transport， leaving older people， infirm people， poor people and children in a worse situation than they were a hundred years ago. It continues to lend a terrible element of fragility to our civilization， placing us in a situationswheresour life would break down completely if anything ever interfered with the oil supply

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