202 MCGRAW-HILL’S SAT
- Best choice: BFocus on the exclusivity of the
answers:
(A) Voters always choose incapable political
candidates.(“Always” is exclusive; statement
is mean.)
(B) Voters should be more educated about can-
didates.(Reasonable and inclusive.)
(C) Political candidates rarely campaign effec-
tively.(“Rarely” is somewhat exclusive; state-
ment is harsh.)
(D) Politicans do not represent their constituents
well. (“Do not” is exclusive; statement is
mean.)
(E) Voters are not interested in critical political
issues.(Since this answer would imply that
(B) is also true, it must be wrong.) - Best choice: DorE Think about what can rea-
sonably be accomplished in 400–800 words.
(A) to dissuade students from studying political
science(Reasonable but harsh and petty.)
(B) to describe the evolution of ethics in Ameri-
can history (Far too big a task.)
(C) to attack the credibility of politicians
(Reasonable but harsh.)
(D) to refute a misconception (Reasonable.)
(E) to prescribe a solution to a problem
(Reasonable.)
Concept Review 7
- The answer must be “positive” because it includes
“extremely enthusiastic.” In other words, anyone
who is “extremely enthusiastic” is necessarily
also “positive.” Therefore, “extremely enthusiastic”
cannot be correct without “positive” also being
correct, but this contradicts the fact that there is
only one correct answer. - Because writers generally write about things that
interest them. And even when they write about
things that don’tinterest them (as when they are
given an assignment), they still at least pretendto
be interested, so they do not write with a tone of
indifference. - Best choice:EWhat would a reasonable person
say about where art primarilycomes from? You
don’t need special knowledge here, just common
sense.
(A) desire for wealth (Are most artists money-
grubbers? Probably not.)
(B) anxiety(Are most artists anxious? Could be,
but that’s mean.)
(C) exact imitation (Do most artists make exact
copies? No.)
(D) reason (Do most artists paint logically? Prob-
ably not.)
(E) intuition (Do most artists rely on feelings and
hunches? Seems reasonable.)
Answer Key 7:
Thinking LogicallyAbout the Questions
SAT Practice 7
- C The “right” is described as the right to “knowl-
edge... of the characters and conduct of their
rulers.” - D The sentence says that “the people have a
right to revoke the authority that they themselves
have deputed, and to constituteabler and better
agents... .” This means that they can remove the
leaders who don’t lead well and replace them with
those who do. So constitutemeans something like
replace them with,or choice (D) install.
3. D The passage explains that “our own more
immediate forefathers” experienced
(A) political oppression: “that oppression...
which drove them from their homes” (lines
56–57)
(B) difficult terrain: “inhospitable wilderness”
(lines 54–55)
(C) arduous labor: “severe labors” (lines 60–61)
(E) physical deprivation: “the hunger, the naked-
ness, the cold” (line 59)