LSAT 103 | Section 4 | Reading Comprehension: Q14

RC Question 14 Explanation

DISCUSSION: The passage is making an argument. The author wants to show why the dolphins died. He judges the strength of the accepted explanation, and proposes an alternative explanation.

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1. We already know the effects of the (alleged) bacterial infection: many dolphins died. The author wants to know why so many dolphins died.
2. The author takes for granted that the diagnosis was accurate.
3. The author mentions weaknesses in the scientists’ study, in the second half of the final paragraph. But they’re more errors of fact than method.
    
   And the passage is broader than simply criticizing the study. The author proposes his own explanation.
4. CORRECT. This is better than choice C. Remember that the question asks what the author is “assessing”. The author wants to find out if possible alternatives are better than the accepted explanation.
5. The author didn’t mention various pollutants. He only mentioned two: brevetoxin and PCBs. And he doesn’t come to an overall conclusion about which is deadlier, in all circumstances.