Passage Organization
Help Questions
LSAT Reading › Passage Organization
Which one of the following best describes how the author organizes the discussion?
By summarizing two explanations and rejecting both as unsupported, without offering an alternative account
By narrating Mari's career chronologically and concluding that early influences reemerged in later years
By presenting a thesis that Mari's late work represents pure aesthetic choice and then illustrating it with examples
By describing the technical process of lithography and comparing it to oil painting to resolve a historical dispute
By outlining a commonly accepted explanation, introducing a competing one, and then proposing a synthesis that incorporates elements of each
Explanation
The author presents the illness account, then a patronage account, shows each is partial, and synthesizes them into a combined constraint-and-choice explanation. The other choices either deny that synthesis, misstate the structure, or introduce topics the passage does not pursue.
The author develops the passage primarily by doing which one of the following?
Evaluating a court decision interpreting the polluter-pays principle and proposing statutory amendments to overturn it
Contrasting two unrelated river treaties to show that legal language rarely affects environmental outcomes
Defining a principle, distinguishing two main ways of implementing it, and illustrating their combination through a recent treaty example
Arguing that ex ante fees are superior to ex post liability and supporting the claim with empirical data from several studies
Describing a historical evolution from liability to fee-based systems and predicting an eventual return to pure liability
Explanation
The passage explains the principle, contrasts ex ante and ex post models, and then uses a river treaty to show a hybrid approach. The other options mischaracterize the structure as advocacy for one model, a historical narrative, an unrelated comparison, or judicial analysis.
Which one of the following best describes the organization of the passage?
It compares two rival theories and argues that one better accounts for the evidence.
It states a claim and then refutes it by presenting contrary data.
It catalogs multiple causes of a phenomenon and estimates their relative contributions.
It presents a problem and proposes several solutions ranked by feasibility.
It traces the historical development of a practice in roughly chronological order and closes by noting its ongoing implications.
Explanation
The passage narrates the shift from local time to standardized time chronologically and ends by noting its continued influence. The other options mislabel it as theory comparison, refutation, problem-solution ranking, or causal apportionment.
Which one of the following best describes how the passage is organized?
By stating a thesis about investment and then testing it with empirical studies
By presenting technical network engineering details and deriving policy conclusions from them
By describing a policy problem and proposing a detailed statutory amendment to solve it
By comparing regulatory approaches in two countries and arguing for adopting elements of both
By tracing a chronological sequence of regulatory and judicial actions, explaining at each stage how those actions reframed the debate, and concluding with a general lesson
Explanation
The passage narrates the evolution of net neutrality through successive actions, interprets how each shift altered the debate, and ends with a takeaway. The other choices describe comparative, empirical, prescriptive, or technical-to-policy structures not used here.
The author organizes the passage by doing which one of the following?
Posing a historical puzzle, critiquing two partial explanations, and advancing a more comprehensive account that reconciles discrepancies.
Defending an orthodox interpretation against recent criticisms by exposing errors in those criticisms.
Consolidating multiple data sets to quantify an effect and then modeling future outcomes.
Describing a methodology and applying it step by step to a single case without disputing alternatives.
Narrating a controversy from participants' perspectives while refraining from taking a position.
Explanation
The passage sets up a doctrinal shift as a puzzle, examines two standard explanations and their limits, and offers a synthesis that incorporates institutional factors to resolve anomalies. The other choices describe structures—quantification and modeling, a defensive rebuttal, neutral narration, or a methods demonstration—that do not fit.
Which one of the following most accurately describes the organization of the passage?
It traces the chronological development of critical responses and concludes that early readings were superior.
It presents a technical analysis of meter and rhyme to demonstrate that form alone generates meaning in the cycle.
It surveys three prevailing approaches, identifies a shared assumption they depend on, and offers a reframing that dissolves the initial opposition.
It introduces a theoretical framework from economics and applies it to reinterpret the poem's imagery.
It argues for a purely autobiographical interpretation and then rebuts potential allegorical counterarguments.
Explanation
The author summarizes three camps, isolates their common assumption about fixed referents, and proposes a reframing centered on measurement that integrates form and content. The other choices misstate the passage's stance or methods.
Which one of the following best describes the organization of the passage?
It identifies a problem in current practice, proposes a multifaceted alternative, illustrates that alternative with examples, and addresses a likely objection.
It enumerates several causes of a trend and ranks them by relative impact.
It states a hypothesis about urban ecology and then refutes it with counterevidence from several cities.
It describes two opposing theories and then synthesizes them into a unified framework.
It provides historical background, narrates a chronological sequence of policy adoptions, and predicts future developments.
Explanation
The passage introduces a problem, proposes microhabitat urbanism, supports it with city examples, and addresses cost objections. Other choices miscast the structure as chronological, theoretical synthesis, refutation, or causal ranking.
The author develops the passage primarily by doing which one of the following?
Presenting a current controversy and proposing to resolve it by eliminating reliance on judicial precedent.
Tracing a historical shift in judicial rationale, identifying what was lost in that shift, and proposing to restore that element as a moderating principle.
Offering a line-by-line exegesis of the clause and then applying that exegesis to modern statutes.
Refuting a textual interpretation by showing that it contradicts another constitutional provision.
Criticizing a common reading of a clause, proposing a wholly new categorical rule, and illustrating that rule with hypothetical cases.
Explanation
The passage sketches early doctrine, notes a later drift, and recommends reviving evidentiary gatekeeping as a moderating feature. It does not refute the clause on textual grounds or offer a line-by-line exegesis. Nor does it propose a new categorical rule or reject precedent altogether.
Which one of the following best describes the organization of the passage?
It describes a single statistical technique and applies it in detail to two case studies without evaluating its limits.
It states a thesis in the first paragraph and then merely illustrates it with a series of anecdotes.
It presents two competing theories and argues for one on purely theoretical grounds without recourse to data.
It narrates the historical development of a research method and then predicts how that method will evolve in the future.
It introduces a practical concern, outlines two principal criticisms, presents empirical strategies that address them, and ends with a qualified recommendation.
Explanation
The passage raises concerns about citizen science, details two biases, describes studies that mitigate them, and concludes with a conditional endorsement. The other choices either miscast the passage as purely historical or anecdotal, or claim it offers theory without data. Choice D is too narrow and omits the evaluative conclusion and discussion of limitations.
Which one of the following best describes the organization of the passage?
It challenges a prevailing view by presenting a single counterexample and then generalizing from it.
It asserts a thesis and then illustrates it through an extended analogy.
It describes two competing explanations, assesses their strengths and limitations, and advances a synthesis that incorporates elements of each.
It poses a question, lists several possible answers, and declines to resolve among them.
It traces the historical development of an idea through several eras and concludes by predicting future changes.
Explanation
The author presents ideational and materialist explanations, evaluates each, and then proposes a hybrid synthesis. The other options misstate the structure as analogy, nonresolution, single-counterexample, or pure chronology.