Q26

[AmandaG135]

Can someone please explain why B is the correct answer to Q26?
I was between A, C, and E because I thought the relationship between the passages was one explaining why research should be allowed and the other saying research should not be allowed unless perhaps under different circumstances.

[ohthatpatrick]

The two passages shared the topic of "Should / shouldn't judges be conducting outside research into scientific matters of their cases".

Author A: It's dicey, but we shouldn't prohibit it.
Author B: When it comes to appellate judges, we should prohibit it.

(A) Did psg A really discuss the negative effects of independent research? Only in the beginning. Most of the passage was about defending the potential merits of independent research. I'd get rid of (A) for that part.

(B) Sure, psg A was defending the possible merit of independent research, and this title is the same sort of weak endorsement. And psg B was saying for a specific TYPE of judge, independent research is bad. The title for B is saying for a specific type of person, something is bad.

(C) This title for A is over the top strong, but it's in the right direction of saying, "Hey, some independent research could be alright". But we'd definitely reject psg B's title, since there was nothing "inconclusive" about B's argument (if we tried to relate "inconclusive" to B's first sentence throwaway .. 'regardless of what trial courts do' ... we'd be drastically overvaluing that in terms of picking a title that referenced only that opening modifier)

(D) I guess we could call independent research a "substitute" for the research presented by expert witnesses, but psg B's title is too neutral and arms-length. We need a title that reflects psg B's strong point of view that appellate judges shouldn't do their own research.

(E) The first title generic enough to capture that psg A acknowledged the fears and explored the benefits of independent research. The second title kinda sounds like a specific type of thing, but a sample isn't a specific type: it's a subset that is potentially representative of the whole. This title doesn't sound like it has a point of view as much as it sounds like it's reporting on data. And finally, salt DEFICIENCY would mean "these sample people weren't getting enough salt", and psg B is not saying "these appellate judges are not doing enough independent research".

Hope this helps. (sorry for the delay)