Q5

[agersh144]

I'm always torn in questions like this. I knew obviously on the surface level B was correct because its speaking of its reinforced frame, extended compass, triple stringing, pedals etc. However I figured that was too simple no one would miss that and guess I over thought it. I ended up begrudingly selecting D figuring that stylistic elaborations made possible by the structural changes fits the overall flow of the passage as reinforcing the point that Beetoven sought outside inspiration from London Pianoforte because Austria was bereft of creative models. I guess I just over-thought the simple meaning. How do you prevent yourself from doing this on test day? Most answers on the LSAT arn't so simple and straightforward so how do you decide when the answer is a trap because of its simplicity and when it's actually really just that easy?

[ohthatpatrick]

I see your dilemma. I would also be caught in the paranoia of, "is (B) too specific? Do they want the ramifications described in (D)?"

For this specific problem, if we re-read the question stem, it is both Inference and "refers to".

When I think Inference question, I think, the correct answer will be a tricky rephrase of something we know or will synthesize two things we know.

When I think "refers to" question (like "according to the passage"), I think the correct answer will be a very literal, close paraphrase of what was said in the passage.

The question is basically asking "What does 'advances' refer to?" If we try to just swap in (B) vs. (D) into the actual sentence, we're picking between

Beethoven responded to the [improvements in the structure of a particular instrument]
vs.
Beethoven responded to the [stylistic elaborations made possible by changes in a particular instrument].

But wait, the stylistic elaborations WERE Beethoven's response. So Beethoven responded to his response?

So that's how I'd resolve this down to 2.

In terms of your broader question, "When can I trust that obvious is okay?" there's no great answer. If you're doing Games and it's one of the first couple questions, trust it. If you're doing LR and still in the first 10 or so questions, trust it. If you're in RC and the question stem is asking for something literal like "according to the passage" / "refers to" / "explicitly states", trust it.

But we all know that sometimes what seems obvious is actually trap language or trap thinking, so if you have extra time in a section, revisit that question. (I'm in the habit of circling the number of any question I want to come back to ... sometimes I get pretty aggressive about picking an answer I'm 98% sure is right without really reading all the other answers, so I'll revisit that problem if I have time left in the section).

This particular question just preys on our paranoia because "it can be inferred" typically is NOT obvious (but sometimes is).

Try to let the easy stuff be easy. If you end up getting bitten by not thinking diligently enough, it will be a teachable moment.

Hope this helps.

[agersh144]

That definitely helps a lot, thank you!