Author: ErikaPrepScholar
Posted: Tue Nov 14, 2017 5:50 am (GMT -8)
That's a really good note, hoji â you're right that "extreme" language, like "only", "always", "never", or any words that are too emotionally-charged often signal an incorrect answer choice, and it's a good call to be skeptical of it.
However, here, all of the other answer choices are definitively wrong for more important reasons: it isn't in the passage, it's the opposite of what the biochemists believed, etc. So we could choose B based on the fact that all of the answer choices are factually incorrect. In addition, while B does contend that the views of 19th century biochemists were fairly strong, even the passage describes their views as "extravagant early claims". So the passage itself supports the idea that 19th century biochemists had pretty extreme views.
The takeaway here is that extreme language is often a good clue, but it doesn't always mean that an answer choice is wrong â you should rely on a careful reading of the answer choices and a solid understanding of the passage over fast tips and tricks.
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Erika John - Content Manager/Lead Instructor
http://gmat.prepscholar.com/gmat/s/
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Posted: Tue Nov 14, 2017 5:50 am (GMT -8)
That's a really good note, hoji â you're right that "extreme" language, like "only", "always", "never", or any words that are too emotionally-charged often signal an incorrect answer choice, and it's a good call to be skeptical of it.
However, here, all of the other answer choices are definitively wrong for more important reasons: it isn't in the passage, it's the opposite of what the biochemists believed, etc. So we could choose B based on the fact that all of the answer choices are factually incorrect. In addition, while B does contend that the views of 19th century biochemists were fairly strong, even the passage describes their views as "extravagant early claims". So the passage itself supports the idea that 19th century biochemists had pretty extreme views.
The takeaway here is that extreme language is often a good clue, but it doesn't always mean that an answer choice is wrong â you should rely on a careful reading of the answer choices and a solid understanding of the passage over fast tips and tricks.
_________________
Erika John - Content Manager/Lead Instructor
http://gmat.prepscholar.com/gmat/s/
Learn about our exclusive savings for BTG members(up to 25% off) and our 5 day free trial
Check out our new PrepScholar GMAT YouTube channel, and read our expert guides on the PrepScholar GMAT blog