Q23

[asafezrati]

I saw the explanation, but there is something that bothers me.
I was down to A and E. I've noticed how E is too strong, but the lack of qualification (paragraph 4) in answer choice A repelled me.

How come the correct answer doesn't mention this one?

[rinagoldfield]

Thanks for your post, asaferzrati. The right answer on a main point question *may not be perfect.* Hence, you MUST approach main point questions using a process of elimination.

In this passage, the author describes a valuable process. He then gives two examples to illustrate the process’s value. In the final paragraph, he describes the process’s limitations.

(E) is too extreme. The author thinks the process is overall pretty good. This takes the limits described at the very end too far.
(D) is unsupported. The author doesn’t describe the impact on the landscape. He describes using landscape elements to reveal historical facts.
(C) is unsupported. The author’s goal isn’t to identify ancient species, but to identify facts about ancient civilizations.
(B) is too narrow. The author outlines an example of this in the fourth paragraph, but that’s not the overall point.
(A) is correct. It captures the author’s overall positivity about this process. It also implies the limits described in the last paragraph by noting that the process is useful “in some cases .” (emphasis added)

Main takeaway: don’t make the perfect the enemy of the good. Knock out wrongs to get to the right answer.

[asafezrati]

Yep, I can see now how much worse extreme language is in comparison to what I didn't like in answer choice A.

TODA RINA!