Which one of the following best expresses the main idea of the passage?

Mehran February 4, 2018

The textual support for answer choice (A) is found in lines 10-13, and also in lines 40-44.

Answer choice (C) should be eliminated because it is missing any statement of the "so what" - the author of this passage is not just describing jurors' imperfect judgment, but is saying that such errors matter because they can lead juries to draw unwarranted conclusions/distort the truth.

Hope this helps! Please let us know if you have any additional questions.

jstaff August 24, 2018

I'm still unclear why A is the correct answer choice. When referencing Lines 40-44 is it the 'situations' that match [match the answer choice A] that you are referring to? Please clarify. Thank you

Mehran August 25, 2018

Hi @jstaff, thanks for your post. If you go a bit above - start at line 37: "Recent empirical research in cognitive psychology suggests that people tend to commit inferential errors like these under certain predictable circumstances. By examining the available information, the situation, and the type of decision being made . . ." What this piece of the passage tells you is that context matters. Certain circumstances, certain situations are likely to predict the inferential errors that a person or group is likely to make.

Overall, the main point of the passage is accurately described in answer choice (A): "When making decisions in certain predictable situations [see lines 40-44, or 37-44], juries may commit inferential errors that obscure rather than reveal the truth [lines 10-13]."

Hope this helps to clarify. Please let us know if you have any additional questions.