Great question. Contrary to what it may seem like, there actually isn't a little trick to get the main point questions right on RC. The key is to make sure that you're internalizing what's being said each sentence and that upon completion of each paragraph, you think to yourself what the function of that paragraph was and how it relates to the previous paragraphs you've written.
When reading passages, try and think to yourself, "Why are you telling me this?" This will help get you more engaged with the author and will also help guide your mind more toward thinking about what the main point of the passage is.
On this problem, the question says, "Which one of the following most accurately expresses the main point of the passage?"
As you pointed out, this means we're looking for the overall point of the passage. In reading the passage, we see that the author reveals her conclusion toward the beginning of the second paragraph in lines 16-20 when she says, "Lawyers’ commonly held belief in the value of stealing thunder is not only corroborated by those experimental findings; it is also supported by several psychological explanations of why the technique should work."
The reason we know this is the author's conclusion is because the other parts of the passage serve to delve into more detail on the psychological explanations that provide answers as to how stealing thunder favorably influences jurors, which provides support for the author's statement in lines 16-20.
You said you picked (D) instead of (C), so let's take a look at (D).
(D) says, "The risks involved in stealing thunder can outweigh the probable benefits when the information to be revealed is too readily available or too negative in its impact."
While (D) does correctly point out one of the problems/limitations with stealing thunder (when the information is very damaging, which is mentioned in lines 54 to 59), this was not the main point of the whole passage. Rather, this was simply an ancillary point that the author makes at the very end of the passage, but it's not the main point of the whole thing. Another problem with (D) is that the author does not make the claim that an additional limitation of stealing thunder is when the information in question is readily available, so not only does (D) not state the main point of the passage, it also contains an inaccurate statement. As a result, we can get rid of (D).
(C) says, "Lawyers’ commonly held belief in the value of stealing thunder is supported by several psychological explanations of how that strategy may influence jurors."
As we noted above, the main point of the passage was mentioned in the beginning of the second paragraph in lines 16-20 when she says, "Lawyers’ commonly held belief in the value of stealing thunder is not only corroborated by those experimental findings; it is also supported by several psychological explanations of why the technique should work." (C) matches this statement really well—and certainly far better than any of the other answer choices—so it's our pick and is the correct answer.
Does this make sense? Let us know if you have any other questions!
