Some biologists believe that the capacity for flight first developed in marine reptiles, claiming that feathers are c...

Ravi on March 12, 2019

@Shiyi-Zhang,

Happy to help. This is an Argument Structure question. The question
stem states, "Which one of the following most accurately describes the
role played in the passage by the claim that nonmarine reptiles have
scales?"

This question is asking us to identify the role that "nonmarine
reptiles also have scales" plays in the argument.

In examining the stimulus, we see that the author's conclusion is that
some biologists correct reject the suggestion that the capacity for
flight first developed in marine reptiles. These biologists support
their conclusion by pointing out that bats don't have scales and that
there are nonmarine reptiles that do have scales.

From this, we know that the claim the question is asking us about is
used as support for the overall conclusion of the stimulus, which
rebuts the claim that the capacity for flight first developed in
marine reptiles.

(A) says, "It is cited as evidence against the claim that the capacity
for flight first developed in marine reptiles."

(A) does a great job in paraphrasing our anticipation. The author
states that the biologists who disagree that the capacity for flight
first developed in marine reptiles are correct. (A) describes how the
claim in question functions in the argument, so it's the correct
answer choice.

Does this make sense? Let us know if you have any other questions!