In the third paragraph, the author mentions Yi-Fu Tuan's argument primarily in order to

Irene-Vera on July 4, 2019

Answer A v. answer D

Hi I narrowed it down to A & D. I believe maybe A is wrong because it's too strong? I can see that D is right based on the paragraphs that follow. When taking the LSAT how would I know how to narrow questions like these down? Also, if you could tell me how I would know for sure that A isn't the right answer besides what I believe I picked up from the choices? Thank you

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Ravi on July 4, 2019

@Irene-Vera,

Happy to help. Let's look at (A) and (D).

(A) says. "render doubtful the hypothesis about clearings that the
author seeks to challenge"

(A) is close, as the author ultimately does want to render the
hypothesis doubtful. However, the author attempts to render the
hypothesis doubtful by developing her own hypothesis, which conflicts
with the other one. Yi-Fu Tuan's ideas help the author by allowing her
to develop her own explanation for her hypothesis; the ideas don't
help her to cast doubt upon the commonly held hypothesis in a direct
fashion. Thus, (A) is out.

(D) says, "lay the groundwork for the hypothesis about clearings that
the author outlines"

The author mentions Yi-Fu Tuan's argument to help introduce the idea
of the fear of the wilderness. This provides the background
information and support that the author uses to eventually suggest
that the woodland pathways were present because people were scared of
the wilderness, thereby leading to the author's belief that there was
a noneconomic reason for the clearings in the woodlands. Thus, the
author's reference to Yi-Fu Tuan's argument helps to lay the
foundation for the author's hypothesis about the clearings, so (D) is
the correct answer choice.

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