The goal in any BOLDFACE question is to deconstruct the argument, and determine the role of each statement:
- author's conclusion / position
- support for the author
- the counterpoint / what others believe
- support for the counterpoint
- neutral / background information / establishing phenomenon
Let's break down this argument:
Background information:
Most of Western music since the Renaissance has been based on a seven-note scale known as the diatonic scale
Question to be answered:
when did the scale originate?
Supporting premises:
- A fragment of a bone flute excavated at a Neanderthal campsite has four holes, which are spaced in exactly the right way for playing the third through sixth notes of a diatonic scale.
- The entire flute must surely have had more holes
- the flute was made from a bone that was long enough for these additional holes to have allowed a complete diatonic scale to be played.
Conclusion:
Therefore, the Neanderthals who made the flute probably used a diatonic musical scale.
Now, we label the boldface portions according to this breakdown:
Boldface 1: "A fragment of a bone flute excavated at a Neanderthal campsite has four holes, which are spaced in exactly the right way for playing the third through sixth notes of a diatonic scale."
= supporting premise (fact)
Boldface 2: "Therefore, the Neanderthals who made the flute probably used a diatonic musical scale. "
= author's conclusion
Now we evaluate the answer choices.
Tip for boldface questions: When looking at answer choices, just look at the 1st part first, and eliminate answers. Then look at the 2nd part of the answers that remain.
Looking at the 1st part of each answer choice, we're looking for supporting premise (fact)
(A) The first introduces evidence to support the main conclusion of the argument...
Yes, keep this.
(B) The first introduces evidence to support the main conclusion of the argument...
Same.
(C) The first describes a discovery as undermining the position against which the argument as a whole is directed...
No, this would be evidence weighing AGAINST the author's position. Eliminate.
(D) The first introduces the phenomenon that the argument as a whole seeks to explain...
No. The argument as a whole seeks to explain the invention of the diatonic scale. This is evidence that helps the author to explain that phenomenon. Eliminate.
(E) The first introduces the phenomenon that the argument as a whole seeks to explain...
Same as E.
Eliminating C, D, and E, we only have to evaluate the 2nd part of A and B. We're looking for: author's conclusion
(A) ... the second is the main conclusion stated in the argument.
Yes, this is exactly what we're lookin for.
(B) ...the second presents a position to which the argument is opposed.
No, that would be a counterpoint. This is the author's main point.
The answer is A.
Ceilidh Erickson
EdM in Mind, Brain, and Education
Harvard Graduate School of Education