Roles of boldface

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Roles of boldface

by priyank12 » Wed Jun 03, 2009 8:46 pm
I am currently facing problem in below kind of questions and my accuracy in these is damn low......can anyone please provide context from where i can study more about how to solve these kind of questions




Scientists typically do their most creative work before the age of forty. It is commonly thought that this happens because aging by itself brings about a loss of creative capacity. However, studies show that a disproportionately large number of the scientists who produce highly creative work beyond the age of forty entered their field at an older age than is usual. Since by the age of forty the large majority of scientists have been working in their field for at least fifteen years, the studies’ finding strongly suggests that the real reason why scientists over forty rarely produce highly creative work is not that they have simply aged but rather that they generally have spent too long in a given field.
In the argument given, the two portions in boldface play which of the following roles?

* The first is the position that the argument as a whole opposes; the second is an objection that has been raised against a position defended in the argument.
* The first is a claim that has been advanced in support of a position that the argument opposes; the second is a finding that has been used in support of that position.
* The first is an explanation that the argument challenges; the second is a finding that has been used in support of that explanation.
* The first is an explanation that the argument challenges; the second is a finding on which that challenge is based.
* The first is an explanation that the argument defends; the second is a finding that has been used to challenge that explanation.
Last edited by priyank12 on Thu Jun 04, 2009 10:18 am, edited 1 time in total.
Source: — Critical Reasoning |

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by mbadrew » Wed Jun 03, 2009 8:55 pm
Please highlight the boldface phrases.

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by priyank12 » Thu Jun 04, 2009 10:19 am
i have highlighted the bold part....please explain this one and can anyone tell me some document or book where i can knw about these question in a detail.

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by p2pg » Thu Jun 04, 2009 11:04 am
Is it E?

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by hmboy17 » Thu Jun 04, 2009 11:18 am
should be E , OA pls?

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by hmboy17 » Thu Jun 04, 2009 11:25 am
here is sone post for boldface questions-
https://outbeat-the-gmat.blocked/20 ... terms.html

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by priyank12 » Thu Jun 04, 2009 11:29 am
The OA is D

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by syr » Thu Jun 04, 2009 12:27 pm
I will give it my best shot ..

Read the whole argument just as you would read a normal argument.
Now read the first boldface statement. From among the answer choices, read the first part of the answer, and try to determine into which type the first boldface fits into.

Consider the first boldface -- "aging by itself brings about a loss of creative capacity. "

Consider answer options
1) The first is the position that the argument as a whole opposes
-- drop this, the argument does not oppose, it actually challenges

2) The first is a claim that has been advanced in support of a position that the argument opposes
-- you can eliminate this as well

3) The first is an explanation that the argument challenges;
-- shotlist this one

4) The first is an explanation that the argument challenges;
-- shotlist this one as well

5) The first is an explanation that the argument defends;
-- drop this. The argument infact challenges not defends

Now we have 3, 4 as probables

Now consider the second part of the boldface --

"a disproportionately large number of the scientists who produce highly creative work beyond the age of forty entered their field at an older age than is usual."

And see into which type this fits into

3) the second is a finding that has been used in support of that explanation. -- definitely not in support of the explanation that "aging by itself brings about a loss of creative capacity. "

4) the second is a finding on which that challenge is based.
-- exactly! the second is actually a finding that is used to challenge the first boldface


Thus, D is your answer

The explanation of answer choices may not be great. But I hope you get the general idea of how to go about approaching this type of questions.

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by ST » Fri Jun 05, 2009 6:40 am
yup agree answer is D

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by nicolette » Sun May 15, 2016 2:27 pm
I think E is the right answer here