Critical Reasoning

Johnson is on firm ground when he asserts that the early editors of Dickinson’s poetry often distorted her intentions. Yet Johnson’s own, more faithful, text is still guilty of its own forms of distortion. To standardize Dickinson’s often indecipherable handwritten punctuation by the use of the dash is to render permanent a casual mode of poetic phrasing that Dickinson surely never expected to see in print. It implies that Dickinson chose the dash as her typical mark of punctuation when, in fact, she apparently never made any definitive choice at all.

Which of the following best summarizes the author’s main point?

(A) Although Johnson is right in criticizing Dickinson’s early editors for their distortion of her work, his own text is guilty of equally serious distortions.
(B) Johnson’s use of the dash in his text of Dickinson’s poetry misleads readers about the poet’s intentions.
(C) Because Dickinson never expected her poetry to be published, virtually any attempt at editing it must run counter to her intentions.
(D) Although Johnson’s attempt to produce a more faithful text of Dickinson’s poetry is well-meaning, his study of the material lacks sufficient thoroughness.
(E) Dickinson’s editors, including Johnson, have failed to deal adequately with the problem of deciphering Dickinson’s handwritten manuscripts.

jcmsolis, IMO E! What's the OA?

I will go with D.

(D) Although Johnson’s attempt to produce a more faithful text of Dickinson’s poetry is well-meaning, his study of the material lacks sufficient thoroughness.

A is a good contender but too narrow
B states that Johnson introduced the dashes, which is incorrect
C states an assumption that is never stated in the argument
E is an premise given in the argument

I will also go with E. C is a close contender but slightly inappropriate. All others are irrelevant

I'd go with (A).

In most GMAT arguments, words such as "therefore", "thus", "consequently" and "hence" help us find the author's conclusion.

In main point questions, those normal conclusion keywords are usually absent or even misleading, should they appear. Most often it's a contrast keyword (e.g. however, but, nevertheless, yet...) that points us to the author's big opinion.

Such is the case in this question. The first two sentences summarize the author's big point and the rest of the argument merely illustrates why the author feels that way about Johnson by summarizing the details of what Johnson did to distort Dickinson.

Stuart, can you explain a bit further why you opted for A. According to your explanation, it is hard to decide between A & D.

i also will go D