Command of Evidence Textual Flashcards

A student argues: 'The narrator's distrust of Holloway is not based on any specific incident but rather on an accumulated unease.' Which quotation from the passage BEST supports this claim? (A) 'I had never caught Holloway in an outright lie.' (B) 'It was nothing I could name — only a persistent, low-grade wariness that followed me through every conversation with him.' (C) 'The other staff members had grown fond of Holloway within weeks of his arrival.' (D) 'He had, on three occasions, arrived late without explanation.'

Answer: It was nothing I could name — only a persistent, low-grade wariness that followed me through every conversation with him.

Choice B directly mirrors both parts of the claim: the distrust is unnamed ('nothing I could name') and ongoing ('persistent… through every conversation'), confirming it is not rooted in a single event. Choice A establishes the absence of a specific lie but doesn't convey accumulated unease. Choice D actually contradicts the claim by pointing to specific incidents (three late arrivals). Choice C describes others' reactions, not the narrator's feelings.

Read the following passage excerpt: 'Coral reefs worldwide have experienced unprecedented bleaching events over the past two decades. Rising ocean temperatures are widely cited as the primary driver. However, localized stressors — including agricultural runoff and coastal development — have been shown in certain studies to accelerate bleaching independent of temperature changes. Reefs adjacent to urbanized coastlines bleached an average of 18 days earlier in the season than reefs in remote areas, even when water temperatures were identical.' A researcher claims: 'Temperature alone cannot fully account for the observed variation in bleaching timing.' Which choice provides the STRONGEST textual evidence?

Answer: Reefs adjacent to urbanized coastlines bleached an average of 18 days earlier in the season than reefs in remote areas, even when water temperatures were identical.

Choice B is the strongest evidence because it presents a controlled comparison — identical temperatures, different bleaching timing — which directly falsifies a temperature-only explanation for variation. Choice C mentions that other stressors can accelerate bleaching, but does not demonstrate variation in timing under controlled temperature conditions. Choice A actually supports the opposing view. Choice D provides context but no causal evidence.

A literary critic writes: 'Okonkwo's tragedy in Things Fall Apart stems not from external colonialism alone, but from an internal rigidity he cannot transcend even when doing so might save him.' Which of the following, if found in a passage about the novel, would MOST directly undermine this interpretation?

Answer: Achebe himself stated in interviews that the novel is primarily a critique of British imperialism's dismantling of Igbo society.

Choice D directly challenges the claim by offering authorial intent as evidence that the 'external colonialism' dimension is primary — directly contradicting the critic's framing that internal rigidity is the central tragic force. Choice A might weaken the internal-rigidity argument slightly but does not shift the balance toward colonialism as the dominant cause. Choice B suggests the District Commissioner's role is structurally prominent but doesn't refute the internal component. Choice C actually reinforces the internal-rigidity interpretation.

Passage excerpt: 'Dr. Vasquez maintained that the new protocol reduced patient readmission rates. Her department's data showed a 14% decrease over six months. Critics noted, however, that the same period coincided with a hospital-wide initiative to improve discharge planning — a program that operated independently of Vasquez's protocol and targeted the same patient population.' A hospital board member states: 'The evidence for Vasquez's protocol is confounded and cannot be taken at face value.' Which quotation BEST supports this position?

Answer: The same period coincided with a hospital-wide initiative to improve discharge planning — a program that operated independently of Vasquez's protocol and targeted the same patient population.

Choice C is the most complete version of the confound explanation: it identifies the rival intervention, clarifies it was independent of Vasquez's protocol, and specifies it targeted the same population — all three details are necessary to establish confounding. Choice D is a truncated version that omits the critical details about independence and target population, making it weaker as evidence. Choices A and B support Vasquez's position, not the board member's skepticism.

A student reads a passage about the Harlem Renaissance and makes the following claim: 'Many Harlem Renaissance writers were ambivalent about the commodification of Black art by white patrons and audiences, even as they relied on that patronage financially.' The passage contains these four sentences: I. 'Langston Hughes wrote that a Black artist must be free to express the individual dark-skinned self without shame or fear.' II. 'Carl Van Vechten's Nigger Heaven, written by a white author, became one of the best-selling novels associated with the movement.' III. 'Zora Neale Hurston privately referred to white-funded cultural events as the 'Negrotarian' circuit, even while accepting grants that funded her fieldwork.' IV. 'The 306 salon on West 141st Street became a gathering space where Black artists could share work outside the gaze of white cultural gatekeepers.' Which sentence provides the MOST precise evidence for the student's claim about ambivalence?

Answer: Sentence III

Sentence III is uniquely precise because it captures both poles of the ambivalence simultaneously in the same subject: Hurston's sardonic private label ('Negrotarian') reveals her critique of commodification, while 'even while accepting grants' confirms financial reliance — exactly the tension the claim describes. Sentence I addresses artistic freedom but not financial dependence. Sentence II is about a white author's work, not Black writers' ambivalence. Sentence IV suggests a desire for autonomy but does not demonstrate financial reliance on white patronage.

Passage excerpt: 'The committee's report concluded that the merger had not harmed competition in the regional market. It noted that consumer prices remained stable in the year following the merger and that two new competitors had entered the market during that period. A dissenting member argued that the twelve-month window was insufficient, citing industry research showing that anticompetitive effects in capital-intensive sectors typically emerge only after 24 to 36 months, once new entrants have exhausted startup capital and exited.' Which quotation from the passage best supports the view that the committee's conclusion may be PREMATURE rather than incorrect?

Answer: Industry research showing that anticompetitive effects in capital-intensive sectors typically emerge only after 24 to 36 months, once new entrants have exhausted startup capital and exited.

The claim is specifically about prematurity — that the conclusion may prove wrong given more time, not that it is definitively wrong now. Choice C provides the mechanistic, research-backed reason why a 12-month window is too short: it names the specific timeframe (24–36 months) and explains the causal pathway (new entrants exhaust capital and exit). Choice D names the dissenter's position but without the supporting rationale, making it a weaker citation. Choice A supports the committee's conclusion. Choice B simply restates the conclusion under scrutiny.