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Reading Comp Why and How Questions

Why and How Questions

Why and how questions ask you about why the author used certain details or how the passage is put together. They’re structural and ask you to get inside the head of the author. The test wants to see if you can analyze the author enough to think like the author.

This is the first of a series of articles about Reading Comprehension Questions on the LSAT test. The series includes the following articles:

Reading Comp Why and How Questions 

Question stems for why and how questions might include:

The author refers to… in order to…

The author is primarily concerned with…

In the second paragraph… the passage refers to… in order to… 

Here is an example of a why and how question:

6. In the third paragraph, the author of the passage refers to horse-drawn implements primarily in order to

(A)       support the idea that many farmers do not embrace changes.
(B)       argue the importance of new technology in agriculture.
(C)       show that the acceptance of new technology in agriculture is routine.
(D)       compare older technologies to newer technologies.
(E)       demand that new agricultural technologies must be properly promoted.

Answer the question on your own before reading our analysis.

When the LSAT test starts each answer choice with a tone word, it’s a rare gift. You can easily rule out a couple of answer choice on the basis of the first word alone. First, the question stem helps you locate the detail right away. Remember that the purpose of a why and how question is to see if you understand how the author put the passage together, not if you can find a detail. So these questions actually help you find the detail faster. Then note that the tone of the section the question refers to is descriptive, not argumentative.

The author mentions “horse-drawn implements,” as an example for the sentence that precedes it, not to make an argument. Thus, you can rule out answers (B) and (E) right away on the basis of their first words. “Argue,” and “demand,” just don’t fit the tone of the author in that section.

Let’s review the remaining choices:

(A)       support the idea that many farmers do not embrace changes.

This is the correct answer. The only reason the author mentions this detail is to show that, according to the sentence that precedes it, “not all changes were welcome.”

(C)       show that the acceptance of new technology in agriculture is routine.

This answer contradicts what the author is really trying to do. Change is not routine.

(D)       compare older technologies to newer technologies.

This might be tempting since new technology is the real focus of the paragraph; however, it is out of scope as the author never makes a comparison between “horse-drawn implements,” and newer technologies such as “genetically-modified crops.”

LSAT Tips for Why and How Questions

Context. The key is the context the detail is in. Read the lines before and after the detail. Watch for keywords. Are things being contrasted, argued, described? Is the detail an example, a contradiction, an exception?

Eliminate the wrong answers. Typically, the wrong answers to a why and how question will have one or more of the following characteristics:

  • A contradiction of the main purpose in the detail, paragraph or passage.
  • A repeat of details in the passage but not an explanation of their purpose
  • Include the wrong tone words such as “demand” when the author is simply describing a situation
  • Imply a connection of details that doesn’t exist and is thus out of scope

Reading Comprehension Questions Summary Tips

The main types of questions in Reading Comprehension are macro (main-idea), inference, detail and why and how questions.

Ignore details until you’re asked for them.

Focus on key phrases that describe the thrust of the paragraph. After you’ve read the paragraph, go back and underline the key phrases that seem to summarize the paragraph. Make your own paraphrase and jot it down in the test booklet. This will form your outline and help you decide what the main idea is. Not only will this save you time later, you’ll get a “gimme” point or two with macro questions.

If you’re stuck on an answer, Reading Comprehension questions are especially susceptible to elimination strategies. Watch for wrong answers that have:

  • Bad tone words and extreme language
  • Distortion (tying two details together in a way the author didn’t intend)
  • Out of scope or details from the wrong paragraph
  • Contradictions
  • Bizarre, wacky answers

Now return to our LSAT test prep course to read another lesson series.