CHAPTER 9: RESOLVE THE PARADOX QUS

• Resolve the paradox questions are generally easy to spot because of their distinctive stimuli: each stimulus presents a situation where two ideas or occurrences contradict each other

• Despite the contradictory facts, most RTP stimuli must contain the following features:

  • No conclusion:

    • The stimulus does not contain a conclusion. The author is not trying to persuade you, he or she just presents two sets of contradictory facts.

    • When you read a stimulus without a conclusion that contains a paradox, expect to see a Resolve question.

    • If you read a fact set that doesn’t contain a paradox, it must be a “Must be True” question or “Cannot be True” question (less likely)

  • Language of contradiction:

    • In order to present a paradox, the test makers use language that signals a contradiction is present: “But”, “However”, “Yet”, “Although”, “Paradoxically”, “Surprisingly”

Question Stem Features

• An indication that the answer choices should be accepted as true

  • RDP questions fall in the second question family, you must accept the answer choices as true and then see if they resolve the paradox.

  • Typically, the question stem will contain a phrase such as, “Which of the following, if true,…”

• Key words that indicate your task is to resolve a problem

  • RDP question stems usually use words from both of the lists below. The first list contains words used to describe the action you must take, second list contains words used to describe the paradox present in the stimulus:

  • Action: “Resolve”, “Explain”, “Reconcile”

  • Problem: “Paradox”, “Discrepancy”, “Contradiction”, “Conflict”, “Puzzle”

• Question stem examples:

  • "Which of the following, if true, most helps to resolve the apparent paradox?"

  • "Which of the following, if true, most helps to explain the discrepancy described above?"

  • "Which of the following, if true, best reconciles the seeming discrepancy described above?"

  • "Which of the following hypotheses best explains the contrast described above?"

Active Resolution

• The correct answer for RDP questions will actively resolve the paradox, that is, will allow both sides to be factually correct and it will either explain how the situation came into being or add a piece of information that shows how the two ideas or occurrences can coexist

• Because you are not seeking to disprove one side of the situation, you must select the answer choice that contains a possible cause of the situation. When assessing the answers, ask yourself if the answer choice could lead to the situation in the stimulus

• The correct answer will actively resolve the paradox so that both sides are true and the conditions in the stimulus have been met.

• If an answer supports or proves only one side of the paradox, that answer will be incorrect. The correct answer must show how both sides coexist

• If the stimulus contains a paradox where two items are similar, then an answer choice that explains a difference between the two cannot be correct. If the stimulus contains a paradox where two items are different, then an answer choice that explains why the two are similar cannot be correct.

  • TL;DR - A similarity cannot explain a difference, and a difference cannot explain a similarity

• When attempting to resolve the paradox in the stimulus, you must address the facts of the situation. Many incorrect answers will lure you with reasonable solutions that do not quite meet the stated facts. The correct answers must conform to the specifics of the stimulus otherwise how could it resolve or explain the situation?

CHAPTER REVIEW

• Each resolve the paradox stimulus presents a situation where two ideas or occurrences contradict each other

• Besides discrepant or contradictory facts, most RDP stimuli contain the following features:

  • No conclusion

  • Language of contradiction

• The correct answer will actively resolve the paradox - it will allow both sides to be factually correct and it will either explain how the situation came into being or add a piece of information that shows how the two ideas or occurrences can coexist

• Because you are not seeking to disprove one side of the situation, you must select the answer choice that contains a possible cause of the situation. When assessing answers, ask yourself if the answer choice could lead to the situation in the stimulus.

• Following answer choices are incorrect:

  • Explains only one side of the paradox:

    • The correct answer must show how both sides coexist

  • Similarities and differences

    • If the stimulus contains a paradox where two items are similar, then an answer choice that explains a difference between the two cannot be correct

    • Conversely, if the stimulus contains a paradox where two items are different, then an answer choice that explains why the two are similar cannot be correct

    • TL;DR - Similarity cannot explain a difference, and a difference cannot explain a similarity

• When attempting to resolve the problem in the stimulus, you must address the facts of the situation. If the answers lure you with reasonable solutions that don’t quite meet the stated facts, they are incorrect