Reading Comprehension: Structure Questions
One function of the second paragraph is to
Incorrect.
[[snippet]]The last paragraph relates to a possibility of tomb raiding being viewed as more than a problem. However, it does not deny that tomb raiding is also a problem, and hence, the evidence in the second paragraph does not contradict it.
You got it!
[[snippet]]The first sentence of the second paragraph presents the example of the mummy of Thutmose III, which shows the damage tomb raiding can cause.
Incorrect.
[[snippet]]This answer choice is very unlikely to be the correct answer to ANY Structure question on the GMAT. The starting point in Reading Comprehension is that all passages were written by expert authors. Therefore, there is no need to establish authors' knowledgeability or authority, and it's not something that passages or paragraphs attempt to do.
Incorrect.
[[snippet]]This answer choice describes the content of the paragraph using functional language. Whereas the second paragraph indeed notes two Egyptologists who made interesting discoveries, their mention is not the paragraph's function, it is its content.
Structure questions are not about what appears in the paragraph but rather about the purpose of what appears in the paragraph, its function in the overall structure of the passage. Did you identify this question as a structure question?
That's probably why you got the question wrong. Identifying the question type is very important as it helps us know whether it's a general question which we can answer based on the Initial Reading only or whether it's a specific question, which means that we need to read more of the passage before we can answer it; whether the answer is stated in the passage or implied, etc.
Identifying this question as a structure question, which is a general question type, helps us realize that we need to focus on the structure and function of the paragraph rather than read it and focus on its content.
Incorrect.
[[snippet]]This paragraph discusses a specific case. We can learn this through our Initial Reading of the passage, in which we read the first sentence of the paragraph:
One known case of tomb raiders who damaged archaeological evidence...
Therefore, this paragraph is more likely to be...
That's right.
A generalization is made when a broad rule or concept is derived from a specific case. In this case, the opposite occurs: a broad rule or concept is strengthened or explained by a specific case, i.e., an example.
Well, that in itself deserves praise, even if you didn't get the question right.
