Organization | Worked example

- [Instructor] Which of the following best describes the way in which the information in the passage is conveyed? So, as we read this passage, we need to identify the way in which the information is conveyed. So, this is a question about how this passage is organized. Other questions of this type might ask about the structure or in what order information happened. This wants us to describe the way in which the passage is conveyed. Alright, so let's read the passage. DNA, the double-helix molecule found in each life-form, is packed with millions of pieces of genetic information and can be thought of as a very long, very detailed sentence that exactly describes all the life-form's characteristics. Alright, so we're comparing DNA to a sentence. That's a neat metaphor. Not only can scientists now identify the individual word in a DNA sentence, but they can also write new stories. Okay, so we're using the metaphor of written language to describe how DNA and genes work. Here's an example of a new story. For example, a gene from a cold-water fish can be spliced into a vegetable to increase the vegetable's cold-weather hardiness. Cool, so which of the following best describes the way in which the information in passage is conveyed? It's a metaphor about language, and then we have an example of a new story that doesn't use the metaphor but is an example that explains what a new story might look like. Plus example. So, I have a description here in my own words of how I think the information in the passage is conveyed, the author is using a metaphor to convey how DNA works and how gene splicing works. So, let's take a look at the answer choices. Option A, a metaphor, hey, how 'bout that, is used in an explanation and then an example is provided. Welp, I mean, that's what we said. I don't wanna circle it just yet, but I'm gonna give it a little star. Option B, an objection is made to a claim and a counterexample is given. This one I think we can just cross off right away. What is the claim being made in this paragraph that, I don't know, DNA is in life-forms? Certainly no objection is made to it, nor any counterexample is given, so we can just eliminate that one right away. A bizarre image is presented to illustrate a suspect claim. Now, it's the word suspect that is kinda throwing me off here. A bizarre image certainly, you know, splicing some fish DNA into a vegetable and having that all be like a written story is pretty strange, that's pretty bizarre, but the word suspect seems to indicate that there would be a negative tone coming from the author, like a doubtful tone about genes, about DNA that's not present in the passage, so I'm going to cross that out. Remember that a single incorrect word can rule out an option, right? If this was just a bizarre image is presented to illustrate a claim, well, honestly, an image used to illustrate a claim is very similar to a metaphor, but because we have this word suspect here, we can knock it out. There's nothing about the author's voice that suggests that they're being suspicious or that they treat this as a suspect claim. A dry point is enlivened by a comparison and a contrast. So, we do have a comparison, right? DNA can be thought of as a very long, very detailed sentence, but we have two things that tell us that this is not the answer, and it's a dry point and a contrast. Now, you personally may think that DNA is uninteresting, I don't know why, it's super cool it me, but the author doesn't seem to have that opinion, nor is there any contrast. If the comparison is, DNA is like a sentence, nowhere else in the passage does it say DNA is not like a sentence, so there's no contrast and the fact that it's dry is not remarked upon by the author, so we can cross that right off. Option E, a generalization is made. Okay, sure, this metaphor is kind of like a generalization. DNA can be thought of as a sentence. That makes sense to me. Where I'm lost here is the word several because we only have one example, our cold-water fish spliced into a vegetable. So, it's not that this part of wrong, this is fine, there's a generalization about DNA and genetic material, but where we get lost is this one word, several, 'cause we only the one. So, I'm gonna knock this out and let's go back to option A, circle that, and say that is our answer. So, when you encounter a question that asks about how a passage is organized, take a moment to step back from what the content literally says and look at its structure. What order are things happening in? How is information conveyed, and in what order? After you've looked at the structure, the next thing you should do is figure out, in your own words, what the structure is. After you've done that, you can use the process of elimination to get rid of the things that don't match that exactly, which should make your ultimate decision a good deal easier.