16Hit1600
Expression of IdeasVery hardSynthesis: weighing evidence to reach a cautious conclusion

Expression of Ideas practice question

While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes: - A stone axe head was found in the field in 1962. - Two more were found in 1990 within 50 metres of the first. - A fourth was found in 2019, 200 metres away. - No other prehistoric objects have been found in the field. - Axe heads were sometimes traded far from where they were made.

The student wants to suggest, without overstating it, that the field may have had prehistoric significance. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?

  1. A. Four stone axe heads found in the field since 1962, three of them within 50 metres of each other, hint at prehistoric activity there, though with no other finds and the possibility that the axes were traded in, the case remains open.Correct
  2. B. Four stone axe heads have been found in the field.
  3. C. The field was certainly a prehistoric settlement.
  4. D. Axe heads were sometimes traded far from where they were made.

Answer: A. Four stone axe heads found in the field since 1962, three of them within 50 metres of each other, hint at prehistoric activity there, though with no other finds and the possibility that the axes were traded in, the case remains open.

The cluster suggests; the absence and the trade caution.

Why the other answers are wrong

B. Four stone axe heads have been found in the field.
The finds without the suggestion or the caution.
C. The field was certainly a prehistoric settlement.
Overstates the evidence.
D. Axe heads were sometimes traded far from where they were made.
The caution alone.

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