PSAT Writing and Language Question 336: Answer and Explanation

Question: 336

Which choice best sets up the information that follows in the passage?

• A. NO CHANGE
• B. the first to prove the validity of the principle of competitive exclusion, in 1932.
• C. later awarded a prize for his life-saving work on antibiotic medications.
• D. an ecologist who published a number of influential books.

Correct Answer: B

Explanation:

Note the question! The question asks which choice sets up the information that follows in the passage, so it's testing consistency of ideas. Determine the main point of the information that follows, and find the answer that is consistent with this idea. The paragraph that follows the underlined portion discusses a laboratory experiment conducted by Gause to test the theory of competitive exclusion. Eliminate (A) because information about Gause's birth is not consistent with his experiment in the next paragraph. Keep (B) because Gause's proving the validity of the principle of competitive exclusion is consistent with the experiment in the next paragraph. Eliminate (C) and (D) because neither the prize that Gause later received nor the influential books he later published is consistent with the experiment discussed in the next paragraph. The correct answer is (B).