PSAT Writing and Language Question 337: Answer and Explanation

Question: 337

Which choice best maintains the style and tone of the passage?

• A. NO CHANGE
• B. nicely
• C. amazingly
• D. wonderfully

Correct Answer: A

Explanation:

Note the question! The question asks for the choice that best maintains the style and tone of the passage, so it's testing consistency. The tone of the passage is formal and academic, so eliminate answer choices that are too informal or contain slang words. In addition, the underlined word should reflect the idea that Gause wanted to measure how the populations grew, so it should mean something like "successfully." Keep (A) because well matches the tone of the passage and matches the meaning of "successfully" in context. Although "nicely" can match "successfully," it more closely means "agreeably," which is not quite appropriate in context. Eliminate (B). Eliminate (C) because it is too informal to match the tone of the passage. Eliminate (D) because it is too strong. The passage has a mild tone, whereas wonderfully has a more excited connotation, which is not consistent. The correct answer is (A).