SAT Reading Comprehension: Misdirection with Related Terms (People)

In addition to misdirection using ---’s (Lesson 26), the SAT answer choices in the Reading section frequently employ misdirection by using ideas attached to a person or group of people. For instance, a passage might focus on Thomas Jefferson.

In this case, incorrect answer choices might include ideas such as “Founding Fathers”, “political philosophers”, and “presidents”. While all of these ideas are related to Jefferson, they do not properly focus on Jefferson himself.

Please note that the same conclusion can be reached by using the idea of scope. For, Jefferson is one individual, while the other terms represent groups of people. These approaches of misdirection and of scope should be used in whatever combination works best for you.

PRACTICE QUESTION FOR MISDIRECTION WITH RELATED TERMS (PEOPLE):

The Black American biologist E.E. Just had fled to France in 1929, hoping to escape the pervasive racism of his academic “colleagues”, who urged him to pursue a more appropriate field. In Europe, Just freely continued his research on cells and cellular development. He championed an approach, based on his research on marine invertebrates, of cellular holism.

1. The above lines primarily imply that
   (A) biologists in America were not as free as those in Europe
   (B) E.E. Just’s approach was weakened by its reliance on invertebrates
   (C) racism dogged Black scientists in Europe
   (D) E.E. Just’s theory of cellular holism did not reach America
   (E) E.E. Just could pursue his studies more easily in Europe

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The referenced lines focus on E.E. Just. Thus the correct answer choice must also focus on E.E. Just the person. This fact allows you to eliminate wrong choices.

   Choice (A) is incorrect because it focuses on an attribute of Just (“biologists”)
   Choice (B) is wrong because it uses misdirection with ---’s
   Choice (C) possesses the same flaw as choice (A) (“Black scientists”)
   Choice (D) is wrong because it has misdirection with ---’s.

   Only choice (E) properly focuses on Just the person and is the correct answer.

Misdirection with Related Terms (People)

Lesson Includes:

—Overview of Misdirection with Related Terms

—Practice Question for Misdirection with Related Terms (People)

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SAT Reading

SAT Vocabulary