Question 76·200 Super-Hard SAT Reading Questions·Craft and Structure
Though the historian's monograph surveys a formidable array of archives, some critics argue that its central thesis is weakened by a tendency to ____ inconvenient evidence rather than grapple with it directly.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?
For Words in Context questions, always read the full sentence (and nearby sentences if given) and then, before looking at the choices, say in your own simple words what should go in the blank (for example, here: "avoid or skip over the evidence"). Note the tone (positive/negative) and the contrast clues like "rather than" or "although." Next, check that each answer choice (1) has the right part of speech, (2) fits the literal meaning you predicted, and (3) sounds natural with the surrounding words (object, prepositions, formal tone). Eliminate choices that don’t collocate well or that would flip the tone, and avoid picking a word just because you recognize it—make it earn its place in the sentence by meaning and usage.
Hints
Use the contrast clue
Focus on the phrase "rather than grapple with it directly." Ask yourself: is the historian facing the inconvenient evidence head-on, or doing something else with it?
Identify the general meaning needed
Since critics say the thesis is "weakened" by this tendency, what kind of behavior toward inconvenient evidence would hurt an argument instead of strengthening it?
Check what each verb usually takes as an object
For each answer choice, think about how you have seen it used: What do we usually elicit? What do we usually excoriate? What do we usually extrapolate from? Which of these verbs naturally fits before "inconvenient evidence" in formal writing?
Think about honesty vs. avoidance
Does the sentence suggest that the historian is engaging with difficult facts in a straightforward way, or finding a way not to deal with them fully? Pick the verb that best matches that behavior.
Step-by-step Explanation
Understand the sentence and its tone
Read the whole sentence:
"Though the historian's monograph surveys a formidable array of archives, some critics argue that its central thesis is weakened by a tendency to ___ inconvenient evidence rather than grapple with it directly."
Key ideas:
- The historian has done a lot of archival research.
- Critics think the thesis is weakened (this is negative).
- The problem is how the historian treats inconvenient evidence.
- There is a contrast: "___ inconvenient evidence rather than grapple with it directly." So the blank must be something worse than grappling with the evidence.
Infer what kind of action belongs in the blank
Focus on the phrase "rather than grapple with it directly": to grapple with evidence means to confront it and deal with it honestly and seriously.
Since the critics are complaining, the historian is doing something less honest or less direct with the inconvenient evidence. So the blank should be a verb that suggests avoiding, sidestepping, or leaving out that evidence instead of confronting it.
Check the part of speech and fit of each choice
We need a verb that can directly take the object "inconvenient evidence" and that matches the negative idea we just identified.
Test each option in the sentence:
- "a tendency to elicit inconvenient evidence" — does that sound like avoiding evidence, or bringing it out?
- "a tendency to excoriate inconvenient evidence" — do we usually excoriate evidence, or people/arguments?
- "a tendency to [C] inconvenient evidence" — does this verb mean to leave something out or skip over it?
- "a tendency to extrapolate inconvenient evidence" — is evidence what we extrapolate, or is evidence what we extrapolate from?
Keep in mind both meaning and natural wording (what we normally say in English).
Eliminate choices that don’t match the meaning or usage
Now use definitions to eliminate:
- elicit = to draw out or bring forth (as in "elicit a response"). That would mean the historian is producing more inconvenient evidence, which would not weaken the thesis in the way critics complain about.
- excoriate = to criticize very harshly. We usually excoriate people or ideas, not "evidence." And harshly attacking evidence is still a way of grappling with it, not dodging it.
- extrapolate = to infer or estimate by extending known data. We extrapolate from evidence, not extrapolate evidence itself, so it sounds unnatural and doesn’t match "rather than grapple with it directly."
The remaining option is the only one that fits both the meaning (avoiding or omitting inconvenient evidence) and the grammar of the sentence.
Confirm the correct choice
C) elide is the correct answer.
"Elide" means to omit, ignore, or leave out something, especially something that should be considered. Critics are saying the historian elides (leaves out or smooths over) inconvenient evidence instead of grappling with it directly, which exactly matches the negative judgment in the sentence.