A finding question asks you to test which new evidence would support a claim. If the claim favors one cause over other possibilities, put each part in a few words. Then predict what would show each part, including what would make the other causes less likely. Evidence supports the claim most directly when it links the proposed cause to the result and helps rule out the other causes. Sharing the topic isn’t enough, so check every part of the claim.
Hints
- Hint 1
In the last two sentences, separate the source explanation from the other explanations.
- Hint 2
Look for the passage’s clue about additional scribes. What feature would usually point to their participation?
- Hint 3
Use the surviving sources to test the spelling explanation. What could you compare in the manuscript and the sources to check what the scribe retained?
Step-by-step
Test every part of the hypothesis
Step 1Split the hypothesis
The scholar says the scribe retained the conventions of whichever source was being used, so we’re testing why the spellings change. Which other explanations does the hypothesis reject? It rejects changing personal preferences and the participation of additional scribes. The claim credits the sources, not new preferences or extra scribes.
- Step 2
Check whether the spellings identify a source
How can we test whether the scribe kept the conventions of whichever source was being used? Compare the manuscript’s spellings with the older sources. The finding with patterns occurring at nearly the same frequency in both sources gives neither source a distinct pattern. Neither pattern identifies a particular source, so patterns changing at source switches doesn’t show that the scribe copied that source’s conventions.
- Step 3
Check letter forms and the later sections
The passage links extra scribes to consistent differences in letter formation. The finding with a distinct, internally consistent form of letters for each source’s sections points toward extra scribes. The finding limited to the first half of the manuscript supports the claim there, but damage blocks testing the later shifts. Part of the manuscript remains untested.
- Step 4
Use the return to an earlier source
Which finding shows that the shifts reflect switches between sources rather than changes in the scribe's preferences? The finding with spellings frequent in the newly used source matches the manuscript’s spelling to what’s being copied, with consistent letter formation. The earlier pattern returns with the earlier source, tying the spelling shifts to source use rather than changes in preference. Choice D.