Isolation from other baboons and lower social status within the community,

[Meowrin]

Hello, I would like to ask your help with the following test quetion:

Jenny Tung is an evolutionary anthropologist who studies the connections between genomics, health, and social experiences in different populations of primates and monkeys. While studying a population of Kenyan baboons, she found several factors that led to significantly shorter life spans—environmental conditions, such as droughts, isolation from other_______ social status within the community, and genetic issues.

Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?

A) baboons, lower
B) baboons, and lower
C) baboons or lower
D) baboons and lower

Can someone explain why the correct answer is B? I personally thought it was D because "Isolation from other baboons" and "lower social status within the community" are connected, so they're 1 element of the list and you don't need the comma. Could this just be a style preference? Can someone point out material where this sort of scenario is discussed?

Thank you

 

[Annabel Lee]

The answer is neither B nor D. The answer is A.

The noun-phrase series has four elements, the head nouns of which are droughts, isolation, status, and issues.

". . . such as [droughts], [isolation from other baboons], [lower social status within the community], and [genetic issues]. "

 

[SoothingDave]

How are genetics or social status an "environmental condition?"

This question is awful.

You can't use commas for everything, especially when you have compound phrases.

I read it like this:

Factors for shorter lifespans:

1. environmental conditions, like drought
2. isolation from other baboons and lower social status (it is totally unclear if this is supposed to be one or two things, and this is exactly what we are being asked to solve for)
3. genetic issues

I would choose D. Again, this is just an awful question. Awful punctuation.

If I had to punctuate this, it would go something like this:

" ...several factors that led to significantly shorter life spans: environmental conditions, such as droughts; isolation from other baboons and lower social status within the community; and genetic issues."

 

[jutfrank]

I personally think the question is passable and the answer is clearly enough A, though I'd edit out the comma after environmental conditions for clarity.

We need to know where you've taken this question from, Meowrin. Thank you.

 

[Meowrin]

I personally think the question is passable and the answer is clearly enough A, though I'd edit out the comma after environmental conditions for clarity.

We need to know where you've taken this question from, Meowrin. Thank you.

This is a from a mock SAT test a friend took. The official explanation of why the answer is B) is that "genetic issues" is not part of "environmental conditions" but of "factors":

"While studying a population of Kenyan baboons, she found several factors that led to significantly shorter life spans—[(1) environmental conditions, such as droughts, isolation from other baboons, and lower social status within the community], and [(2) genetic issues]."


This is a clearer breakdown:

"While studying a population of Kenyan baboons, she found several factors that led to significantly shorter life spans—

(Factor 1) Environmental conditions, such as:
Droughts
Isolation from other baboons
Lower social status within the community

,and

(Factor 2) Genetic issues"

Would the punctuation in B) be appropriate in this case?

 

[jutfrank]

Well, in that case it doesn't make clear enough sense, as SoothingDave has pointed out, since social status is not an environmental condition. If comprehension relies on the fact of knowing that anthroplogists do count low social rank as an environmental condition, then I think the question is unfair.

 

[Annabel Lee]

This is a from a mock SAT test a friend took.

Are you sure you copied the question correctly, Meowrin? I was skeptical enough to try to find it on the Internet. (The SAT would not try to pass a hyphen off as an em dash, for one thing. Hyphens are not dashes.) Here's what I found:



Notice, firstly, that the sentence ends with "and lower social status within the community," not with "and genetic issues." Secondly, notice that the focus of the question is on the punctuation mark that should be used after "spans," not on what should appear between "other" and "social status." Among the answer possibilities for the punctuation mark to be used, an em dash is not to be found, much less a hyphen that wishes it were an em dash.

 

[jutfrank]

Okay, now it's clear what the question is testing, and uncontroversial. Thank you, Annabel Lee.

 

[Meowrin]

Are you sure you copied the question correctly, Meowrin? I was skeptical enough to try to find it on the Internet. (The SAT would not try to pass a hyphen off as an em dash, for one thing. Hyphens are not dashes.) Here's what I found:

View attachment 6298

Notice, firstly, that the sentence ends with "and lower social status within the community," not with "and genetic issues." Secondly, notice that the focus of the question is on the punctuation mark that should be used after "spans," not on what should appear between "other" and "social status." Among the answer possibilities for the punctuation mark to be used, an em dash is not to be found, much less a hyphen that wishes it were an em dash.

No, I copied the question correctly. The - I wrote was supposed to be an en dash, I thought it was appropriate to substitute it for the em dash. I forgot an en dash is slightly longer than a hyphen, and I probably should have put spaces on either side to make it clearer. I just couldn't reproduce the em dash on my keyboard at the time and half-assed it (and now paying the consequences), but in the screenshot my friend sent me it's a proper em dash. Sorry for the confusion. Everything else besides the em dash I copied correctly. I'll edit my post to fix it.

The test question you found online is different to the one I have. I am an airhead sometimes, but I wouldn't mess up the transcription that bad.

I would post the screenshot but it says "The uploaded file is too large." for some reason.

 

[Annabel Lee]

No, I copied the question correctly.

In that case, I agree with SoothingDave's analysis, especially with his criticism of the punctuation, and I think that such a question would never appear on an actual, as opposed to a practice, SAT. Test takers should not have to debate with themselves as to which items in the series can potentially qualify as an "environmental condition." Moreover, the sentence as punctuated with B as the answer is terrible. Given the rationale you've provided, I'd punctuate the sentence like this:

• While studying a population of Kenyan baboons, she found several factors that led to significantly shorter life spans—environmental conditions (such as droughts, isolation from other baboons, and lower social status within the community) and genetic issues.

 

[Meowrin]

In that case, I agree with SoothingDave's analysis, especially with his criticism of the punctuation, and I think that such a question would never appear on an actual, as opposed to a practice, SAT. Test takers should not have to debate with themselves as to which items in the series can potentially qualify as an "environmental condition." Moreover, the sentence as punctuated with B as the answer is terrible. Given the rationale you've provided, I'd punctuate the sentence like this:

• While studying a population of Kenyan baboons, she found several factors that led to significantly shorter life spans—environmental conditions (such as droughts, isolation from other baboons, and lower social status within the community) and genetic issues.

Thank you! If anyone was curious, apparently only 1 of 16 students got that question right.

 

[jutfrank]

I agree with the views above. It appears to me that someone has taken a genuine SAT question and butchered it.