SAT Reading & Writing · Words in Context
The scholar's argument, though built on an impressive volume of historical detail, ultimately rested on a single ______ assumption that,…
The scholar's argument, though built on an impressive volume of historical detail, ultimately rested on a single ______ assumption that, once questioned, caused the entire structure of the argument to collapse.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?
Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?
Answer and explanation
Answer: B: load-bearing
The passage describes an assumption whose failure brought down the "entire structure" of the argument, exactly the function of something load-bearing: essential to holding everything else up. Minor would suggest the assumption was unimportant, contradicted by the collapse that followed questioning it. Popular concerns general acceptance, not structural importance to this specific argument. Recent concerns timing, unrelated to the assumption's structural role.
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