IPMAT Indore 2023 · Verbal Ability · Question 38
IPMAT Indore 2023 previous year question on RC Author Tone and Purpose Questions, with the answer and a step-by-step solution.
RC passage 1: Passage 1 – Sleep, fitness and the cost of insomnia — this question belongs to a set. Read the full set with all 6 questions →
Read the following passage and choose the answer that is closest to each of the questions that are based on the passage.
The general idea of being fit is usually assumed to be exercising regularly and having a healthy diet. It’s true to some extent. But this is not always the case. People don’t realise that sleep also plays a crucial part when it comes to physical and mental well-being. It’s a restorative process, which shouldn’t be negotiable.
Hectic working hours, increasing stress levels, and an unhealthy lifestyle can cause irregular sleep patterns. These not only disturb one’s daily routine, but can also hamper one’s health, leading to lifestyle conditions like deranged cholesterol and diabetes. It’s a preconceived notion that cholesterol and diabetes are usually genetic diseases, and unhealthy eating patterns and lifestyle exacerbate them. It is not generally known that sleep deprivation can put a person at risk of both deranged cholesterol and diabetes.
Sleep helps your body and mind repair and recharge themselves. But things can go awry if one is sleep-deprived. Insomnia can generally make the body work abnormally. It affects the mental and physical abilities to prepare the body for the next day. It leaves the brain exhausted, affecting the natural functioning of the body.
Lack of sleep can lead to higher cholesterol and blood pressure. Sleep deprivation can lower levels of leptin, a hormone that stabilises metabolism and appetite. This can also lead to obesity, if left unchecked. Sleep deprivation has been found to raise levels of ghrelin, the hunger hormone, and decrease levels of leptin, the satiety hormone. That’s why people seek relief in foods that raise blood sugar. The American Academy of Sleep Medicine recommends that adults should get a minimum of seven to eight hours of sleep each night. Staying up late can lead to consuming unhealthy snacks and junk food high in carbs and sugar. All this increases the risk of Type 2 diabetes and is equally connected to obesity.
Just like any other routine, having a definite sleeping pattern can help a person maintain a cycle of rest and activity. Sleeping at the same time every day and waking up on time will encourage quality sleep. Proper relaxation of body and mind before sleeping means that one should keep the mobile phone aside for at least half an hour before bed. It helps if the room is dark and quiet. Plus, one can always read a good book or listen to soothing music which can lull one into deep sleep.
- Apresent psychological insights to the reader.
- Bprovide medical input to the reader.
- Cadvise the reader.
- Dexpose the reader to disinformation.
Answer & solution
Answer: Option C
Step 1 — look at how the passage ends. The final paragraph is a string of recommendations: keep a definite sleeping pattern, sleep and wake at the same time, put the phone aside half an hour before bed, keep the room dark and quiet, read or listen to music. That is advice.
Step 2 — test the near-misses.
(b) Provide medical input — the strongest distractor, since the passage does cite the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and name hormones. But medical facts are used in support of the recommendations; the passage is written for a general reader, not to inform clinically. The destination is behaviour, not knowledge.
(a) Psychological insights — the passage is physiological (cholesterol, leptin, ghrelin, blood sugar), not psychological.
(d) Expose the reader to disinformation — an accusation the passage gives no ground for. It cites a recognised professional body.
Answer: Option 3
Shortcut. Ask where the passage finishes, not where it starts. It opens with facts and ends with a list of things to do — and a text’s purpose is carried by its destination.
Rule of thumb for purpose questions: if the last paragraph tells the reader what to do, the purpose is to advise; if it summarises findings, the purpose is to inform. Option (d) can be dismissed on sight — an option accusing the author of bad faith is almost never correct.
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