<p>A judicious biography must be ------- representation that depicts both the strengths and the weaknesses of the subject, avoiding the two extremes of ------- and indictment.
A. a polarized… vindication
B. an imaginative… discernment
C. a holistic… censure
D. a complimentary… animosity
E. an equitable… eulogy</p>
<p>The answer is E, and I can definitely see that as being correct, but why does A not work here? Polarized seems to describe “strengths and weaknesses” because they are two conflicting things, and vindication seems to be in contrast to “indictment”.</p>
<p>Polarized would mean covering both extremes but not the middle ground, but the writer explicitly states that a good biography should avoid both extremes and find the middle ground; true, it does say to depict both the strengths and weaknesses, but not in an extreme way. Polarized isn’t necessarily wrong, but equitable is better. Same goes for eulogy and vindication.</p>
<p>I got it wrong when reading your question, I thought A too. </p>
<p>But after inspecting it, it seems that polarized would refer to splitting up an argument into two opposing factions, where the sentence mentions to avoid the extremes. Also, eulogy is an expression of honor while indictment is a written statement or expression of disapproval. Both operate in the same type of action, while if you had said vindication (to free of allegation) the other word would have been more of ‘life sentence’ or ‘conviction’</p>
<p>On top of that, vindication doesn’t make sense in action- to free of guilt or defend does not seem to be an applicable word for describing literature on a subject. A subject cannot be in guilt, or a status of the like</p>