Reading comp PrepTest 101 · Section 1 · Question 24

Passage

Questions 21-27  .        A fake can be defined as an artwork intended to  . deceive. The motives of its Remaining source text redacted.
Passage walkthrough
Passage Summary

Topic: Humanities


Paragraph 1

  • Paragraph note
    • Background on Jones's Fake? (explores artworks that fall between fake and original)
  • Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
    • Definition of a "fake" work of art: a work intended to deceive; artistic merit of such a work is an unrelated question (first through second sentences)
    • Examples of artworks that fall between fake and original, according to Jones:
      • Works by an artist's followers in their style that try to replicate the "master's" style, deliberately making art look old, copying for teaching purposes, production of copies for sale (last sentence)
    • Author's attitude: "decisive" (second sentence); "broader concerns" (third sentence)

Paragraph 2

  • Paragraph note
    • Fake?'s thesis (faking increases when an interest in collecting increases)
  • Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
    • Jones's view:
      • Faking of art flourishes wherever art collecting flourishes (first sentence)
    • Examples of times that art collecting influenced faking, according to Jones:
      • Imperial Rome: Interest in collecting Greek art spurred faking of Greek art (second through third sentences)
      • Medieval Europe: Art was devotional, and they didn't care as much about the fame or skill of artists, so art was not faked at all (fourth sentence)
      • Italian Renaissance: Interest in antiquity and recognition of individual skill drove art fakery (fifth sentence)
      • Michelangelo: Encouraged to age his Sleeping Cupid sculpture to increase its value; soon after, he became famous, and people started faking his works (sixth through eighth sentences)
    • Author's attitude: "masterpiece" (seventh sentence); "great art can assimilate and transcend" (seventh sentence); "wholly original work" (seventh sentence); "genius" (last sentence)

Paragraph 3

  • Paragraph note
    • Fake?'s other point (in some cultures, authenticity is a foreign or complicated subject)
  • Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
    • Jones's (and the author's) view:
      • Authenticity is a foreign concept in certain cultures (first sentence)
    • Example of culture where authenticity is a foreign concept, according to Jones/the author:
      • African art: Authenticity depends on whether it functions as intended initially (second sentence)
      • Chi wara mask: One version has pegs allowing it to be attached to a cap and used in a ceremony, and the other doesn't have the pegs because it is a replica; even if the first version with pegs is much more recent, it is the only one that should be considered authentic (third through sixth sentences)
    • Author's view on Chi wara mask
      • The experts may tie authenticity to function, but the artisans may not agree (seventh through last sentences)
    • Author's attitude: "reminds us" (first sentence); "authenticity is a foreign concept" (first sentence); "so-called experts" (seventh sentence); "one wonders" (last sentence)

Main Point: In his book Fake?, Mark Jones explores the concept of artistic authenticity across various eras, locations, and cultures.

Key Lines?

Paragraph 1, Sentences 1-2 (P1, S1-2) - Definition of fake

P1, S5 - Ambiguous possibilities between fake and original

P2, S1 - Jones's first point (faking art driven by collecting art)

P3, S1 - Jones's second point (in some cultures, authenticity is non-existent or complicated)

Meta-Structure?

Question/Answer: This passage uses a Question/Answer Meta-Structure.* The author poses the implicit questions explored by author Mark Jones in his book Fake? The Art of Deception —  what distinguishes faked and authentic art? According to the author, Jones begins by naming several types of art that fall somewhere in between fake and original, then traces the history of art forgery through many different eras, from ancient Rome through the Middle Ages to the Italian Renaissance, arguing that faking art is dependent on whether the market valued antiquity and individual authorship. Jones also points out that, when it comes to collecting the art of some cultures, like those of Mali, authenticity depends on the object's function rather than who made it or when.

The author doesn't really make an argument in this passage. They merely report the many possible answers that Jones explores in his book. This exploration is not argumentative but fairly nuanced, pointing out that declaring a piece of art a fake or an original is not a straightforward matter, and that standards vary depending on the time and place the art was made.

*That said, this is not an easy passage to classify. We could also call this a Phenomenon/Explanation passage (phenomenon: artworks have been "faked" throughout history; explanation: collection drives faking, but "faking" has a different meaning in some cultures). We could call this a Reporting a Viewpoint passage since the author is mostly (but not entirely) reporting Jones's view, as expressed in Fake? Remember, there's no one right answer to the question, "Which Meta-Structure does this passage use"? 

Example: The most prominent minor Meta-Structure in this passage is the example. The author lists many examples throughout the passage, collected in the Passage Summary above. Highlighting these examples can help us locate them when answering the inevitable questions about them.

Last Thoughts?

Since the author doesn't reach any definitive conclusions in this passage, be extremely skeptical of any answer choice that suggests the author reached one.

Question prompt

The author provides a Remaining source text redacted.
Why the credited answer is right

Credited answer: E

The notes below walk through why it fits the stem and how to eliminate the rest.

Question Type

Humanities

Strategy Overview

Remind ourselves of the main point of the passage, then head to the answers, focusing on those that line up with the main point and then using our notes/the passage to eliminate the incorrect answer choices.

Answer Anticipation

For these Bizarro Must Be True questions, the correct answer will either present a topic not discussed by the passage or assert a claim contradicted by information in the passage. For the former, we'll generally use a process of elimination to get rid of each answer that does show up in the passage. For the latter — we're in luck — as we can find a line citation to prove that the passage contradicts the correct answer. In that case, we can feel a lot more comfortable about picking it — while also likely getting it correct faster. But we won't know if this is the case for the correct answer until after we analyze it, so we should expect to use a process of elimination.As such, we'll need to rely on our big-picture understanding of the passage to answer this question. We should start by reminding ourselves of the main point (either by reviewing what we said after reading the passage or by rereading our answer to the main point question). From there, we can head to the answer choices. If something seems familiar, consistent with the main point, or reflected in our notes, it's probably supported by the passage. We can eliminate it without checking the passage. If something seems inconsistent with the main point, it's probably the correct answer. Wecan use our notes/highlights/underlines to find the part of the passage that proves the answer choice must be false. If we can find that confirmation, we'll select that answer choice and move on. If something in an answer choice doesn't seem familiar and isn't reflected in our notes on each paragraph, we should mark that answer choice as the possible correct answer. Once we've eliminated the remaining answer choices, we can select it.

Answer choices

  1. A
    categories of art that Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice A is not credited

    (A) Is this answer choice consistent with the main point or reflected in our notes?

    Yes. We know from the main point that we came up with that the practice of classifying art as fake or original depends upon many factors and, therefore, is extremely complicated. That would imply there are works that are neither wholly fake nor wholly original. Moreover, our note for the first paragraph is "Background on Jones's Fake? (explores artworks that fall between fake and original)." If Jones explores artworks that are neither entirely fake or original, there were probably examples of this listed in the first paragraph. We can safely eliminate (A) without checking the passage.

    If we had to check the passage, we'd see that the last sentence of the first paragraph lists four possibilities that qualify as categories of art that are neither wholly fake nor wholly original (P1, S5).

  2. B
    cultures in which the Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice B is not credited

    (B) Is this answer choice consistent with the main point or reflected in our notes?

    Yes. Our note for the second paragraph is, "Fake?'s thesis (faking increases when an interest in collecting increases)." This claim implies that the second paragraph covers a few different cultures and eras in which faking art flourished. If you remember the specific examples, that's great. Even if we cannot, this note suggests that we can safely eliminate (B) without checking the passage.

    If we had to check the passage, we'd see that the author mentions ancient Rome and the Italian Renaissance as examples of eras where the practice of faking art flourished (P2, S2, S5).

  3. C
    qualities that art collectors Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice C is not credited

    (C) Is this answer choice consistent with the main point or reflected in our notes?

    Yes. Our note for the second paragraph is, "Fake?'s thesis (faking increases when an interest in collecting increases)." This claim implies that the second paragraph covers qualities that art collectors prize since these collectors are spurring the creation of "fakes." If you remember these specific qualities, you can obviously eliminate (C). Even if we cannot, this note can reassure us that these examples are probably in the passage, allowing us to cross off (C) without checking the passage.

    If we had to check the passage, we'd see that the author mentions that collectors prized old-looking works of art and works by particular geniuses like Michelangelo (P2, S2, S8).

  4. D
    cultures in which the Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice D is not credited

    (D) Is this answer choice consistent with the main point or reflected in our notes?

    Yes. Our note for the third paragraph is, "Fake?'s other point (in some cultures, authenticity is a foreign or complicated subject)." We can be confident that the third paragraph provides examples of cultures where "fake" and "original" do not apply. If you remember this specific culture, you can eliminate (D). But even if we cannot, you can cross off (D) because it's reflected in our notes.

    If we had to check the passage, we'd see that the author says that for the Bambara people of Mali, the categories "fake" and "original" art do not apply (P3, S3-6).

  5. E
    contemporary artists whose works Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice E matches the stem

    (E) Is this answer choice consistent with the main point or reflected in our notes?

    No. So, while our notes give us good reason to eliminate (A) through (D), we are not given reason to believe The author mentions one artist, Michelangelo, whose work inspired fakes (P2, S6-8), but as he is not a contemporary artist. So, we can be confident that the passage does not provide an example of a contemporary artist whose works inspired fakes. Because it does not appear in the passage, this is not the right answer choice.

What this tests

Question analytics

Based on historical answer selection rates for this question.

Answer choice distribution

  1. A 22%
  2. B 4%
  3. C 28%
  4. D 8%
  5. E Credited 38%

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