Reading comp PrepTest 101 · Section 4 · Question 2

Passage

Questions 1-8  .        Wherever the crime novels of P. D. James are  . discussed by critics, there is a Remaining source text redacted.
Passage walkthrough
Passage Summary

Topic: Humanities


Paragraph 1

  • Paragraph note
    • Debate on the quality of James' crime novels
  • Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
    • The first side of the debate:
      • Critics who over-exaggerate James's merits as a writer (first sentence)
    • The second side of the debate:
      • Critics who find James's writing overly pretentious (first sentence)
    • Cause-and-effect relationship, according to the author:
      • The general dichotomy between slightly dull "highbrow" novels and enjoyable "lowbrow" literature is at the root of the debate surrounding James's detective novels (last sentence)
    • Author’s attitude: “exaggerate” (first sentence); "familiar, false opposition” (second sentence); "somehow" (second sentence)

Paragraph 2

  • Paragraph note
    • Elaborates on both sides of the debate
  • Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
    • The first side of the debate (James's work is "high literature" ):
      • James uses meticulous character constructions, elaborate settings, and lots of abstractions (first sentence)
    • The second side of the debate (James's work is overly pretentious):
      • James creates tiresome works that abandon the conventions of the detective genre (second sentence)
    • Examples to support the second viewpoint:
      • Harriet Waugh and Philip Oakes' critiques (last sentence)
    • Author's attitude: "inverted snobbery" (second sentence)

Paragraph 3

  • Paragraph note
    • Author: Recognizes the merits of each side of the debate
  • Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
    • Author's view:
      • James's descriptive writing and characterization add "dignity and weight" to her works (first through third sentences)
      • But these narrative devices strongly distract from the plot and aren't always successfully deployed (fourth through fifth sentences)
    • Comparison of James's interests, according to the author:
      • James dedicates more attention to describing the patinas and aromas of a country kitchen than the plot (fourth sentence)
      • James is less interested in the detective elements of her novels than in describing her characters (last sentence)
    • Author's attitude: "certainly capable of strikingly good writing" (first sentence); "convincing histories and passions" (second sentence); "part of the pleasure of her books" (third sentence); "dignity and weight" (third sentence); "equally true" (fourth sentence); "frequently interfere" (fourth sentence); "can be shameless and thin" (fifth sentence), "often impossible" (fifth sentence)

Paragraph 4

  • Paragraph note
    • Author: James may be losing interest in the detective novel and should abandon it
  • Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
    • Author's view:
      • Since James seems to feel increasingly constrained by the conventions of the detective genre, she should perhaps switch to general fiction writing (first through last sentence)
    • Author's attitude: "However…" (first sentence) "there is no reason why" (first sentence); "conscious rebellion" (third sentence); "fashionable" (fourth sentence), "reprehensible" (fourth sentence), "perhaps the time has come" (last sentence)

Main Point: Because P.D. James's narrative style is constrained by the traditional conventions of the detective genre, she should migrate to writing general fiction.

Key Lines?

Paragraph 1, Sentence 1 (P1, S1) - Introduction of both sides of the debate

P2, S1 - Rationale for the first side of the debate

P2, S1 - Rationale for the second side of the debate

P3, S3-4 - Author's stance

P4, S5:- Author's recommendation

Meta-Structure?

Resolving a Debate: In this passage, the author describes two opposing viewpoints before expressing their own opinion on the matter. The debate at hand involves P. D. James's unique approach to the detective genre. In the first paragraph, the author introduces the rival opinions: those who strongly believe in James's merits as an author of crime fiction and those who think that she strays too far from the genre's conventions (P1, S1). In the second paragraph, the author elaborates on each side's rationale for their points of view. Finally, in the third and fourth paragraphs, the author offers their opinion, suggesting a compromise between the two previously discussed points of view. This explanation — and subsequent resolution — of two opposing viewpoints strongly suggests a Resolving a Debate Meta-Structure.

In a Resolving a Debate Meta-Structure, the main point will be the author's opinion or mediation/reconciliation of the debate. The author helpfully offers the reconciliation in the fourth paragraph. We summarized this resolution as follows, "Because P.D. James's narrative style is constrained by the traditional conventions of the detective genre, she should migrate to writing general fiction."

Examples: The author uses examples at two different points in the passage to illustrate a specific viewpoint:

  • The author mentions the critics Harriet Waugh and Philip Oakes (P2, S3). These examples demonstrate the view that James's detective novels are overly pretentious and stray from the genre's conventions.
  • The author references the "patinas and aromas of a country kitchen [that] receive more loving attention than does the plot itself" and that James often makes it impossible to see how the detective arrives at the truth in her novels (P3, S4-5). These examples support the author's claim that James's descriptive, philosophical style interferes with the story in detective fiction.

As is the case with all our minor Meta-Structures, we should have these highlighted or underlined to help us locate them in the likely event that we get a question about them.

Last Thoughts?

Question prompt

The author refers to 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

Review the reference to "patinas and aromas of a country kitchen" in the passage, consult notes, and choose an answer choice based on your understanding of that reference in the passage's overall argument

Answer Anticipation

This question asks us why the author inserted the discussion of "patinas and aromas of a country kitchen" into the third paragraph. Unless a detail conflicts with the paragraph's purpose, the author probably mentioned that detail to advance the paragraph's role. So reviewing the third paragraph's role, which we hopefully wrote down in the notes on our scratch paper, will generally reveal why the author included that detail.In this case, it shouldn't surprise us that we're getting a question about the role of this detail — the phrase "patinas and aromas of a country kitchen" was used as an example, and we frequently get questions that ask us why the author mentioned an example. Fortunately, we've already reviewed this example's role in our passage breakdown. To recap, the author mentions "patinas and aromas of a country kitchen" to show how P. D. James's narrative descriptions often detract from important aspects of the detective novel, such as plot development (P3, S4).Even if we hadn't already reviewed the role of this example, we could use our notes to anticipate what the correct answer would say. Our note for the third paragraph is, "Author: Recognizes the merits of each side of the debate." If we reviewed the reference to the "patinas and aromas of a country kitchen," we'd see that the author uses that example to acknowledge the merits of the claim that James's painstakingly rendered details can "interfere with the story" (P3, S4).So, we should look for an answer choice that says that this reference helps demonstrate how James's descriptive style can distract from the plot, as some of her critics argue.

Answer choices

  1. A
    illustrate James's gift for Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice A is not credited

    (A) We're looking for an answer choice that says the author mentioned "patinas and aromas of a country kitchen" to demonstrate how James's descriptive style distracts from the plot, as some of her critics claim. Does this answer choice say this?

    Nope. For that reason, experienced test-takers would quickly eliminate (A). Remember, the author uses this example to acknowledge faults in James's writing, how her descriptiveness can "interfere with the story" (P3, S4). The author doesn't use this example to praise James's gifts. Therefore, we can safely eliminate this answer choice.

  2. B
    highlight James's interest in Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice B is not credited

    (B) We're looking for an answer choice that says the author mentioned "patinas and aromas of a country kitchen" to demonstrate how James's descriptive style distracts from the plot, as some of her critics claim. Does this answer choice say this? 

    No. Test-takers with a strong understanding of the passage would eliminate this answer choice immediately. Although the reference mentions a "country kitchen," there is no evidence in the passage to suggest James's subject matter focused on rural society. In fact, the author never specifies where James's detective novels tend to take place. For this reason, we can safely eliminate (B).

  3. C
    allow the reader to Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice C is not credited

    (C) We're looking for an answer choice that says the author mentioned "patinas and aromas of a country kitchen" to demonstrate how James's descriptive style distracts from the plot, as some of her critics claim. Does this answer choice say this?

    Nope. This answer choice could be tempting because it gestures toward the author's opinion that James's descriptions can make her books pleasurable to read (P3, S3). However, well-prepared test-takers will recognize that the author's reference wasn't an attempt to demonstrate that pleasure. They would recall that author cites this example to identify issues with James's writing, like how her style can "interfere with the story" (P3, S4). (C) therefore mischaracterizes the purpose of the reference, and we can eliminate it.

  4. D
    explain how James typically Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice D is not credited

    (D) We're looking for an answer choice that says the author mentioned "patinas and aromas of a country kitchen" to demonstrate how James's descriptive style distracts from the plot, as some of her critics claim. Does this answer choice say this?

    Not quite. This answer choice says that the example shows how James constructs her plots, while we're looking for an answer choice that says the reference exemplifies flaws in descriptive writing style. Well-prepared test-takers will recognize this error and immediately move on to answer choice (E).

  5. E
    exemplify James's preoccupation with Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice E matches the stem

    (E) We're looking for an answer choice that says the author mentioned "patinas and aromas of a country kitchen" to demonstrate how James's descriptive style distracts from the plot. Does this answer choice say this?

    Yes, at last! We know that the author references "patinas and aromas of a country kitchen" to exemplify how James's descriptive writing style tends to detract from plot development. This answer choice reflects this idea, particularly its use of "preoccupation." This term conveys the author's belief that James's can be too concerned with these ornate descriptions and that this concern can distract from the plot. Therefore, we can confidently choose (E) and move on to the next question.

What this tests

Question analytics

Based on historical answer selection rates for this question.

Answer choice distribution

  1. A 4%
  2. B 1%
  3. C 2%
  4. D 6%
  5. E Credited 88%

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