Reading comp PrepTest 102 · Section 1 · Question 16

Passage

Questions 14-21  .        Even in the midst of its resurgence as a vital  . tradition, many sociologists have viewed Remaining source text redacted.
Passage walkthrough
Passage Summary

Topic: Social Science


Paragraph 1

  • Paragraph note
    • Proponents of Pan-Indianism view (intertribal tendencies at powwows will lead to the dissolution of tribes)
  • Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
    • Definition of "Pan-Indian" theory: a belief of many sociologists that the intertribal aspects of the revived powwow are an indication that tribal culture is declining (first sentence)
    • "Pan-Indian" theory proponents' view:
      • They argue that growing intertribalism will result in the assimilation of Native Americans into Euroamerican society (second sentence)
    • Cause-and-effect relationship, according to "Pan-Indian" theory proponents:
      • Greater frequency of travel and communication between reservations, greater urbanization, and increasing politicization in response to common grievances cause greater intertribal tendency (third sentence)
    • Author's attitude: "resurgence as a vital tradition" (first sentence)

Paragraph 2

  • Paragraph note
    • Author's rebuttal (intertribalism is increasing, but so is a revival of tribal traditions)
  • Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
    • Author's view:
      • Intertribalism is increasing, as indicated by shared dance styles, outfits, and songs between reservations (first sentence)
      • But tribe-specific rituals are also being revived (second sentence)
      • Pan-Indianism doesn't account for everything taking place in Native American societies (last sentence)
    • Examples of tribe-specific rituals being revived, according to the author:
      • Lakota "Sun Dance," Society of the Kiowa, and the Hethuska Society of the Ponca (third and fourth sentences)
    • Author's attitude: "compelling evidence" (first sentence); "failed to note" (second sentence); "Obviously, a more complex societal shift is taking place" (last sentence)

Paragraph 3

  • Paragraph note
    • Author on mistaken assumption behind Pan-Indian theory (minority society immediately assimilates to majority society)
  • Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
    • Author's view:
      • Pan-Indianism is predicated on the theory that, upon contact, minority culture will subordinate itself biologically, linguistically, and culturally, to majority culture (second sentence)
      • Native Americans disagree that this is happening (first sentence)
      • There is no evidence this is happening in Native American cultures (last sentence)
    • Author's attitude: "may be critical" (first sentence); "especially given that" (first sentence); "chafe most" (first sentence); "a priori assumption" (second sentence); "there is no evidence" (third sentence)

Paragraph 4

  • Paragraph note
    • Author's concession (intertribalism is a major aspect of Native American culture)
  • Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
    • Author's concession:
      • Intertribal activities are a major part of Native American culture (first sentence)
      • It's important to note the intentional distinction that Native Americans make between intertribal and tribal activities (last sentence)
    • Examples of intertribal activities, according to the author:
      • The dances, prayers, and speeches at powwows that are intertribal are consciously distinguished from traditional ones (second and third sentences)
    • Author's attitude: "major facet" (first sentence); "of course, old news" (fourth sentence); "important to note" (last sentence)

Paragraph 5

  • Paragraph note
    • Author's reconciliation (tribalism and intertribalism serve complementary functions)
  • Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
    • Author's reconciliation:
      • Tribalism and intertribalism are complementary, as tribalism reinforces tribal identity while intertribalism reinforces Native American identity across a pan-tribal front where it is threatened by majority culture (first and second sentence)
    • Author's attitude: "greatly altered" (first sentence); "remains a potent force" (first sentence); "basis for tribal identity" (first sentence); "reinforce native American identity along a broader front" (last sentence)

Main Point: Far from losing their tribal identity to Pan-Indianism, Native American cultures are experiencing a rise of tribalism, which strengthens tribal identity, and intertribalism, a complementary force that builds cross-tribe solidarity against outside influences.

Key Lines?

Paragraph 1, Sentence 2 (P1, S2) - Pan-Indian theory introduced

P2, S2 - Author's rebuttal to Pan-Indian theory

P4, S1 - Intertribalism is a major force

P5, S1-2 - Reconciliation of tribalism and intertribalism

Meta-Structure?

Resolving a Debate: This passage tows the line between a Resolving a Debate and a Correcting the Record passage.* You could go with either, and your understanding of the passage would be solid. However, because the author's act of reconciliation was so apparent in how the author resolves the differences between tribalism and intertribalism in the last paragraph, we felt that Resolving a Debate was the best fit for this passage.

This passage presents two competing trends among the Native Americans: the rise of intertribal activities (and the accompanying belief among "Pan-Indian" theorists who think this portends the end of tribes) and the revitalization of tribal traditions (among Native Americans who chafe at the "Pan-Indian" theory). The author ultimately resolves this "debate," arguing that intertribalism and tribalism serve complementary roles in Native American culture. This reconciliation ultimately rebuts the fears of "Pan-Indian" theorists (which is why some people will see this as a Correcting the Record passage).

In a Resolving a Debate passage, the main point is generally the author's opinion on the debate. Often, the author summarizes their opinion in one or two sentences. Here, the author provides this summary in the last paragraph, so we can use that to assess the Main Point answer choices. But just to make sure our bases are covered, we also anticipated a version of the main point that incorporates the author's rebuttal of the "Pan-Indian" theory.

*You could also call this a Criticizing a Viewpoint, Rebutting Critics or even a Old Approach/New Approach passage instead of a Correcting the Record passage.

Last Thoughts?

This passage is heavy on the author’s attitude and relatively light on the minor Meta-Structures. Therefore, we should expect more Major Point, Tone, and Argument Structure questions than usual and fewer Minor Point and Application questions than usual.

Question prompt

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

Credited answer: A

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

Question Type

Social Science

Strategy Overview

Review the main point, and use notes or highlighted/underlined text in the passage to recall the author's attitude, and find the answer that best reflects your understanding of the main point/author's attitude.

Answer Anticipation

This question asks us about the author's view but doesn't provide any insight into the topic of the correct answer or where the supporting information might show up in the passage. This means the correct answer is likely to relate back to the author's main point. 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). We can also review any notes about the author's attitude or any text we highlighted because it expresses the author's opinion. After doing that, we can head to the answer choices, tabling those that don't line up with the main point. For those answer choices that conform to the author's main point, we'll use our notes and the passage to see if it's correct.

Answer choices

  1. A
    Though some believe the Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice A matches the stem

    (A) Is this answer choice consistent with the author's main point or what we reviewed of the author's attitude?

    Yes! The author's main point is that tribalism and intertribalism are complementary, as tribalism reinforces tribal identity while intertribalism reinforces Native American identity across a pan-tribal front where it is threatened by majority culture (P5, S1-S2). We also know that the author thinks that powwows include elements of intertribalism — see our note for the third paragraph ("Author's concession (intertribalism is a major aspect of Native American culture)"). The author believes that intertribalism can strengthen Native American identity and that powwows include intertribal elements. So, the author must agree that powwows "contain elements that indicate the continuing strength of tribalism." We can justifiably select (A) with just our main point and notes and advance straight to the following question.

  2. B
    The logical outcome of Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice B is not credited

    (B) Is this answer choice consistent with the author's main point or what we reviewed of the author's attitude?

    No. In our anticipated main point, the author argues that intertribal tendencies will not lead to the eventual disappearance of tribal culture, no matter what the Pan-Indian theorists claim. Because this contradicts the author's main point, we can cross this off without checking the passage.

    In other words, this answer choice expresses the point of view of the Pan-Indian theorists. They believe that intertribalism will wipe out tribal culture altogether (P1, S2; P3, S2), but this is not the author's point of view. In fact, the author says, "[T]here is no evidence that this is happening to native American groups" (P3, S3).

  3. C
    Native Americans who participate Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice C is not credited

    (C) Is this answer choice consistent with the author's main point or what we reviewed of the author's attitude?

    This isn't inconsistent with the author's main point. But there is nothing in the main point or our notes that suggests the author believes Native Americans base their identities on intertribal rather than tribal affiliations. Rather than checking the passage to see if this is supported, we should table it and keep checking the remaining answer choices (assuming we didn't already select the correct answer and move on).

    If we had to check the passage to determine whether (C) is supported, we wouldn't find any corroborating evidence. In fact, the author says that tribalism is a strong force among Native Americans, using music and dance along with social and cultural activities to reinforce a tribal identity (P5, S1). That would suggest that Native Americans base at least part of their identity on their tribal affiliations, contrary to what (C) claims.

  4. D
    The conclusions of some Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice D is not credited

    (D) Is this answer choice consistent with the author's main point or what we reviewed of the author's attitude?

    No. While this doesn't contradict the author's main point, nothing in the main point or our notes suggests the author believes that sociologists who subscribe to the Pan-Indian theory are biased against Native Americans. Rather than checking the passage to see if this is supported, we should table it and keep checking the remaining answer choices (if we hadn't already selected the correct answer and moved on).

    If we had to review the passage to determine whether (D) is supported, we wouldn't find any evidence for this view. The author certainly thinks that the "many sociologists" who subscribe to the Pan-Indian theory are mistaken about the predicted decline of tribal identity (P3, S3). The author also points out that the Pan-Indian theory is based on a mistaken assumption about cultural exchange (P3, S2). But the author never implies that the sociologists who believe this mistaken view hold it because they are biased against Native American cultures. The author never uses any tonal phrases that would suggest bias or prejudice is motivating these sociologists, so (D) is unsupported.

  5. E
    Until it is balanced Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice E is not credited

    (E) Is this answer choice consistent with the author's main point or what we reviewed of the author's attitude?

    No. In our anticipated main point, the author argues that intertribalism is not weakening Native American identity and that there is a revitalization of tribal customs. Because (E) contradicts the author's main point, we can cross this off without checking the passage.

What this tests

Question analytics

Based on historical answer selection rates for this question.

Answer choice distribution

  1. A Credited 85%
  2. B 4%
  3. C 3%
  4. D 4%
  5. E 4%

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