Reading comp PrepTest 116 · Section 4 · Question 18

Topic: Humanities

Paragraph 1

• Paragraph note
  • Native American autobiographies aren't studied appropriately (overlooks oral histories and Native American concept of "self")
• Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
  • Author's view:
    • Historians have focused on Native American autobiographies written with non-Native American collaborators, but this ignores how these stories were told historically (first and second sentences)
    • Scholars have also overlooked important Native American beliefs about self, life, and writing (last sentence)
  • Comparison, according to the author:
    • A distinction is drawn between the Native American peoples' sense of self, life, and writing and those that underlie the autobiography (last sentence)
  • Author's attitude: "Limiting" (second sentence), "have overlooked" (second sentence), "failed to address" (last sentence), "highly diverse" (last sentence), "did not share" (last sentence)

Paragraph 2

• Paragraph note
  • Native Americans' beliefs about self and life experiences (inclusive, represented in reenactments, signs, songs, and dance)
• Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
  • Native Americans' beliefs about self and their autobiographical practices:
    • Personal identity is connected to community, nature, and the cosmos (first sentence)
    • Life experiences can be recorded or reenacted as they occurred through different forms (e.g., signs, speeches, songs, chants, dances, pageants. new names) (second through last sentences)
  • Comparison, according to the author:
    • The Native American version of autobiography — where life events are reenacted as they occur — seems fragmented when compared to the European standard of autobiography (second sentence)
  • Example of dance or drama conveying a personal history, according to the author:
    • The enactment of a vision in a tribal pageant (last sentence)
  • Author's attitude: "markedly inclusive" (first sentence), "seemingly more fragmented" (second sentence)

Paragraph 3

• Paragraph note
  • Examples of Native American autobiographical expression (tattoos, decorated shields and robes, painted tepee)
• Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
  • List of autobiographical items, according to the author:
    • A warrior's tattoos, a decorated shield, emblazoned robe, a painted teepee (first and last sentences)
  • Author's attitude: "One can view as autobiographical "(first sentence), "elaborate" (first sentence), "indicative of high status" (last sentence)

Paragraph 4

• Paragraph note
  • Native Americans' collaborative autobiography (similar to all autobiographies, which are shaped by the audience)
• Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
  • Author's view
    • Native American tribes play an active role in crafting an individual's narrative (first sentence)
  • Comparison, according to the author
    • The collaborative Native American biography may seem different from the European approach, but all autobiographies are shaped by the creator and the audience (second sentence)

Main Point: Native Americans' autobiographies involve forms of expression and ideas about selfhood that are quite different than the European autobiographical tradition.

Correcting the Record: This passage most closely follows a Correcting the Record Meta-Structure.* In such structures, the author describes a common misconception or false belief and then explains why this view is wrong.

The first paragraph of this particular passage outlines a mistake made by scholars of Native American autobiographies. These scholars focus on autobiographies as they were organized and written by non-Native American collaborators. The author believes that doing so ignores important historical Native American beliefs and traditions surrounding the creation of autobiographies. In the paragraphs that follow, the author describes these beliefs, explaining how Native Americans' sense of self and expression of their life histories differ greatly from the European tradition of autobiographies. The author concludes by affirming the autobiographical nature of these expressions, even though they don't fit the European mold.

In passages that utilize a Correcting the Record Meta-Structure, the main point will generally be the author's explanation of why the misconception is false (or just an assertion that the misconceptions are false). So, let's start by identifying the misconception that the author is addressing. Yes, the author doesn't seem to agree with the scholars' focus on certain kinds of Native American autobiographies (those written by the collaborators), but that point of disagreement is only mentioned at the beginning of passage. Judging from what the author spends more time discussing, the passage's main concern is that Native Americans' sense of self and forms of self-expression have gone underappreciated by Native American scholars. This underappreciation can be considered the misconceptions, so we should make that the focus of our main point. So, our main point is something like, "Native Americans' autobiographies involve forms of expression and ideas about selfhood that are quite different than the European autobiographical tradition."

*Alternatively, you could consider this a Criticizing a Viewpoint or Rebutting Critics Meta-Structure. After all, there is considerable overlap between the Correcting the Record, Criticizing a Viewpoint, and Rebutting Critics Meta-Structures. However, we have chosen to categorize this passage in the former group because, through its use of phrases like "overlooked" (P1, S2) and "failed to address" (P1, S3), the text aligns its argument closer to a correction rather than rebuttal or criticism.

Comparison: The most prominent minor Meta-Structure is the comparison. The author spends a lot of time distinguishing the Native American form of autobiography from the European-style autobiography. Expect these differences to factor into a question or two.