Reading comp PrepTest 123 · Section 1 · Question 15

Topic: Science

Paragraph 1

• Paragraph note
  • Problem, solution, and problem with solution
• Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
  • Problem, according to the author:
    • The demand for electricity from fossil fuels in certain countries going up drastically, hurting the environment and human health
  • Comparison of problem and solution, according to the author:
    • Unlike fossil fuels, renewable energy sources are available everywhere and do not pollute the environment
  • Examples of renewable energy solutions, according to the author:
    • Solar radiation, wind, and water power
  • Problem with the solution, according to the author:
    • The technologies for this aren’t always rolled out in a way that leads to long-term success
  • Author’s attitude: “Unfortunately” (line 3); “possible solutions” (line 11); “not always implemented successfully” (lines 20-21)

Paragraph 2

• Paragraph note
  • Unsuccessful example of solution
• Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
  • Example of a renewable-energy project not implemented successfully, according to the author:
    • The U.S. helped Brazil install solar panels in 1992
    • The project failed because Brazil didn’t develop local production capabilities for the solar panels, so only earned enough to break even and failed to get more investment
  • Author’s attitude: “missed an opportunity” (line 35); “precluded the long-term benefits” (line 37); “makes further investment and expansion unlikely” (lines 43-44); “remains stalled” (line 45)

Paragraph 3

• Paragraph note
  • Successful example of solution
• Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
  • Example of a renewable-energy project that was implemented successfully, according to the author:
    • Denmark helps India build wind turbines in the 1980s
    • Succeeded because Denmark encouraged local involvement, allowing for snowballing profitability
  • Comparison between successful and unsuccessful examples, according to the author:
    • Unlike the U.S., Denmark encouraged local involvement at all levels
  • Author’s attitude: “avoided these pitfalls” (line 46); “success” (line 55); “importance of local involvement” (line 59-60); “good chance of remaining competitive and profitable for the long run” (lines 61-62)

Main Point: Using renewable energy sources is a potential way to address growing energy needs in certain countries, but there are pitfalls that need to be avoided by ensuring local involvement in all stages of the project.

Lines 3-5 - Problem

Lines 9-12 - A possible solution

Lines 19-21 - Problem/limitation of the solution

Line 22 - An example of the solution failing introduced

Line 46 - An example of the solution working introduced

Problem/Solution: This passage explicitly falls into the Problem/Solution Meta-Structure, with the author highlighting “possible solutions to the problems” of increased energy demands in Lines 11-12. When this Meta-Structure is present, the author’s proposed solution — or the author’s opinion of the central solution — constitutes the main point.

Interestingly here, the author brings up a possible solution but highlights a problem with it. The author notes that, while renewable energy could solve the energy demand problem, the long-term implementation of renewable energy projects isn’t always done successfully (Lines 19-21). The author then goes on to use two examples to illustrate how the implementation of such projects can go right and wrong. These examples illustrate the key difference that can explain the different outcomes — the involvement of local communities at all levels (Lines 58-62). Since the author describes the problem with the solution and how to address that problem, that should also be reflected in the main point.

Examples: This passage relies heavily on the discussion of two examples, each of which takes up an entire paragraph. In Paragraph 2, the author offers an example of renewable energy being implemented unsuccessfully, explaining that this happened because short-term savings were prioritized over developing the local production capacity for solar energy (Lines 36-40). In Paragraph 3, the author shows an example of renewable energy being implemented successfully. Unlike the first example, this renewable energy project featured local involvement at all stages of the implementation (Lines 58-62). Since these examples are both very involved and key to demonstrating the author’s main point, they’re likely to feature heavily in the questions.

Being sure to keep the elements of the two examples separate in our minds will be key to finding relevant information quickly, so be sure that you do so. Or, if you have trouble remembering these kinds of details, try writing down key elements of each so that you can quickly identify which example a question or answer is talking about!