Reading comp PrepTest 124 · Section 4 · Question 2

Passage

Questions 1-6  .        Asian American poetry from Hawaii, the Pacific  . island state of the United States, is generally Remaining source text redacted.
Passage walkthrough
Passage Summary

Topic: Humanities


Paragraph 1

  • Paragraph note
    • Two common types of Asian American poetry from Hawaii (multicultural paradise vs. familiar themes like generational conflict) and how Lum breaks from it (doesn't romanticize multiculturalism, different sensibility from mainland Asian Americans)
  • Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
    • List of two common types of Asian American poetry from Hawaii, according to the author:
      • Portrayal of a modern multicultural paradise (first sentence)
      • Exploration of familiar Asian American themes, like generational conflict (first sentence)
    • Comparisons, according to the author:
      • Wing Tek Lum's Expounding the Doubtful Points is different from the typical Asian American poetry from Hawaii because it does not romanticize Hawaii's multiculturalism and, while it explores some traditional themes, it doesn't sacrifice its local sensibility (second and third sentences)
      • Lum's sensibility is informed by the fact that Hawaii's population is majority Asian/Pacific Islander, making it different than the mainland U.S.'s population and distinguishing Hawaiian's experience from mainland Asian Americans (last sentence)
    • Author's attitude: "generally characterizable" (first sentence); "striking for its demand" (second sentence); "offers no romanticized notions" (third sentence); "does not do so at the expense of" (third sentence); "is informed" (last sentence); "somewhat different" (last sentence)

Paragraph 2

  • Paragraph note
    • Examples of how Lum's poems are connected and distinct from Chinese heritage (lunar new year on beach, Lip Po ode/criticism)
  • Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
    • Examples of how Lum's poems are connected and distinct from Chinese history, according to the author:
      • Chinese lunar celebration on the beach: Connects to past through immigrants but emphasizes the importance of "new family" in Hawaii (first and third sentences)
      • Ode to Li Po: Places Lum's work in literary tradition, but LUm has no nostalgia, pointing out Po and other's elitism (last sentence)
    • Author's attitude: "significant" (third sentence); "has been integral" (third sentence); "refuses" (last sentence); "often elitist tendencies" (last sentence)

Paragraph 3

  • Paragraph note
    • Example of a poem that addresses how heritage and local culture form identity (figures eating form a communal pot)
  • Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
    • Example of a poem that addresses how heritage and local culture form identity, according to the author:
      • Varied figures eating from a communal pot; doesn't have a romantic view of U.S., but acknowledges dream of U.S.; hopeful, but wary of U.S. individualism; integrate homeland traditions with new culture first through last sentences
    • Author's attitude: "further points to the complex relationships between heritage and local culture" (first sentence); "vastly disparate" (second sentence); "avoids an excessively romantic vision" (second sentence); "hopeful" (last sentence); "appears to caution" (last sentence); "healthy new sense of identity" (last sentence)

Main Point: Lum's work stands apart from other Asian American poetry from Hawaii by searching for a new identity incorporating Lum's heritage and experiences in a unique locality.

Meta-Structure?

Innovative [Subject]: This passage best fits the "Innovative [Subject]" Meta-Structure. In these passages, the author describes why the subject was unique, pioneering, or disruptive. So, "[Subject]" is a placeholder for whatever the subject of the passage happens to be. The subject of this passage is the poet Wing Tek Lum, so we can think of this as an Innovative Poet passage.

In this passage, the author shows how Lum innovated from what "generally" characterizes Asian American poetry from Hawaii. While this passage is more about differences between Lum and other poets than about innovation per se, we can view it through the same lens. And in that manner, we can use the differences between his work and the general work of Asian American poets from Hawaii to define the main point, as we wrote out above.

Example: The author uses examples of Lum's poems from his volume Expounding the DoubtfulPoints to show the ways that Lum's poetry differs from the typical poetry written by Asian Americans from Hawaii. That makes the example the most prominent minor Meta-Structure in this passage. Each of these examples is just one supporting detail in the passage. But, together, they define the author's proof, so they'll be important in the questions.

Last Thoughts?

The examples here do overlap a little bit, so it's going to be difficult to find the correct one when there are Minor Point or Application questions about them. Whenever one comes up in a question (or answer), let's be sure to take a second to think about which of the three poems mentioned is most likely to include the detail in question.

Question prompt

Given the information in Remaining source text redacted.
Why the credited answer is right

Credited answer: C

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

Question Type

Humanities

Strategy Overview

Review your notes to recall Lum's views, then find an answer that must be true according to the passage

Answer Anticipation

This question stem asks us to infer a belief Lum would agree with. Often, one's views are described at length throughout the passage, so reviewing the passage or anticipating what the correct answer will say is not a wise investment of our limited time. Instead, we can remind ourselves of what we noted about their views, and go on to the answer choices. We'll eliminate each one we know is wrong (for instance, if we know it contradicts their views) and table any choice that includes a detail we don't remember reading or that isn't reflected in our notes. If we see a detail we recall, even vaguely, or we see an answer choice that's reflected in our notes, we can review the passage to see if we can find the supporting text.

Answer choices

  1. A
    Images in a poem Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice A is not credited

    (A) Is this consistent with Lum's views as they are portrayed in our main point and paragraph notes?

    No. Neither our main point nor our notes bring up making poems "widely understood." In fact, that sounds adverse to Lum's goal of mediating the complex relationship between his "heritage and experiences in a unique locality." (It also doesn't seem like something any poet would believe. After all, how long and boring would a poem be if it explained all of its imagery?) So, we can safely table or eliminate (A) without reviewing the passage.

    Besides, we wouldn't find any support for (A) if we re-read the entire passage. The passage never says that Lum argues that poems need to explain their imagery.

  2. B
    The experience of living Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice B is not credited

    (B) Is this consistent with Lum's views as they are portrayed in our main point and paragraph notes?

    Not exactly. This lines up with some of the biographical and demographical details you may remember about Lum and Hawaii (P1, S4). However, this answer choice uses bold, SCOTUS-y language ("necessary") that is hard to support and thus unlikely to appear in the correct answer to a Must Be True question. Therefore, we should resist any urge to review the passage and instead table or eliminate (B).

    Besides, we wouldn't find support for (B) if we re-read the entire passage. The only references to "homeland" and a "healthy perspective" come in the second and third paragraphs, respectively. When discussing the first poem, the author says that Lum treats ties to the homeland as necessary (P2, S2), not experience living away from it. When discussing the last poem, the author says that Lum thinks that the U.S. drive for individual success should be tempered to maintain ties to one's heritage and new identity (P3, S3).

  3. C
    It is important to Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice C matches the stem

    (C) Is this consistent with Lum's views as they are portrayed in our main point and paragraph notes?

    This seems consistent with Lum's goals as they're expressed in our anticipated main point — mediating the complex relationship between his "heritage and experiences in a unique locality." However, unless you have a strong memory of the third paragraph, this answer choice may not jump off the page, as it isn't explicitly referenced in our paragraph notes. So, we can table this answer choice and check the remaining.

    Eventually, however, we'll circle back to (C). Unlike the other answer choices, it is consistent with the main point and doesn't use bold, SCOTUS-y language. Once we decide to review the passage, we'll see that this answer lines up with a key theme in Lum's third poem, as discussed by the author at the end of the passage. In that poem, Lum cautions that the U.S. desire for individual achievement makes retaining a sense of homeland tradition difficult, and thus, this desire needs to be intentionally responded to allow a healthy identity (P3, S3). This answer is, therefore, correct.

  4. D
    One's identity is continually Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice D is not credited

    (D) Is this consistent with Lum's views as they are portrayed in our main point and paragraph notes?

    Nope. Neither our main point nor our notes bring up "a static identity." So, we can safely table or eliminate (A) without reviewing the passage.

    Besides, we wouldn't find any support for (D) if we re-read the entire passage. While Lum does talk about forming an identity that incorporates heritage and a new home (P1, S3), there's no indication that he thinks a static identity can be formed. In fact, since he believes identity has to take the local environment into account and he believes that Hawaiian society is constantly in flux (P2, S3), it's suggested he doesn't think identity can be static.

  5. E
    One cannot both seek Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice E is not credited

    (E) Is this consistent with Lum's views as they are portrayed in our main point and paragraph notes?

    Nope. Our anticipated main point says that Lum tries to retain a sense of heritage while searching for a new identity based on local sensibilities. As such, he doesn't believe heritage and a new identity are mutually exclusive. Since this contradicts the main point, we can eliminate (E) without checking the passage.

What this tests

Question analytics

Based on historical answer selection rates for this question.

Answer choice distribution

  1. A 3%
  2. B 9%
  3. C Credited 74%
  4. D 8%
  5. E 7%

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Discussion

  • C versus D 1 reply

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