Reading comp PrepTest 134 · Section 4 · Question 9

Topic: Social Science

Paragraph 1

• Paragraph note
  • Background on Mexican Americans' use of proverbs (impart wisdom, most from Spain, some have English equivalents)
• Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
  • Definition of "proverb": A self-contained saying meant to impart some wisdom (second sentence)
  • Comparison, according to the author:
    • While most Mexican American proverbs are from Spain, many are from Europe generally and have English equivalents (third and last sentences)
  • Author's attitude: "riched and varied repertoire" (first sentence); "vital tradition" (first sentence); "great majority" (third sentence); "Many belong, in fact" (last sentence); "exact equivalents" (last sentence)

Paragraph 2

• Paragraph note
  • One purpose of proverbs for Mexican American communities (instruction of the young, "run with" example, reasons for using proverbs)
• Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
  • Author's view:
    • Proverb meaning changes based on person and context, but one of the most important social functions of proverbs in Mexican American communities is to teach the young (first through third sentences)
    • The use of proverbs to instruct the young may be because community norms are threatened by external culture or because parents appeal to traditional wisdom to bolster their authority (last sentence)
  • Comparison, according to the author:
    • Teaching the young with proverbs is much more common in Mexican American communities than in English-speaking communities (fourth sentence)
  • Examples of proverbs meant to instruct the young, according to the author:
    • Proverbs about manners and peer relationships ("tell me who you run with and I'll tell you who you are") (fifth and sixth sentences)
  • Author's attitude: "is an individual act" (first sentence); "Nonetheless, it is important to recognize" (second sentence); "is also shaped" (second sentence); "one important function" (third sentence); "seems to be much more prominent" (fourth sentence); "consistently report" (fifth sentence); "particularly frequent focus of proverb use" (sixth sentence); "Perhaps" (last sentence)

Paragraph 3

• Paragraph note
  • Another purpose of proverbs (strengthen ties to Mexican heritage)
• Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
  • Author's view:
    • Proverbs also pass on ethnic identity to their listeners, helping to spread language and culture/heritage (first and second sentences)
  • Cause-and-effect relationship, according to the author:
    • Proverbs are vehicles for the Spanish language and Mexican culture, which causes young people to have stronger ties to their Mexican heritage (second, third, and last sentences)
  • Author's attitude: "often serve to foster" (first sentence); "nevertheless serve as a vehicle for the transmission of both the Spanish language and Mexican culture" (second sentence); "established and maintained" (third sentence); "provide a means of enhancing" (last sentence); "thereby strengthening their ties" (last sentence)

Main Point: Spanish-language proverbs are used by Mexican Americans as instruction for the young and to pass on heritage, language, and culture.

Phenomenon/Explanation: This passage best fits the Phenomenon/Explanation Meta-Structure.* In such a passage, the author will generally present an observable fact, behavior, or situation. In this case, it's Mexican Americans' frequent use of proverbs. Then, the author will describe one or more explanations of that observable fact, behavior, or situation. In this passage, the author attributes Mexican Americans' use of proverbs to a desire to instruct young members of that community and strengthen their ties to their Mexican heritage.

In a Phenomenon/Explanation passage, the main point is generally the explanation that the author provides or endorses. The author cites two reasons why Mexican American communities use proverbs so frequently, so we included both of those in our anticipated main point.

*You could also reasonably call this an Importance of [Subject] passage, with the "[Subject]" placeholder standing in for "Proverbs." As is often the case, more than one Meta-Structure can describe the passage. Either one would give you a solid understanding of the passage's main point and argument structure.

List: While it isn't particularly explicit, the author presents a list of two key reasons why proverbs are so frequently used by the Mexican American community. As such, the list is the most prominent minor Meta-Structure in this passage. The first reason shows up in the second paragraph — instruction of children. The second is introduced in the third paragraph ("Another dimension"). These two purposes make up the entirety of the author's main point in writing this passage, and details surrounding both items in the list will serve as fodder for questions.

The one "weird" element in this passage is the first paragraph. It presents pure background information — it sets up the main point about the purposes of proverbs in the Mexican American community, but it doesn't really factor into the argument. It defines a proverb and cites where most Mexican American proverbs come from, but the shared nature of many with European and English-language proverbs doesn't really factor into the rest of the passage. As such, we might get a Minor Point question or two about this content, but it doesn't need to play a role in any of our big-picture answers.