Reading comp PrepTest 135 · Section 3 · Question 5

Topic: Humanities

Paragraph 1

• Paragraph note
  • 1980s trends in U.S. Latina writings (proliferation of poetry/short stories/novels, and three notable autobiographies)
• Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
  • List of two 1980s trends in writings by Latina women in the U.S., according to the author:
    • 1980s: Lots of poetry, short stories, and novels (first sentence)
    • End of 1980s: Autobiography (3 examples) (last sentence)
  • List of notable autobiographies of Latina women in the U.S., according to the author:
    • Loving in the War Years: Lo Que Nunca Pasó Por Sus Labios by Cherríe Moraga; Getting Home Alive, by Aurora Levins Morales and Rosario Morales; and Borderlands/La Frontera, by Gloria Anzaldúa (last sentence)
  • Author's attitude: "proliferation" (first sentence); "notable" (last sentence)

Paragraph 2

• Paragraph note
  • How the three autobiographies innovate (combine English and Spanish, mix genres to explore ethnicity, gender, and language)
• Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
  • Author's view:
    • The three notable autobiographies innovate by mixing English and Spanish and by combining multiple genres (essays, poems, short stories, etc.) to explore the relationship between ethnicity, gender, and language (first through last sentences)
  • Author's attitude: "innovative at many levels" (first sentence); "confront" (second sentence); "manifests itself" (last sentence); "without, for the most part, giving preference" (last sentence)

Paragraph 3

• Paragraph note
  • Specific innovations in each autobiography (all use multiple genres and voices to express complex identities)
• Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
  • List of specific innovations in each autobiography, according to the author:
    • Borderlands/La Frontera: personal and community history by mixing narrative and poetry (first sentence)
    • Loving in the War Years: Mixes genres; not chronological (political development) (second sentence)
    • Getting Home Alive: Even more innovative, mixes mom and daughter viewpoints (fourth through sixth sentences)
  • Author's view:
    • All autobiographies mix genres and voices to express the formation of their author's complex identity (last sentence)
  • Author's attitude: "departs even further from conventions" (fourth sentence); "may seem fragmentary and confusing, it is in fact a fully intentional and carefully designed experiment with literary structure" (sixth sentence); "employ multigeneric and multivocal forms to express the complexities inherent in the formation of their identities" (last sentence)

Paragraph 4

• Paragraph note
  • Author's conclusion (writers revolutionized autobiography to make it fit their voices and experiences)
• Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
  • Author's view:
    • These autobiographies by Latina women in the U.S. revolutionized the genre to make a better vehicle to express their voices and experiences (first and last sentences)
  • Author's attitude: "revolutionized" (first sentence); "redrawing the boundaries" (first sentence); "more amenable to teh expression of their own experience" (first sentence); "shown a strong determination" (last sentence)

Main Point: By mixing forms and genres, breaking with traditional timelines, and mixing multiple voices, the autobiographies published by Latina women at the end of the 1980s innovated within the genre and allowed the authors to fully capture their identities and experiences.

Innovative Subject: This passage uses one of the most common major Meta-Structures for humanities passages — Innovative [Subject]. These humanities passages describe what is groundbreaking and unique about an artist, movement, or group of artists. The word "[Subject]" is just a placeholder for the artist, movement, or group of artists. This passage discusses three authors and their innovations in the autobiography genre. So, we can think of this as an Innovative Autobiographies or Innovative Autobiographers passage (or an Innovative Autobiografía passage, if you want to mix English and Spanish like these writers).

In Innovative [Subject] passages, the main point is generally the author's opinion on the innovation. The author really goes overboard with their praise for these autobiographies — especially in the fourth paragraph, where the author summarizes their opinion. We can use that paragraph as the main point whenever a question requires us to consider that main point. Alternatively, we can summarize the author's opinions for them. We elected to use the latter approach, including some of the specific innovations the author outlined in the third paragraph.

Paragraph 3 is really long and detailed, so we should be sure to head back to check details as necessary when answering questions about the specific innovations in each autobiography.