Reading comp PrepTest 138 · Section 1 · Question 3

Passage

Questions 1-7  .        The corrido , a type of narrative folk song, comes  . from a region half in Remaining source text redacted.
Passage walkthrough
Passage Summary

Topic: Humanities


Paragraph 1

  • Paragraph note
    • Corridos' subject matter (border-specific issues to commemorate and bring the community together)
  • Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
    • Definition of "corrido": a narrative folk song with roots in 18th-c. Spanish ballads, flourished from 1836 to late 1930 in border community called Lower Rio Grande Border (first and second sentences)
    • Comparison, according to the author:
      • All corridos have the same subject matter (border-specific issues) and contain the same generic elements (third and fifth sentences)
    • Example of a corrido with a border-specific issue, according to the author:
      • "El Corrido de Kiansis," which commemorated the first cattle drives to Kansas in the 1860s (fourth sentence)
    • Author's view on the purpose of corridos:
      • Corridos commemorated local events and helped bring the border community together (last sentence)
    • Author's attitude: "more importantly" (last sentence); "served to affirm the cohesiveness" (last sentence)

Paragraph 2

  • Paragraph note
    • Corridos' language (simple, few embellishments, everyday images in metaphor when used)
  • Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
    • Examples of simple metaphors in corridos, according to the author:
      • Thunderstorm as a metaphor for a fight in "El Corrido de Gregorio Cortez" and "El Corrido de Kiansis" (third and fourth sentences)
    • Author's view on the purpose of simple language:
      • Language is simple and the imagery is conventional and recognizable, which reflects the continuity of the corrido tradition (last sentence)
    • Author's attitude: "simply and swiftly, without embellishments" (first sentence); "highly conventional and readily recognizable" (last sentence); "reflects and strengthens the continuity of the corrido tradition" (last sentence)

Paragraph 3

  • Paragraph note
    • Corridos' ready-made lines (despedida, closing verse with repeated lines)
  • Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
    • Author's view:
      • The conventional lines that appear in many corridos is most readily illustrated by the despedida, the formal closing verse with conventional first and third lines (first, second, fourth through last sentences)
    • Example of despedida, according to the author:
      • Closing lines in one version of "El Corrido de Gregorio Cortez" (third sentence)
    • Author's attitude: "travel easily" (first sentence); "most evident" (second sentence); "perhaps the clearest marker" (last sentence)

Main Point: By using familiar images, lines, and experiences, corridos strengthened and created continuity in border communities from around 1836 to the 1930s.

Key Lines?

Paragraph 1, Sentence 6 (P1, S6) - Purpose of corridos is summarized

P2, S5- The scope and purpose of imagery in corridos is summarized

P1, S6 - The scope and purpose of repeated lines is summarized

Meta-Structure?

Importance of Subject - This passage utilizes an Importance of [Subject] Meta-Structure (in this case, Importance of the Corrido or Importance of a Tradition). A number of humanities passages explore a tradition, looking at its influences, its purpose, and its legacy. In this case, the author explores how corridos' purpose, subject matter, and composition made them important to border communities in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

In an Importance of Subject passage, the main point is generally the author's opinions on why the subject was important. To anticipate this main point, we can look for whether the author provides a conclusion that summarizes this opinion. But if the author doesn't provide such a conclusion, we'll have to summarize the author's opinions ourselves. In this case, the author provided a conclusion at the end of the first paragraph (P1, S6). But we also decided to anticipate a slightly more specific version of this statement, just to cover our bases: "By using familiar images, lines, and experiences, corridos strengthened and created continuity in border communities from around 1836 to the 1930s."

Example: The most prominent minor Meta-Structure is the example. In fact, the author uses an example to illustrate the point the author makes in each paragraph. We will certainly get some Minor Point or Argument Structure questions on these examples, so keep them highlighted!

Last Thoughts?

Each paragraph follows a pretty similar pattern — details are discussed, an example is presented, and then the overall point of that paragraph is summed up. In each case, the point presents the scope and purpose of something — corridos overall (Paragraph 1), their imagery (Paragraph 2), and their repeated lines (Paragraph 3). Noting this parallel structure should make it a lot easier to find any specific details or answer any structure questions.

On top of that, the end of Paragraph 1, at a very high level, outlines the rest of the passage. We know that the purpose of Paragraph 1 was to discuss the purpose of corridos overall, and it notes that the "more important[]" purpose was to affirm the cohesiveness of border communities using "familiar linguistic and thematic conventions." The discussion of imagery, metaphor, and repeated lines dives into these linguistic and thematic conventions in more detail.

Question prompt

Given its tone and Remaining source text redacted.
Why the credited answer is right

Credited answer: E

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

Question Type

Humanities

Strategy Overview

Review the passage's main point and author's attitude, then use that to determine whether the passage is meant for a general or acadamic audience and whether the passage describes or informs

Answer Anticipation

The Author's Audience question is a rare question from the Tone family. These questions are classified as a Tone question because we'll mostly rely on the authors' word choice to determine whether they are writing for a general audience (like the kind that would read a popular magazine or website) or a specific audience (like an audience of specialists or academics). Authors who write for a general population will tend to use more words that convey excitement or criticism, while the opinions of authors writing for a specialized audience will usually be more muted.Additionally, the introductory paragraphs of both passages can be revealing. Authors writing for a general audience will make the opening paragraph accessible. They'll clearly define the subject matter and any relevant concepts. They'll also try to build intrigue by asking a tantalizing question or making a bold assertion. On the other hand, authors writing for specialized or academic audiences will assume that their readers are already familiar with and interested in the topic. Such authors won't define their terms or build suspense.So, first, does this seem targeted at a more general or academic one? If it were targeted at an academic audience, we'd expect the author to make some assumptions about baseline knowledge of certain key subjects. If if were targed at a general audience, the first paragraph will provide many background details to help situate the reader. This passage, however, gets into some pretty basic details about corridos and the general ballad tradition. It also gives a lot of examples to highlight what some concepts that would be basic to an expert mean. For example, the discussion of ready-made lines probably wouldn't require an example if the passage were targeted at people who study folk music for a living! So, this is a piece targeted at a more general audience.Is it informative or persuasive? To answer this, we just need to review the main point. Does the main point describe, advocate, or criticize? The main point to this passage is, "By using familiar images, lines, and experiences, corridos strengthened and created continuity in border communities from around 1836 to the 1930s." That's pretty descriptive. The author isn't trying to change anyone's mind but rather to highlight details about a specific folk music tradition and its use. There's nothing seemingly controversial, no opposing point to argue against, and so this is definitely more in the informative camp.So, the answer should describe a publication that's targeted at a more general audience and meant to inform. Let's use that to assess the answer choices.

Answer choices

  1. A
    a brochure for contemporary Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice A is not credited

    (A) Is this where an informative article intended for a general audience would show up?

    This brochure is definitely targeted at a more general audience. And travel brochures are typically meant to inform.

    But let's use our common sense. Would a passage this long show up in a travel brochure? Probably not. Plus, the content of this passage doesn't line up. While a couple sentences on corridos might fit into such a brochure, this entire passage would take up too much real estate when there is so much other information to be included for tourists!

  2. B
    a study focusing on Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice B is not credited

    (B) Is this where an informative article intended for a general audience would show up?

    No. The information in the passage is a little too basic to be included in a "study," which would likely have a more academic and informed audience. Additionally, the topic doesn't line up — the passage talks about how the ballad tradition started in 18th-century Spain influenced the corrida. We don't know if corrida ballads ever influenced Spain.

  3. C
    an editorial in a Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice C is not credited

    (C) Is this where an informative article intended for a general audience would show up?

    Nope. This answer describes a more persuasive passage — one that is trying to change minds. An "informative" editorial would be a bit weird.

  4. D
    a treatise on the Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice D is not credited

    (D) Is this where an informative article intended for a general audience would show up?

    No. The content is off for this one. While the passage does discuss a corrido about a famous individual (Gregorio Cortez), the passage is about the corrido tradition, not the subject of one of its examples.

  5. E
    a book describing various Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice E matches the stem

    (E) Is this where an informative article intended for a general audience would show up?

    Yes, this is the best fit for the passage's tone and content. The passage's information presented is pretty basic, and it features more of a description than an argument. It's also pretty wide-ranging about the corrido — this could easily make up a 1-2 page entry on the corrido in a book that also discusses a variety of other folk song forms. And the Border region is in Mexico and the US, so "North American" is spot on.

What this tests

Question analytics

Based on historical answer selection rates for this question.

Answer choice distribution

  1. A 11%
  2. B 7%
  3. C 8%
  4. D 1%
  5. E Credited 72%

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Discussion

  • Why not A? 1 reply

    Started by Abigail-Okereke

  • Why E? 2 replies

    Started by avif

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