Reading comp PrepTest 139 · Section 3 · Question 6

Topic: Social Science

Paragraph 1

• Paragraph note
  • A problematic trend (massive/mechanized farms run on credit) and an alternative approach (Whatley's small farming guidelines)
• Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
  • Author's view on a problematic trend:
    • Mass/mechanized production funded by debt has led to small farm bankruptcies (first sentence)
  • Whatley's alternative approach:
    • Small farms can do something else to make money if they follow his guidelines (second and last sentences(
  • Author's attitude: "prevailing trend" (first sentence);

Paragraph 2

• Paragraph note
  • Whatley's guidelines (crop variety, grow what people ask for)
• Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
  • List of Whatley's guidelines:
    • Small farms need year-round cash (first sentence)
    • 10+ crops in case 1 fails (second sentence)
    • To minimize the need for loans, run "client membership clubs" and grow crops clients ask for (third and last sentences)

Paragraph 3

• Paragraph note
  • Whatley's guidelines ("pick-your-own" farming, which eliminates harvesting and distribution costs)
• Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
  • List of Whatley's guidelines (cont. from last paragraph):
    • Having "pick-your-own" farming eliminates harvesting costs, which amount to 50% of, and distribution costs (first and second sentences)
  • Example of a client membership club, according to Whatley:
    • A 25-acre farm needs 1,000 clients from nearby cities (third and last sentences)

Paragraph 4

• Paragraph note
  • Whatley's guidelines (on a road within 40 miles of 50,000+ people, irrigation, insurance)
• Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
  • List of Whatley's guidelines (cont. from last paragraph):
    • Farm on a hard-surfaced road within 40 miles of an area with 50,000+ people (first sentence)
    • Water for irrigation (third sentence)
    • $1 million liability insurance (fourth sentence)

Main Point: According to Whatley, an alternative to mass mechanized, debt-financed production for small farms involves direct interaction and sales to clients can allow a small farm to be profitable.

Paragraph 1, Sentence 1 (P1, S1) - A problematic trend

P1, S2 - Whatley's alternative is introduced

P4, S5 - Whatley's conclusion

Problem/Solution - This passage follows a Problem/Solution Meta-Structure.* The author brings up a problem in the first paragraph: a trend towards mass, mechanized farm production that's causing small farms to rely on debt and end up in bankruptcy. The author then outlines the solution proposed by Booker T. Whatley for the rest of the passage.

Normally, in a Problem/Solution passage, the author's preferred solution is the main point or, if that's missing, her opinion on a proposed solution is the main point. Here, the author doesn't propose a solution or disclose their feelings on Whatley's solution. So, the main point is that Whatley has proposed a solution, leading to what we wrote above.

*Or so we say, you know? Many Meta-Structures work for this passage. It could be an Old Approach/New Approach passage, with Whatley representing the new approach. It could be an Innovative Subject passage, given Whatley's "innovative" approach to small farming. It could even be a Reporting a Viewpoint passage since the author mostly just reports Whatley's guidelines without offering any commentary. Any of these Meta-Structures would help you understand the passage's main point and organization.

List: Arguably, the minor Meta-Structure is even more important than the major Meta-Structure in this passage. Paragraphs 2 through 4 are organized around a list of Whatley's guidelines. We recommend highlighting each item on that list (each guideline) since several questions will likely ask about those. Having these items highlighted will allow us to scan the passage and quickly locate the relevant details.

With very little author's attitude and a relatively straightforward structure, we expect we'll mostly get Minor Point questions. If you don't find memorizing a few details too burdensome, we recommend trying to remember a few of Whatley's guidelines. That way, we can avoid a few fact-finding missions and advance through the questions efficiently. Of course, we shouldn't commit all the guidelines to memory. But let's synthesize them into three bullet points:

• 10+ crops
• Grow what people ask for and let them pick it
• Easy-to-access location