Reading comp PrepTest 144 · Section 1 · Question 17
Passage
. Before contact with Europeans, the Haudenosaune, . a group of nations in northeastern North America also . known as
Remaining source text redacted.
Passage walkthrough
Passage SummaryTopic: Social Science
Paragraph 1
While Europeans believed that wampum was used as money, it was actually used as a form of sociopolitical communication, growing from items with religious significance to eventually encoding the Haudenosaunee Confederacy's constitution, communicating laws and messages for hundreds of years.
Key Lines:
Lines 1-5 - The phenomenon is introduced
Lines 5-7; 9-11 - A misunderstanding is noted
Lines 13-15 - The overall progression is outlined
Lines 21-22 - An extended example of early wampum use is noted (religious)
Lines 33-36 - A step in the progression is stated (strings; messages)
Lines 37-42 - The big step in the progression is noted
Line 43 - A long string of examples is started
Lines 60-62 - More timeline and effectiveness of wampum as comms
Meta-Structure:
Phenomenon - Usually when a phenomenon is described, it warrants an explanation. This one, however, doesn't—the phenomenon is the use of wampum, and the passage instead describes how it was used.
Misunderstanding - The passage highlights a misunderstanding by both "[m]ost historians" (Lines 5-6) and Europeans (Line 10). They both focused on wampum as a means of exchange/money. Note that there is evidence it was used as such—the Europeans and Haudenosaunee did trade using it. However, it wasn't it's primary purpose.
Example - Paragraphs 2 and 3 both feature examples. Paragraph 2 brings up an example of early wampum use that's much more religious (starting in Lines 21-22), but still serves as a communication method (with spirits Sapling and Flint). Paragraph 3 brings up many examples of how wampum was used by the Haudenosaunee Confederacy to encode law and communicate. There's a good chance we get an EXCEPT question based on the latter!
Progression - The passage lays out the progression of the use of wampum by the Haudenosaunee early on (Lines 12-17) from religious to recording messages to keeping the peace. The passage then largely goes through this progression. We get examples of it being used for religious purposes (example starting in Lines 21-22), then a note about it growing to send simple political messages (Lines 34-36), and then a long discussion of how it was used to keep the peace in the Haudenosaunee Confederacy (Paragraph 3).
Last Thoughts:
It would be very easy to overlook that the end of Paragraph 1 lays out a progression that is then played out in the following paragraphs if you're not looking for it. However, noting these things can make it much easier to see how everything holds together, as structured arguments with a clear progression "stick" in our minds better. This is why you'll see so many RC passages have something in the opening paragraph that outlines the argument to be made. Be on the lookout for these statements, as they make your work a lot easier in both understanding the passage and answering the questions. After all, if you have a clear understanding of the structure of the passage, then you should be able to quickly find any relevant information.
Paragraph 1
- Paragraph note
- A phenomenon and a misunderstanding are discussed
- Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
- Phenomenon - Haudenosaunee*/Iroquois used wampum as political comms
- Misunderstanding (Most historians and Europeans) - Wampum was money (used as such in trade between Europe and Haudenosaunee)
- Transition - Religious to peacekeeping messaging
- Paragraph note
- Early wampum and then development discussed
- Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
- Early types - loose beads in white and purple
- Ex - Sapling (good) and Flint (bad) spirits thrown bead wampum by fishermen
- Growth - Loose beads strung together to send political messages (e.g., truce)
- Paragraph note
- Major development in progression of system (end based on initial outline)
- Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
- 1451 - Haudenosaunee Confederacy formed - wampum a arbitrary and pictorial system to convey constitution (belt) and other stuff
- Symbols, colors, and arrangement had significant
- Lots of examples
- Limited, but worked for hundreds of years
While Europeans believed that wampum was used as money, it was actually used as a form of sociopolitical communication, growing from items with religious significance to eventually encoding the Haudenosaunee Confederacy's constitution, communicating laws and messages for hundreds of years.
Key Lines:
Lines 1-5 - The phenomenon is introduced
Lines 5-7; 9-11 - A misunderstanding is noted
Lines 13-15 - The overall progression is outlined
Lines 21-22 - An extended example of early wampum use is noted (religious)
Lines 33-36 - A step in the progression is stated (strings; messages)
Lines 37-42 - The big step in the progression is noted
Line 43 - A long string of examples is started
Lines 60-62 - More timeline and effectiveness of wampum as comms
Meta-Structure:
Phenomenon - Usually when a phenomenon is described, it warrants an explanation. This one, however, doesn't—the phenomenon is the use of wampum, and the passage instead describes how it was used.
Misunderstanding - The passage highlights a misunderstanding by both "[m]ost historians" (Lines 5-6) and Europeans (Line 10). They both focused on wampum as a means of exchange/money. Note that there is evidence it was used as such—the Europeans and Haudenosaunee did trade using it. However, it wasn't it's primary purpose.
Example - Paragraphs 2 and 3 both feature examples. Paragraph 2 brings up an example of early wampum use that's much more religious (starting in Lines 21-22), but still serves as a communication method (with spirits Sapling and Flint). Paragraph 3 brings up many examples of how wampum was used by the Haudenosaunee Confederacy to encode law and communicate. There's a good chance we get an EXCEPT question based on the latter!
Progression - The passage lays out the progression of the use of wampum by the Haudenosaunee early on (Lines 12-17) from religious to recording messages to keeping the peace. The passage then largely goes through this progression. We get examples of it being used for religious purposes (example starting in Lines 21-22), then a note about it growing to send simple political messages (Lines 34-36), and then a long discussion of how it was used to keep the peace in the Haudenosaunee Confederacy (Paragraph 3).
Last Thoughts:
It would be very easy to overlook that the end of Paragraph 1 lays out a progression that is then played out in the following paragraphs if you're not looking for it. However, noting these things can make it much easier to see how everything holds together, as structured arguments with a clear progression "stick" in our minds better. This is why you'll see so many RC passages have something in the opening paragraph that outlines the argument to be made. Be on the lookout for these statements, as they make your work a lot easier in both understanding the passage and answering the questions. After all, if you have a clear understanding of the structure of the passage, then you should be able to quickly find any relevant information.
Question prompt
It can be inferred
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
Social Science
Answer choices
-
AEven if the evolution Remaining source text redacted.
Why choice A is not credited
Incorrect. (Lines 7-11) The Author states that the use of wampum as a form of exchange was "due to" the European misunderstanding. Since the Europeans were the cause of that development, we can't infer that the Author believes it would have happened without them. This answer also doesn't line up with the main point of the passage. -
BThe use of colors Remaining source text redacted.
Why choice B is not credited
Incorrect. (Lines 18-19) The Author brings up the two colors of wampum in Paragraph 2 when discussing the "oldest" forms of wampum, well before the formation of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy (Line 39). -
CThe ancient associations of Remaining source text redacted.
Why choice C matches the stem
Correct. Question Type:
Must Be True
Strategy Overview:
Reiterate the Author's main point and then head straight to the answers, using our notes and the passage itself to find the correct one
Answer Anticipation/Relevant Lines:
The question stem here gives us no guidance as to the topic of the correct answer. As such, we should remind ourselves of the main point (either what we wrote or the answer we selected for Question #14), and then head straight to the answers.
The main point, as we stated it, is:
While Europeans believed that wampum was used as money, it was actually used as a form of sociopolitical communication, growing from items with religious significance to eventually encoding the Haudenosaunee Confederacy's constitution, communicating laws and messages for hundreds of years.
Answer Explanation:
(Lines 20-25; Lines 33-36; Lines 40-42) First, this answer lines up with the main point of the passage in that it describes a progression. And that progression matches up with the one outlined in the passage. The passage uses the association of colors with spirits as an example of how wampum could represent basic ideas, and that "[l]ater" progressed to sending simple political messages which then turned into a "deliberate system" of symbols (which don't depend on a specific association for meaning) designed for political purposes. This answer is therefore correct.
Key Takeaway:
Note how the correct answer mirrors the main point of the passage even while discussing only portions of it. This is a common trend on the exam—even detail questions tend to have correct answers that reflect the main point. Which makes sense—why would the Author include a detail that doesn't help to prove her point? -
DBecause the associations with Remaining source text redacted.
Why choice D is not credited
Incorrect. (Lines 20-25; Lines 33-36; Lines 56-57) Be careful here! The passage notes that loose bead wampum colors were associated with specific spirits, but belt wampum used the colors to "direct[] interpretations of the symbols." Doesn't that make this answer correct? Nope, because this answer is about string wampum and belt wampum. And the passage never discusses what the colors meant for messages sent with string wampum (Lines 33-36). -
EIf the Europeans who Remaining source text redacted.
Why choice E is not credited
Incorrect. (Lines 7-11) The Author does state that the Europeans used wampum as a means of exchange because they misinterpreted the significance of wampum, but that doesn't mean they would have done things differently had they not misinterpreted it. Maybe they would have shrugged and used it as money, anyways.
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Started by manvir