Reading comp PrepTest 144 · Section 1 · Question 18
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
The passage provides the
Remaining source text redacted.
Why the credited answer is right
Credited answer: B
The notes below walk through why it fits the stem and how to eliminate the rest.
Question Type
Social Science
Answer choices
-
AWampum was probably used Remaining source text redacted.
Why choice A is not credited
Incorrect. (Lines 7-11) The passage notes that wampum "bec[a]me" a medium of exchange between the Haudenosaunee and the Europeans, which suggests it wasn't used for that purpose before. At the very least, there's no information suggesting that it was, so we can rule out this answer. -
BThe formation of the Remaining source text redacted.
Why choice B 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:
Much like the last question, the stem here gives us no guidance as to the topic of the correct answer. While it doesn't specifically ask about the Author's viewpoint, it doesn't ask from a different viewpoint, and the passage doesn't have much of an opposing view (just a couple sentences in Paragraph 1). As such, the correct answer will likely reflect what the Author believes.
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 37-42) The passage notes that the formation of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy was an "impetus" for turning wampum into a deliberate system of symbolic political communication. This system—which at least in part involved belts of wampum—was symbolic, arbitrary, and pictorial, which is certainly more complex than the loose beads or string wampum used before. "Impetus" from the passage backs up "called for" in this answer, and the details back up "more complex," so this is the correct answer.
Key Takeaway:
Always note causal words when you see them! And not just the normal ones. Here, "impetus" served to convey the idea that the Haudenosaunee Confederacy was a cause in the development of a more complex wampum system, backing up the correct answer. -
COnce wampum came to Remaining source text redacted.
Why choice C is not credited
Incorrect. (Lines 60-62) The passage notes that wampum "served to effectively frame and enforce" Confederacy laws for hundreds of years, which would include the constitution, and would cover the time period after first contact was made with Europeans. As such, this answer is contradicted by information in the passage. -
DPrior to Haudenosaune contact Remaining source text redacted.
Why choice D is not credited
Incorrect. (Lines 12-15) The passage notes that the use of wampum went through a progression that started as objects with religious significance, and that it was in use well before the Confederacy (Lines 37-39), so this answer misses the mark. -
EAs belt wampum superseded Remaining source text redacted.
Why choice E is not credited
Incorrect. (Lines 56-57) When talking about the colors of belt wampum, the passage refers to "the two colors," so there's no indication of additional shading.
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Discussion
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Why is answer D incorrect? 6 replies
Started by SawyerJeppson
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Started by Ryan-Mahabir