Reading comp PrepTest 145 · Section 1 · Question 19

Incorrect. (Lines 1-4) The Author of Passage A does claim that, while great strides were made in this integration, the study of history shifted to a focus on gender issues, so it could very well be incomplete. However, one passage that's not indicated as even being in the historical mainstream isn't enough to "demonstrate" anything is far from complete.

Incorrect. (Lines 28-32) The Author of Passage A doesn't believe that abandoning this effort was justified, as she argues that the shift to gender might obscure as much as it reveals. As such, she wouldn't say that Passage B justifies this shift away from it!

Incorrect. (Lines 48-50) The Author of Passage A agrees that there's a current trend to analyzing history with a focus on gender issues, and Passage B does look at how gender roles - particularly those afforded to women - influenced politics. However, that's not the same as having political influence, which would require a level of agency and power that Passage B suggests women lacked at the time, being "constrained" to their domestic roles.

Incorrect. Passage A claims that the recent trend is towards a focus on gender issues, and Passage B focuses on the role of gender in shaping politics and culture, so this answer is the opposite of what's going on in the passages!

Correct. Question Type:
Must Be True

Strategy Overview:
Review the main point and attitude of the Author of Passage A, then apply it to Passage B

Answer Anticipation/Relevant Lines:
We know that the Author of Passage A presents a recent shift in historical analysis that has some upsides and downsides. The shift to a focus on gender issues provides a framework for analysis of structures, but it overlooks the histories of individual women and their experiences.

Passage B is a study of a period of history that discusses the role gender played in shaping political and cultural structures, so Passage A would believe it's an example of the shift it discusses. And, as such, she would believe that it is successful in that it uses a gender framework to explore societal structures, but it's unsuccessful in that it loses sight of the experiences of individual women. Let's find an answer reflecting any part of this opinion.

Answer Explanation:
(Lines 19-26) While the Author of Passage A believes that the focus on gender has a downside, she also puts forward a benefit of the shift - providing an analytical framework that helps with the study of social and political structures. Passage B analyzes the influence of gender roles on social and political structures. While this answer doesn't bring up the downside, the Author of Passage A would agree that the upside she presents can be seen through Passage B, making this the correct answer.

Key Takeaway:
This question can be a bit tricky, as Passage A ends on a down note about the focus on gender in the study of history, and the correct answer is much more positive about Passage B's use of gender in its analysis. However, Passage A also included a benefit of focusing on gender, and the question just asked for a statement about Passage B that Passage A would agree with. That means we need only find an answer that reflects something the Author believes, not everything she believes. If this were an Author's Attitude question, asking how she'd think overall about Passage B, we'd expect a more measured correct answer.