Reading comp PrepTest 149 · Section 2 · Question 26

Incorrect. The Author is absent from the passage and doesn't weigh in on whether Social Darwinism or any particular brand of it is valid, so there's no ""defense of the principles"" underlying it.

Correct. Question Type:
Methods of Reasoning/Main Point

Strategy Overview:
Figure out what the Author meant to do by sitting down and writing this passage

Answer Anticipation/Relevant Lines:
This question is a bit of a cross between a Methods of Reasoning question and a Main Point question. The correct answer has to reflect that main point but also the structure behind it.

As such, we should think about the main point, how it's presented, and then abstract from that to determine what, exactly, the Author meant to accomplish.

Here, the passage is about the work that Charlotte Perkins Gilman did. The passage introduces some background information on Social Darwinism and the debate between two camps, places Gilman within that historical and intellectual context, and then shows how she promoted her own views. So the passage is interested in presenting this information about an individual and her contributions to a certain intellectual/theoretical debate.

Note that we should throw out any answer that suggests the Author took a side in the passage. Information is presented, but no viewpoint is specifically advocated for!

Answer Explanation:
The key word describing the passage here—""description""—fits the absent author. And the passage does serve to describe the role played by Charlotte Perkins Gilman in the controversy between different camps when discussing the consequences of Darwin's Theory of Evolution in the social context. Since this answer matches the tone and details of the passage, it's the correct answer.

Key Takeaway:
One way to approach a question such as this one is to focus on the first couple of words. Generally, based on how strongly the Author argues in the passage, you can select or eliminate answers based on that. Here, (A) and (D) were too opinionated since the Author was largely absent from the debate!

Incorrect. First, there's no discussion of the ""goals"" of the two sides of the Social Darwinism debate. Second, this answer fails to include a reference to Gilman, who served as the central focus of the passage.

Incorrect. ""[D]efense"" and ""rejection"" are too opinionated for a passage where the Author presented information without taking sides.

Incorrect. The passage refers to Darwin's Theory of Evolution, which isn't a ""general type"" of scientific theory—it's a specific scientific theory. And Social Darwinism isn't a scientific theory—it's a social one. Also, there are two Social Darwinist theories, and Gilman's version is a bit different from the one she adhered to—so you could argue there are three. This answer suggests that there's one that is clarified by reference to Gilman's theory, which just isn't the point of the passage.