Reading comp PrepTest 153 · Section 1 · Question 25

Passage

Passage A is adapted from a book by a music historian, and passage B from an anthropology journal. Passage A Remaining source text redacted.
Passage walkthrough
Passage SummaryTopic:

Passage A
Paragraph 1
  • Paragraph note
    • A debate is introduced, and some background on one tradition is given
  • Views, minor Meta-Structures, points of intersection, and the author's attitude
    • Commentators - The blues is an extension of West African griots
    • Author - They're actually very different
    • Griots - Turned culture and traditions into song, preserving them
Paragraph 2
  • Paragraph note
    • The other tradition being contrasted is described
  • Views, minor Meta-Structures, points of intersection, and the author's attitude
    • Blues - Reflected personal experience and alienation
    • Causal source - Slavery, which destroyed communal values/history
    • Griots - Relied on those values/history
Paragraph 3
  • Paragraph note
    • Further exploration of the blues
  • Views, minor Meta-Structures, points of intersection, and the author's attitude
    • "Fundamental tragedy"/source of power - Sings of everyday, but connects to overall social truth of African American life under and post-slavery
Passage B
Paragraph 1
  • Paragraph note
    • Background
  • Views, minor Meta-Structures, points of intersection, and the author's attitude
    • Senegal had a caste system, with the griot at the bottom
Paragraph 2
  • Paragraph note
    • Background on griots
  • Views, minor Meta-Structures, points of intersection, and the author's attitude
    • Shouting in public wasn't acceptable, but griots could sing in public and had patrons they boosted
Paragraph 3
  • Paragraph note
    • Special role of griots is explored
  • Views, minor Meta-Structures, points of intersection, and the author's attitude
    • Griots accompanied patrons they'd served for generations and sang praises
    • Knew social norms and captured history through their songs
Main Point:
Passage A - Griots and blues musicians reflect different traditions, with the former singing about societal trends while the latter sang of tragic personal feelings of isolation that reflected the larger social truth of African American life during and after slavery.

Passage B - Despite their low social status, griots actually knew quite a bit about society and preserved the history, culture, and values through their laudatory songs.

Key Lines:

Passage A:
Lines 1-5 - The debate is introduced, and the Author's opinion stated
Lines 14-18 - The blues is described, and it's background/cause is stated
Lines 35-37 - The thesis is stated

Passage B:
Line 44 - The special role of the griot is stated
Lines 59-65 - The thesis is brought together

Meta-Structure - Relationship Between Passages:
Connection between art and society.

Both passages talk about griots, and they agree on the role that griots served—they both state that they preserved history and culture.

Passage A also talks about blues musicians. It contrasts their role in society with that of the griot, but in both cases, the artist is capturing something about society. Griots preserve societal values, while blues musicians reflect personal tragedies that "capture" a larger social truth.

Both passages also mention the lower social standing of these artists. Griots were the lowest caste and in multi-generational service to a patron. Blues music grew out of the destruction and alienation caused by slavery.

Last Thoughts:
This set of passages is interesting in that they overlap on one topic and have similar theses, even if they focus on different areas.

Question prompt

Passage B indicates that 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

  1. A
    They were representatives of Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice A is not credited
    Incorrect. (Line 8; Lines 60-61) Passage A does say that they had this role in Line 8, but Passage B doesn't say that it's not true. If anything, Passage B suggests that they did have such a role.
  2. B
    They preserved the cultural Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice B is not credited
    Incorrect. (Line 7; Lines 60-61) This answer isn't very different from (A).
  3. C
    They often enjoyed great Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice C matches the stem
    Correct. Question Type:
    Point at Issue

    Strategy Overview:
    Look for statements that contradict each other between the two passages

    Answer Anticipation/Relevant Lines:
    Passage B was all about griots, but Passage A only mentioned them a couple times, so we should read through the relevant sections of Passage A and see which don't line up with what we know about what Passage B says about them.

    Our notes let us know that the first paragraph talked about griots. There, it says that they were ""historians of their communities"" (Lines 5-6), which lines up with Passage B. However, it then says that this gave them ""great status in their communities (Lines 9-10), while Passage B said that they were in the ""lowest"" social caste (Lines 42-43). This is a contradiction, so it's a potential answer.

    Paragraph 2 of Passage A also says that the griots relied on values, history, and social fabric (Lines 19-20), which also lines up with Passage B. So we're left with a single anticipated answer—that the griots were afforded special/high status in their communities.

    Answer Explanation:
    (Lines 9-10; Lines 41-43) Passage A states that griots were afforded ""great status"" in Lines 9-10. Passage B contradicts this by saying that griots were of the lowest social caste (Lines 41-43). This answer is therefore correct.

    Key Takeaway:
    As with Point at Issue questions, one approach is to start with the passage that has less to say on the topic in question. This will allow you to home in on the details that can be contradicted by the second passage without having to go through the entire passage.
  4. D
    They served a function Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice D is not credited
    Incorrect. (Lines 10-13; Lines 59-61) Passage A implies this in the first paragraph, and Passage B notes that they played a similar role around Line 60.
  5. E
    Their art was made Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice E is not credited
    Incorrect. (Lines 18-20; Lines 63-65) Passage A states this in the second paragraph, while Passage B notes that griots needed to be ""sensitive to . . . community values,"" implying that Passage A was correct.

What this tests

Question analytics

Based on historical answer selection rates for this question.

Answer choice distribution

  1. A 6%
  2. B 8%
  3. C Credited 73%
  4. D 9%
  5. E 5%

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