Reading comp PrepTest 153 · Section 1 · Question 27

Incorrect. (Lines 8-9; Lines 47-48) Passage A said that griots transformed traditions into song, whereas Passage B said that griots specialized in the ""spoken word"" and ""shouted and sang."" If anything, then, this answer has the descriptions reversed.

Correct. Question Type:
Point at Issue

Strategy Overview:
Identify differences in how the two passages discuss griots

Answer Anticipation/Relevant Lines:
This question is pretty similar to #25—it's a Point at Issue question asking about something Passage A says is true of griots that is different from Passage B. It doesn't have to be something contradictory, as it did in #25, but it could be.

Since we already did the work for this question, we'll just reiterate it here:
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 8-9; Lines 42-43) Passage A refers to the griots as people who transformed tradition into song, so it does use the term to refer only to a type of musician. Passage B mentions that griot was the lowest social caste. This answer thus correctly reflects the different way that the two passages describe griots, so it's the correct answer.

Key Takeaway:
It's actually relatively common for RC passages to have multiple questions that ask about the same concepts from the passages. While the correct answer could be different, the analysis and anticipations are usually the same, so don't be shy about reusing the work/thoughts you had on the earlier question!

Incorrect. (Line 5; Line 38) Passage B does talk about fifteenth-century griots, but Passage A also speaks in the past tense (""Griots were . . . "").

Incorrect. (Lines 48-50) Passage B mentions crowds as well as community gatherings, and the former could arguably be true even when there was no such gathering (e.g., at a marketplace). Passage A doesn't talk about where the performances were given.

Incorrect. (Lines 50-52) Passage B most clearly discusses the patronage relationship at the beginning of Paragraph 3, but it's not clear if griots always had noble patronage. And Passage A doesn't discuss employment arrangements at all.