Reading comp PrepTest 154 · Section 3 · Question 9

Passage

Passage A  The path a historical novelist has to tread is clearly beset by dangers. One cannot have medieval characters Remaining source text redacted.
Passage walkthrough
Passage SummaryTopic: Humanities

Passage A
Paragraph 1
  • Paragraph note
    • A problem and paradoxical solution are introduced
  • Views, minor Meta-Structures, points of intersection, and the author's attitude
    • Problem - Historical novelist/biographers have to change things up and invent things to create good stories
    • Paradox - To tell a good narrative, a writer has to lie
Paragraph 2
  • Paragraph note
    • A distinction is made within the paradox
  • Views, minor Meta-Structures, points of intersection, and the author's attitude
    • Lies vs. Mistakes
    • Lies are intentional and purposeful, mistakes are accidental and unforgivable
    • Constructive lie (adds to story) = good; mistake (detracts from story) = bad
Paragraph 3
  • Paragraph note
    • A caveat is added
  • Views, minor Meta-Structures, points of intersection, and the author's attitude
    • Some lies go too far - alienating, obvious
    • But subtle, convincing lies necessary - e.g., Shakespeare
Passage B
Paragraph 1
  • Paragraph note
    • A question is posed based on a weird situation
  • Views, minor Meta-Structures, points of intersection, and the author's attitude
    • Situation - Autobiographer remembers false things more vividly, even when remembering the actual thing
    • Question - Which is the "truest" memory?
Paragraph 2
  • Paragraph note
    • A distinction is made
  • Views, minor Meta-Structures, points of intersection, and the author's attitude
    • Actual event vs. Emotional experience
    • When they align, great! When they don't, false memory tends to have emotional truth
Paragraph 3
  • Paragraph note
    • Another distinction is made
  • Views, minor Meta-Structures, points of intersection, and the author's attitude
    • Autobiography vs. Biography
    • Latter to get truth
    • Former to get experience, and an emotional false memory should be included
Paragraph 4
  • Paragraph note
    • A temper tantrum is thrown, and then a conclusion is drawn
  • Views, minor Meta-Structures, points of intersection, and the author's attitude
    • Temper tantrum - My conclusion is illogical and unethical!
    • Conclusion - Autobiography is between fact and fiction, and each writer draws line in different places
Main Point:
Passage A - While some lies go too far, historical novels/biographies need to tell some intentional and purposeful lies to create a coherent story.

Passage B - Autobiography skirts the line between fact and fiction, and some false memories need to be included because they create a clearer story and provide emotional truth.

Key Lines:

Passage A:
Lines 8-9 - A paradoxical statement is made
Lines 17-18 - The paradox is clarified
Lines 19-20 - A caveat is added
Lines 22-24 - An example is given

Passage B:
Line 34 - A question is posed
Lines 39-40 - An unexpected answer is presented
Lines 41-43 - The thesis is stated
Lines 49-52 - The Author is mad at himself
Lines 56-58 - The main point is reiterated in fancy language

Meta-Structure - Relationship Between Passages:
Passage A - Paradox/Explanation/Caveat
Passage B - Question/Paradoxical Answer

Both passages deal with writing that is supposed to be factual, and they highlight how lies or false memories actually contribute to that form of writing. They both recognize the paradoxical nature of that, though the author of Passage B is a little more piqued by it than the author of Passage A.

There's one key difference. Passage B distinguishes between autobiography (read to experience what the author did) and biography (read to learn facts). Passage A's author says that in "depicting the lives of real individuals," it's acceptable to include purposeful lies that advance the narrative. So in biographical writing, Passage A argues lies are alright, but Passage B argues that that writing is read to "find a more objective view" (Line 45).

Last Thoughts:
Passage B is written in the first-person, and there's quite a bit of emotion shown there—especially in the last paragraph.

The two passages, though, largely align on their main point—that lies/false memories are acceptable in certain situations. However, there is some disagreement over what those situations are.

Question prompt

Which one of the Remaining source text redacted.
Why the credited answer is right

Credited answer: A

The notes below walk through why it fits the stem and how to eliminate the rest.

Question Type

Humanities

Answer choices

  1. A
    The position that a Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice A matches the stem
    Correct. Question Type:
    Must Be True

    Strategy Overview:
    Use our understanding of the passages and notations to find an answer that shows up in Passage B but not A

    Answer Anticipation/Relevant Lines:
    There isn't much guidance here, and identifying everything that shows up in B but not A is going to be too time-consuming. We can remind ourselves of key differences—B was written in the first-person; it dealt with autobiography—but otherwise it's time to head straight to the answer choices.

    Answer Explanation:
    (Lines 49-50) Passage B talks about ethics at the beginning of the last paragraph, whereas Passage A never talks about ethics. This was something we noted when working through question #8!

    Key Takeaway:
    Note how many of the incorrect answers here were present in Passage A! It's common for that to be the case, and it's sometimes faster to start your analysis for a question such as this one by eliminating answers that show up in the passage the question stem says the correct answer doesn't show up in.
  2. B
    Though it is often Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice B is not credited
    Incorrect. (Line 20) We noted that Passage A said some lies go too far and are too obvious, so this answer shows up there.
  3. C
    There is a significant Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice C is not credited
    Incorrect. (Lines 10-11) This is one of the distinctions we noted in Passage A.
  4. D
    The best writers of Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice D is not credited
    Incorrect. While Passage B does discuss autobiography while Passage A doesn't, there's no superlative language (""best writers"") in that passage, as we would have noted it, so we can rule this answer out.
  5. E
    There is a significant Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice E is not credited
    Incorrect. (Lines 19-26) This was the caveat that we noted in Passage A.

What this tests

Question analytics

Based on historical answer selection rates for this question.

Answer choice distribution

  1. A Credited 63%
  2. B 6%
  3. C 5%
  4. D 17%
  5. E 9%

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