Reading comp PrepTest 157 · Section 1 · Question 4

Paragraph 1

• Paragraph note
  • Background on sit-in demonstrations (segregation only illegal in public schools, African-American community anticipated further change) and author's conclusion (sit-ins inspired major changes)
• Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
  • Author's conclusion:
    • Sit-ins inspired civil rights organizations, created new ones, and caused more people to support the civil rights movement (last sentence)
  • Comparison, according to the author:
    • Segregation was illegal in public schools but not in other areas (second sentence)
  • Author's attitude: "profound growth" (first sentence); "simple" (last sentence); "galvanized" (last sentence); "brought about" (last sentence); "generated support" (last sentence)

Paragraph 2

• Paragraph note
  • Background on sit-ins (students at a lunch counter) and their influence (showed students they could affect change and led to SNCC and FR)
• Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
  • List of two events sit-ins inspired, according to the author:
    • Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee and Freedom Rides (last sentence)
  • Author's attitude: "spread rapidly" (second sentence); "important model" (third sentence); "influence" (last sentence); "particularly visible" (last sentence)

Paragraph 3

• Paragraph note
  • Two events sit-ins inspired: Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (student-led, made protests sustained and national) and Freedom Rides (led to government protection, showed segregation's harsh realities, demonstrated methods to activists)
• Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
  • Cause-and-effect relationships, according to the author:
    • The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee caused small-scale student protests to become sustained and national efforts against discrimination (second sentence)
    • The Freedom Rides caused the U.S. government to intervene, causing the U.S. government and society to see the harsh realities of segregation and civil rights activists to see methods they can use to fight discrimination (last sentence)
  • Author's attitude: "solidified" (first sentence); "strong" (second sentence); "transform" (second sentence); "into a sustained effort" (second sentence); "clearest turning point" (third sentence); "the first government action" (fifth sentence); "new level" (last sentence); "harsh realities of the segregation system" (last sentence); "providing, for students and their elders alike, examples of the methods they might use" (last sentence)

Sit-in protests inspired and created civil rights organizations and movements, including the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee and Freedom Rides, which provided models of nonviolent protest and generated new support for the civil rights movement.

Importance of Subject: We think this passage best fits the Importance of [Subject]. Meta-Structure. In such passages, the author describes why a particular person, artistic work, law or legal accomplishment, scientific breakthrough, or social movement was historically significant or meaningful. As we know, "[Subject]" is just a placeholder for whatever the passage focuses on. In this case, that's a movement of civil rights protests and organizations that started with sit-ins. So, we can dub this passage an Importance of Movement passage.

In an Importance of [Subject] passage, the main point is generally the author's opinions on why the subject was important. To identify this, we can look for whether the author provides a conclusion that summarizes their opinion. The author provides this summary at the end of the first paragraph, so we can use that to answer any question for which the main point is handy. Alternatively, we can make our own summary of the author's opinions on why the subject was important. We wanted to include the author's references to the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee and Freedom Rides, so we formed our own summary.

List: The author uses several minor Meta Structures, but the list is the most prominent. The author lists two movements that illustrate the influence of sit-in demonstrations: the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee and Freedom Rides. The author provides details on both of these movements, so we can expect them to figure into a question or two.

This passage has only five questions, which means the rest of the passages will have 7 or 8 questions each. We cannot afford to spend too much time on the questions, so it'll be crucial that we use the main point and our notes to quickly answer the questions, minimizing the number of times we check the passage—especially to eliminate wrong answers.