Reading comp PrepTest 157 · Section 4 · Question 7
Passage
In 1959, Hitsville, USA—the company better known as Motown Records—was founded in Detroit, Michigan by Berry Gordy, Jr. Several factors
Remaining source text redacted.
Passage walkthrough
Passage Summary Topic:
Humanities
Paragraph 1
Main Point:
Motown Records' success resulted from founder Berry Gordy, Jr.'s business acumen and the label's independence, the deep pool of talented artists fostered by the public music-education program in Detroit's African American community, and the artists' early embrace of electric instruments.
Key Lines?
Paragraph 1, Sentence 2 (P1, S2) - Phenomenon
P1, S3 - Author's Explanation
P2, S1 - Support for the author's explanation
P3, S1 - Support for the author's explanation
P4, S1 - Support for the author's explanation
Meta-Structure?
Phenomenon/Explanation: The passage's overarching Meta-Structure is Phenomenon/Explanation. The author only discusses one phenomenon — Motown Records' rapid success (P1, S2) — and one explanation (P1, S3), which lends this passage a straightforward, easy-to-follow structure (not unlike the pop music formula perfected by Motown's songwriters and performers). In a classic Phenomenon/Explanation passage, the explanation is the main point if the author presents or endorses the explanation. (Alternatively, if the author quibbles with the explanation, then the author's opinion of the explanation is the main point.) Here, the author both offers and heartily endorses the explanation of Motown's success. This explanation is best summarized by the third sentence of the first paragraph. So, we could use that sentence to select an answer for the Main Point question. However, that sentence doesn't discuss the use of electric instruments described by the final paragraph, so we modified that sentence to include that factor in the Main Point section above.
Causality: Many Phenomenon/Explanation passages feature a central cause-and-effect relationship (the explanation is generally causal, as it is here), and this passage is no exception. This author also describes other supporting cause-and-effect relationships throughout the passage. We probably don't want to get too bogged down with understanding and memorizing all of those relationships as we read. Still, a prudent test taker would highlight or underline the cause-and-effect relationship described in the passage. These include:
List: This passage is also organized around a list. Like a well-organized high school essayist, this author wrote a thesis sentence that listed a few reasons why Motown became so successful. Then, in the subsequent paragraphs, the author elaborated on each item in a list. When the author organizes a passage around items on a list, it's a good idea to note or remember which item was discussed in each paragraph. In this passage, we have Gordy's business savvy/independence discussed in the second paragraph, the deep pool of talented artists fostered by Detroit's public music programs chronicled in the third paragraph, and the use of electric instruments described in the final paragraph.
Last Thoughts?
The Phenomenon/Explanation and Lists Meta-Structures interact in an interesting way. The phenomenon is described in the first paragraph, and then three components of the explanation get described in the subsequent paragraphs. Notice how the author doesn’t claim that any one of these components is more or less important than the others. Some test-takers have a tendency to place more emphasis on the part of an explanation mentioned first, or the part of an explanation that is attributable to an individual. For these reasons, some test-takers may think that Berry Gordy, Jr. is the most important factor to Motown’s success, or that the other two parts of the explanation are also attributable to Gordy. There are several incorrect answer choices that will prey on this misapprehension. So, it’s important to remember that each part of the explanation is separate and equally important to the author.
Humanities
Paragraph 1
- Paragraph note
- Phenomenon, author's explanation
- Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
- Phenomenon: Motown's rapid success in the 1960s
- Author's explanation: Gordy's entrepreneurial skills, Motown's independence, rich musical talent in Detroit's African American community
- Main conclusion of the passage
- Author's attitude: "rich musical talent," "vanguard of the popular music industry" (last sentence)
- Paragraph note
- Support for explanation: Motown's independence, Gordy's entrepreneurial skills
- Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
- Comparison: Distinction is drawn between record industry conventions (limited markets, alternate versions of songs) and Motown's practices (appeal to all audiences, no alternate versions of songs, high-quality recordings)
- Cause-and-effect relationship (Independence caused Gordy's freedom to defy conventions)
- Paragraph note
- Support for explanation: Detroit's public music education programs supplied talented artists
- Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
- Cause-and-effect relationship (Hackley's programs caused "vibrant musical atmosphere," which caused a deep pool of talented and experienced artists)
- Examples of "Motown sound": the Supremes, the Temptations, the Miracles
- Author's attitude: "crucial factor," "well-developed," "deep and talented pool" (first sentence); "vibrant musical atmosphere" (third sentence)
- Paragraph note
- Support for explanation: Growing popularity of electric instruments
- Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
- Cause-and-effect relationships (African American musicians' embrace of electric instruments caused Motown's success and caused a revolution in popular music)
- Example of electric instrument: Electric bass (second sentence)
- Author's attitude: "noteworthy role" (first sentence); "distinctive sound" (second senetnce); "revolution" (third sentence); "landmark shifts" (last sentence)
Main Point:
Motown Records' success resulted from founder Berry Gordy, Jr.'s business acumen and the label's independence, the deep pool of talented artists fostered by the public music-education program in Detroit's African American community, and the artists' early embrace of electric instruments.
Key Lines?
Paragraph 1, Sentence 2 (P1, S2) - Phenomenon
P1, S3 - Author's Explanation
P2, S1 - Support for the author's explanation
P3, S1 - Support for the author's explanation
P4, S1 - Support for the author's explanation
Meta-Structure?
Phenomenon/Explanation: The passage's overarching Meta-Structure is Phenomenon/Explanation. The author only discusses one phenomenon — Motown Records' rapid success (P1, S2) — and one explanation (P1, S3), which lends this passage a straightforward, easy-to-follow structure (not unlike the pop music formula perfected by Motown's songwriters and performers). In a classic Phenomenon/Explanation passage, the explanation is the main point if the author presents or endorses the explanation. (Alternatively, if the author quibbles with the explanation, then the author's opinion of the explanation is the main point.) Here, the author both offers and heartily endorses the explanation of Motown's success. This explanation is best summarized by the third sentence of the first paragraph. So, we could use that sentence to select an answer for the Main Point question. However, that sentence doesn't discuss the use of electric instruments described by the final paragraph, so we modified that sentence to include that factor in the Main Point section above.
Causality: Many Phenomenon/Explanation passages feature a central cause-and-effect relationship (the explanation is generally causal, as it is here), and this passage is no exception. This author also describes other supporting cause-and-effect relationships throughout the passage. We probably don't want to get too bogged down with understanding and memorizing all of those relationships as we read. Still, a prudent test taker would highlight or underline the cause-and-effect relationship described in the passage. These include:
- P2, S1: Gordy's business savvy and independence led to Motown's success
- P3, S1-S2: Hackley's musical programs led to the deep pool of Detroit musical artists, which led to Motown's success)
- P4, S4: The use of electric instruments also led to Motown's success/pop music revolution
List: This passage is also organized around a list. Like a well-organized high school essayist, this author wrote a thesis sentence that listed a few reasons why Motown became so successful. Then, in the subsequent paragraphs, the author elaborated on each item in a list. When the author organizes a passage around items on a list, it's a good idea to note or remember which item was discussed in each paragraph. In this passage, we have Gordy's business savvy/independence discussed in the second paragraph, the deep pool of talented artists fostered by Detroit's public music programs chronicled in the third paragraph, and the use of electric instruments described in the final paragraph.
Last Thoughts?
The Phenomenon/Explanation and Lists Meta-Structures interact in an interesting way. The phenomenon is described in the first paragraph, and then three components of the explanation get described in the subsequent paragraphs. Notice how the author doesn’t claim that any one of these components is more or less important than the others. Some test-takers have a tendency to place more emphasis on the part of an explanation mentioned first, or the part of an explanation that is attributable to an individual. For these reasons, some test-takers may think that Berry Gordy, Jr. is the most important factor to Motown’s success, or that the other two parts of the explanation are also attributable to Gordy. There are several incorrect answer choices that will prey on this misapprehension. So, it’s important to remember that each part of the explanation is separate and equally important to the author.
Question prompt
The author's discussion of
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
-
Athe existence of a Remaining source text redacted.
Why choice A matches the stem
Question Type:
Argument Structure/Role of Detail
Strategy Overview:
Review reference to E. Azalia Hackley in the passage, consult your notes, and choose answer choice based on your understanding of how that reference serves the purpose of the third paragraph in the passage's overall argument.
Answer Anticipation:
This question asked us why the author inserted the discussion of E. Azalia Hackley into the third paragraph. Unless a sentence conflicts with the paragraph's purpose, it was written to advance the paragraph's role. So reviewing the role of the third paragraph, which we hopefully included in the notes on our scratch paper, will generally reveal why that sentence was included.
In this case, the third paragraph is there to discuss the music education programs that helped foster Detroit's talented artists and contributed to Motown's success. The discussion of E. Azalia Hackley, who started these programs, clearly doesn't conflict with this paragraph's purpose. The reference to her is intended to illustrate the existence of these music education programs that helped provide Motown with talented musicians and technicians.
Answer Choice Explanation:
This hits the right note. The purpose of the third paragraph as a whole, and the reference to E. Azalia Hackley in particular, was to show that there were public music education programs in Detroit, which provided Motown with talented African American musicians and technicians.
Key Takeaway:
One reason why it's advisable to make notes about the purpose of each paragraph is to help you answer these Argument Structure questions. These notes are still beneficial even when the question asks you why the author included a specific reference in a particular paragraph. The reference is generally included to advance the main idea conveyed in that paragraph. If you know the primary purpose of each paragraph, you'll be able to quickly find the correct answer to these questions. Many incorrect answers will have nothing to do with that purpose, or they’ll be far more specific than that purpose. -
Bthe specific type of Remaining source text redacted.
Why choice B is not credited
We never learn what "specific type" of musical education E. Azalia Hackley established in Detroit. So this answer choice is a bit too specific to accurately convey the purpose of including the reference to E. Azalia Hackley. -
Cthe extent to which Remaining source text redacted.
Why choice C is not credited
Like (B), this is a bit too specific to describe the author's purpose in including the reference to E. Azalia Hackley. We learn from the third paragraph that Hackley mentored "locally renowned public school music teachers," who created the "vibrant musical atmosphere" in Detroit's public music education programs. But we don't know that Hackley directly influenced Motown's musicians and technicians. Perhaps those music teachers developed their own styles and approaches that conflicted somewhat with Hackley's, and those new styles and techniques directly influenced Motown's artists. -
Dthe way in which Remaining source text redacted.
Why choice D is not credited
Did Detroit's public music education change over the years? Perhaps, but we never get any explicit confirmation of that in the passage. We don't even know whether this is true, so it can't be the purpose behind the reference to E. Azalia Hackley. -
Ethe author's belief that Remaining source text redacted.
Why choice E is not credited
Does the author believe that Detroit's music education would have suffered without people like E. Azalia Hackley? Perhaps, but the author never makes this claim in the passage. We don't even know whether this is true, so it can't be the reason the author included the reference to E. Azalia Hackley.
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Discussion
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Why is C Incorrect? 1 reply
Started by emilylcrawford