Reading comp PrepTest 158 · Section 1 · Question 18

Does this reflect the author of passage B's critical tone without being over-the-top in its negativity?

Not really. The word "irresponsible" is extremely negative. It suggests the author of passage B thinks the approach advanced by passage A is harmful and should not be perpetuated. The author of passage B never suggests that passage A's historical approach might have these negative consequences, so "irresponsible" does not capture the author of passage B's tone.

Does this reflect the author of passage B's critical tone without being over-the-top in its negativity?

No. The word "incomprehensible" suggests the author of passage B thinks the approach advanced by passage A doesn't make any sense. The author of passage B summarizes passage A's approach without once suggesting that this approach cannot be easily understood. The author of passage B also acknowledges that passage A's approach has some merit. So, we don't have any support to conclude that the author of passage B thinks passage A's approach is "incomprehensible."

Does this reflect the author of passage B's critical tone without being over-the-top in its negativity?

Negative. This is another over-the-top negative word. The word "deceitful" suggests the author of passage B thinks the approach advanced by passage A is dishonest or attempts to trick people. The author of passage B never alleges anything to that effect, so we don't have any support to conclude that the author of passage B thinks passage A's approach is "deceitful."

Question Type:
Tone/Author's Attitude

Strategy Overview:
Review passage B's main point, and use notes or highlighted/underlined text in the passage to recall the author of passage B's attitude toward the historical approach the author of passage A advances, and find the answer that best reflects your understanding of the main point/author's attitude

Answer Anticipation:
This question asks us to select the word that best describes the author of passage B's view toward the historical approach the author of passage A advances. To answer this question, we only need to refer to the general relationship between these passages. As we noted in the Passage Summary, these authors draw opposing conclusions. While both authors agree that the tendency to dismiss moral standards as expressions of power is unfortunate, they disagree on the implications of this tendency. While the author of passage A asserts that any exclusion of plagiarism's moral dimension compromises the historical analysis (PA, P3, S4), the author of passage B takes a more nuanced approach. The author of passage B concludes that setting aside moral considerations can help historians reconstruct what historical figures actually thought about plagiarism (PB, P3, S5).

So, what word would the author of passage B use to describe passage A's belief that any historical study on plagiarism must include moral considerations? The author of passage B doesn't think this approach is unequivocally terrible, since the author concedes a few points to passage A. But the author believes the approach has significant drawbacks since it can impede attempts to uncover past beliefs about plagiarism. So, we should look for a word that reflects the author's critical view without being over-the-top in its negativity.

Answer Choice Explanation:
Does this reflect the author of passage B's critical tone without being over-the-top in its negativity?

Yes! The word "simplistic" suggests the author of passage B thinks the approach advanced by passage A lacks nuance. We have reason to think the author of passage B believes that.

The author of passage B acknowledges that passage A's approach has some merit. But the author of passage B also says that passage A treats "bad" historical treatments of plagiarism as an argument "against history itself" (PB, P3, S3). The author of passage B says that removing moral considerations from historical analyses of plagiarism does not necessarily entail endorsing a postmodern, morally relativistic approach (PB, P3, S4). It could help scholars figure out how people in the past felt about plagiarism (PB, P3, S5). Therefore, the author of passage B would probably consider passage A's demand that all historical studies on plagiarism include a discussion of plagiarism's moral dimension a "simplistic" approach.

Key Takeaway:
When answering Author's Attitude questions, it's not enough to consider whether the author has a positive, negative, or neutral view of the topic in question. It's equally important to consider how strongly the author holds that position. For this particular question, every answer choice matches passage B's author's negative view of the approach advanced by passage A. However, every wrong answer is much too strongly negative to capture the author of passage B's tone.

Does this reflect the author of passage B's critical tone without being over-the-top in its negativity?

Nope. This is another over-the-top negative word. The word "reprehensible" suggests the author of passage B thinks the approach advanced by passage A is shameful or should be silenced. The author of passage B acknowledges that passage A's approach has some merit, so we don't have any support to conclude that the author of passage B thinks passage A's approach is "reprehensible."