PrepTest 114

[lcid:3554] Prep Test 114 LSAT — Reading Comp — S3 Reading comp

Passage

Questions 15-20  .        In explaining the foundations of the discipline  . known as historical sociology—the examination of  . history Remaining source text redacted.
Passage walkthrough
Passage Summary

Topic: Social Science


Paragraph 1

  • Paragraph note
    • Philip Abrams's new approach to historical sociology (structuring, which acknowledges the mutual influence of society and individuals)
  • Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
    • The problem, according to Abrams:
      • Sociologists studying history either focus too much on how society is made by people or how people are shaped by society (first sentence)
    • The solution, according to Abrams:
      • Sociologists need to recognize that individuals are continuously shaped by society, which is in turn continuously influenced by individuals (second sentence)
    • Definition of "historical sociology": Examining history using sociological tools (first sentence)
    • Abrams's definition of of "structuring": The continuous process of examining how society constructs individuals and how individuals construct society (second and last sentences)

Paragraph 2

  • Paragraph note
    • Abrams's historical argument (history is created by individuals whose social "contingencies" shape their actions)
  • Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
    • Abrams's definition of "contingency": social phenomena over which individuals have varying degrees of control (third sentence)
    • Examples of "contingencies," according to Abrams:
      • Socioeconomic status, ideologies, accidents (fourth sentence)
    • Cause-and-effect relationship, according to Abrams:
      • "Contingencies" shape parameters in which individuals can act, and their actions, in turn, shape the society around them (last sentence)

Paragraph 3

  • Paragraph note
    • Abrams's analytical roadmap (analyzing significant historical episodes with a fourfold structure)
  • Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
    • Abrams's view:
      • To analyze the continuous process of structuring, historical sociologists must analyze historically significant events where individual action and social contingency meet (second through fourth sentences)
    • List of four ways to analyze historically significant people/episodes:
      • Describe the event (last sentence)
      • Describe the social context and significance of the event (last sentence)
      • Trace the life history of the individual involved (last sentence)
      • Analyze the consequences of the event for society and individual (last sentence)

Main Point: Philip Abrams proposes a new approach to historical sociology that relies on the concept of "structuring" — the understanding that individuals whose actions shape history are themselves products of historical social influences or "contingencies."

Meta-Structure?

Reporting a Viewpoint: This passage utilizes a Reporting a Viewpoint Meta-Structure.* The first paragraph introduces the central problem that historical sociologist Philip Abrams will attempt to solve: that most sociologists approach historical sociology by overemphasizing either society's role in shaping the individual or the individual's role in shaping society. Abrams argues, instead, that a more accurate approach would be to simultaneously understand that, while the actions of individuals make history, those individuals have been acted upon by "contingencies," or the conditions in which they lived and their own abilities. These contingencies, in turn, shaped the actions they were able to take. This process, the author tells us, is what Abrams calls "structuring."

The author elaborates on Abrams's model, explaining that Abrams argues historical sociologists should focus on analyzing events to get an accurate picture of what was going on during the era they're studying. Only by understanding both why people involved in an event acted as they did and what social forces allowed them to act that way can historical sociologists truly get the full picture of what happened in society in the past. The author goes on to present a four-part analytical map that Abrams proposes historical sociologists use to fully analyze important events.

The main point in a Reporting A Viewpoint passage is the view held by the subject, in this case, Abrams. The author explains the problem that Abrams sees with the usual approach to historical sociology, lays out the solution Abrams proposes, and gives an example of how Abrams recommends people deploy his solution.

*You could make a solid case that this passage has an Old Approach/New Approach structure. There's the old, lopsided approach to historical sociology and Abrams's new synergistic view of how historical sociology should be conducted. You could also argue that this passage is a kind of Problem/Solution passage, presenting what Abrams sees as the "problem" of one-sided historical sociology and his "solution" to the problem, which is an entirely different approach. What is missing from the passage is any sense of what the author's opinion is of Abrams's approach. This fact swings the balance in favor of the Reporting a Viewpoint structure.

Last Thoughts?

This passage is somewhat rare in that it is impossible to detect what the author's opinion is of the subject being discussed. All the author is doing is reporting what Abrams thinks. In a way, this makes understanding the passage easier, as there are no nuances of authorial tone or perspective that the test-taker needs to keep track of. However, the argument Abrams is making is complicated enough that the test-taker needs to pay close attention to what is being explained in order to answer the questions correctly.

Question prompt

Given the passage's argument, Remaining source text redacted.
Why the credited answer is right

Credited answer: E

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

Question Type

Social Science

Strategy Overview

Review the main point, the purpose of the final paragraph, and the final sentence, using each to help analyze the answer choices

Answer Anticipation

These "new last sentence" questions can appear difficult, as it seems as if you're being asked to come up with something out of nothing. However, there's actually quite a lot we can rely on for these questions!First, the answer has to advance the main point. After all, the author isn't going to conclude the passage with something contradictory or tangential to the main point. Second, it has to push forward the purpose of the final paragraph, as these questions almost always ask for something that could function coherently within that paragraph. Third, it has to make sense in the context of the current concluding line.Here, we expressed the main point as: "Philip Abrams proposes a new approach to historical sociology that relies on the concept of ‘structuring,' namely the understanding that individuals whose actions shape history are themselves products of historical social influences, or ‘contingencies.'" And according to our notes, the purpose of the third paragraph is to lay out Abrams's fourfold structure for analyzing significant historical events and seeing exactly how individuals act on social systems and how those social systems shaped the individuals. The fourfold structure is, therefore, an example of how to act on Abrams's beliefs about society and individuals.So, what should we look for in the answer choices? The correct answer should connect the fourfold structure to Abrams's main point, perhaps by arguing that this structural analysis will illuminate how the reciprocal relationship between individuals and societies plays out in these historical events.

Answer choices

  1. A
    Only if they adhere Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice A is not credited

    (A) Does this answer choice connect the fourfold structure to the passage's main point?

    Not quite. This answer choice suggests that Abrams's historical analysis is intended to prove that individuals influence historical events. But that's not what his analysis is meant to do. Abrams takes individuals' influence on historical events as a given (P2, S2). Instead, Abrams's fourfold structure is designed to capture how society and individuals act on each other in the context of events.

    For these reasons, this answer choice neither advances the main point nor continues the discussion at the end of the third paragraph. Therefore, this does not function as an appropriate last sentence.

  2. B
    Only if they adhere Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice B is not credited

    (B) Does this answer choice connect the fourfold structure to the passage's main point?

    No. This answer choice says that sociologists assume that there is little connection between history and individuals. Though Abrams clearly believes the opposite of this (P2, S2-S3), does the passage ever say that sociologists believe history and individuals are not connected? No. In fact, one strain of sociology focuses on this relationship (P1, S1). So, this answer choice contains an inaccurate statement. 

    As for the rest of the sentence, which asserts that adhering to the fourfold structure is the only way by which scholars can show that there is some connection between history and individuals, that is an overstatement. Using the fourfold structure may help show this connection, but it is never presented as the only way to do this.

    For these reasons, this answer choice neither advances the main point nor continues the discussion at the end of the third paragraph. Therefore, this does not function as an appropriate last sentence.

  3. C
    Unless they can agree Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice C is not credited

    (C) Does this answer choice connect the fourfold structure to the passage's main point?

    No. This answer choice asserts that Abrams is concerned about the institutional acceptance of historical sociology. This is definitely a mischaracterization of Abrams's argument. Abrams never states or implies that historical sociologists must adopt his solution or risk being delegitimized as scholars. Instead, his main point is that his approach to historical sociology can illuminate how individuals affect society and how society affects individuals in historical events.

    For this reason, this answer choice neither advances the main point nor continues the discussion at the end of the third paragraph. Therefore, this does not function as an appropriate last sentence.

  4. D
    By adhering to this Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice D is not credited

    (D) Does this answer choice connect the fourfold structure to the passage's main point?

    Not quite! This answer choice is tempting, though. It begins by correcting an issue that has been present in the first three answer choices: it does away with the initial overstatement. It says "by adhering to this structure" rather than "only if they adhere" or "unless they can agree to adhere," thus softening the statement and making it more likely to be true. 

    However, this answer choice makes an overstatement of a different kind. In the first paragraph, we are told that Abrams believes sociologists overemphasize the role of society in shaping individuals or the role of individuals in shaping society (P1, S1). But he does not state that sociologists ever ignore the opposite view (i.e., that individual-centric sociologists ignore the role that society plays in peoples' lives or that society-centric sociologists ignore the role that individuals have in shaping society). So, this answer choice's assertion that traditional sociologists ignore other approaches to studying sociology is not part of Abrams's main point.

    For this reason, this answer choice doesn't advance the main point. Therefore, it does not function as an appropriate last sentence.

  5. E
    By adhering to this Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice E matches the stem

    (E) Does this answer choice connect the fourfold structure to the passage's main point?

    Yes. This answer choice accurately characterizes the purpose of the fourfold structure, which is to model and illuminate the complex ways in which individuals and historical social systems act on each other. It also captures the spirit of Abrams's suggestion, which is to improve upon the existing historical sociology methods rather than condemn them, like answer choice (C) does. In this way, (E) connects the fourfold structure to the main point of the passage.

    Because this answer choice advances the main point while continuing the discussion at the end of the third paragraph, it functions as an appropriate last sentence.

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