PrepTest 121

[lcid:3582] Prep Test 121 LSAT — Reading Comp — S3 Reading comp

Passage

Questions 6-12  .        The poet Louise Glück has said that she feels  . comfortable writing within a tradition often Remaining source text redacted.
Passage walkthrough
Passage Summary

Topic: Humanities


Paragraph 1

  • Paragraph note
    • Background; 2 approaches
  • Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
    • Background - English tradition, only male poets
    • Contemporary women poets - Rejected tradition as inadequate for women
    • Bluck - Embraces it (“tradition of her language”)

Paragraph 2

  • Paragraph note
    • Gluck’s embrace of tradition
  • Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
    • Read poems with great themes - loss, time, desire
    • Themes are universal, poems/tradition explore them

Paragraph 3

  • Paragraph note
    • Gluck’s critics
  • Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
    • Working in male-dominated tradition will lead to accepting assumptions
    • Forms/tools can’t confront history
    • Need to create uniquely female poetry - new forms/voice

Paragraph 4

  • Paragraph note
    • Gluck’s response to Critics
  • Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
    • Female perspective as limiting as critics view tradition
    • Differences between genders emerge more naturally without conscious intent
    • Themes are timeless; literature isn’t and reflects social/historical context

Main Point: While some critics maintain that the English poetic tradition’s domination by male voices requires women to develop their own forms and voice, Gluck focuses on writing about universal themes, believing that any differences between genders will come out naturally rather than consciously.

Key Lines?

Lines 7-9 - Gluck’s influences

Lines 9-11 - Gluck’s view of herself

Lines 11-13 - View of critics

Line 14 - Gluck’s view

Lines 25-28 - Gluck’s views on universal themes

Lines 33-36 - Critics’ counterpoint

Lines 41-44 - Critics direction for poetry

Lines 45-48 - Gluck responds

Lines 48-51 - Gluck argues goal will be reached without conscious approach

Meta-Structure?

Exploring a Debate - While passages that present two opposed viewpoints usually see the Author resolve it, either by taking sides or bringing the two viewpoints together, in this case, he doesn’t have any moments where he clearly sides with one viewpoint over the other! This is previewed in Lines 11-14, where the two sides of the debate are highlighted without editorializing, and then it’s explored in the back-and-forth nature of the passage, with Gluck presenting her viewpoint in Paragraph 2, the Critics responding in Paragraph 3, and Gluck responding to the Critics in Paragraph 4. While the Author doesn’t overtly take sides, the focus is clearly on Gluck here, with more space and the last word/rebuttal being given to her. When in an Exploring a Debate passage, the two sides make up the main point, with a focus on whichever viewpoint the Author focuses on (if there is a focus). Here, that means the main point reflects both the view of the Critics and Gluck, with a focus on Gluck, as we summarized above.

Last Thoughts?

This passage is interesting in how the viewpoints all interact with one another. The Author is largely passive, presenting the “debate” between Gluck and her critics. Gluck shows up presenting her own view in Paragraph 1, and the Author mentions the view of the critics. Paragraphs 2 and 4 are both on Gluck’s views, which, combined with her viewpoint in Paragraph 1, will make it hard to find information about what she believes without more specific notes covering content (e.g., Theme for Paragraph 2). Paragraph 3 interjects between the Gluck paragraphs with the view of the Critics. Let’s try to keep the viewpoints and, for Gluck, content of each section clear in our head and in our notes!

Question prompt

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

Credited answer: D

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

Question Type

Humanities

Strategy Overview

Reiterate the main point as we summarized it after reading through the passage, then find the answer that best matches with it

Answer Anticipation

While passages that present two opposed viewpoints usually see the Author resolve it, either by taking sides or bringing the two viewpoints together, in this case, she leaves it at the presentation of the two sides! This Meta-Structure is previewed in Lines 11-14, where the two sides of the debate are highlighted without editorializing, and then it’s explored in the back-and-forth nature of the passage, with Gluck presenting her viewpoint in Paragraph 2, the Critics responding in Paragraph 3, and Gluck responding to the Critics in Paragraph 4.While the Author doesn’t overtly take sides, the focus is clearly on Gluck here, with more space and the last word/rebuttal being given to her. There are also several instances where the Author presents her views as being correct (e.g., Lines 20-22, where the timeless subjects are presented by the Author, not Gluck; in Paragraph 4, Gluck “observes” and “points out” things, which shows a certain level of agreement between the Author and Gluck - you generally wouldn’t say someone points out something that you think is incorrect!).When in an Exploring a Debate passage, the two sides make up the main point, with a focus on whichever viewpoint the Author focuses on (if there is a focus). Here, that means the main point reflects both the view of the Critics and Gluck, with a focus on Gluck:While some critics maintain that the English poetic tradition’s domination by male voices requires women to develop their own forms and voice, Gluck focuses on writing about universal themes, believing that any differences between genders will come out naturally rather than consciously.

Answer choices

  1. A
    In response to her Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice A is not credited

    (A) (Lines 45-48) This answer does capture a part of Gluck’s response to her critics, but it ignores all the positive things she says about how to write poems - focusing on universal themes, allowing different perspectives to come out naturally. Since it falls short of capturing her entire side of the debate, this answer is incorrect.

  2. B
    Although critics have taken Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice B is not credited

    (B) (Lines 41-44) This answer doesn’t correctly capture the argument of the critics. They don’t say that her poems are “generic in subject,” but rather that her focus on universal themes ends up accepting assumptions that are a part of the male-dominated tradition (Lines 35-38). The critics also call for the development of poetry with “new forms to develop a new voice,” which isn’t the same as addressing women’s concerns.

  3. C
    In spite of critics Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice C is not credited

    (C) (Lines 45-48; Lines 22-25; Lines 48-51) First, it’s Gluck who argues that the critics are attempting to limit art in this way, not the Author, as this answer choice makes it seem. Second, Gluck doesn’t argue that perspectives are equally male and female but rather that the themes don’t belong to any gender and that differences will come out naturally, without restrictions.

  4. D
    In opposition to some Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice D matches the stem

    (D) (Lines 41-44; Lines 45-48; Lines 17-20; Lines 48-53) This answer correctly characterizes both sides of the debate. The Critics argue that “women poets should strive to...develop a new voice,” while Gluck doesn’t. She focuses on universal themes such as loss, the passage of time, and desire, and she believes that developing a unique voice would be “as limiting” as the Critics believe the poetic tradition is. She also believes that these differences in perspective will emerge naturally and “with more authority” when not done consciously. Since this answer correctly captures the two viewpoints and their relationship/debate without committing the Author to either side, it’s the correct answer.

  5. E
    Aside from the power Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice E is not credited

    (E) This answer sides with the Critics over Gluck. The Author doesn’t explicitly take sides, but she gives more space to Gluck and allows her the final word, so he definitely doesn’t side with the Critics.

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