PrepTest 128

[lcid:3608] Prep Test 128 LSAT — Reading Comp — S1 Reading comp

Passage

Questions 14-21  .        As the twentieth century draws to a close, we are  . learning to see the extent Remaining source text redacted.
Passage walkthrough
Passage Summary

Topic: Social Science


Paragraph 1

  • Paragraph note
    • Generalization and an Example
  • Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
    • Generalization - Human biases play a large role in the creation of the unified national identities we construct from our cultural pasts
    • Example - Greek civilization had Egyptian/African/Eastern influences, but European scholars stripped that away and focused on European influences

Paragraph 2

  • Paragraph note
    • A general example, a specific example of it - tradition
  • Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
    • General example - Using “tradition” to exert imperial power by projecting it into past
    • Specific example - Queen Victoria’s reign in India celebrated with traditional jamborees

Paragraph 3

  • Paragraph note
    • Examples (general and specific) - Colonized fighters
  • Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
    • Native cultures construct idealized image of past to motivate fight for freedom
    • France/Algeria - What was Algeria like before French colonization?

Paragraph 4

  • Paragraph note
    • Modern trend; Paradox; Conclusion
  • Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
    • Trend - Colonized societies are independent, but imperial attitudes remain
    • Paradox - Very aware of influences that cross borders on culture, but “nationalist dogma” persists
    • Cultures include more foreign influences than they exclude

Main Point: While nationalist dogma and imperial tendencies create images of national identities that are monolithic, the reality is that cultures include far more foreign influences than they exclude.

Key Lines?

Lines 1-9 - A generalization/new view of history

Line 9 - An example is introduced

Line 22 - Another example is introduced (with a specific version of it starting in Line 35)

Lines 40-43 - Another set of examples introduced

Lines 53-62 - A paradox

Lines 62-65 - The Author wraps her argument up

Meta-Structure?

Generalization/Examples - The passage begins with a Generalization (Lines 1-9). There, she states that studies have shown us that our biases shape how we view the past, and in particular how we construct national identities. She then hops into an example of how such biases have shaped the way that Greek civilization has been viewed by scholars. At this point, she could have easily shifted to another point, but instead she hops into another example in Paragraph 2, and similar constructions in Paragraph 3, backing up that this passage is meant to show examples backing up a generalization. When this Meta-Structure is present, the Generalization is the main point, and, here, Paragraph 4 clarifies what that generalization is. The Author concludes by stating that biases lead to “nationalist dogma” saying nations are unitary, monolithic, or autonomous, but cultures include more foreign influences than they exclude. Since this generalization is backed up by the examples the Author brings up throughout the passage, it’s the main point.

Resolving a Debate - The Author brings up two ways to view history - that of certain scholars and nationalists, who take a monolithic view of society; and to see the various influences that every culture has. She sides with the latter, which is reflected in our Generalization, above.

Paradox/Resolution - The Author brings up a paradox in Line 57. This paradox is that all nationally defined cultures (e.g., American) have a tendency to view themselves as monolithic, but we’re more aware than ever that this isn’t the case. This paradox very much lines up with the Resolving a Debate Meta-Structure, and the one side of the paradox lines up with the Author’s view that national cultures are an amalgamation of many influences, so this answer reinforces the prior Meta-Structures while also introducing new language we can see in big picture questions (“paradox,” “unexpected,” and other language that reflects this concept).

Last Thoughts?

The general example/specific example pattern in Paragraphs 2 and 3 are pretty interesting, and it would be important to have a view on both the general and specific in order to find information needed for the questions, so you should have notes for both levels in each relevant paragraph.

Question prompt

The author's attitude toward 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

Social Science

Strategy Overview

Review the Author’s attitude towards the studies mentioned in Line 6, then focus on answers that have the same “direction” of attitude, using the passage to check any details as needed

Answer Anticipation

For Author’s Attitude questions, answers tend to fall into one of two categories - two-word answers, or opinion + detail answers. The former generally captures only the direction (positive/negative/neutral) and strength of the Author’s opinion. The latter generally captures the direction and strength in one word, then some details in the rest of the answer. This one falls into the latter camp, so we should determine the overall direction of her opinion, narrow down answers with that, and then check the details in those answers.Checking Line 6, we see that these studies are the ones suggesting that people project the present into the past, biasing how we construct cultural identities. The passage then dives straight into an example of this.Since we know that the Author spends the rest of the passage presenting examples to back up the same generalization, and the studies serve as the basis for the first example, we can infer that the Author believes the studies and relies on them as the basis for her generalization about how such national identities are constructed. As such, she’s pretty positive towards the studies, and we should focus on answers that start with pretty positive language.

Answer choices

  1. A
    overall agreement with their Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice A matches the stem

    (A) (Line 11) This answer is pretty positive in starting with “overall agreement,” since the Author bases her argument on these studies and explores examples of the phenomenon it argues for. The studies were also on cultural identity, and so this answer gets the details right. This is therefore the correct answer.

  2. B
    reservation over their preoccupation Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice B is not credited

    (B) (Lines 51-53) We would have noted if the Author expressed any reservations throughout the passage - it would have been reflected in the main point. Since we didn’t, we can eliminate this answer. We can also see that the Author believes colonialist attitudes still influence the way that countries that have engaged in imperialism approach their past and the world, so, if anything, the Author would agree with its focus on colonialism!

  3. C
    skepticism toward the relevance Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice C is not credited

    (C) Similar to (B), if the Author expressed any skepticism, we would have noted it. Rather, the Author relies on the examples she presents to back up the findings of the study and draw her own conclusion, so there’s no skepticism here. (Additionally, it’s not clear whether the Author is raising these examples or summarizing ones from the study, so there’s some detail uncertainty here.)

  4. D
    concern that they fail Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice D is not credited

    (D) The studies weren’t meant to explain ancient Greek culture - just why scholars who looked back at that period erased important influences on it. That’s also the Author’s focus, so she wouldn’t be concerned about this omission.

  5. E
    unqualified disagreement with their Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice E is not credited

    (E) (Lines 62-65; Lines 6-21) The Author does argue strongly that cultures aren’t monolithic, so she would have an “unqualified disagreement” with the studies if they concluded this. However, the studies don’t conclude this - they conclude that modern anxieties and agendas affect our national identities, and often erase outside influences in order to promote a more monolithic view. In short, the studies and the Author are in agreement on this topic, so there’s no unqualified disagreement.

What this tests

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