PrepTest 125

[lcid:3596] Prep Test 125 LSAT — Reading Comp — S1 Reading comp

Passage

Questions 13-19  .        Aida Overton Walker (1880–1914), one of the  . most widely acclaimed African American performers  . of Remaining source text redacted.
Passage walkthrough
Passage Summary

Topic: Humanities


Paragraph 1

  • Paragraph note
    • Background on Walker (acclaimed, popularized the cakewalk) and the cakewalk (roots in West African ceremonial dances)
  • Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
    • Comparison, according to the author:
      • The cakewalk was similar to West African ceremonial dances and, like other African American dances, featured African dance forms (last sentence)
    • Examples of African dance forms in the cakewalk, according to the author:
      • Gliding steps and improvisation (last sentence)
    • Author's attitude: "was a means of" (second sentence)

Paragraph 2

  • Paragraph note
    • Development of cakewalk (ironic additions of European dances to parody slavers)
  • Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
    • Author's view:
      • It's ironic that the European elements were meant to parody slavers but ended up helping popularize the cakewalk, which then got parodied by European American performers (first and last sentences)
    • Comparison, according to the author:
      • While African dances feature flexibility, large groups, and separate-sex dancing, the cakewalk developed into high-kicking walks with couples (first sentence)
    • Cause-and-effect relationship, according to the author:
      • The addition of European elements to the cakewalk caused the cakewalk to appeal to European Americans and become one of the first activities to cross North America's racial divide (second sentence)
    • Author's attitude: "Ironically" (second sentence); "self-important manners" (third sentence); "further irony" (last sentence); "helped shape" (last sentence)

Paragraph 3

  • Paragraph note
    • Why the cakewalk's complex evolution made it popular (rapid changes in U.S. meant popular art had to possess many meanings)
  • Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
    • Author's view:
      • The cakewalk's complexity aided its popularity at a time when things were rapidly changing in the United States and art had to mean many things to many different people to attract a large audience (first and last sentences)
    • Author's attitude: "complex evolution" (first sentence); "not a simple cultural phenomenon" (first sentence); "is in fact what enabled the dance" (first sentence); "had to be capable of being many things to many people in order to appeal to a large audience" (last sentence)

Paragraph 4

  • Paragraph note
    • How Walker's cakewalk appealed to different groups (middle-class African Americans, middle/upper-class European Americans, newly rich)
  • Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
    • Author's view:
      • Walker's success at popularizing the cakewalk stemmed from her interpretation's ability to appeal to different types of people (first sentence)
    • Examples of different groups who found something to enjoy in Walker's cakewalk, according to the author:
      • Middle-class African Americans enjoyed Walker's ability to refine the "disreputable" dance that was being parodied by European Americans at the time (second and third sentences)
      • Middle/upper-class European Americans, who felt threatened by the rapid changes of the time, were comforted by what they saw as the most authentic version of dance (fourth sentence)
      • The newly rich saw in Walker's grand flourishes a way to celebrate their wealth (last sentence)
    • Author's attitude: "remarkable success" (first sentence); "relatively rigid racial boundaries" (first sentence); "varying and sometimes conflicting demands" (first sentence); "refining" (third sentence); "fundamental grace" (third sentence); "tremendous cultural flux" (fourth sentence); "derived from her distillation of what was widely acclaimed as the most authentic cakewalk" (fourth sentence); "grand flourishes of her version" (last sentence)

Main Point: Walker popularized the cakewalk, a pre-Civil War African American dance that developed ironically over time, by emphasizing the complex and conflicting elements of the dance, allowing her version to mean many things to many people.

Meta-Structure?

Phenomenon/Explanation: The Phenomenon/Explanation Meta-Structure best fits this passage.* In such a passage, the author describes an observable fact, behavior, or situation before offering one or more explanations of that observable fact, behavior, or situation. This passage follows that pattern, although the phenomenon is somewhat obscured. The passage notes that Aida Overton Walker popularized a dance called the cakewalk. The popularity of her version of the cakewalk could be considered a phenomenon, and the author proceeds to explain why her version became so popular. The passage notes that Aida Overton Walker (an aptonym for the ages) popularized a dance called the cakewalk. The popularity of her version of the cakewalk could be considered a phenomenon, and the author proceeds to explain why her version became so popular.

In a Phenomenon/Explanation passage, the main point is generally the author's explanation. To quickly articulate that main point, we can look for whether the author provides a conclusion that summarizes the explanation or their opinion on the explanation. The author summarizes their explanation at the beginning of the fourth paragraph, so we can use that sentence for questions where we need to consider the main point. Or we can use our own summary of the author's explanation, which adds some historical context about the cakewalk.

*Indeed, this passage isn't a perfect fit for any of the major Meta-Structures. However, in addition to Phenomenon/Explanation, Importance of [Subject] could work for this passage, which highlights why Walker's cake was important during its time. Question/Answer could also work since the passage answers the implicit question of why Walker's cakewalk was the most popular version of the dance.

Example (or List): The most prominent minor Meta-Structure appears in the fourth paragraph, where the author provides several examples (or a list) of groups to whom Walker's cakewalk appealed. The author also explains what made Walker's cakewalk appealing to each group. While these examples are limited to one paragraph, they directly speak to a key element of the main point — Walker's adaptation of elements of the cakewalk to appeal to different groups. So, we should expect a question or two about these groups.

Last Thoughts?

Those two ironies listed in the second paragraph and referred to as "mimetic vertigo" in the third paragraph will likely be the focus of a question or two, so we should be prepared for that by knowing what makes the situation ironic — a parodic thing became celebrated by some of the people it parodied, and then some of those people began parodying the thing the original parodied them.

Question prompt

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

Credited answer: C

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 it

Answer Anticipation

As discussed in the Meta-Structure section above, this passage utilizes a Phenomenon/Explanation Meta-Structure. In such a passage, the author describes an observable fact, behavior, or situation before offering one or more explanations of that observable fact, behavior, or situation. This passage follows that pattern, although the phenomenon is somewhat obscured. The passage notes that Aida Overton Walker popularized a dance called the cakewalk. The popularity of her version of the cakewalk could be considered a phenomenon, and the author proceeds to explain why her version became so popular.In a Phenomenon/Explanation passage, the main point is generally the author's explanation. To quickly articulate that main point, we can look for whether the author provides a conclusion that summarizes the explanation or their opinion on the explanation. The author summarizes their explanation at the beginning of the fourth paragraph, so we can use that sentence for questions where we need to consider the main point. Or we can use our own summary of the author's explanation, which adds some historical context about the cakewalk: "Walker popularized the cakewalk, a pre-Civil War African American dance that developed ironically over time, by emphasizing the complex and conflicting elements of the dance, allowing her version to mean many things to many people."Let's look for an answer choice that matches the ideas in the first sentence of the fourth paragraph or in our anticipated main point.

Answer choices

  1. A
    Walker, who was especially Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice A is not credited

    (A) Does this match the ideas in the first sentence of the fourth paragraph or in our anticipated main point?

    No, it reflects the opening line of the passage. However, that line doesn't express the passage's main point. First, it more or less just restates most of that opening line, missing why the author was interested in discussing Walker. Second, it misses a key point from the opening line — the phenomenon of popularizing the cakewalk. This answer doesn't say she popularized it, just that she was known for her work with the cakewalk (which, based on this answer alone, could have already been popular). Third, this answer makes it seem as if the focus of the passage is showing how Walker was one of the most widely recognized African American performers of the early twentieth century when it's much more about explaining why Walker's cakewalk was popular than describing Walker's position in history.

  2. B
    In spite of the Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice B is not credited

    (B) Does this match the ideas in the first sentence of the fourth paragraph or in our anticipated main point?

    Not quite. This makes it seem like everyone valued the authenticity of Walker's cakewalk. That misses our anticipation's point that Walker's cakewalk "mean[t] many things to many people." Therefore, we can eliminate (B) without reviewing the passage.

    Besides, a review of the fourth paragraph would reveal that only some people valued the authenticity of Walker's cakewalk. The fourth paragraph lists three groups to which Walker's cakewalk appealed, and a different element of her cakewalk appealed to these groups. This answer focuses only one of the elements that made Walker's cakewalk popular with one of these groups (P4, S4), so it's not nearly comprehensive enough to serve as the main point.

  3. C
    Walker popularized the cakewalk Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice C matches the stem

    (C) Does this match the ideas in the first sentence of the fourth paragraph or in our anticipated main point?

    Yes! This captures every key idea in the first sentence of the fourth paragraph and our anticipated main point. This answer brings up the passage's phenomenon — Walker's popularization of the cakewalk. It also addresses the cakewalk's "varying and sometimes conflicting demands" (P4, S1)/"complex and conflicting elements" by referring to the cakewalk's "complex cultural mix" and its "blend of satire and cultural preservation, together with the effects of later parodies" — all of are corroborated by our notes for the first, second, and third paragraphs.

    It would be nice if this answer more explicitly said that Walker made the dance "mean many things to many people." After all, this was the author's explanation of the phenomenon. However, this answer choice alludes to that fact by saying that Walker popularized the dance by "capitalizing" on various elements that could appeal to different groups. Since this answer choice doesn't explicitly restate the author's explanation, even expert test-takers would refrain from selecting (C) until they've read all the options. But once we eliminate the remaining options, we can select (C) confidently.

  4. D
    Whereas other versions of Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice D is not credited

    (D) Does this match the ideas in the first sentence of the fourth paragraph or in our anticipated main point?

    Not quite. This omits the author's explanation of the passage's "phenomenon" — Walker's achievement in "popularizing" the cakewalk. The author thinks that Walker was able to popularize the cakewalk because she was able to emphasize the dance's contrasting characteristics, like its satiric elements and cultural origins (in addition to the dance's grace). This answer choice omits the "because" part, making it incorrect.

  5. E
    Because Walker was able Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice E is not credited

    (E) Does this match the ideas in the first sentence of the fourth paragraph or in our anticipated main point?

    Nope. This answer choice misdescribes the phenomenon and the explanation in this passage. The phenomenon was the popularity of Walker's version of the cakewalk, but the passage doesn't say that Walker's version was the "first popular art form to cross the racial divide" in the U.S. The passage only claims that the cakewalk (and not specifically Walker's version) was "one of the first" art forms to cross the racial divide (P2, S2). Moreover, the author doesn't think Walker popularized the cakewalk because she "was able to recognize and preserve the characteristics of the cakewalk as African Americans originally performed it." The author says that Walker was able to emphasize different parts of the cakewalk's complex development to make the cakewalk mean many things to many people (P4, S1). Some people liked her version's "authenticity" (P4, S4), but others liked her version's grace and grand flourishes (P4, S2-S3, S5).

What this tests

Discussion

  • B vs. C 1 reply

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