PrepTest 102

[lcid:3504] Prep Test 102 LSAT — Reading Comp — S1 Reading comp

Passage

Questions 14-21  .        Even in the midst of its resurgence as a vital  . tradition, many sociologists have viewed Remaining source text redacted.
Passage walkthrough
Passage Summary

Topic: Social Science


Paragraph 1

  • Paragraph note
    • Proponents of Pan-Indianism view (intertribal tendencies at powwows will lead to the dissolution of tribes)
  • Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
    • Definition of "Pan-Indian" theory: a belief of many sociologists that the intertribal aspects of the revived powwow are an indication that tribal culture is declining (first sentence)
    • "Pan-Indian" theory proponents' view:
      • They argue that growing intertribalism will result in the assimilation of Native Americans into Euroamerican society (second sentence)
    • Cause-and-effect relationship, according to "Pan-Indian" theory proponents:
      • Greater frequency of travel and communication between reservations, greater urbanization, and increasing politicization in response to common grievances cause greater intertribal tendency (third sentence)
    • Author's attitude: "resurgence as a vital tradition" (first sentence)

Paragraph 2

  • Paragraph note
    • Author's rebuttal (intertribalism is increasing, but so is a revival of tribal traditions)
  • Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
    • Author's view:
      • Intertribalism is increasing, as indicated by shared dance styles, outfits, and songs between reservations (first sentence)
      • But tribe-specific rituals are also being revived (second sentence)
      • Pan-Indianism doesn't account for everything taking place in Native American societies (last sentence)
    • Examples of tribe-specific rituals being revived, according to the author:
      • Lakota "Sun Dance," Society of the Kiowa, and the Hethuska Society of the Ponca (third and fourth sentences)
    • Author's attitude: "compelling evidence" (first sentence); "failed to note" (second sentence); "Obviously, a more complex societal shift is taking place" (last sentence)

Paragraph 3

  • Paragraph note
    • Author on mistaken assumption behind Pan-Indian theory (minority society immediately assimilates to majority society)
  • Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
    • Author's view:
      • Pan-Indianism is predicated on the theory that, upon contact, minority culture will subordinate itself biologically, linguistically, and culturally, to majority culture (second sentence)
      • Native Americans disagree that this is happening (first sentence)
      • There is no evidence this is happening in Native American cultures (last sentence)
    • Author's attitude: "may be critical" (first sentence); "especially given that" (first sentence); "chafe most" (first sentence); "a priori assumption" (second sentence); "there is no evidence" (third sentence)

Paragraph 4

  • Paragraph note
    • Author's concession (intertribalism is a major aspect of Native American culture)
  • Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
    • Author's concession:
      • Intertribal activities are a major part of Native American culture (first sentence)
      • It's important to note the intentional distinction that Native Americans make between intertribal and tribal activities (last sentence)
    • Examples of intertribal activities, according to the author:
      • The dances, prayers, and speeches at powwows that are intertribal are consciously distinguished from traditional ones (second and third sentences)
    • Author's attitude: "major facet" (first sentence); "of course, old news" (fourth sentence); "important to note" (last sentence)

Paragraph 5

  • Paragraph note
    • Author's reconciliation (tribalism and intertribalism serve complementary functions)
  • Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
    • Author's reconciliation:
      • Tribalism and intertribalism are complementary, as tribalism reinforces tribal identity while intertribalism reinforces Native American identity across a pan-tribal front where it is threatened by majority culture (first and second sentence)
    • Author's attitude: "greatly altered" (first sentence); "remains a potent force" (first sentence); "basis for tribal identity" (first sentence); "reinforce native American identity along a broader front" (last sentence)

Main Point: Far from losing their tribal identity to Pan-Indianism, Native American cultures are experiencing a rise of tribalism, which strengthens tribal identity, and intertribalism, a complementary force that builds cross-tribe solidarity against outside influences.

Key Lines?

Paragraph 1, Sentence 2 (P1, S2) - Pan-Indian theory introduced

P2, S2 - Author's rebuttal to Pan-Indian theory

P4, S1 - Intertribalism is a major force

P5, S1-2 - Reconciliation of tribalism and intertribalism

Meta-Structure?

Resolving a Debate: This passage tows the line between a Resolving a Debate and a Correcting the Record passage.* You could go with either, and your understanding of the passage would be solid. However, because the author's act of reconciliation was so apparent in how the author resolves the differences between tribalism and intertribalism in the last paragraph, we felt that Resolving a Debate was the best fit for this passage.

This passage presents two competing trends among the Native Americans: the rise of intertribal activities (and the accompanying belief among "Pan-Indian" theorists who think this portends the end of tribes) and the revitalization of tribal traditions (among Native Americans who chafe at the "Pan-Indian" theory). The author ultimately resolves this "debate," arguing that intertribalism and tribalism serve complementary roles in Native American culture. This reconciliation ultimately rebuts the fears of "Pan-Indian" theorists (which is why some people will see this as a Correcting the Record passage).

In a Resolving a Debate passage, the main point is generally the author's opinion on the debate. Often, the author summarizes their opinion in one or two sentences. Here, the author provides this summary in the last paragraph, so we can use that to assess the Main Point answer choices. But just to make sure our bases are covered, we also anticipated a version of the main point that incorporates the author's rebuttal of the "Pan-Indian" theory.

*You could also call this a Criticizing a Viewpoint, Rebutting Critics or even a Old Approach/New Approach passage instead of a Correcting the Record passage.

Last Thoughts?

This passage is heavy on the author’s attitude and relatively light on the minor Meta-Structures. Therefore, we should expect more Major Point, Tone, and Argument Structure questions than usual and fewer Minor Point and Application questions than usual.

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

Social Science

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 Resolving a Debate Meta-Structure. In such a passage, the main point is generally the author's opinion on the debate. Often, the author summarizes their opinion in one or two sentences. Here, the author provides this summary in the last paragraph, so we can use that to assess these answer choices. But just to make sure our bases are covered, we also anticipated a version of the main point that incorporates the author's rebuttal of the "Pan-Indian" theory: "Far from losing their tribal identity to Pan-Indianism, Native American cultures are experiencing a rise of tribalism, which strengthens tribal identity, and intertribalism, a complementary force that builds cross-tribe solidarity against outside influences."Let's look for those ideas in the answer choices.

Answer choices

  1. A
    Despite the fact that Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice A is not credited

    (A) Does this answer choice contain the same ideas as the author's conclusion in the last paragraph or our anticipation of the main point?

    No. This answer choice overemphasizes the role intertribalism plays in the author's argument and completely ignores the role tribalism plays. For this reason, this answer choice is not a match for our anticipation, and we can summarily eliminate it.

    Besides, the passage never says that intertribalism has always been an influential factor in Native American culture. Pan-Indianists say that it is an important factor now because it heralds the decline of tribes (P1, S2), and the author concedes that intertribalism is prominent in Native American activities (P2, S1). But neither camp says that intertribalism has always been an important factor. In fact, both the author and the Pan-Indian subscribers say that intertribalism has increased recently (P1, S3, P2, S1).

  2. B
    Native Americans are currently Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice B is not credited

    (B) Does this answer choice contain the same ideas as the author's conclusion in the last paragraph or our anticipation of the main point?

    No. This answer choice paints a far bleaker portrait of Native American identity than our anticipation. For this reason, we can quickly cross off (B).

    After all, the author never says or implies that Native Americans are suffering from an identity crisis. In fact, the author says that tribalism helps solidify tribal identity while intertribalism reinforces Native American solidarity against outside influences (P5, S1-S2).

  3. C
    The recent growth of Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice C matches the stem

    (C) Does this answer choice contain the same ideas as the author's conclusion in the last paragraph or our anticipation of the main point?

    Yes. This answer choice matches our anticipation. The answer choice gets at the fact that tribalism and intertribalism reinforce different elements of Native American identity, which is what the author says (P5, S1-S2) and what our anticipation says. Also, both our anticipation and this answer choice highlight the fact that there has been a recent growth of intertribalism.

    Our anticipation also points out the recent growth of tribalism, which the answer choice doesn't do. And the answer choice says that intertribalism is unlikely to eliminate tribalism, which we don't exactly say. However, we do say that tribes won't lose their tribal identity to Pan-Indianism, and, as Pan-Indianism predicts the end of tribal identity by intertribalism (P1, S2), our anticipation asserts the same idea as this answer choice.

    Because this answer choice is quite close to our anticipation and accurately conveys the author's opinion on the debate between tribalism and intertribalism, it is correct. We'd be justified in selecting it and advancing straight to the next question.

  4. D
    The tendency toward intertribalism, Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice D is not credited

    (D) Does this answer choice contain the same ideas as the author's conclusion in the last paragraph or our anticipation of the main point?

    No. This underestimates the effects of intertribalism, according to our anticipation. We can eliminate (D) for this reason.

    After all, both the Pan-Indianists and the author point out that intertribalism is on the rise and is a strong force in how Native Americans relate to the broader community (P1, S2-3; P2, S1; P4k S1; P5k S2). Because it is contradicted by the passage, this is not the right answer choice.

  5. E
    Despite the recent revival Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice E is not credited

    (E) Does this answer choice contain the same ideas as the author's conclusion in the last paragraph or our anticipation of the main point?

    No. This is the opposite of the point the author is making. Once we realize this, we can eliminate (E).

    This answer choice expresses the view of the Pan-Indianists, who contend that intertribalism will wipe out all tribes and result in the assimilation of Native Americans into Euroamerican culture (P1, S2-S3). Because the author argues against this and contends that tribalism and intertribalism are complementary influences and that both keep Native American identity strong in different ways (P5 S1-2), (E) is not correct.

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