PrepTest 135

[lcid:3638] Prep Test 135 LSAT — Reading Comp — S3 Reading comp

Passage

Questions 1-7  .        In the 1980s there was a proliferation of poetry  . collections, short stories, and novels published Remaining source text redacted.
Passage walkthrough
Passage Summary

Topic: Humanities


Paragraph 1

  • Paragraph note
    • 1980s trends in U.S. Latina writings (proliferation of poetry/short stories/novels, and three notable autobiographies)
  • Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
    • List of two 1980s trends in writings by Latina women in the U.S., according to the author:
      • 1980s: Lots of poetry, short stories, and novels (first sentence)
      • End of 1980s: Autobiography (3 examples) (last sentence)
    • List of notable autobiographies of Latina women in the U.S., according to the author:
      • Loving in the War Years: Lo Que Nunca Pasó Por Sus Labios by Cherríe Moraga; Getting Home Alive, by Aurora Levins Morales and Rosario Morales; and Borderlands/La Frontera, by Gloria Anzaldúa (last sentence)
    • Author's attitude: "proliferation" (first sentence); "notable" (last sentence)

Paragraph 2

  • Paragraph note
    • How the three autobiographies innovate (combine English and Spanish, mix genres to explore ethnicity, gender, and language)
  • Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
    • Author's view:
      • The three notable autobiographies innovate by mixing English and Spanish and by combining multiple genres (essays, poems, short stories, etc.) to explore the relationship between ethnicity, gender, and language (first through last sentences)
    • Author's attitude: "innovative at many levels" (first sentence); "confront" (second sentence); "manifests itself" (last sentence); "without, for the most part, giving preference" (last sentence)

Paragraph 3

  • Paragraph note
    • Specific innovations in each autobiography (all use multiple genres and voices to express complex identities)
  • Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
    • List of specific innovations in each autobiography, according to the author:
      • Borderlands/La Frontera: personal and community history by mixing narrative and poetry (first sentence)
      • Loving in the War Years: Mixes genres; not chronological (political development) (second sentence)
      • Getting Home Alive: Even more innovative, mixes mom and daughter viewpoints (fourth through sixth sentences)
    • Author's view:
      • All autobiographies mix genres and voices to express the formation of their author's complex identity (last sentence)
    • Author's attitude: "departs even further from conventions" (fourth sentence); "may seem fragmentary and confusing, it is in fact a fully intentional and carefully designed experiment with literary structure" (sixth sentence); "employ multigeneric and multivocal forms to express the complexities inherent in the formation of their identities" (last sentence)

Paragraph 4

  • Paragraph note
    • Author's conclusion (writers revolutionized autobiography to make it fit their voices and experiences)
  • Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
    • Author's view:
      • These autobiographies by Latina women in the U.S. revolutionized the genre to make a better vehicle to express their voices and experiences (first and last sentences)
    • Author's attitude: "revolutionized" (first sentence); "redrawing the boundaries" (first sentence); "more amenable to teh expression of their own experience" (first sentence); "shown a strong determination" (last sentence)

Main Point: By mixing forms and genres, breaking with traditional timelines, and mixing multiple voices, the autobiographies published by Latina women at the end of the 1980s innovated within the genre and allowed the authors to fully capture their identities and experiences.

Meta-Structure?

Innovative Subject: This passage uses one of the most common major Meta-Structures for humanities passages — Innovative [Subject]. These humanities passages describe what is groundbreaking and unique about an artist, movement, or group of artists. The word "[Subject]" is just a placeholder for the artist, movement, or group of artists. This passage discusses three authors and their innovations in the autobiography genre. So, we can think of this as an Innovative Autobiographies or Innovative Autobiographers passage (or an Innovative Autobiografía passage, if you want to mix English and Spanish like these writers).

In Innovative [Subject] passages, the main point is generally the author's opinion on the innovation. The author really goes overboard with their praise for these autobiographies — especially in the fourth paragraph, where the author summarizes their opinion. We can use that paragraph as the main point whenever a question requires us to consider that main point. Alternatively, we can summarize the author's opinions for them. We elected to use the latter approach, including some of the specific innovations the author outlined in the third paragraph.

Last Thoughts?

Paragraph 3 is really long and detailed, so we should be sure to head back to check details as necessary when answering questions about the specific innovations in each autobiography.

Question prompt

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

Credited answer: B

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 defined it after reading the passage, then find the answer that most closely matches it

Answer Anticipation

As discussed in the Meta-Structure section above, this passage utilizes an Innovative [Subject]Meta-Structure. In such a Meta-Structure, the main point is generally the author's opinion on the innovation. The author really goes overboard with their praise for the three innovative autobiographies in this passage — especially in the fourth paragraph, where the author summarizes their opinion. We can use that paragraph to help us assess the answer choices on this question. Alternatively, we can summarize the author's opinions for them. We elected to use the latter approach, including some of the specific innovations the author outlined in the third paragraph: "By mixing forms and genres, breaking with traditional timelines, and mixing multiple voices, the autobiographies published by Latina women at the end of the 1980s innovated within the genre and allowed the authors to fully capture their identities and experiences."Let's look for an answer choice that matches the same ideas as our anticipated main point.

Answer choices

  1. A
    Certain Latina writers who Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice A is not credited

    (A) Does this answer choice capture the same idea as our anticipated main point?

    Nope. Our anticipation didn't mention that the autobiographers previously focused on poetry. So, let's avoid any temptation to check the passage to see if that's true, eliminate — or at least table — (A), and move on to the next answer choice.

    Besides, we wouldn't find any evidence that the autobiographers used to write other genres if we re-read the entire passage. While the passage says the early 1980s saw a "proliferation" of poetry by Latina women in the U.S. (P1, S1), we don't know whether the autobiographers were part of that boom. Therefore, this answer choice is unsupported.

  2. B
    Latina autobiographers writing in Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice B matches the stem

    (B) Does this answer choice capture the same idea as our anticipated main point?

    Yes! This answer establishes that autobiographers are innovative ("setting aside some standard conventions"). It also ties their innovations to their purpose. This answer choice's claim that their innovations made "the genre more suitable for the expression of their personal histories" matches our anticipation's claim that their innovations "allowed the authors to fully capture their identities and experiences." Or, as the passage put it, the innovations allowed them "to express the complexities inherent in the formation of their identities" (P3, S6) and "make [autobiography] more amenable to the expression of their own experiences" (P4, S1). This answer captures the innovation and the purpose that the autobiographers' innovations served, as reflected in the passage and our anticipated main point, so it's the correct answer. We can justifiably select it and advance immediately to the next question.

  3. C
    There is a great Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice C is not credited

    (C) Does this answer choice capture the same idea as our anticipated main point?

    Nope. Our anticipation didn't say anything about "traditional" Latina autobiographers. Plus, the passage is about autobiographies from the end of the '80s, which isn't necessarily recent. So, we can safely eliminate (C) without checking the passage.

  4. D
    Through recent experimentation in Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice D is not credited

    (D) Does this answer choice capture the same idea as our anticipated main point?

    Not quite. While the passage does note that one innovation of these autobiographies is the combination of genres, that's not the key innovation, according to our anticipated main point. Our anticipation also tells us that these autobiographers break with traditional timelines and mix multiple voices. This answer also fails to discuss the purpose behind these innovations — to help the autobiographers express their complex histories and identities. So, we can eliminate — or at least table — (D) without checking the passage.

    If we had to check the passage to eliminate (D), we'd see that the author says the key innovation of these autobiographies is their confrontation of linguistic boundaries and the multiple cultural identities of the authors (P3, S7).

  5. E
    Recent writings by Latina Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice E is not credited

    (E) Does this answer choice capture the same idea as our anticipated main point?

    Nope. Our anticipation didn't mention "differences in gender and ethnicity" and their effect on "differences in writing styles." So, we can eliminate — or at least table — (E) without checking the passage.

    If we had to check the passage to eliminate (E), we'd see that only "one literary critic" distinguishes the autobiographies of these women and those written by men on their use of chronology, and that was just one of the books (P3, S3). This answer is way too limited and off a bit in the details.

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