PrepTest 139

[lcid:3654] Prep Test 139 LSAT — Reading Comp — S3 Reading comp

Passage

Questions 1-7  .       The prevailing trend in agriculture toward  . massive and highly mechanized production, with its  . heavy dependence Remaining source text redacted.
Passage walkthrough
Passage Summary

Topic: Social Science


Paragraph 1

  • Paragraph note
    • A problematic trend (massive/mechanized farms run on credit) and an alternative approach (Whatley's small farming guidelines)
  • Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
    • Author's view on a problematic trend:
      • Mass/mechanized production funded by debt has led to small farm bankruptcies (first sentence)
    • Whatley's alternative approach:
      • Small farms can do something else to make money if they follow his guidelines (second and last sentences(
    • Author's attitude: "prevailing trend" (first sentence);

Paragraph 2

  • Paragraph note
    • Whatley's guidelines (crop variety, grow what people ask for)
  • Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
    • List of Whatley's guidelines:
      • Small farms need year-round cash (first sentence)
      • 10+ crops in case 1 fails (second sentence)
      • To minimize the need for loans, run "client membership clubs" and grow crops clients ask for (third and last sentences)

Paragraph 3

  • Paragraph note
    • Whatley's guidelines ("pick-your-own" farming, which eliminates harvesting and distribution costs)
  • Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
    • List of Whatley's guidelines (cont. from last paragraph):
      • Having "pick-your-own" farming eliminates harvesting costs, which amount to 50% of, and distribution costs (first and second sentences)
    • Example of a client membership club, according to Whatley:
      • A 25-acre farm needs 1,000 clients from nearby cities (third and last sentences)

Paragraph 4

  • Paragraph note
    • Whatley's guidelines (on a road within 40 miles of 50,000+ people, irrigation, insurance)
  • Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
    • List of Whatley's guidelines (cont. from last paragraph):
      • Farm on a hard-surfaced road within 40 miles of an area with 50,000+ people (first sentence)
      • Water for irrigation (third sentence)
      • $1 million liability insurance (fourth sentence)

Main Point: According to Whatley, an alternative to mass mechanized, debt-financed production for small farms involves direct interaction and sales to clients can allow a small farm to be profitable.

Key Lines?

Paragraph 1, Sentence 1 (P1, S1) - A problematic trend

P1, S2 - Whatley's alternative is introduced

P4, S5 - Whatley's conclusion

Meta-Structure?

Problem/Solution - This passage follows a Problem/Solution Meta-Structure.* The author brings up a problem in the first paragraph: a trend towards mass, mechanized farm production that's causing small farms to rely on debt and end up in bankruptcy. The author then outlines the solution proposed by Booker T. Whatley for the rest of the passage.

Normally, in a Problem/Solution passage, the author's preferred solution is the main point or, if that's missing, her opinion on a proposed solution is the main point. Here, the author doesn't propose a solution or disclose their feelings on Whatley's solution. So, the main point is that Whatley has proposed a solution, leading to what we wrote above.

*Or so we say, you know? Many Meta-Structures work for this passage. It could be an Old Approach/New Approach passage, with Whatley representing the new approach. It could be an Innovative Subject passage, given Whatley's "innovative" approach to small farming. It could even be a Reporting a Viewpoint passage since the author mostly just reports Whatley's guidelines without offering any commentary. Any of these Meta-Structures would help you understand the passage's main point and organization.

List: Arguably, the minor Meta-Structure is even more important than the major Meta-Structure in this passage. Paragraphs 2 through 4 are organized around a list of Whatley's guidelines. We recommend highlighting each item on that list (each guideline) since several questions will likely ask about those. Having these items highlighted will allow us to scan the passage and quickly locate the relevant details.

Last Thoughts?

With very little author's attitude and a relatively straightforward structure, we expect we'll mostly get Minor Point questions. If you don't find memorizing a few details too burdensome, we recommend trying to remember a few of Whatley's guidelines. That way, we can avoid a few fact-finding missions and advance through the questions efficiently. Of course, we shouldn't commit all the guidelines to memory. But let's synthesize them into three bullet points:

  • 10+ crops
  • Grow what people ask for and let them pick it
  • Easy-to-access location

Question prompt

The passage provides 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.

Strategy Overview

Remind ourselves of the main point of the passage, then head to the answers, focusing on those that line up with the main point and then using our notes/the passage to find the correct answer

Answer Anticipation

This question asks us to infer, based on the entire passage, a statement that must be true. Such questions can be very challenging. These questions provide little indication as to the topic of the correct answer or where it’ll show up in the passage. Moreover, the correct answer probably won't restate something from the passage. Instead, the question will likely require us to draw a connection between a few different pieces of information.We’ll need to rely on our big-picture understanding of the passage to answer these questions. We should start by reminding ourselves of the main point (either by reviewing what we said after reading the passage or by rereading our answer to the main point question). From there, we can head to the answer choices. If something in an answer choice doesn't seem familiar and isn’t reflected in our notes on each paragraph, we shouldn’t check the passage to see if it was mentioned. Instead, we’ll table it and move on to the next answer choice. If something seems inconsistent with the main point, we can eliminate it. If something seems familiar, consistent with the main point, or reflected in our notes, we’ll use our notes/highlights/underlines to find the part of the passage that proves the answer choice must be true. If we can find that confirmation, we’ll select that answer choice and move on.

Answer choices

  1. A
    A corporate farm is Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice A is not credited

    (A) Is this answer choice consistent with the main point or reflected in our notes?

    No. Neither the main point nor our notes compare which type of farm is most likely to need a loan. Moreover, this answer choice makes a strong selection ("more likely"). This bold, SCOTUS-y language is difficult to support and unlikely to appear in the correct answer to a Must Be True question. For this reason, we can cross off — or at least table — (A) and move on to the next answer choice without reviewing the passage.

    If we had to review the passage to eliminate (A), we wouldn't find any support for this claim. The current trend in agriculture requires debt and credit to raise capital (P1, S1). However, while the passage focuses on small farms, the trend isn't necessarily limited to them, so this comparison is unsupported.

  2. B
    If small farms charged Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice B is not credited

    (B) Is this answer choice consistent with the main point or reflected in our notes?

    No. Neither the main point nor our notes consider what would happen in this hypothetical. Moreover, this answer choice uses bold, SCOTUS-y language that expresses a high degree of certainty ("would see higher profits"). Such a claim is hard to support and unlikely to appear in the correct answer to a Must Be True question. For this reason, we can cross off — or at least table — (B) and move on to the next answer choice without reviewing the passage.

    If we had to check the passage to eliminate (B), we'd see the only reference to pricing occurs in the third paragraph. Whatley argues that farms can do be profitable if they have their clients pick/harvest their own produce, as that would allow the farms to charge 60% of what supermarkets charge (P3, S1). But neither the author nor Whatley argues that all farms would increase their profits if they sold their produce for the same price as supermarkets.

  3. C
    Consumers who live in Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice C is not credited

    (C) Is this answer choice consistent with the main point or reflected in our notes?

    Negative. Neither the main point nor our notes distinguish the shopping habits of rural and urban consumers. While this answer choice modulates its selection with "generally," we should probably table (C) and move on to the next answer choice without reviewing the passage.

    If we had to review the passage to determine whether (C) is correct, we wouldn't find any corroborating evidence for this claim. Whatley sets out a requirement for his approach to work that involves being located near a population center to have enough people to join a CMC (P4, S1). However, that doesn't mean those who live in rural areas aren't inclined to join such a club — it might just mean that there aren't enough people to keep the farm afloat, even if each person is just as likely to want to join such a club.

  4. D
    If a CMC requests Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice D matches the stem

    (D) Is this answer choice consistent with the main point or reflected in our notes?

    Yes! Our note for the second paragraph is, "Whatley's guidelines (crop variety, grow what people ask for)." Since this answer choice touches on both "crop variety" and consumers "ask[ing] for" crops, we should review the second paragraph to see whether (D) is supported.

    Upon review, we'll see that Whatley encourages small farms to grow at least ten different crops to alleviate problems should one crop fail (P2, S2). He also advocates growing "only crops that clients ask for" (P2, S4). So, if clients request fewer than ten crops, Whatley's "rule" would lead the farm to grow fewer than ten crops, not following his other recommendation. This answer is, therefore, correct. We'd be justified in selecting it and moving on to the next question.

  5. E
    Distribution costs are accounted Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice E is not credited

    (E) Is this answer choice consistent with the main point or reflected in our notes?

    This is inconsistent with our note for the fourth paragraph. That note says, "Whatley's guidelines ("pick-your-own" farming, which eliminates harvesting and distribution costs)." If a CMC with "pick-your-own" farming eliminates distribution costs, it doesn't shift those costs to the customers, as this answer choice says. We can cross off (E).

Discussion

  • Ans Choice D 2 replies

    Started by ankita96

  • Ans Choice D 1 reply

    Started by ankita96

  • C versus D 2 replies

    Started by shafieiava

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