PrepTest 144

Incorrect. The point of the passage is to discuss Schoenberg's importance, so it wouldn't make sense to start with a quote designed to focus just on Beethoven. The second paragraph compares Schoenberg and Beethoven, so the quote must be meant to play into that comparison in some way.

Incorrect. The quote was about a piece by Beethoven. If the Author had wanted an accurate account of the music of Schoenberg, she could have picked a quote about Schoenberg! The second paragraph compares Schoenberg and Beethoven, so the quote must be meant to play into that comparison in some way.

Incorrect. (Lines 14-15) The Author doesn't argue that either composer composed works of uneven quality. The Author's argument is that people had negative reactions to great works!

Correct. Question Type:
Argument Structure

Strategy Overview:
Review the section asked about in context of both the surrounding area and the passage as a whole to define its role

Answer Anticipation/Relevant Lines:
This question is actually quite interesting and can tell us a lot about how RC passages can be structured, especially when relying on comparisons.

The Author brings up the quote at the beginning without telling us to whom it's referring. It states that some music was . . . not great, in the mind of the reviewer.

From this, it goes into a paragraph that highlights the sentiment behind it could apply to Schoenberg, but it actually applied to Beethoven (Lines 6-10). So the quote is used to segue into a similarity between Schoenberg and Beethoven—neither was understood or appreciated by everyone when they were composing music.

But why draw this comparison? The passage is largely silent as to Beethoven's style, while the majority of the rest of the passage describes the evolution of Schoenberg. What role does Beethoven serve here?

Well, Beethoven is some type of point of comparison. There's one point explicitly noted—both Beethoven and Schoenberg saw negative reactions to their music. What else do we learn about Beethoven? His music came to be appreciated later on (Lines 14-19).

So the only way it makes sense to include Beethoven and talk about how his initially disliked music ended up being appreciated is if it's designed to imply that Schoenberg's initially disliked music also came to be appreciated later on. Let's find an answer reflecting that.

Answer Explanation:
(Lines 15-19) Other than the reaction to Beethoven's music, the only thing the Author says about him is that he stood the test of time and his challenging works ended up becoming popular. The quote leads into a paragraph comparing Beethoven and Schoenberg. So the Author says that Beethoven and Schoenberg are similar, they both had pieces initially seen as alienating, and Beethoven's alienating works eventually became popular. It only makes sense to include that last information if the Author is arguing that Schoenberg's alienating works, too, came to be popular. This answer is therefore correct.

Key Takeaway:
If a passage states that two things are similar, then it's using that comparison to prove a point highlighting those similarities. When it goes on to describe a fact about one side of that comparison, it's likely doing so to imply that the other side of it will also have that characteristic.

Incorrect. (Lines 11-12) The passage notes that Beethoven stirred controversy, which wouldn't be the case if this criticism were out of step with the general response to his work.