PrepTest 145
[lcid:3676] Prep Test 145 LSAT — Reading Comp — S1
Reading comp
Passage
. Passage A . During the 1990s, the study of history witnessed . both a dramatic integration of the study
Remaining source text redacted.
Passage walkthrough
Passage SummaryTopic: Social Science
Passage A
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
Passage A - While a shift in focus from the study of women's history to gender has allowed for deeper understanding of societal structures, it has lost a focus on how individual women interacted with the world.
Passage B - Augustus's focus on family-based morality made gender (roles) more constrained, visible, and political, a trend reflected in political and artistic trends of the time.
Key Lines:
Passage A:
Lines 1-4 - Two shifts are noted
Lines 7-11 - How experts reacted to the second shift
Lines 24-26 - The benefits of the second shift are noted
Lines 30-32 - What was lost with the second shift is noted
Passage B:
Lines 36-40 - A historical shift is noted
Lines 48-50 - Trends during the time period are noted
Meta-Structure - Relationship Between Passages:
These passages are written in a different tone/voice and seem to deal with different topics, but there is common ground. In both passages, a shift in the way that women and gender are viewed is noted. In Passage A, a shifting focus from women to gender is said to have some benefits (analytic framework; analyze structures) and some costs (loss of focus on individual stories). In Passage B, a shift in gender roles (more constrained, more visible, more politicized) is reflected in other aspects of society (government; art).
The bigger relationship, though, is that Passage A talks about the study of history and how it changed during a period of time. Passage B is a study of history, and it largely reflects what Passage A says. In Passage A, the Author notes that the study of history has shifted from the study of women's history to the issue of gender (Lines 1-4). Passage B is a study of history that doesn't talk about individual women but rather focuses on gender roles and how they shaped a particular time period. That's an interesting relationship!
Last Thoughts:
Not much else to say—let's head to the questions!
Passage A
Paragraph 1
- Paragraph note
- Two shifts in the study of history are described, and the implications of the second shift
- Views, minor Meta-Structures, points of intersection, and the author's attitude
- Shift 1 - Integration of study of women's history into mainstream
- Shift 2 - Shift from subject of women to subject of gender
- Gender involves societal systems, not individuals
- Some historians - Shift 2 is a retreat from studying women per se
- 3 forms of new work
- Paragraph note
- The benefits of the shift are noted
- Views, minor Meta-Structures, points of intersection, and the author's attitude
- Studying "women" - too narrow, celebratory
- Studying gender - explanatory power and analytic framework to analyze societal structures
- Paragraph note
- The downsides of the shift
- Views, minor Meta-Structures, points of intersection, and the author's attitude
- In first-person ("I")
- Gender obscures - focus on structure misses individual stories
Paragraph 1
- Paragraph note
- Roman history
- Views, minor Meta-Structures, points of intersection, and the author's attitude
- Augustus - Focused on traditional family-based morality
- Relocating women in a domestic context (wives/mothers)
- Paragraph note
- Outcome of this focus
- Views, minor Meta-Structures, points of intersection, and the author's attitude
- Rome prospered; Augustus tied it to family/women
- Gender roles - More constrained, more visible, more political
- Paragraph note
- Reflection in art
- Views, minor Meta-Structures, points of intersection, and the author's attitude
- Artists used house images to speak about Rome
Passage A - While a shift in focus from the study of women's history to gender has allowed for deeper understanding of societal structures, it has lost a focus on how individual women interacted with the world.
Passage B - Augustus's focus on family-based morality made gender (roles) more constrained, visible, and political, a trend reflected in political and artistic trends of the time.
Key Lines:
Passage A:
Lines 1-4 - Two shifts are noted
Lines 7-11 - How experts reacted to the second shift
Lines 24-26 - The benefits of the second shift are noted
Lines 30-32 - What was lost with the second shift is noted
Passage B:
Lines 36-40 - A historical shift is noted
Lines 48-50 - Trends during the time period are noted
Meta-Structure - Relationship Between Passages:
These passages are written in a different tone/voice and seem to deal with different topics, but there is common ground. In both passages, a shift in the way that women and gender are viewed is noted. In Passage A, a shifting focus from women to gender is said to have some benefits (analytic framework; analyze structures) and some costs (loss of focus on individual stories). In Passage B, a shift in gender roles (more constrained, more visible, more politicized) is reflected in other aspects of society (government; art).
The bigger relationship, though, is that Passage A talks about the study of history and how it changed during a period of time. Passage B is a study of history, and it largely reflects what Passage A says. In Passage A, the Author notes that the study of history has shifted from the study of women's history to the issue of gender (Lines 1-4). Passage B is a study of history that doesn't talk about individual women but rather focuses on gender roles and how they shaped a particular time period. That's an interesting relationship!
Last Thoughts:
Not much else to say—let's head to the questions!
Question prompt
The author of passage
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
Answer choices
-
AIt indicates that ancient Remaining source text redacted.
Why choice A is not credited
Incorrect. (Lines 14-15; Lines 38-40) The views of gender noted in both passages - especially with respect to women and domesticity - are largely the same. -
BIt focuses on the Remaining source text redacted.
Why choice B is not credited
Incorrect. (Lines 12-16; Lines 51-54) Passage A never discusses the relative importance of the roles of femininity and masculinity, and Passage B arguably does say something about masculinity in highlighting Augustus's acceptance of the "Father of the Fatherland" role, so this answer is wrong for two reasons. -
CIt fails to bring Remaining source text redacted.
Why choice C matches the stem
Correct. Question Type:
Author's Attitude
Strategy Overview:
Remind ourselves of what we said about the overlap between the passages, then infer the Passage A's Author's attitude towards the writing in Passage B
Answer Anticipation/Relevant Lines:
As we noted when thinking through the relevant questions after reading the passage, these two have an interesting relationship. Passage A discusses trends in the study of history, and Passage B is a study of history. As such, we should see how the trends in Passage A line up with Passage B, and then use what we know about Passage A's Author's opinion to infer how she'd feel about this study.
So what did Passage A say about the study of history? That it's shifted from a study of women's history to a study of gender (Lines 1-5). And what's her opinion of this? That it's allowed for an "analytic framework" that can help us understand social and political structures (Lines 25-26), but that we've lost the ability to tell the stories of individual women (Lines 31-32).
Passage B is a historical study, and it does analyze gender roles in a certain time period of ancient Rome(Lines 48-50). In doing so, it does discuss larger political and social trends (Lines 52-54; Lines 55-58). However, much as the Author of Passage A claims, there are no stories of individual women and their experiences during this time. This passage largely aligns with what the Author of Passage A says.
So the Author of Passage A would feel that this analysis is typical of the study of history. That it's good in that it analyzes how gender affected politics and culture; that it's bad in that it fails to tell the story of individual women within this society. Let's find an answer reflecting any of these elements.
Answer Explanation:
(Lines 31-32) The Author of Passage A has two opinion of historical studies that focus on gender - they are good in that they allow for an analysis of deeper structures (Lines 25-26), but they miss something in failing to tell the stories of individual women (Lines 31-32). Passage B analyzes gender roles during a period of history, and it does discuss deeper structures, but it fails to tell the stories of any women and their lives during this time. As such, this answer is correct.
Key Takeaway:
Passage A described the study of history; Passage B is a study of history. Noting relationships like this can be key to answers questions in Comparative RC, as this question required you to apply the criticism of Passage A's Author to Passage B. Always think through how the passages are related in a Comparative RC set! -
DIt demonstrates that domesticity Remaining source text redacted.
Why choice D is not credited
Incorrect. (Lines 14-16; Lines 38-40) Passage B does highlight a rather central role of domesticity in this period of ancient Rome, but Passage A doesn't say anything about how much of a role domesticity plays in modern politics. In fact, Passage A notes that modern studies of history focus on how "an imagined domesticity...shaped culture and politics" (Lines 15-16). As such, we can't infer that the Author of Passage A thinks this was more important in ancient Rome than it is today. -
EIt succeeds in revealing Remaining source text redacted.
Why choice E is not credited
Incorrect. (Lines 40-43) While Passage B does describe Augustus's marital laws, there's nothing in Passage A to suggest these weren't already known.
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