PrepTest 147

[lcid:3685] Prep Test 147 LSAT — Reading Comp — S2 Reading comp

Passage

  Best known for her work with lacquer, Eileen Gray (1878-1976) had a fascinating and multifaceted artistic career: she became a Remaining source text redacted.
Passage walkthrough
Passage Summary

Topic: Humanities


Paragraph 1

  • Paragraph note
    • Background on Eileen Gray and description of her lacquer work
  • Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
    • Comparisons, according to the author:
      • Gray focused on smaller objects at beginning of her career and larger objects later, but her focus on hidden details remained the same (second sentence)
      • Gray's work is distinct from the flowing lines of the Art Nouveau movement at the time, focusing instead on straight lines and simple forms (last sentence)
    • Author's attitude: “best known” (first sentence); "fascinating and multifaceted" (first sentence); "fit well" (last sentence); "austere beauty" (last sentence)

Paragraph 2

  • Paragraph note
    • Author: Gray's structural use of lacquer and her interior design display an architectural quality
  • Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
    • Comparison, according to the author:
      • Gray made flat panels at first, but later made three-dimensional panels (third sentence)
    • Examples of Gray's work that have an architectural quality, according to the author:
      • Door panels (third sentence)
      • Screen in the lobby of an apartment, which folded out and melded with wall/brick (fourth and fifth sentences)
      • Furniture using modern materials (like tubular steel) that met occupants' needs (sixth and last sentences)
    • Author's attitude: "painstaking" (first sentence); "critical but not always apparent" (second sentence); "fully realizes" (fourth sentence); "thus becomes" (fifth sentence)

Paragraph 3

  • Paragraph note
    • Author: Gray's architecture was informed by her layering and holistic lacquer work
  • Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
    • Comparison, according to the author:
      • Gray's architecture was similar to the holistic, inside-out approach of her lacquer work (third and fourth sentences)
      • The inside and outside of an architectural work was, for Gray, same (last sentence)
    • Examples of Gray's architecture that were similar to her holistic, layered lacquer work, according to the author:
      • Storage cabinets in the staircase, desks that also functioned as cabinets, and tables that can be moved inside and outside (sixth through last sentences)
    • Author's attitude: "prefigures" (first sentence); "integrated whole" (third sentence)

Main Point: Eileen Gray's work encompassed work from the small to the large, including houses, with a focus on detail and an integration of the whole work, which was exemplified and informed by her work in lacquer.

Key Lines?

Lines 5-7 - The Author's summary of Gray's work is noted

Line 20-23 - How Gray's focus/work and lacquer's characteristics overlapped

Lines 28-33 - An example of the pinnacle of this work

Lines 40-41 - A connection between steps in Gray's progression is made

Lines 41-43 - Gray's belief on architectural design

Lines 52-56 - An example of Gray's interior/exterior connection

Meta-Structure?

Importance of Subject: Passages that focus on a single artist or artistic movement tend to fall into one of two camps. The first describes the artist as an innovator. The second describes the artist's importance, often addressing their influences and development over time. This passage arguably flirts with the former camp in discussing how Gray brought lacquer from Japan to Europe (Lines 10-11). But the passage more neatly fits in the latter camp, showing how Gray's work in lacquer developed her sensibilities of creating (hidden) layers and holistic works even as she moved into architectural design.

In such a passage, the author's opinion on the artist's importance will serve as the main point. Here, the author says that Gray's use of lacquer both presaged and exemplified her layered, holistic approach to paneling, interior design, and architecture.

Examples: This passage has a few examples of works Gray produced that embody her layered, holistic approach. It talks about a screens she lacquered, furniture she made, and architectural features that illustrate her artistic philosophy. This is common in Humanities passages. Always lookout for a description of the type of work(s) created by the artist(s) in the passage.

Last Thoughts?

This passage focuses heavily on an in-depth description of Gray's design aesthetic across multiple art forms (from ornaments to furniture to houses). As such, we should expect questions that deal with this aesthetic, so we should have a clear view of what it is. We should almost be able to picture the types of work Gray produced. So let's remember that Gray focused on details (Line 6) — including hidden details (Line 7). Let's also remember that she cared about layers and structure (Lines 21-22) and connecting the interior and exterior of works (Lines 41-42). She also preferred "the austere beauty of straight lines and simple forms juxtaposed" (Lines 16-17).

Question prompt

The passage most strongly 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

Humanities

Strategy Overview

Consult your notes or passage to recall the author's attitude about the topic in question, and find the answer that best reflects your understanding of the author's opinion on that topic

Answer Anticipation

This question asks us to find the answer choice about Gray's architectural works that the author would most likely agree with. We can review our notes and what we highlighted/underlined to determine where the discussion of this topic takes place. Once we locate the relevant parts of the passage, we can review those to anticipate what the correct answer might say.Looking at our notes, we'll notice the author discusses Gray's architecture in the third paragraph. We should focus our attention there. In that paragraph, the author claims that Gray's architectural work was prefigured by her work with lacquer and interior design (Lines 40-41) and reflected her work to integrate the interior and exterior as one whole (Lines 41-45). Let's find an answer, then, that lines up with this assessment of her architectural work.We should also consider the author's main point when assessing each answer choice. After all, the author wrote the passage to prove the main point — it's the view the author holds with the most conviction, in all likelihood. The correct answer will need to be consistent with the main point. In fact, we may be able to eliminate one or more answer choices because they conflict with the main point.

Answer choices

  1. A
    It was considered by Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice A is not credited

    (A) Does this answer choice say that Gray's architectural work was informed by her work with lacquer and interior design and reflected her work to integrate the interior and exterior as one whole?

    Nope. For that reason, we can table or eliminate (A). Besides, if the passage brought up other architects' views, we would have noted that as a distinct viewpoint. Since we didn't, we can feel comfortable eliminating this answer choice.

  2. B
    Her involvement in it Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice B is not credited

    (B) Does this answer choice say that Gray's architectural work was informed by her work with lacquer and interior design and reflected her work to integrate the interior and exterior as one whole?

    Nope. In fact, this answer choice contradicts that point. The author notes that Gray's work in lacquer and interior design "prefigure[d]" her work in architecture. As such, the author doesn't believe there was a radical shift in Gray's design philosophy when she shifted into architecture.

  3. C
    The public is less Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice C matches the stem

    (C) Does this answer choice say that Gray's architectural work was informed by her work with lacquer and interior design and reflected her work to integrate the interior and exterior as one whole?

    Not quite. This choice isn't contradicted by the main point or what we reviewed in the third paragraph, so we should table this answer choice and check the remaining.

    However, once we check the remaining and confirm that none match our anticipation, we can return to (C) and review the passage to see whether it's correct. Upon review of the first paragraph, we'll notice that the author says that Gray is best known for her work with lacquer (Line 1). Therefore, the author would agree that her architectural work isn't as well known as that lacquer work, supporting this answer.

    We didn't anticipate that the answer would come from Paragraph 1, but the support for this answer shows up there. Luckily, since it included a superlative, we made a note of it, setting ourselves up for this answer!

  4. D
    It has been less Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice D is not credited

    (D) Does this answer choice say that Gray's architectural work was informed by her work with lacquer and interior design and reflected her work to integrate the interior and exterior as one whole?

    No. Besides, had critics or scholars been mentioned as a distinct viewpoint, we would have noted it, so we can eliminate this answer for being out of scope.

  5. E
    Unlike her work in Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice E is not credited

    (E) Does this answer choice say that Gray's architectural work was informed by her work with lacquer and interior design and reflected her work to integrate the interior and exterior as one whole?

    Negative. In fact, our anticipation shows that the author would almost certainly disagree with this answer choice. The passage says that her work in lacquer "prefigure[d]" her architectural work, reflecting a lot of the same design aesthetic (Lines 40-41). So, the author would probably say the Japanese lacquer tradition did influence Gray's architectural work.

What this tests

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