PrepTest 153
[lcid:3711] Prep Test 153 LSAT — Reading Comp — S4
Reading comp
Passage
Questions 22-27 . Social historians have noted that European social . and political thought of the nineteenth and early .
Remaining source text redacted.
Passage walkthrough
Passage SummaryTopic: Social Sciences
Paragraph 1
Despite working when they were proposed, "grand theories" can no longer be seen to accurately describe the world, and we need to move to a view that includes historical contingency, perspective, and a lack of inevitability.
Key Lines:
Lines 1-5 - Introduce the background view that the Author is going to pivot away from
Lines 18-20 - The pivot to show that this view is no longer viable
Lines 37-40 - Introduces the problem that the Author is ultimately trying to solve in coming up with a new approach
Lines 42-50 - An overview of the new approach advocated for by the Author
Meta-Structure:
Old theory/New Theory
Problem/Solution
This passage combines these two structures, to bring up an old theory that has problems ("grand theories"), and then to pose the problem that needs to be addressed in order to create a new approach to the study of history. The Author then concludes with a general description of this new approach.
Last Thoughts:
The passage relies heavily in the first two paragraphs on the examples of Marxism and Freudianism, so we should expect some questions on that. The second paragraph also includes two reasons for the old theories to have fallen out of favor (events that don't fit the theories; association with failed governments), so we should expect questions there, too.
The last paragraph is a bit complex and nuanced, so we should expect there to be questions that play into the difficulty in distinguishing exactly what the Author is saying there. Knowing that it's a solution to how to incorporate what was good about the old theory (provide some type of story/sense into history) without falling into its problems (fully determined history) should help for questions that ask about it.
Paragraph 1
- Paragraph note
- A history of the approach to social/political thought (19th and early 20th centuries)
- Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
- Social/political thought centered on "grand theories" that explained many events with general rules
- Examples - Marxism (economic) and Freudianism (psychological)
- Paragraph note
- The love of "grand theories" has waned in recent years for several reasons
- Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
- They were influential enough to be seen as hard-and-fast rules
- These theories hurt by events that don't fit them, and being linked to failed or abusive governments
- They worked at the time, but they no longer work
- Paragraph note
- A pivot to why "grand theories" were popular and thoughts on how to address that need with a new approach described by the author
- Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
- They were popular because they made people feel as if history/life made sense ("historical inevitability").
- We need something to address that need that doesn't have the problem of "grand theories"
- Solution - An approach that focuses on contingency, unique details, "constrains" rather than "necessitates," and allows all possibilities without saying history is fully determined
Despite working when they were proposed, "grand theories" can no longer be seen to accurately describe the world, and we need to move to a view that includes historical contingency, perspective, and a lack of inevitability.
Key Lines:
Lines 1-5 - Introduce the background view that the Author is going to pivot away from
Lines 18-20 - The pivot to show that this view is no longer viable
Lines 37-40 - Introduces the problem that the Author is ultimately trying to solve in coming up with a new approach
Lines 42-50 - An overview of the new approach advocated for by the Author
Meta-Structure:
Old theory/New Theory
Problem/Solution
This passage combines these two structures, to bring up an old theory that has problems ("grand theories"), and then to pose the problem that needs to be addressed in order to create a new approach to the study of history. The Author then concludes with a general description of this new approach.
Last Thoughts:
The passage relies heavily in the first two paragraphs on the examples of Marxism and Freudianism, so we should expect some questions on that. The second paragraph also includes two reasons for the old theories to have fallen out of favor (events that don't fit the theories; association with failed governments), so we should expect questions there, too.
The last paragraph is a bit complex and nuanced, so we should expect there to be questions that play into the difficulty in distinguishing exactly what the Author is saying there. Knowing that it's a solution to how to incorporate what was good about the old theory (provide some type of story/sense into history) without falling into its problems (fully determined history) should help for questions that ask about it.
Question prompt
Which one of the
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
-
Awary of its repressive Remaining source text redacted.
Why choice A is not credited
Incorrect. (Lines 21-24) Repressive political systems were mentioned in Lines 21-24 with respect to being linked to certain grand theories (Marxism, most likely), so this answer is about a separate portion of the passage. -
Bdisdainful of its sentimentality Remaining source text redacted.
Why choice B is not credited
Incorrect. (Line 33; Lines 39-40) The Author says that this desire for determinism is attractive, and that we "long for the cognitive satisfaction" of it. That's a far cry from being disdainful of it! -
Csympathetic but mindful of Remaining source text redacted.
Why choice C matches the stem
Correct. Question Type:
Must Be True
Strategy Overview:
Head back to the line in question, check your description of the role of the paragraph, and then read the line and the one before and after it to determine its role in context
Answer Anticipation/Relevant Lines:
We call these Must Be True questions because you're inferring the Author's attitude based on information present in the passage. That's using what's written to reach a conclusion—hence a Must Be True question.
Line 32 shows up in the last paragraph, and we noted that that paragraph pivoted to describing a reason "grand theories" were popular that should be preserved in a new approach that addresses these theories' shortcomings.
The "nostalgia for determinism" in the statement in question talks about what people liked about the grand theories—they conveyed that history proceeded according to some universal laws. That said, "we no longer believe in the deterministic explanations" (Lines 37-38), and so we need to find a new approach that can fill in the gap left by that lack of belief.
Since we no longer believe in the determinism for which people have nostalgia, let's look for an answer that states the Author understands why people liked it but ultimately knows that it doesn't work.
Answer Explanation:
(Line 33; Lines 37-40) The Author says that determinism is attractive, and that we "long for the cognitive satisfaction" from it, but that "we no longer believe in the deterministic explanations of history." As such, she is sympathetic to feeling nostalgia for that determinism, even if she ultimately believes it'll disappoint anyone looking for a workable theory. This answer is therefore correct.
Key Takeaway:
Always use the overall role of the paragraph to help you define the role of any included statement! The correct answer here ended up pulling in other points from the third paragraph outside of the statement in question. Knowing what the goal of that paragraph was was crucial in getting all the context necessary to answer this question. -
Dfearful of how it Remaining source text redacted.
Why choice D is not credited
Incorrect. (Lines 42-47) We'd need some specific, emotional language to back up this answer's inclusion of "fearful." If anything, the Author believes that the nostalgia for determinism has led to discomfort that "is no bad thing," as it might lead to a better approach. That's the opposite of fearful it'll prolong the influence of the bad grand theories. -
Eoptimistic that it will Remaining source text redacted.
Why choice E is not credited
Incorrect. (Lines 44-45) The Author wants a return to the contemplation of contingency, so she wouldn't be optimistic about anything that would limit that contemplation.
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