PrepTest 149

[lcid:3693] Prep Test 149 LSAT — Reading Comp — S2 Reading comp

Passage

Questions 21-27  .       The novelist and social theorist Charlotte Perkins  . Gilman, whose writings were widely read and  . discussed Remaining source text redacted.
Passage walkthrough
Passage SummaryTopic: Social Sciences

Paragraph 1
  • Paragraph note
    • A theory is introduced that has two variations, and a key person is said to be a supporter of one of them
  • Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
    • Theory - Social Darwinism - Survival of the fittest applies to social ideology
    • Variation 1 - Completely determined by biology
    • Variation 2 - Doesn't need to be competitive; can be directed by humans cooperatively
Paragraph 2
  • Paragraph note
    • Implications of the Variation 2 are discussed, and Gilman is aligned with it
  • Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
    • Gilman is in the second camp
    • Central thesis - Humans have evolved to the point where they can consciously direct our social evolution
    • Gilman - This means we have an ethical responsibility to contribute as best we can to society
Paragraph 3
  • Paragraph note
    • How Gilman contributed to society
  • Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
    • Through her writings, Gilman tried to break the molds that constrained people, especially women
    • Belief - Gender roles were at one time important for evolution, but they're not anymore
Main Point:
An activist view of Social Darwinism said that people can direct society's evolution, and one adherent of this view, Gilman, used her writing to promote a view that we have an ethical duty to do so in a way that breaks social norms, especially with respect to gender roles.

Key Lines:
Lines 9-14 - The first variation of Social Darwinism is discussed
Lines 14-20 - The second and more activist variation of Social Darwinism is discussed
Line 21 - Gilman is identified as being in the second camp
Lines 23-29 - The central thesis of that group is identified
Lines 31-38 - Gilman's specific view of this is noted
Lines 41-43 - How this translated to Gilman's work is described

Meta-Structure:
Theory/Specific implementation. The passage discusses an activist Social Darwinist theory and then explains how it was implemented by a specific adherent. This lines up with the Generalization/Application to a specific case argument in LR.

Last Thoughts:
The passage itself falls into a less common camp—one where the Author isn't present. There are no statements of opinion or reflection on the topic—just statements of what Gilman believed, argued for, and worked towards. As such, we should be wary of answers that reflect an active/opinionated Author.

The last paragraph has some unexpected aspects to it that might show up in detail questions For instance, Gilman's advocacy for gender equality might not be expected to line up with a view that gender inequality was necessary in the past, or that there are specifically male and female qualities. Such unexpected views tend to show up in questions since they cut against what we expect!

Question prompt

The passage most strongly Remaining source text redacted.
Why the credited answer is right

Credited answer: E

The notes below walk through why it fits the stem and how to eliminate the rest.

Question Type

Social Science

Answer choices

  1. A
    Gilman's social theory was Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice A is not credited
    Incorrect. (Lines 21-23) Gilman was aligned with a specific group of Social Darwinists, and there's no indication that this group or Gilman wasn't aligned with another major political movement of the time, so this answer is unsupported.
  2. B
    One of Gilman's innovations Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice B is not credited
    Incorrect. (Lines 21-23) Gilman identified herself with a group of Social Darwinists, suggesting that she saw herself as a member of that group rather than someone who first created Social Darwinism.
  3. C
    Gilman worked in direct Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice C is not credited
    Incorrect. (Lines 21-23) Gilman identified with a group of active Social Darwinists, but the passage never says that she worked with any of them in order to implement her ideas.
  4. D
    Charles Darwin's writings on Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice D is not credited
    Incorrect. (Lines 21-23) While Gilman identified with an existing group of Social Darwinists, there's no indication that she didn't read and wasn't influenced by Darwin's work itself.
  5. E
    Other evolutionary theorists contemporary Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice E matches the stem
    Correct. Question Type:
    Must Be True

    Strategy Overview:
    Consider each answer and check the ones that align with our overall view against our notations/passage

    Answer Anticipation/Relevant Lines:
    The question gives us no guidance as to the topic, so we can't really anticipate much. Let's use our overall knowledge of the passage to narrow it down and then find textual support for answers that we think have a chance of being correct.

    Answer Explanation:
    (Lines 21-23) Gilman identified with a group of activist Social Darwinists who believed that ""it is possible for [humans] to contribute consciously"" to the evolution of society. As such, at the very least, it is supported that some of her contemporaries believed, as she did, that humans can work to make society better. This answer is therefore supported.

    Key Takeaway:
    These open-ended Must Be True questions can be huge time sinks. Instead of getting bogged down in them, identify ones that line up with the overall point of the passage, and then use the language in the passage to confirm details in those answers.

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