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

Which one of the Remaining source text redacted.
Why the credited answer is right

Credited answer: A

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

Question Type

Social Science

Answer choices

  1. A
    Some social conditions on Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice A matches the stem
    Correct. Question Type:
    Must Be True

    Strategy Overview:
    Refresh ourselves on Gilman's views and then head to the answers

    Answer Anticipation/Relevant Lines:
    We should always note the views of specific people/groups, so we should have some notations of where Gilman's views were highlighted.

    We can see that she made an argument that Social Darwinist views entail an ethical responsibility to act to improve society in Paragraph 2 (Lines 31-38). She also argued that there needed to be a reorganization of society (Line 46) with a central goal of abandoning gender-specific roles and hierarchies (Lines 47-49). And she also believed that such roles served a purpose in the past, just not in the present (Lines 49-53), and that future progress depended on a balance of male and female qualities (Lines 53-56).

    An answer could reflect any of these beliefs, so let's head into the answers and find one!

    Answer Explanation:
    (Lines 49-56) This answer reflects the last section of the passage. Gilman said that ""at one time such arrangements""—referring to gender-specific work roles and hierarchies—were ""necessary,"" but that ""[f]uture progress"" required a ""balance"" between the genders. As such, this answer reflects her beliefs, so it's correct. (Note that we anticipated a question about this because it runs counter to what we assume she might have believed based on her work for gender-equality. The LSAT loves asking about things that run counter to expectations!)

    Key Takeaway:
    Always tag viewpoints. Whenever a passage is attributing an argument or opinion to someone, tag it in some way. It will be asked about, and you want to be able to find it quickly. This will also help you keep the different viewpoints straight in your head and make it easier to focus on the main point at the end of the passage—after all, that main point is usually just a reflection of the debate between viewpoints, with the Author's opinion (if present) included.
  2. B
    The types of changes Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice B is not credited
    Incorrect. (Lines 23-30) While the Social Darwinists with whom Gilman identified believed that humans could direct themselves to social evolution, they never stated that they believed only such action could lead to that result.
  3. C
    Gender-based hierarchical relationships, which Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice C is not credited
    Incorrect. (Lines 49-56) In the relevant section of the passage, Gilman doesn't state that gender-specific work roles led to hierarchical relationships, nor does she claim that they'll be especially difficult to eradicate. This answer is thus unsupported.
  4. D
    While Social Darwinist theories Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice D is not credited
    Incorrect. (Lines 31-33) The central thesis of the Social Darwinism that Gilman subscribed to was ""a source of ethical responsibility,"" so she does believe they have ethical implications.
  5. E
    Continuation of the process Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice E is not credited
    Incorrect. (Lines 53-55) Gilman believes that future social progress required balance that would increase cooperation and nurturance, but she never claimed that such an outcome was ""inevitabl[e]""—just that it's the direction she was trying to work in!

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