PrepTest 153

[lcid:3708] Prep Test 153 LSAT — Reading Comp — S1 Reading comp

Passage

Passage A is adapted from a book by a music historian, and passage B from an anthropology journal. Passage A Remaining source text redacted.
Passage walkthrough
Passage SummaryTopic:

Passage A
Paragraph 1
  • Paragraph note
    • A debate is introduced, and some background on one tradition is given
  • Views, minor Meta-Structures, points of intersection, and the author's attitude
    • Commentators - The blues is an extension of West African griots
    • Author - They're actually very different
    • Griots - Turned culture and traditions into song, preserving them
Paragraph 2
  • Paragraph note
    • The other tradition being contrasted is described
  • Views, minor Meta-Structures, points of intersection, and the author's attitude
    • Blues - Reflected personal experience and alienation
    • Causal source - Slavery, which destroyed communal values/history
    • Griots - Relied on those values/history
Paragraph 3
  • Paragraph note
    • Further exploration of the blues
  • Views, minor Meta-Structures, points of intersection, and the author's attitude
    • "Fundamental tragedy"/source of power - Sings of everyday, but connects to overall social truth of African American life under and post-slavery
Passage B
Paragraph 1
  • Paragraph note
    • Background
  • Views, minor Meta-Structures, points of intersection, and the author's attitude
    • Senegal had a caste system, with the griot at the bottom
Paragraph 2
  • Paragraph note
    • Background on griots
  • Views, minor Meta-Structures, points of intersection, and the author's attitude
    • Shouting in public wasn't acceptable, but griots could sing in public and had patrons they boosted
Paragraph 3
  • Paragraph note
    • Special role of griots is explored
  • Views, minor Meta-Structures, points of intersection, and the author's attitude
    • Griots accompanied patrons they'd served for generations and sang praises
    • Knew social norms and captured history through their songs
Main Point:
Passage A - Griots and blues musicians reflect different traditions, with the former singing about societal trends while the latter sang of tragic personal feelings of isolation that reflected the larger social truth of African American life during and after slavery.

Passage B - Despite their low social status, griots actually knew quite a bit about society and preserved the history, culture, and values through their laudatory songs.

Key Lines:

Passage A:
Lines 1-5 - The debate is introduced, and the Author's opinion stated
Lines 14-18 - The blues is described, and it's background/cause is stated
Lines 35-37 - The thesis is stated

Passage B:
Line 44 - The special role of the griot is stated
Lines 59-65 - The thesis is brought together

Meta-Structure - Relationship Between Passages:
Connection between art and society.

Both passages talk about griots, and they agree on the role that griots served—they both state that they preserved history and culture.

Passage A also talks about blues musicians. It contrasts their role in society with that of the griot, but in both cases, the artist is capturing something about society. Griots preserve societal values, while blues musicians reflect personal tragedies that "capture" a larger social truth.

Both passages also mention the lower social standing of these artists. Griots were the lowest caste and in multi-generational service to a patron. Blues music grew out of the destruction and alienation caused by slavery.

Last Thoughts:
This set of passages is interesting in that they overlap on one topic and have similar theses, even if they focus on different areas.

Question prompt

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

Credited answer: D

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

Question Type

Social Science

Answer choices

  1. A
    to explain how a Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice A is not credited
    Incorrect. (Lines 12-13; Lines 59-61) Passage A mentions that the griot's song replaced the role of institutions, but it doesn't say the same about the blues. Passage B assigns many roles to the griot, but it never states that it replaced official institutions.
  2. B
    to reveal the paradoxical Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice B is not credited
    Incorrect. (Lines 17-20; Lines 59-61) Neither passage states that there was a ""paradoxical"" relationship between values and culture. In fact, both note that they captured something important about the culture and values of the community.
  3. C
    to compare two closely Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice C is not credited
    Incorrect. (Lines 3-5) Passage A does state that griots and blues musicians couldn't be more different, but the main point of the passage is to discuss the blues more than contrast it with the griot. And Passage B doesn't mention a second musical tradition at all.
  4. D
    to explore the relationship Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice D matches the stem
    Correct. Question Type:
    Main Point

    Strategy Overview:
    Find the overlapping purpose between the two passages

    Answer Anticipation/Relevant Lines:
    While the passages focus on a different set of artists, they both discuss how that set of artists reflected something about the human experience, while talking about their low social status.

    Passage A connects blues music to the destruction caused by slavery, and how these musicians sang about personal hardships while capturing the personal dimensions of larger social truths. Passage B discusses how the low status of the griot allowed them to act in a way that was deemed unacceptable, while still capturing the history, values, and culture of Senegal.

    So both passages are interested in the social status of a group and how that factored into their music. Let's find an answer reflecting that overlap.

    Answer Explanation:
    (Lines 17-18; Lines 42-43; Lines 45-46; Lines 61-65) Passage A talks about how the societal/communal destruction caused by slavery led to the blues tradition, while Passage B talks about how the low social status of the griot ended up allowing them to act in a way that preserved the cultures and values of Wolof society. This answer is therefore correct.

    Key Takeaway:
    Purpose questions are inherently related to the main point of the passage—the purpose is to prove that main point. As such, you can anticipate an answer by establishing the main point, and then generalizing from it. This is especially true in a Comparative passage set—find the principle that underlies both main points (if they share one), and you have your purpose.
  5. E
    to criticize a characterization Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice E is not credited
    Incorrect. (Lines 3-5) Passage A criticizes those who describe the blues as an extension of the griot, but that's not a criticism of the characterization of a particular culture. Other than that, there's no criticism of any opposing view, so there can't be criticism of a certain characterization.

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