PrepTest 155
[lcid:3718] Prep Test 155 LSAT — Reading Comp — S3
Reading comp
Passage
The following passage is adapted from a 2001 article by a film historian. In exhibiting works of art—whether in a
Remaining source text redacted.
Passage walkthrough
Passage Summary Topic:
Humanities
Paragraph 1
While retrospectives of early nonfiction films have become increasingly common, presenting similar films is dull and inauthentic.
Key Lines?
Paragraph 1, Sentence 5 (P1, S5) - Common approach described
P2, S1 - Author's central criticism
Meta-Structure?
Criticizing a Viewpoint: This passage utilizes a Criticizing a Viewpoint Meta-Structure*. After describing one approach to exhibiting art and films (showing similar works/films), the author uses the second and third paragraphs to criticize this approach in the context of early nonfiction film retrospectives. The author contends that showing similar early films is dull and inauthentic, since that's not how such films would have been screened at the time of their release.
In a Criticizing a Viewpoint passage, the author's central criticism is the main point. So, we've summarized the main point as, "While retrospectives of early nonfiction films have become increasingly common, presenting similar films is dull and inauthentic."
*Some may argue that this passage has a Correcting the Record, Rebutting Critics, or Old Approach/New Approach Meta-Structure — understandably so, since there's considerable overlap between these Meta-Structures and the Criticizing a Viewpoint Meta-Structure. If you went with either of these, that's OK! You'd wind up with the same main point and big-picture understanding of the passage described above. However, some may see the question presented in the first paragraph ("which works [of art] should be exhibited together?") and conclude that this is a Question/Answer passage. The author doesn't spend much time answering that question, though. The author spends most of the passage criticizing one specific answer to that question ("collecting the similar') in one specific context of exhibitions (retrospectives of early films). So, viewing this as a Question/Answer passage may give us misimpressions about the passage.
Comparison: The most prominent minor Meta-Structure in this passage is the comparison. The author makes three comparisons, outlined in the Passage Summary above. We recommend highlighting or underlining these, as at least one is likely to factor into answering a question.
Last Thoughts?
There is a *lot* of the author's attitude in this passage, as you can see in the Passage Summary above. We should have highlighted quite a bit of the passage. While the author offers many critiques in this passage, it's easy to assume that the author's criticism is extreme. But, as always, we need to pay close attention to the author's word choice. In this case, viewing the author's criticism as extreme is supported — the author says screening similar early nonfiction films is "profoundly dull for the viewer" (P2, S2) and says such an "inauthentic" display robs the films' "life and context" (P3, S5). In other passages, however, an author with many opinions has somewhat tempered or nuanced views.
Humanities
Paragraph 1
- Paragraph note
- Question posed (how to exhibit art) and common approach described ("collecting the similar" in art and film exhibitions)
- Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
- Common approach:
- Show works with common elements (second through last sentences)
- Examples of common approaches:
- Works from the same artist, like Rembrandt (second and third sentences)
- Works of the same theme or historical period, like Modernism (fourth sentence)
- Film retrospectives that include several films from the same direct, star, or studio (seventh sentence)
- Author's attitude: "Another reasonable method might be" (fourth sentence)
- Common approach:
- Paragraph note
- Author's criticism of the common approach (retrospectives of early nonfiction films are inappropriate because they were supporting films)
- Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
- Author's view:
- Showing similar early films — especially nonfiction films — is extremely boring because they were usually supporting films, and the retrospective makes them the main attraction (first through third sentences)
- Comparisons, according to the author:
- Early film audiences saw a mix of different types of films, but retrospectives tend to show the same type of film (first and fourth sentences)
- This viewing experience is useful for academics but is very boring for audiences (second sentencing)
- Author's view:
- Author's attitude: "often inappropriate" (first sentence); "especially nonfiction" (first sentence); "which would never have been the practice at the time" (first sentence); "while useful for historians and academics, is often profoundly dull for the viewer" (second sentence); "have always been supporting films" (third sentence)
- Paragraph note
- Author's criticism of the common approach (irony that attention is spent on making the film "authentic" but not the presentation)
- Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
- Comparison, according to the author:
- Restorations of early films are touted as being authentic, while the exhibitions of such films is inauthentic
- Author's attitude: "often behave as if the production of the films were the only side of the coin" (first sentence); "authenticity is sometimes allowed to go out the window'" (fourth sentence); "inauthentic setting, utterly shorn of the program that once gave these films life and context" (fifth sentence); "magic of programming" (sixth sentence); "more like inherited it" (sixth sentence); "ill behooves us alleged early film lovers" (last sentence
- Comparison, according to the author:
While retrospectives of early nonfiction films have become increasingly common, presenting similar films is dull and inauthentic.
Key Lines?
Paragraph 1, Sentence 5 (P1, S5) - Common approach described
P2, S1 - Author's central criticism
Meta-Structure?
Criticizing a Viewpoint: This passage utilizes a Criticizing a Viewpoint Meta-Structure*. After describing one approach to exhibiting art and films (showing similar works/films), the author uses the second and third paragraphs to criticize this approach in the context of early nonfiction film retrospectives. The author contends that showing similar early films is dull and inauthentic, since that's not how such films would have been screened at the time of their release.
In a Criticizing a Viewpoint passage, the author's central criticism is the main point. So, we've summarized the main point as, "While retrospectives of early nonfiction films have become increasingly common, presenting similar films is dull and inauthentic."
*Some may argue that this passage has a Correcting the Record, Rebutting Critics, or Old Approach/New Approach Meta-Structure — understandably so, since there's considerable overlap between these Meta-Structures and the Criticizing a Viewpoint Meta-Structure. If you went with either of these, that's OK! You'd wind up with the same main point and big-picture understanding of the passage described above. However, some may see the question presented in the first paragraph ("which works [of art] should be exhibited together?") and conclude that this is a Question/Answer passage. The author doesn't spend much time answering that question, though. The author spends most of the passage criticizing one specific answer to that question ("collecting the similar') in one specific context of exhibitions (retrospectives of early films). So, viewing this as a Question/Answer passage may give us misimpressions about the passage.
Comparison: The most prominent minor Meta-Structure in this passage is the comparison. The author makes three comparisons, outlined in the Passage Summary above. We recommend highlighting or underlining these, as at least one is likely to factor into answering a question.
Last Thoughts?
There is a *lot* of the author's attitude in this passage, as you can see in the Passage Summary above. We should have highlighted quite a bit of the passage. While the author offers many critiques in this passage, it's easy to assume that the author's criticism is extreme. But, as always, we need to pay close attention to the author's word choice. In this case, viewing the author's criticism as extreme is supported — the author says screening similar early nonfiction films is "profoundly dull for the viewer" (P2, S2) and says such an "inauthentic" display robs the films' "life and context" (P3, S5). In other passages, however, an author with many opinions has somewhat tempered or nuanced views.
Question prompt
According to the passage,
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
Humanities
Answer choices
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AThey were produced by Remaining source text redacted.
Why choice A is not credited
Is this related to the main point or reflected in our notes for each paragraph?
No. Neither the main point nor our notes mention the studios that made early nonfiction films. Moreover, language like "exclusively" is very strong and difficult to support. Experienced test-takers might conclude that they would have noted such strong langauge if it had appeared. For these reasons, we can comfortably table this answer choice — or even eliminate it outright — without reviewing the passage.
If you needed to review the passage to eliminate (A), you'd notice (perhaps by using the CTRL + F search function) that the only mention of studios appears in the first and second paragraphs. In both paragraphs, the author claims that some retrospectives show films made by the same studio (P1, S6; P2, S2). That doesn't mean that all early nonfiction films were made by the same studio. This answer seems to be trying to get you to think the first paragraph suggests that the nonfiction films were all released by the same studio, but the passage doesn't support that connection. -
BThey were rarely credited Remaining source text redacted.
Why choice B is not credited
Is this related to the main point or reflected in our notes for each paragraph?
Nope. Neither the main point nor our notes bring up to whom these films were credited, so this answer is one we'd defer on.
If we had to review the passage to eliminate (B), we'd see that the only times the passage mentions directors is in the first and second paragraphs. In both cases, the author claims that some retrospectives show films made by the same director (P1, S6; P2, S2). If anything, this implies that (B) is false — there are at least enough of these films made by the same director to create retrospectives almost an entire century later. -
CThey were heavily influenced Remaining source text redacted.
Why choice C is not credited
Is this related to the main point or reflected in our notes for each paragraph?
Negative. Test-takers may remember the reference to the vaudeville tradition at the end of the passage (P3, S6), but this idea isn't reflected in our notes or the main point. So, once again, we can table this answer choice and advance to the following answer choice.
If we did review the reference at the end of the passage, we'd see that the third paragraph mentioned the vaudeville tradition. Still, vaudeville influenced how film presenters presented a mix of different types of films — not as an influence on the nonfiction films as they were being created. So, the notion that early nonfiction films were "heavily influenced" by vaudeville is unsupported. -
DThey were usually intended Remaining source text redacted.
Why choice D matches the stem
Question Type:
Minor Point/Must Be True
Strategy Overview:
Remind ourselves of the main point of the passage, then head to the answers, focusing on those that line up with the main point and then using our notes/the passage to find the correct answer
Answer Anticipation:
This question stem asks what must be true of early nonfiction films, according to the passage. Since early nonfiction films were the passage's main subject, this question provides no indication as to the topic of the correct answer or where it'll show up in the passage. As such, we'll need to rely on our big-picture understanding of the passage to answer this question. We should start by reminding ourselves of the main point (either by reviewing what we said after reading the passage or by rereading our answer to the main point question). From there, we can head to the answer choices. If something in an answer choice doesn't seem familiar and isn't reflected in our notes on each paragraph, we shouldn't check the passage to see if it was mentioned. Instead, we'll table it and move on to the next answer choice. If something seems inconsistent with the main point, we can eliminate it. If something seems familiar, consistent with the main point, or reflected in our notes, we'll use our notes/highlights/underlines to find the part of the passage that proves the answer choice must be true. If we can find that confirmation, we'll select that answer choice and move on.
Answer Choice Explanation:
Is this related to the main point or reflected in our notes for each paragraph?
Yes! This answer reflects a part of our note for the second paragraph, which is ("Author's criticism of the common approach (retrospectives of early nonfiction films are inappropriate because they were supporting films)"). So, this is almost certainly correct. We can check the passage to see if this is supported.
We can review the passage (perhaps by searching for "support" using CTRL/Command + F) to see if early nonfiction films were "usually" supporting films. Doing so, we can see that it says that nonfiction films were "always" supporting films with "some" exceptions (P2, S3), which is enough to support "usually," making this the correct answer. We can select it and move on to the next question.
Key Takeaway:
Must Be True questions in Reading Comp that are more global in nature (they're about topics discussed throughout the passage) tend to have answers that reflect or at least support the passage's main point. -
EThey were no less Remaining source text redacted.
Why choice E is not credited
Is this related to the main point or reflected in our notes for each paragraph?
Nope. The main point and our notes don't bring up early nonfiction films' popularity. If hadn't already selected the correct answer, we should defer on this answer choice and review any that we hadn't already eliminated.
If we had to review the passage to eliminate (E), we'd see that the comedies and dramas were brought up in the second paragraph (P2, S4). However, there's no discussion of popularity there.
What this tests
Discussion
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Confused on why the correct answer is D. 2 replies
Started by kaylarussell