#5 - Concept Reference, Must Be True, Subject Perspective

[Administrator]

Complete Question Explanation

The correct answer choice is (A).

Answer choice (A): This is the correct answer choice.

Answer choice (B):

Answer choice (C):

Answer choice (D):

Answer choice (E):

This explanation is still in progress. Please post any questions below!

[haganskl]

Hello

Is this an inference question? Based on my understanding of an inference, its an observation. Based on my understanding of an inference question on the RC section, its a question that requires you to go back into the passage to find the answer, regardless if the answer is explicitly stated or implied. Is that correct?

Answer choice B was in question. I eliminated answer choice B because W & O wanted James to get to the heart of the detective work which according to a different part of the passage is not characteristic of her work which was described as fleshing out character development more than fleshing out the investigative plot.

[KelseyWoods]

Hi Haganskl!

This is a Must Be True, Concept Reference, Subject Perspective question. It's a Must Be True question because the answer choice must be supported by the information found in the passage. It's a Concept Reference question because it's referring us to the viewpoints of Waugh and Oakes, which means we should go back to the locations in the passage where the author discusses the viewpoints of Waugh and Oakes. It's a Subject Perspective question because it's asking us to find an answer choice that Waugh and Oakes would both agree with.

When we go back to the passage to find out what the viewpoints of Waugh and Oakes are, it states: "The critic Harriet Waugh wants P. D. James to get on with "the more taxing business of laying a tricky trail and then fooling the reader"; Philip Oakes in The Literary Review groans, "Could we please proceed with the business of clapping the handcuffs on the killer?""

But let's not forget to put this in context with the rest of the paragraph. Just before the specific examples of Waugh and Oakes, the author states "Others find her pretentious and tiresome; an inverted snobbery accuses her of abandoning the time-honored conventions of the detective genre in favor of a highbrow literary style." Thus, Waugh and Oakes are examples of the critics that find James pretentious and tiresome rather than relying on the time-honored conventions of the detective genre.

These statements provide support for answer choice (A): "too much material that is extraneous to the solution of the crime." Waugh and Oakes want James to get to the point in her writing and focus on the solving of the crime. As you observed, this is not the same as what answer choice (B) states: "too little characterization to enable the reader to solve the crime." They are not concerned with characterization that enables the readers to solve the crime themselves. They just want her to focus on the crime rather than providing extraneous material.

Hope this helps!

Best,
Kelsey

[haganskl]

This was helpful. Thanks