#12 -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!

[avengingangel]

Hello! This question stumped me - I was choosing between D and E, and ultimately chose D. I definitely did not see A as being a contender.

It seems exaggerated (in a very similar way as to why I did not choose E). I mean, even if you look at the question right before, #11, A is more exaggerated than the similar correct answer choice in #11. To say that people who transmitted folklore "did not play a creative role in the development of that folklore" seems a it of a stretch - all the passage says is, ""since the early 1970s, folklore studies have begun to regard folk performers as people of creativity..." that doesn't necessarily mean that people thought, prior to the early 1970s that they did NOT play a creative role in the development ?? If someone could explain how one logically comes to that conclusion that'd be very helpful.

Also, why is D incorrect? It seems like lines 13-15 are perfectly compatible with that.

Thanks !!!!

[David Boyle]

Hello! This question stumped me - I was choosing between D and E, and ultimately chose D. I definitely did not see A as being a contender.

It seems exaggerated (in a very similar way as to why I did not choose E). I mean, even if you look at the question right before, #11, A is more exaggerated than the similar correct answer choice in #11. To say that people who transmitted folklore "did not play a creative role in the development of that folklore" seems a it of a stretch - all the passage says is, ""since the early 1970s, folklore studies have begun to regard folk performers as people of creativity..." that doesn't necessarily mean that people thought, prior to the early 1970s that they did NOT play a creative role in the development ?? If someone could explain how one logically comes to that conclusion that'd be very helpful.

Also, why is D incorrect? It seems like lines 13-15 are perfectly compatible with that.

Thanks !!!!

Hello,

The passage says, "folklorists ... ignored the people who transmitted that lore as part of their oral culture. However, since the early 1970s, folklore studies have begun to regard folk performers as people of creativity who are as worthy of attention as are artists who transmit their ideas in writing. This shift of emphasis...", which justifies answer A.
Answer D says, "Women were not involved in transmitting folklore except for songs or tales dealing with a few traditional topics." The passage says, "folklorists tended to collect folklore from women on only a few topics", which doesn't mean women didn't transmit folklore except on a few topics.

David

[rpark8214]

Hi,

Is not answer choice (A) too strong of an assumption? I understand that folklore studies began to regard performers of people of creativity only since the 1970s, but does it have to be true that early folklorists assumed that the people who transmitted the folklore did not play any sort of creative role? The early folklorists could have been aware, yet chose to ignore the creativity aspect to focus on the folklore itself. Also, if you negate (A) it does not destroy the conclusion. Please help!

Thank you

[James Finch]

Hi R. Park,

This is actually a Must Be True question, looking for an inference (based on the premises given in the first paragraph). Thus the Assumption Negation test doesn't apply. As to whether answer choice (A) is too strong of an inference, we have to think about the implications that the first three sentences of the first paragraph create. If prior to the 70's folklorists ignored the transmitters of folklore, only focusing on the folklore itself, how could they hope to understand that folklore without understanding the people presenting it? Only if the people transmitting the folklore played no creative role in it, didn't alter it in any way, could one plausibly ignore possible contributions of an artist to a traditional song/story/dance, etc. It may seem obvious to us now that any artist will try and put there own spin on traditional stories or songs, etc., but early folklorists apparently had no understanding of that.

Hope this helps!