#10 - Global Reference , Must Be True, Purpose/Function

[Administrator]

Complete Question Explanation

The correct answer choice is (C).

Answer choice (A):

Answer choice (B):

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

Answer choice (D):

Answer choice (E):


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

[NotSureWhy]

I went back and forth between B and C, and thinking of the prompt as a book review (as was suggested in the reply to #9), which I think is right, creates problems for #10 I think. II suspected that the flaw in B was that there was no evidence to suggest that Brown's view was "conventional," but it seems an answer for "primary purpose" that doesn't include acknowledging the flaw in Brown's book is insufficient. Is that crazy? It just seems that the primary purpose was to explain why Brown's book was insufficient in explaining 15th cent Venetian painting. The author clearly wasn't arguing for Brown's irrelevance, but "discussing factors that explain a difference in painting styles," though perhaps Central to the primary purpose was not itself the purpose. I suppose there is no sense fighting the test, but if you could maybe helpful clarify where I might be wrong, that would be super helpful.

Thanks so much,
NotSureWhy

[Adam Tyson]

Your analysis of why B is incorrect is right on, NotSureWhy - we have no information about what the alleged conventional view is. That alone makes it a loser. But going further, is the primary purpose of the passage to point out the flaw in Brown's book? I didn't see it that way. Instead, I saw it as supplementing her explanation with more information. Look at the last sentence of the second paragraph, lines 42-48, and you'll see that the author is agreeing with Brown, even while saying there is more to it than just what she had to say on the subject.

Ultimately, we should be thinking about our prephrase. What were you looking for, before you started looking at the answer choices? For me, it was "expanding beyond a given explanation for what made Venetian paintings different from Tuscan paintings." "Expanding" is my focus as I sort through the answers, because purpose answers are all about the right verb at the beginning of the answer. "Citing evidence" is just not as good as "discussing" in this instance. The evidence being cited is in service of something more, and is not the purpose by itself. In other words, he wasn't mostly concerned with citing evidence, but with telling us what that evidence means.

[NotSureWhy]

Okay. That makes a lot of sense. Thanks for that.

Very best,
NotSureWhy