#1 - Global Reference, Main Point

[Administrator]

Complete Question Explanation

The correct answer choice is (B).

Answer choice (A):

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

Answer choice (C):

Answer choice (D):

Answer choice (E):


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

[Chris_GRZ]

I knew the passage was talking about Bryon poetry and how despite the lack of standard principles to poetry it was very imaginative and thus good poetry. This is why I picked A) An Absence of Method: Why Byron Is Not a "Great" Poet when in fact the answer was B) Byron: The Recurring Presence in Byron’s Poetry.
I can see why B) is a good answer choice and was stuck between the two, but i do not see how A) is wrong.

Also I thought the "" around great poet was meant to be sarcastic and was saying that in fact it is the opposite and the poetry is actually good.

[James Finch]

Hi Chris,

This is a Main Point question, and just like we're taught in school, the main points/conclusions in LSAT RC passages tend to be located at the end of the first and last paragraphs, sometimes both. This is not always true, and often a synthesis is required to get to the correct answer choice, but when reading a passage always look to those locations for the main point first.

Here there are two conclusory indicators given, one in the last sentence of the first paragraph, one in the last sentence of the last paragraph: "I believe" and "In sum." This is telling us that this passage is in classic persuasive essay format, and we should be looking at those standard locations for the main point.

Both sentences get to the idea of the inseparability of Byron's personal life from his art, and how this differs from other artists, including other poets of his age. So that would be my Prephrase, and (B) gets at that idea (although it may take a second read to notice, as the "Byron:" is referring to Byron the person), making it the correct answer.

Hope this clears things up!

[Daisycer43]

Can you explain why answer choice B is correct, I am struggling to understand how it relates to the passage especially with the "recurring presence in Byrons Poetry" part of it.

[Rachael Wilkenfeld]

Hi Daisy,

When I think about coming up with a title for an LSAT passage, I want to think about the main thrust of the piece. What does the author want me to walk away thinking? In order to know that, I often think about the overall structure of the passage. This passage starts with different ways you could analyze Byron, and moves into specific ways to analyze his poetry. The second paragraph explicitly talks about how the joy of reading Byron is the personality of Byron. The third paragraph continues with the same thought "Byron's idea of himself" is a major selling point of his poetry. He's integral to his poetry, and the passage threads that idea throughout. That's why answer choice (B) would be the best choice for a title here.

Hope that helps!