#5 - Specific Reference, Must Be True, Purpose/Function

[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!

[TigerJin]

I have done this passage numerous times and questions 5 and 7 I get wrong everytime, while getting every other question for the passage correct. I understand the passage very well, but get these two wrong.

For question 5, I do not know how we are supposed to determine what the author means by "truly national black theater". I see no way to eliminate my common answers, A and C nor a way to confirm B. It seems like the only thing to do is guess as there is no definition given in the passage.

So, how do I answer answer, confirm and eliminate in #5?

Thank you.

[Emily Haney-Caron]

Hi TigerJin,

Great question! For this question, it's important to keep in mind that the passage says they "came closer" to founding a truly national black theater, which indicates they did not fully achieve it. Therefore, any answer that simply describes the FTP Units cannot be right, because that would mean the units achieved this. Both A and C are descriptions of the FTP Units, and so cannot be right. C, especially, doesn't make sense, because that doesn't sound like something earlier groups of "African American theater artists" would have been trying to achieve. D and E don't seem supported by the passage at all. That leaves us with B. The question is, does B describe something the FTP Units came close to doing? Well, yes; there's support for that throughout the passage, particularly around lines 40-45.

Hope that helps!

[TigerJin]

Okay, I can see now how I can answer the question by elimination using line 19 and "came closer". But, B still sounds like something the FTP in fact achieved, especially with lines 40-45. I'm about to call shenanigans on the LSAC for this question.

[jaclyn.s]

I agree with TigerJin. Still do not understand how B is what the units were not. I thought they satisfied this but not A. In my mind, I thought A was correct because the FTP was not created just for black theater. It only had 18 units dedicated to it (I assume this was a small percentage even though the total number of units was not given because 10,000 workers overall and only "hundreds" working for the units). I thought A was saying "an entirely publicly funded theater dedicated just to plays for African American audiences."

Can someone please provide some additional clarification?

[James Finch]

Hi Jaclyn,

This is a tough question for a lot of people, as it does need a certain familiarity with the way specific language is used regarding the arts in order to be answered correctly. That can be intuited from the passage itself, but it requires a very close reading and solid Prephrase. We're told about a program that's operating in 18 cities across the US and employing hundreds of theatrical performers/directors/etc, performing many varied works. So a "national black theater" here has to be meaning something that is very broadly applied, encompassing many different works that would be performed by many different performers across the entire US, something even bigger in scope than what actually existed in the described theater units.

(A) actually has to be read even more specifically, in that it's referencing a single theater or performance center, rather than a set of works that would be performed nationally. So it's out, as it's far more restricted in scope than what's told to us in the passage about what the units actually were, when we're looking for something even bigger and broader in scope.

(B) works because of how broad and general it is, which fits most closely with the Prephrase (or at least my more specific Prephrase could fit within what (B) is describing).

(C) fails because it specifically references a federal government program; the units are already that, but as is said in the referenced line, haven't yet been able to create a national black theater. It's too narrow and simply describes what the units already were, not the aspirational but unrealized goal that is a national black theater.

Hope this clears things up!

[jaclyn.s]

Thank you for the detailed response. This is super tricky I see how the way you define "national black theater" is key to answering this correctly. I would never have interpreted it to be defined in the "correct" way. I don't love LSAC for this question...

[BWACHS]

Is answer choice E wrong because we are not told that there is a "chain of black-owned playhouses" during the time of the FTP program?

I picked E during the test and then on blind review because the spread of playhouses seems close to the spread of units across cities. I understand why B is the correct answer but want to make sure I know why E is wrong.

[Jeremy Press]

Hi bwachs,

Yes, you've got it. There's no evidence in the passage that the FTP, or these various performing units, owned or operated any playhouses specifically. All we know is that they produced plays (producers don't necessarily own or operate the spaces where their work is shown). Subtle difference for sure, but a very clean one for eliminating answer choice E.

I hope this helps!