PS Full-Length Course Lesson 2 Passage (Dec '96) Q1

[milanproda@me.com]

The answer to this MP question is B. I chose answer C.

What I thought was the main point: The work of many LPS musicians has not been seriously recognized (Line 9-10, "Historical Conscious"). However,Temperley's new anthology overcomes this deficiency (Line 18-19). Temperley achieved this by making available lots of music (Lines 22-30).

Why I chose C: The answer fits in perfectly with my main point. The music has been revived by Temperely. His new anthology will help attract new critical perspectives on the LPS (Lines 25-26).

The reason I did not choose B: "Temperly's anthology of the music of the LPS contributes significantly to an understanding of an influential period in the history of music." IMO, this seems too broad of a claim.

Final Question: I assume that what I think is the main point is not the main point. So, what is the main point?

Thank you ahead of time.

[Adam Tyson]

The main point in this passage is found right at the beginning of the second paragraph - "Nicholas Temperley's ambitious new anthology decisively overcomes this deficiency." The opening paragraph presented us with the problem - that musicologists used to have a hard time studying this period of the development of the modern piano - and the rest of the passage tells us how the anthology has helped to resolve that. It is a broad claim, but main points often are fairly broad.

I think that the problem with C is that it talks about a revival of the music from that "school", but the passage really says nothing about any revival. Revival here would mean that people are playing the music again, or at least have become more interested in it than they were, but the passage doesn't suggest either of those things. Instead it says that those that have always been interested in it now have a good resource to study - Temperley's anthology. The anthology not only compiles a huge collection of music from the period, but also looks at the "school" as being less of a true school and more of a period of development (1766 - 1873) in one area (London, England).

Hope that helped!

Adam M. Tyson
PowerScore LSAT Instructor

[milanproda@me.com]

Hey Adam,

The passage does mention revival. Lines 15-19 suggest a revival. The work of JBC and Jan Dussek has eluded serious attempts at revival. However* Temperlys new anthology overcomes this deficiency.

[milanproda@me.com]

Here is why I think There is a good analogy that i thin you will appreciate: before powerscore started giving lsat courses, very few people were interested in taking the LSAT. Now that PS offers a course, people have become much more interested in te LSaT. So, the lsat (the london school) is more popular then before, ie it is revived.

[Adam Tyson]

I think where your analogy doesn't quite fit is that, according to the first paragraph, there WAS an interest all along - it's just that musicologists lacked the resources to study the period. That's really the deficiency that the anthology overcomes - it provides a resource where there had been none.

You're right, revival is mentioned, but is that really the main point? Does the entire passage provide support for that one idea, that the music has been revived? Or, does it all go to support the idea that the new anthology fills a void and helps those wishing to study the London Pianoforte School? If you say it's about revival, how does the third paragraph fit in? When analyzing main point, it's a lot like a main point question in Logical Reasoning. The main point has to be the thing that everything else supports.

[milanproda@me.com]

Ok, makes sense. Thank you.