#17 - Global Reference, Must Be True, Author's Perspective

[Administrator]

Please post your questions below! Thank you!

[spglasses]

Hey, guys. I have two questions about #17 from RC.

1. Why is (A) correct?
2. Why is (D) incorrect?

The one time "borderline cases" are mentioned is in reference to texts that can't be clearly located in one genre due to the difficulties of assigning genre based on shared thematic similarities. In lines 33-35 there is mention of texts that are central to a genre being written to exploit particular reading protocols. However, just because a text isn't central to a genre doesn't mean that text is a "borderline case," right?

I chose (D) because in lines 32-33, passage B says "We are free to read any text by any reading protocol we wish." And part of the definition of reading protocol includes "making various sentences and various sentences make sense" from lines 31-32. "Interpretation" sounds like it would fall under that definition. Is (D) incorrect because the author could still believe that interpretation depends on genre, just not entirely?

[Jonathan Evans]

Hi, SPGlasses!

Good questions.

1. Why is (A) correct?

We are looking for the statement with which the author of Passage B is most likely to agree. We should start by keeping in mind this author's overall point of view. One possible summary of his/her point of view is:

• "How readers respond to a text is a crucial part of determining its genre. Authors can direct their texts to fall within certain genres by writing with a certain "reading protocol"/"rhetorical configuration" in mind."

With this in mind, let's look for which answer choice contains a statement backed up by evidence from the passage.

In answer choice A, we are asked whether the author might think fictional works not written with these certain "reading protocols"/"rhetorical configurations" in mind might be "borderline" cases. First, what do we know about "borderline cases?" We know that borderline cases occur when it is difficult to demarcate genres.

Do we have any evidence about when it might be easier to demarcate genres? Yes we have in lines 33-37. In these lines the author states that the "texts most central to a genre" are written to "exploit a particular protocol." In other words, the texts written to "exploit a particular protocol" are highly unlikely to be borderline cases. Instead, these works will be "central to a genre."

Therefore, might we infer that texts not written to exploit a particular protocol might be borderline cases? Yes. This is a fair inference.

You are correct that it is not a sure thing that such a text will be a borderline case. However, notice the "likelihood" language in this answer choice: "are sometimes borderline cases." The author isn't saying it's a sure thing; we just know this sometimes likely occurs.

2. Why is (D) incorrect?

The problem with answer choice D arises in that it disagrees with the author's point of view as expressed in the second paragraph of Passage B. For example, in lines 44-46, we know that "with poetry, we tend to pay more attention to the sound of the words than we do with prose." Therefore, it stands to reason that the manner in which a reader interprets a sentence is in some respect related to the genre to which the text belongs.

Notice also the "likelihood" language in this answer choice. The phrasing is much stronger: "The interpretation […] does not depend …"

This is a strong statement, much more difficult to back up with evidence from the text.

I hope this helps!

[spglasses]

Thanks for that. I think I can accept why (D) is wrong, but I'm still not sure about (A).

Would it be safe to say that a borderline case surely was not written to exploit particular reading protocols?

Can a text be written to exploit particular reading protocols but still be a borderline case? Because if that were the case, we can't say for sure that some borderline cases were not written to exploit particular reading protocols (and vice versa). Sure, it's a possibility, but answer choice (A) says that they ARE sometimes borderline cases. But we have no idea if it sometimes happens or not.

[Jonathan Evans]

Hi, SPGlasses,

You raise some good points!

Would it be safe to say that a borderline case surely was not written to exploit particular reading protocols?

No, we don't know this for sure. Borderline cases could occur even when the author is trying to write to exploit a certain protocol.

Can a text be written to exploit particular reading protocols but still be a borderline case?

Yes, as far as we know from the evidence in the text, this could happen.

Because if that were the case, we can't say for sure that some borderline cases were not written to exploit particular reading protocols (and vice versa).

No, this does not follow. While (1) it could be possible that some borderline cases were written to exploit certain reading protocols, this statement does not preclude the inference that (2) it is highly likely that some borderline cases were not written to exploit certain reading protocols.

We have no evidence in the text to support statement (1), but statement (1) is possible. We do have evidence in the text to support statement (2). To wit:

• "The problem of “borderline cases”— especially in science fiction—arises so often that the definition fails to demarcate genres entirely." (Lines 25-27). This statement indicates that borderline cases are very common.
• "But the texts most central to a genre are those texts that were clearly written to exploit a particular protocol" (Lines 33-35). This statement indicates that the least likely texts to be borderline cases are written to exploit a particular [reading] protocol.

If the texts most central to a genre are written to exploit a protocol & if borderline cases (not most central to a genre) are very common, then it is highly likely that there exist borderline cases that were not written to exploit a particular genre.

Since we are looking for a statement with which the author would be "most likely to agree," we have sufficient evidence to suggest that the author would agree with the statement in answer choice (A).

This is an essential part of success on this question task: we must find something backed up by evidence in the passage with which the author would likely agree. This is a different task from when we are asked to make a logical inference. While we might argue that there is some remote possibility that every borderline case was in fact written to exploit a reading protocol, this statement both contradicts the preponderance of the evidence in the text and does not prevent us from concluding that the author would be likely to agree with the opposite statement, that there exist borderline cases that were not written to exploit a certain reading protocol.

Finally, we must compare this answer choice to the other four answer choices. We are looking for the "best" answer, the one better supported by the text than the other answers. Given that we have evidence supporting answer choice (A) and that we do not have evidence backing up the other answer choices, answer choice (A) meets the criteria for a credited response.

Great questions! I hope this helps!

[ashpine17]

What is wrong with B? If a more fruitful way to classify literature genres was the way readers interact with the text, why isn't it reasonable to infer that reader expectations will have an impact on the way it is classified?

[Albertlyu]

What is wrong with B? If a more fruitful way to classify literature genres was the way readers interact with the text, why isn't it reasonable to infer that reader expectations will have an impact on the way it is classified?

Answer choice B said the readers' expectations are "not essential" to its genre classification.

[Tajadas]

I don't really understand why A is correct. The author brings up the possibility of "borderline cases" as something that happens when trying to define genres according to theme. There is nothing in the text that indicates borderline cases can also crop up when using the reading protocol method to define genres. What is it in the text that makes it reasonable to assume the reading protocol method can also create borderline cases? Just because only some works are central to the genre does not mean the reading protocol method has a classification for books that are far from central, or even that books can fall far from central at all.

[ToadKing]

Hi, I'm not really sure why (B) is incorrect. I chose it because passage B states:

"We are free to read any text by any reading protocol we wish. But the texts most central to a genre are those texts that were clearly written to exploit a particular protocol—texts that yield a particularly rich reading experience when read according to one protocol rather than another."

To me, this means that the genre is predetermined by the author, who weaves together a narrative that fits a particular reading protocol that they have in mind. Hence, a readers' expectation regarding a particular fictional work is not essential to the genre classification, especially considering that they are free to read any text through any reading protocol they see fit. In my mind, if this were not true, then one reader could claim that a book fits into a science fiction genre and another person could say that it was a fantasy genre, which would be a less than ideal system.

[appletree]

Hello, i understand why A is correct, but am still confused on why B is wrong.
The text says that is it better to distinguish genres based on reading protocols. But isn't protocol created by the author?
Maybe the third paragraph offers some support to eliminate B since it talks about how we focus on different things based on the genre, but there isn't anything that seems to indicate expectations.
Also, isn't this paragraph more about what we should do with the more fruitful method of genre classification? Not what contributes to genre classification?
So how could we infer that expectations are essential?
Thank you!