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- Sat Jun 24, 2017 11:54 am
#36334
Complete Question Explanation
(See the complete passage discussion here: lsat/viewtopic.php?t=14461)
The correct answer choice is (E)
Global Reference Purpose questions ask you to describe why the author wrote the passage, and
the correct answer is often an abstract version of the main point. Think of it this way—a Main
Point question is primarily concerned with a summary of what the author said; a Global Reference
Purpose question wants to know why the author said it. A good prephrase is always important when
answering such questions.
Answer choice (A): While the author proposes and defends a redefinition of Jewett’s work, there
is no reason to suspect that this redefinition would extend to entire categories of literary style. The
author does not seek to redefine domestic fiction or the high-cultural aesthetic of the late 19th century.
Answer choice (B): Jewett may indeed be an example of the high-cultural aesthetic; however,
the purpose of the passage is not merely to evaluate a new style of writing and give an example.
Recall that the description of the high-cultural aesthetic in the third paragraph serves to support the
argument regarding Jewett’s work, not the other way around.
Answer choice (C): This answer choice may seem attractive, since the author does question the
assumptions connecting Jewett to the domestic novelists of the 1850s. However, the primary function
of the passage is not merely to question these assumptions, but to defend an alternative view that
reclassifies Jewett’s work.
Answer choice (D): Even though the author juxtaposes two different conceptions of the nature of
fiction, her purpose is not to weigh their merits but rather to argue that a particular writer embodies a
certain conception of fiction.
Answer choice (E): This is the correct answer choice. The primary purpose of the passage is to
reject classifying Jewett’s work as a domestic novel, and defend an alternative view arguing that it
belongs to the high-cultural aesthetic of the late 19th and 20th centuries.
(See the complete passage discussion here: lsat/viewtopic.php?t=14461)
The correct answer choice is (E)
Global Reference Purpose questions ask you to describe why the author wrote the passage, and
the correct answer is often an abstract version of the main point. Think of it this way—a Main
Point question is primarily concerned with a summary of what the author said; a Global Reference
Purpose question wants to know why the author said it. A good prephrase is always important when
answering such questions.
Answer choice (A): While the author proposes and defends a redefinition of Jewett’s work, there
is no reason to suspect that this redefinition would extend to entire categories of literary style. The
author does not seek to redefine domestic fiction or the high-cultural aesthetic of the late 19th century.
Answer choice (B): Jewett may indeed be an example of the high-cultural aesthetic; however,
the purpose of the passage is not merely to evaluate a new style of writing and give an example.
Recall that the description of the high-cultural aesthetic in the third paragraph serves to support the
argument regarding Jewett’s work, not the other way around.
Answer choice (C): This answer choice may seem attractive, since the author does question the
assumptions connecting Jewett to the domestic novelists of the 1850s. However, the primary function
of the passage is not merely to question these assumptions, but to defend an alternative view that
reclassifies Jewett’s work.
Answer choice (D): Even though the author juxtaposes two different conceptions of the nature of
fiction, her purpose is not to weigh their merits but rather to argue that a particular writer embodies a
certain conception of fiction.
Answer choice (E): This is the correct answer choice. The primary purpose of the passage is to
reject classifying Jewett’s work as a domestic novel, and defend an alternative view arguing that it
belongs to the high-cultural aesthetic of the late 19th and 20th centuries.