Passage - General Questions

[Administrator]

Passage Discussion

VIEWSTAMP Analysis:

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

[amus24]

I've just started doing RCs on a more consistent basis, so what took me by surprise with this one is how a lot of the answer choices were not out of left field. I usually narrow down my choices to two, but there wasn't a lot of elimination I was able to do here. I realized that I had to learn how to zero in on exactly what they're asking for. The first question is a great example. I chose A, and while it's true that scholars overlooking the nuanced concepts was mentioned, that wasn't the main focus of the passage.

[Jeff Wren]

Hi amus,

Yes, one of the ways that the test makers can increase the difficulty on RC passages is to include several tempting wrong answers to the questions. This is exactly why we recommend prephrasing, which is simply trying to come up with your own answer based on the passage prior to looking at the answer choices. A good prephrase will help you eliminate wrong answers more easily and usually make the right answer easier to spot. Of course, learning to prephrase is a skill that takes practice.

As for question 14 (the first question of the passage), here is a link to our discussion of this question.

viewtopic.php?f=940&t=36243

As you correctly pointed out, Answer A is a just detail in the passage, but not the main point. This is a common feature of many wrong answers for Main Point questions. This passage is about the differences in Native American and European forms of autobiographies (as described in Answer D), and Native American views on identity is just a part of that larger discussion.