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Question 1
D
Be sure to select an answer first to save it in the Error Log before revealing the correct answer (OA)!
Difficulty:
85%
(hard)
Question Stats:
44% (03:18) correct
56%
(03:24) wrong
based on 747
sessions
History
Date
Time
Result
Not Attempted Yet
Question 2
E
Be sure to select an answer first to save it in the Error Log before revealing the correct answer (OA)!
Difficulty:
25%
(medium)
Question Stats:
66% (01:08) correct 34%
(01:12) wrong
based on 998
sessions
History
Date
Time
Result
Not Attempted Yet
Question 3
B
Be sure to select an answer first to save it in the Error Log before revealing the correct answer (OA)!
Difficulty:
55%
(hard)
Question Stats:
59% (01:45) correct 41%
(01:56) wrong
based on 963
sessions
History
Date
Time
Result
Not Attempted Yet
Question 4
D
Be sure to select an answer first to save it in the Error Log before revealing the correct answer (OA)!
Difficulty:
15%
(low)
Question Stats:
82% (01:17) correct 18%
(01:37) wrong
based on 921
sessions
History
Date
Time
Result
Not Attempted Yet
Question 5
A
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Difficulty:
75%
(hard)
Question Stats:
33% (00:56) correct 67%
(01:05) wrong
based on 887
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History
Date
Time
Result
Not Attempted Yet
Question 6
C
Be sure to select an answer first to save it in the Error Log before revealing the correct answer (OA)!
Difficulty:
5%
(low)
Question Stats:
79% (00:44) correct 21%
(01:00) wrong
based on 853
sessions
History
Date
Time
Result
Not Attempted Yet
Question 7
B
Be sure to select an answer first to save it in the Error Log before revealing the correct answer (OA)!
Difficulty:
65%
(hard)
Question Stats:
51% (01:27) correct 49%
(01:34) wrong
based on 849
sessions
History
Date
Time
Result
Not Attempted Yet
Any study of autobiographical narratives that appeared under the ostensible authorship of African American writers between 1760 and 1865 inevitably raises concerns about authenticity and interpretation. Should an autobiography whose written composition was literally out of the hands of its narrator be considered as the literary equivalent of those autobiographies that were authored independently by their subjects?
In many cases, the so-called edited narrative of an ex-slave ought to be treated as a ghostwritten account insofar as literary analysis is concerned, especially when it was composed by its editor from “a statement of facts” provided by an African American subject. Blassingame has taken pains to show that the editors of several of the more famous antebellum slave narratives were “noted for their integrity” and thus were unlikely to distort the facts given them by slave narrators. From a literary standpoint, however, it is not the moral integrity of these editors that is at issue but the linguistic, structural, and tonal integrity of the narratives they produced. Even if an editor faithfully reproduced the facts of a narrator’s life, it was still the editor who decided what to make of these facts, how they should be emphasized, in what order they ought to be presented, and what was extraneous or germane. Readers of African American autobiography then and now have too readily accepted the presumption of these eighteenth- and nineteenth-century editors that experiential facts recounted orally could be recorded and sorted by an amanuensis-editor, taken out of their original contexts, and then published with editorial prefaces, footnotes, and appended commentary, all without compromising the validity of the narrative as a product of an African American consciousness.
Transcribed narratives in which an editor explicitly delimits his or her role undoubtedly may be regarded as more authentic and reflective of the narrator’s thought in action than those edited works that flesh out a statement of facts in ways unaccounted for. Still, it would be naive to accord dictated oral narratives the same status as autobiographies composed and written by the subjects of the stories themselves. This point is illustrated by an analysis of Works Progress Administration interviews with ex-slaves in the 1930s that suggests that narrators often told interviewers what they seemed to want to hear. If it seemed impolitic for former slaves to tell all they knew and thought about the past to interviewers in the 1930s, the same could be said of escaped slaves on the run in the antebellum era. Dictated narratives, therefore, are literary texts whose authenticity is difficult to determine. Analysts should reserve close analytic readings for independently authored texts. Discussion of collaborative texts should take into account the conditions that governed their production.
In many cases, the so-called edited narrative of an ex-slave ought to be treated as a ghostwritten account insofar as literary analysis is concerned, especially when it was composed by its editor from “a statement of facts” provided by an African American subject. Blassingame has taken pains to show that the editors of several of the more famous antebellum slave narratives were “noted for their integrity” and thus were unlikely to distort the facts given them by slave narrators. From a literary standpoint, however, it is not the moral integrity of these editors that is at issue but the linguistic, structural, and tonal integrity of the narratives they produced. Even if an editor faithfully reproduced the facts of a narrator’s life, it was still the editor who decided what to make of these facts, how they should be emphasized, in what order they ought to be presented, and what was extraneous or germane. Readers of African American autobiography then and now have too readily accepted the presumption of these eighteenth- and nineteenth-century editors that experiential facts recounted orally could be recorded and sorted by an amanuensis-editor, taken out of their original contexts, and then published with editorial prefaces, footnotes, and appended commentary, all without compromising the validity of the narrative as a product of an African American consciousness.
Transcribed narratives in which an editor explicitly delimits his or her role undoubtedly may be regarded as more authentic and reflective of the narrator’s thought in action than those edited works that flesh out a statement of facts in ways unaccounted for. Still, it would be naive to accord dictated oral narratives the same status as autobiographies composed and written by the subjects of the stories themselves. This point is illustrated by an analysis of Works Progress Administration interviews with ex-slaves in the 1930s that suggests that narrators often told interviewers what they seemed to want to hear. If it seemed impolitic for former slaves to tell all they knew and thought about the past to interviewers in the 1930s, the same could be said of escaped slaves on the run in the antebellum era. Dictated narratives, therefore, are literary texts whose authenticity is difficult to determine. Analysts should reserve close analytic readings for independently authored texts. Discussion of collaborative texts should take into account the conditions that governed their production.
1. Which one of the following best summarizes the main point of the passage?
(A) The personal integrity of an autobiography’s editor has little relevance to its value as a literary work.
(B) Autobiographies dictated to editors are less valuable as literature than are autobiographies authored by their subjects.
(C) The facts that are recorded in an autobiography are less important than the personal impressions of its author.
(D) The circumstances under which an autobiography was written should affect the way it is interpreted as literature.
(E) The autobiographies of African Americans written between 1760 and 1865 deserve more careful study than they have so far received.
(A) The personal integrity of an autobiography’s editor has little relevance to its value as a literary work.
(B) Autobiographies dictated to editors are less valuable as literature than are autobiographies authored by their subjects.
(C) The facts that are recorded in an autobiography are less important than the personal impressions of its author.
(D) The circumstances under which an autobiography was written should affect the way it is interpreted as literature.
(E) The autobiographies of African Americans written between 1760 and 1865 deserve more careful study than they have so far received.
2. The information in the passage suggests that the role of the “editor” (Highlighted) is most like that of
(A) an artist who wishes to invent a unique method of conveying the emotional impact of a scene in a painting
(B) a worker who must interpret the instructions of an employer
(C) a critic who must provide evidence to support opinions about a play being reviewed
(D) an architect who must make the best use of a natural setting in designing a public building
(E) a historian who must decide how to direct the reenactment of a historical event
(A) an artist who wishes to invent a unique method of conveying the emotional impact of a scene in a painting
(B) a worker who must interpret the instructions of an employer
(C) a critic who must provide evidence to support opinions about a play being reviewed
(D) an architect who must make the best use of a natural setting in designing a public building
(E) a historian who must decide how to direct the reenactment of a historical event
3. Which one of the following best describes the author’s opinion about applying literary analysis to edited autobiographies?
(A) The author is adamantly opposed to the application of literary analysis to edited autobiographies.
(B) The author is skeptical of the value of close analytical reading in the case of edited autobiographies.
(C) The author believes that literary analysis of the prefaces, footnotes, and commentaries that accompany edited autobiographies would be more useful than an analysis of the text of the autobiographies.
(D) The author believes that an exclusively literary analysis of edited autobiographies is more valuable than a reading that emphasizes their historical import.
(E) The author believes that the literary analysis of edited autobiographies would enhance their linguistic, structural, and tonal integrity.
(A) The author is adamantly opposed to the application of literary analysis to edited autobiographies.
(B) The author is skeptical of the value of close analytical reading in the case of edited autobiographies.
(C) The author believes that literary analysis of the prefaces, footnotes, and commentaries that accompany edited autobiographies would be more useful than an analysis of the text of the autobiographies.
(D) The author believes that an exclusively literary analysis of edited autobiographies is more valuable than a reading that emphasizes their historical import.
(E) The author believes that the literary analysis of edited autobiographies would enhance their linguistic, structural, and tonal integrity.
4. The passage supports which one of the following statements about the readers of autobiographies of African Americans that were published between 1760 and 1865?
(A) They were more concerned with the personal details in the autobiographies than with their historical significance.
(B) They were unable to distinguish between ghostwritten and edited autobiographies.
(C) They were less naive about the facts of slave life than are readers today.
(D) They presumed that the editing of the autobiographies did not affect their authenticity.
(E) They had little interest in the moral integrity of the editors of the autobiographies.
(A) They were more concerned with the personal details in the autobiographies than with their historical significance.
(B) They were unable to distinguish between ghostwritten and edited autobiographies.
(C) They were less naive about the facts of slave life than are readers today.
(D) They presumed that the editing of the autobiographies did not affect their authenticity.
(E) They had little interest in the moral integrity of the editors of the autobiographies.
5. Which one of the following words, as it is used in the passage, best serves to underscore the author’s concerns about the authenticity of the autobiographies discussed?
(A) “ostensible” (line 2)
(B) “integrity” (line 14)
(C) “extraneous” (line 21)
(D) “delimits” (line 30)
(E) “impolitic” (line 39)
(A) “ostensible” (line 2)
(B) “integrity” (line 14)
(C) “extraneous” (line 21)
(D) “delimits” (line 30)
(E) “impolitic” (line 39)
6. According to the passage, close analytic reading of an autobiography is appropriate only when the
(A) autobiography has been dictated to an experienced amanuensis-editor
(B) autobiography attempts to reflect the narrator’s thought in action
(C) autobiography was authored independently by its subject
(D) moral integrity of the autobiography’s editor is well established
(E) editor of the autobiography collaborated closely with its subject in its editing
(A) autobiography has been dictated to an experienced amanuensis-editor
(B) autobiography attempts to reflect the narrator’s thought in action
(C) autobiography was authored independently by its subject
(D) moral integrity of the autobiography’s editor is well established
(E) editor of the autobiography collaborated closely with its subject in its editing
7. It can be inferred that the discussion in the passage of Blassingame’s work primarily serves which one of the following purposes?
(A) It adds an authority’s endorsement to the author’s view that edited narratives ought to be treated as ghostwritten accounts.
(B) It provides an example of a mistaken emphasis in the study of autobiography.
(C) It presents an account of a new method of literary analysis to be applied to autobiography.
(D) It illustrates the inadequacy of traditional approaches to the analysis of autobiography.
(E) It emphasizes the importance of the relationship between editor and narrator.
(A) It adds an authority’s endorsement to the author’s view that edited narratives ought to be treated as ghostwritten accounts.
(B) It provides an example of a mistaken emphasis in the study of autobiography.
(C) It presents an account of a new method of literary analysis to be applied to autobiography.
(D) It illustrates the inadequacy of traditional approaches to the analysis of autobiography.
(E) It emphasizes the importance of the relationship between editor and narrator.
Updated on: 12 Apr 2026, 00:44
Originally posted by Sajjad1994 on 18 Apr 2019, 09:09.
Last edited by Bunuel on 12 Apr 2026, 00:44, edited 1 time in total.
Last edited by Bunuel on 12 Apr 2026, 00:44, edited 1 time in total.
Kudos
Bookmarks
Explanation
1. Which one of the following best summarizes the main point of the passage?
Explanation
First up is a Global question looking for the author’s main point. Well, as we just got through saying, the big idea is that autobiographies put together by editors are fundamentally different from those untouched by any but the subject’s hand. In a literary sense, the latter is an authentic representation of the African American experience; the former is not. All of this leads straight to choice (D). The phrase “circumstances under which’’ etc. adequately covers the ground covered by the passage, and nicely mirrors the wording of the last sentence of the passage.
(A) According to lines in para 2 (A)’s a true statement: In the author’s view, the integrity of editors has no bearing on the literary value of edited autobiographies. But this is nothing more than a mere detail in the second para; it’s way too narrow in scope to be considered the passage’s main idea.
(B)’s true as well: The author thinks that edited autobiographies are less valuable as literature than are “dictated’’ ones. But dictated autobiographies are mentioned only in the third para. The passage revolves around the difference between edited and unedited autobiographies. Dictated autobiographies are just one type of edited autobiography.
(C), like choices (A) and (B), plays on a detail. The author never claims that personal impressions are more important than facts, but rather contends that personal impressions affect the way in which facts are set down. In any case, this certainly can’t be considered the passage’s main idea.
(E) The author does seem to believe that African American autobiographies need to be studied more carefully—that’s apparent throughout the passage, especially at the end of the second and third para. But this choice doesn’t mention the fundamental difference between edited and unedited autobiographies, the theme that’s at the heart of this passage.
• Just because something may be true or is strongly supported by the information in the passage doesn’t mean that it suffices as the passage’s main idea. Be selective! Go with the one that includes the most essential element of the passage.
Answer: D
Explanation
First up is a Global question looking for the author’s main point. Well, as we just got through saying, the big idea is that autobiographies put together by editors are fundamentally different from those untouched by any but the subject’s hand. In a literary sense, the latter is an authentic representation of the African American experience; the former is not. All of this leads straight to choice (D). The phrase “circumstances under which’’ etc. adequately covers the ground covered by the passage, and nicely mirrors the wording of the last sentence of the passage.
(A) According to lines in para 2 (A)’s a true statement: In the author’s view, the integrity of editors has no bearing on the literary value of edited autobiographies. But this is nothing more than a mere detail in the second para; it’s way too narrow in scope to be considered the passage’s main idea.
(B)’s true as well: The author thinks that edited autobiographies are less valuable as literature than are “dictated’’ ones. But dictated autobiographies are mentioned only in the third para. The passage revolves around the difference between edited and unedited autobiographies. Dictated autobiographies are just one type of edited autobiography.
(C), like choices (A) and (B), plays on a detail. The author never claims that personal impressions are more important than facts, but rather contends that personal impressions affect the way in which facts are set down. In any case, this certainly can’t be considered the passage’s main idea.
(E) The author does seem to believe that African American autobiographies need to be studied more carefully—that’s apparent throughout the passage, especially at the end of the second and third para. But this choice doesn’t mention the fundamental difference between edited and unedited autobiographies, the theme that’s at the heart of this passage.
• Just because something may be true or is strongly supported by the information in the passage doesn’t mean that it suffices as the passage’s main idea. Be selective! Go with the one that includes the most essential element of the passage.
Answer: D
5. Which one of the following words, as it is used in the passage, best serves to underscore the author’s concerns about the authenticity of the autobiographies discussed?
Explanation
The stem’s a bit on the long side, but essentially we’re after the word that reveals the author’s skepticism about the authenticity of edited autobiographies. That’s really what the question’s asking, right? Choice (A)’s “ostensible” fits the bill. As it’s used in the passage, ostensible means “supposed” or “presumed.” Using the word “ostensible” to describe the authorship of the narratives is the author’s way of saying right off the bat that he’s doubtful of the authenticity of some of these works. Any study of these autobiographies supposedly (“ostensibly”) written by the subjects themselves would, according to the author, raise concerns about authenticity.
If you didn’t see this, you might still have gotten the correct answer through process of elimination. None of the other words refers to the author’s feelings about edited autobiographies. In fact, each refers to ideas and issues discussed considerably later. “Integrity,” choice (B), and “delimits,” choice (D), relate to the editors of autobiographies, rather than to the author’s attitude toward the works themselves. Similarly, “extraneous,” choice (C), relates to the facts that appear in edited autobiographies, while “impolitic,” choice (E), relates to people being interviewed in the 1930s.
• If you have trouble with a wordy or complicated question stem, you may wish to consider postponing the question for later. Remember, you need not work through every question to get a top score. Just remember to fill in a guess for any question you don’t get to.
Answer: A
Explanation
The stem’s a bit on the long side, but essentially we’re after the word that reveals the author’s skepticism about the authenticity of edited autobiographies. That’s really what the question’s asking, right? Choice (A)’s “ostensible” fits the bill. As it’s used in the passage, ostensible means “supposed” or “presumed.” Using the word “ostensible” to describe the authorship of the narratives is the author’s way of saying right off the bat that he’s doubtful of the authenticity of some of these works. Any study of these autobiographies supposedly (“ostensibly”) written by the subjects themselves would, according to the author, raise concerns about authenticity.
If you didn’t see this, you might still have gotten the correct answer through process of elimination. None of the other words refers to the author’s feelings about edited autobiographies. In fact, each refers to ideas and issues discussed considerably later. “Integrity,” choice (B), and “delimits,” choice (D), relate to the editors of autobiographies, rather than to the author’s attitude toward the works themselves. Similarly, “extraneous,” choice (C), relates to the facts that appear in edited autobiographies, while “impolitic,” choice (E), relates to people being interviewed in the 1930s.
• If you have trouble with a wordy or complicated question stem, you may wish to consider postponing the question for later. Remember, you need not work through every question to get a top score. Just remember to fill in a guess for any question you don’t get to.
Answer: A
7. It can be inferred that the discussion in the passage of Blassingame’s work primarily serves which one of the following purposes?
Explanation
Why bring up Blassingame?—asks the final question of the set. To determine this, it’s important to grasp the context in which he’s discussed. The name isn’t too hard to find; Blassingame is cited by the author in the beginning of para 2 as someone who believes that editors were honest, and therefore would not have played fast and loose with the facts. Directly after this point is made, the author goes on to say that personal integrity is not the issue (note the “however” in passage); what is at issue, according to the author, is the “linguistic, structural, and tonal integrity” of autobiographies produced by editors. In other words, Blassingame is introduced as an example of a scholar with a misplaced emphasis when it comes to the study of African American autobiography. And that’s choice (B).
(A) is out because Blassingame’s point of view contradicts, rather than supports, the author’s point of view.
(C) Blassingame’s method of studying autobiographies is in line with the one that has traditionally been used by scholars. If anyone has a new idea about how to look at autobiographies, it’s our author.
(D)’s a bit tricky if you don’t keep context in mind. Remember, what the author really objects to is Blassingame’s assessment of the editor’s role, not his adherence to the traditional approach to literary analysis of African American autobiography.
(E) distorts information in the passage: The author doesn’t think the editor-narrator relationship is important; if anything, he or she thinks that it causes problems. In any case, this isn’t the reason why Blassingame appears in the text.
• Logic questions test whether you’re up on what the author’s up to, such as why he includes a word, an example, a paragraph, and so on. Keywords help the author to tell his story in a coherent manner, and by extension help us to keep tabs on the author. The contrast Keyword “however” is the key to this question.
Answer: B
Explanation
Why bring up Blassingame?—asks the final question of the set. To determine this, it’s important to grasp the context in which he’s discussed. The name isn’t too hard to find; Blassingame is cited by the author in the beginning of para 2 as someone who believes that editors were honest, and therefore would not have played fast and loose with the facts. Directly after this point is made, the author goes on to say that personal integrity is not the issue (note the “however” in passage); what is at issue, according to the author, is the “linguistic, structural, and tonal integrity” of autobiographies produced by editors. In other words, Blassingame is introduced as an example of a scholar with a misplaced emphasis when it comes to the study of African American autobiography. And that’s choice (B).
(A) is out because Blassingame’s point of view contradicts, rather than supports, the author’s point of view.
(C) Blassingame’s method of studying autobiographies is in line with the one that has traditionally been used by scholars. If anyone has a new idea about how to look at autobiographies, it’s our author.
(D)’s a bit tricky if you don’t keep context in mind. Remember, what the author really objects to is Blassingame’s assessment of the editor’s role, not his adherence to the traditional approach to literary analysis of African American autobiography.
(E) distorts information in the passage: The author doesn’t think the editor-narrator relationship is important; if anything, he or she thinks that it causes problems. In any case, this isn’t the reason why Blassingame appears in the text.
• Logic questions test whether you’re up on what the author’s up to, such as why he includes a word, an example, a paragraph, and so on. Keywords help the author to tell his story in a coherent manner, and by extension help us to keep tabs on the author. The contrast Keyword “however” is the key to this question.
Answer: B
I hope it helps
General Discussion
Updated on: 12 Apr 2026, 00:45
Originally posted by Sajjad1994 on 03 Jul 2019, 11:23.
Last edited by Bunuel on 12 Apr 2026, 00:45, edited 1 time in total.
Last edited by Bunuel on 12 Apr 2026, 00:45, edited 1 time in total.
Kudos
Bookmarks
Explanation
2. The information in the passage suggests that the role of the “editor” (Highlighted) is most like that of
Explanation
This one is an Application question. We’re asked to apply what we know of editors from the passage to an external situation, specifically looking for the one that exhibits the same type of role as editors as that role is portrayed in the passage. So begin by asking yourself what part editors played in molding collaborative autobiographies. According to lines 18-21, editors took the facts provided by the subject of the autobiography and presented those facts in the way they thought was most appropriate. Looking over the answer choices, this role is closest to that of historians whose job it is to reenact historical events. Like editors, these historians would take a bunch of facts and present them in the way they felt was proper. (E) gets the point.
The roles in the other choices don’t involve the interpretation of historical facts. This is most obviously true of the artist in choice (A) and the architect in choice (D). The worker in choice (B) interprets instructions, not facts. And the critic in choice (C) deals with the strengths and weaknesses of a work of art, not with facts.
• In Application questions, look to paraphrase the relevant passage example in general terms that can be compared to the examples in the choices. If we boil down the editor’s role to choosing the way to present facts, then it’s easier to see how (E) is the only scenario that fits.
Answer: E
Explanation
This one is an Application question. We’re asked to apply what we know of editors from the passage to an external situation, specifically looking for the one that exhibits the same type of role as editors as that role is portrayed in the passage. So begin by asking yourself what part editors played in molding collaborative autobiographies. According to lines 18-21, editors took the facts provided by the subject of the autobiography and presented those facts in the way they thought was most appropriate. Looking over the answer choices, this role is closest to that of historians whose job it is to reenact historical events. Like editors, these historians would take a bunch of facts and present them in the way they felt was proper. (E) gets the point.
The roles in the other choices don’t involve the interpretation of historical facts. This is most obviously true of the artist in choice (A) and the architect in choice (D). The worker in choice (B) interprets instructions, not facts. And the critic in choice (C) deals with the strengths and weaknesses of a work of art, not with facts.
• In Application questions, look to paraphrase the relevant passage example in general terms that can be compared to the examples in the choices. If we boil down the editor’s role to choosing the way to present facts, then it’s easier to see how (E) is the only scenario that fits.
Answer: E
3. Which one of the following best describes the author’s opinion about applying literary analysis to edited autobiographies?
Explanation
What does the author think about applying literary analysis to edited autobiographies? Well, we already know the author’s opinion of such works: They’re inauthentic because they can distort the subject’s life experiences and feelings. This attitude strongly suggests that the author has doubts about “close analytic readings’’ of these texts, right? What’s the point of closely analyzing a work that’s inauthentic? Indeed, in the penultimate sentence of the last para, the author explicitly states that “analysts should reserve close analytic readings for independently authored (i.e., unedited) texts.’’ (B) is the one that expresses this attitude.
(A)’s too strong. In the last sentence of the passage, the author says that literary analysis of edited autobiographies must come to grips with “the conditions that governed their production.’’ In other words, the author’s not “adamantly opposed’’ to all literary analysis of edited works; he or she just thinks that one particular type of literary analysis, the close analytic reading of texts, is inappropriate for edited works.
(C) and (E) twist details in para 2: Nowhere does the author advocate analyzing prefaces, footnotes, and commentaries (C); if anything, the author feels these have served as red herrings, masking the inauthenticity of edited texts. As for (E), linguistic, structural, and tonal integrity are contrasted in the passage to the moral integrity of editors. Nowhere does the author state or imply that analysis enhances these.
(D) raises an issue that the author never addresses—the historical reading of such narratives.
• Learn to recognize classic wrong answer types so that you can eliminate such choices quickly. Here we have a good mix: extreme (A); distortion (C) and (E); and outside the scope (D).
Answer: B
Explanation
What does the author think about applying literary analysis to edited autobiographies? Well, we already know the author’s opinion of such works: They’re inauthentic because they can distort the subject’s life experiences and feelings. This attitude strongly suggests that the author has doubts about “close analytic readings’’ of these texts, right? What’s the point of closely analyzing a work that’s inauthentic? Indeed, in the penultimate sentence of the last para, the author explicitly states that “analysts should reserve close analytic readings for independently authored (i.e., unedited) texts.’’ (B) is the one that expresses this attitude.
(A)’s too strong. In the last sentence of the passage, the author says that literary analysis of edited autobiographies must come to grips with “the conditions that governed their production.’’ In other words, the author’s not “adamantly opposed’’ to all literary analysis of edited works; he or she just thinks that one particular type of literary analysis, the close analytic reading of texts, is inappropriate for edited works.
(C) and (E) twist details in para 2: Nowhere does the author advocate analyzing prefaces, footnotes, and commentaries (C); if anything, the author feels these have served as red herrings, masking the inauthenticity of edited texts. As for (E), linguistic, structural, and tonal integrity are contrasted in the passage to the moral integrity of editors. Nowhere does the author state or imply that analysis enhances these.
(D) raises an issue that the author never addresses—the historical reading of such narratives.
• Learn to recognize classic wrong answer types so that you can eliminate such choices quickly. Here we have a good mix: extreme (A); distortion (C) and (E); and outside the scope (D).
Answer: B
4. The passage supports which one of the following statements about the readers of autobiographies of African Americans that were published between 1760 and 1865?
Explanation
Next we’re asked about past readers of African American autobiographies. These readers are mentioned only once, in lines 21-29. There, we’re told that they, like the editors, believed that edited autobiographies were no less genuine a representation of the African American consciousness than unedited works. That makes choice (D) our answer.
(A), (C), and (E) We simply aren’t told what aspect of the autobiographies most interested earlier readers (A), whether they were more knowledgeable about the facts of slave life than contemporary readers (C), or whether they were interested in the moral integrity of the editors, (E). (A) and (C) present comparisons that are simply unwarranted; there’s no support for them at all. (E), on the other hand, tries to connect the moral integrity issue in some way to these earlier readers, but there’s no support for this connection anywhere. (B) makes no sense at all, since “ghostwritten’’ autobiographies, according to the first sentence of the second paragraph, are edited autobiographies.
Answer: D
Explanation
Next we’re asked about past readers of African American autobiographies. These readers are mentioned only once, in lines 21-29. There, we’re told that they, like the editors, believed that edited autobiographies were no less genuine a representation of the African American consciousness than unedited works. That makes choice (D) our answer.
(A), (C), and (E) We simply aren’t told what aspect of the autobiographies most interested earlier readers (A), whether they were more knowledgeable about the facts of slave life than contemporary readers (C), or whether they were interested in the moral integrity of the editors, (E). (A) and (C) present comparisons that are simply unwarranted; there’s no support for them at all. (E), on the other hand, tries to connect the moral integrity issue in some way to these earlier readers, but there’s no support for this connection anywhere. (B) makes no sense at all, since “ghostwritten’’ autobiographies, according to the first sentence of the second paragraph, are edited autobiographies.
Answer: D
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