Hi everyone,
Took 15 minutes including 4:20 minutes to read, write down paragraphs summaries and main point and got 5/6 correct.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------P1paragraph 1 talks about a recent attempt to collocate a writer Sarah J into a category of writers, the domestic writers, who belong to the previous generation.
However the author does not agree and many differences are presented: presence VS absence of children - presence Vs absence of the religious element
P2paragraph 2 explains that the differences are not related to the preferences of the author but rather to historical transformations. Then we are given more information about the domestic novels and how those novels incorporated different purposes and conceptions. Finally a key difference is stated: while the domestic novels have a purpose and intend to aid someone, Sarah J's novels did not have these features and were considered autonomous.
P3The author concludes with presenting a fundamental difference: while the works of novelists of the previous generation had a purpose, the works of Sarah J belonged to a movement that saw literature works as art and as means to themselves. The author also adds that this difference should have more weight than anything else when evaluating whether SJ belonged to the same movement as the previous generation of novelists or not.
MPThe main point is to prove that Sarah J did not belong to the previous movement of novelists by providing evidence.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1. The passage most helps to answer which one of the following questions?
Pre-thinking:
Detail question.
We need to evaluate each single answer choice(A) Did any men write domestic novels in the 1850s?
Not mentioned. Hence incorrect(B) Were any widely read domestic novels written after the 1860s?
Not mentioned. Hence incorrect(C) How did migration to urban areas affect the development of domestic fiction in the 1850s?
This seems tricky because the topic is mentioned. However there is no specific answer to this question. The information is used to support the fact that the differences in sarah's works were not personal preferences but came from historical events such as the migration. Hence incorrect(D) What is an effect that Jewett’s conception of literary art had on her fiction?
Mentioned i the last paragraph: "Thus, unlike the domestic novelists, Jewett intended her works not as a means to an end but as an end in themselves." Hence correct(E) With what region of the United States were at least some of Jewett’s writings concerned?
Not mentioned. Hence incorrect------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------2. It can be inferred from the passage that the author would be most likely to view the “recent criticism” mentioned in (Highlighted text)
Pre-thinking:Inference Question
This inference can be based on the entire passage and we nee to understand what is the author's idea. The author thinks that the recent criticism has some value because there are elements of similarity but it is wrong for all the reasons mentioned throughout the passage.(A) advocating a position that is
essentially correct even though some powerful arguments can be made against it
Wrong because of essentially correct. Hence incorrect(B) making a true claim about Jewett, but for the wrong reasons
Not in line with pre-thinking. Hence incorrect(C) making a claim that is based on some reasonable evidence and is initially plausible but ultimately mistaken
In line with pre-thinking. Hence correct(D) questionable, because it relies on a currently dominant literary aesthetic that takes too narrow a view of the proper goals of fiction
The recent criticism does not rely on the literary aesthetic. Hence incorrect(E) based on speculation for which there is no reasonable support, and therefore worthy of dismissal
Speculation is never mentioned. Hence incorrect------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------3. In saying that domestic fiction was based on a conception of fiction as part of a “continuum” mentioned in (Highlighted text), the author most likely means which one of the following?
Pre-thinking:Purpose question
To answer this question we need to refer to P2 and especially to this portion of the paragraph: "It was not uncommon for the same multipurpose book to be indistinguishably a novel, a child-rearing manual, and a tract on Christian duty. "
The purpose is to stress the fact that many genres convey in the same category.Note that this answer is full of traps since considering the meaning of continuum makes almost all the answer choices plausible.
(A) Domestic fiction was part of an ongoing tradition stretching back into the past.
Not mentioned. Hence correct(B) Fiction was not treated as clearly distinct from other categories of writing.
In line with pre-thinking. Hence correct(C) Domestic fiction was often published in serial form.
Not mentioned. Hence correct(D) Fiction is constantly evolving.
Not mentioned. Hence correct(E) Domestic fiction promoted the cohesiveness and hence the continuity of society
Not mentioned. Hence correct------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------4. Which one of the following most accurately states the primary function of the passage?
Pre-thinking:
Main point question
Refer to the main point above(A) It proposes and defends a radical redefinition of several historical categories of literary style.
Out of some. Hence incorrect(B) It proposes an evaluation of a particular style of writing, of which one writer’s work is cited as a paradigmatic case.
No style of writing is evaluated. Hence incorrect(C) It argues for a reappraisal of a set of long-held assumptions about the historical connections among a group of writers.
The passage talks about a specific case while this choice talks about a general topic. Hence incorrect(D) It weighs the merits of two opposing conceptions of the nature of fiction.
No opposing conceptions mentioned. Hence incorrect(E) It rejects a way of classifying a particular writer’s work and defends an alternative view.
In line with pre-thinking. Hence correct------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------5. Which one of the following most accurately represents the structure of the second paragraph?
Pre-thinking:Structure question
part1: differences are linked with historical transformations
part2: domestic novelists are characterized by a continuum
part3: absence of didactic aims from Sarah J's works(A) The author considers and rejects a number of possible explanations for a phenomenon, concluding that any attempt at explanation does violence to the unity of the phenomenon.
Not in line with pre-thinking. Hence incorrect(B) The author shows that two explanatory hypotheses are incompatible with each other and gives reasons for preferring one of them.
Not in line with pre-thinking. Hence incorrect(C) The author describes several explanatory hypotheses and argues that they are not really distinct from one another.
Not in line with pre-thinking. Hence incorrect(D) The author proposes two versions of a classificatory hypothesis, indicates the need for some such hypothesis, and then sets out a counterargument in preparation for rejecting that counterargument in the following paragraph.
No counterargument is presented in the next paragraph. Hence incorrect(E) The author mentions a number of explanatory hypotheses, gives a mildly favorable comment on them, and then advocates and elaborates another explanation that the author considers to be more fundamental.
(The author mentions a number of explanatory hypotheses, gives a mildly favorable comment on them,)=part1,part2 of pre-thinking
(and then advocates and elaborates another explanation that the author considers to be more fundamental.)=part 3 of pre-thinking
Correct ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------6. The differing conceptions of fiction held by Jewett and the domestic novelists can most reasonably be taken as providing an answer to which one of the following questions?
Pre-thinking:
Detail question
Let's read the answer choices(A) Why was Jewett unwilling to feature children and religious themes as prominently in her works as the domestic novelists featured them in theirs?
willingness or unwillingness are never discussed. Hence incorrect(B) Why did both Jewett and the domestic novelists focus primarily on rural as opposed to urban concerns?
This is not answered by the passage. Hence incorrect(C) Why was Jewett not constrained to feature children and religion as prominently in her works as domestic novelists were?
Answered in P2 and P3. While domestic novelists were subject to give their works a purpose, Sarah was free because she had another conception about art. Hence correct(D) Why did both Jewett and the domestic novelists focus predominantly on women and their concerns?
not answered. hence incorrect(E) Why was Jewett unable to feature children or religion as prominently in her works as the domestic novelists featured them in theirs?
not answered. hence incorrect------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------It is a good day to be alive, cheers!