LR Drill Set 1, Question 2
Book reviewer: The author's aim is to show(59 more words not shown)
Which one of the following(8 more words not shown)
- Anot successful in(3 more words not shown)
- Binsufficiently aware of(5 more words not shown)
- Cunduly motivated by(5 more words not shown)
- Dlikely to change(7 more words not shown)
- Eunfair in his(6 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
Showing that people criticize an artist is only half the job. To show that the artist is underrated, you also need to show that the criticism sells the artist short. That second part is where this book seems to fail. The author collects negative assessments of Milio Vitola but does little to answer them. Could the pictures make the case instead? Perhaps a reader could look at the work and immediately see the skill the critics missed. But the reviewer says the reproductions reveal no artistic skill either. Neither the discussion nor the illustrations makes the case the author set out to make.
So I can finish the sentence before reading the choices: the author has not succeeded in showing that Vitola is underrated.
What we’re looking for
Notice what that prediction doesn't say. It doesn't say Vitola was actually a bad artist. A talented artist can have an unconvincing advocate. Maybe this book chose poor examples or simply failed to explain what makes the work good. We are completing a judgment about the book's success, not settling Vitola's talent for ourselves.
Working the answers
- ACorrect
The author's intention was to show that Vitola is underrated. The reviewer explains why the book fails to accomplish that: it presents criticism without adequately answering it, and its reproductions don't reveal the skill needed to make its case. “Not successful in fulfilling his intentions” captures that conclusion.
- B
Being aware of other people's work isn't the problem identified here. The author cites a wealth of other historians' negative assessments, so the book plainly engages with their views. The complaint is that the author doesn't do enough to show those assessments are wrong.
- C
We don't know why the author wrote the book. Wanting to create controversy might explain someone's choice of topic, but nothing here establishes that motive, much less says it is excessive. A failure to make a convincing case doesn't reveal what secretly motivated the writer.
- D
The reviewer gives us reasons to doubt that the book will persuade readers that Vitola is underrated. It doesn't follow that it is likely to change their minds. We also don't know what those readers believed beforehand. D predicts an audience response that the passage has not established.
- E
Failing to refute a view isn't the same as reporting it unfairly. The book could quote every critic accurately and still offer a weak reply. The reviewer criticizes the author's case for Vitola, not the fairness of the way the other historians' views are represented.
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