PrepTest 101, Section 4, Question 4
Wherever the crime novels of P. D. James(445 more words not shown)
The passage supports which one(7 more words not shown)
- AThere are as(11 more words not shown)
- BDetective fiction has(7 more words not shown)
- CDetective fiction has(6 more words not shown)
- DThere is very(13 more words not shown)
- EWriters of detective(10 more words not shown)
Reading the passage
Which claim about detective fiction can we actually support? We have heard about the genre's expectations and James's relationship to them, but not a complete history of detective novels. Each answer needs to stay within what this discussion establishes; what sounds plausible about mysteries in general isn't enough.
Working the answers
- A
We never count conventions or writers. There is no basis for claiming that their numbers are equal.
- B
Some critics praise James's literary qualities. That doesn't establish extremely high literary quality across the detective genre.
- C
These critics pay attention to James, but we aren't told how much attention detective fiction receives overall. We cannot infer that the genre has largely been ignored.
- D
The critics disagree about James, not necessarily about what the genre's basic elements are. Their complaints rely on recognizable conventions she is said to be abandoning.
- ECorrect
The text refers to “time-honored conventions” and the “traditional neatness of detective fiction.” Those phrases support a history of writers following certain conventions. James's rebellion against them makes sense precisely because there is an established pattern to depart from.
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