PrepTest 103, Section 4, Question 6
James Porter (1905–1970) was the first scholar to(436 more words not shown)
Which one of the following(9 more words not shown)
- ABecause the connections(26 more words not shown)
- BIn addition to(26 more words not shown)
- CDespite the fact(22 more words not shown)
- DAlthough showing the(23 more words not shown)
- EWhile not the(26 more words not shown)
Reading the passage
We've already predicted the main point: James Porter pioneered the study of African influences on African American art. Locke had studied African American artists before him, but Porter established connections to their African heritage.
What we’re looking for
We're looking for that contribution. Details about one artist or Porter's unfinished project matter because they help explain his work; they shouldn't replace the central idea.
Working the answers
- A
The second half fits, but the first adds an unsupported explanation. We aren't told that earlier scholars had already established the links to other American art or that this caused Porter to focus on African connections.
- B
Porter did integrate African American art into the larger history of art in the Americas. But the writer doesn't call that his “most important achievement.” The distinctive contribution emphasized throughout is his investigation of African connections.
- C
Locke's two books came first. Porter wasn't the first to focus exclusively on African American artists' accomplishments; he was the first to examine the African connections described here.
- D
This shifts the primary focus to Western art in general. That broader inquiry appears as an unfinished project at the end, not as the central achievement of the work we're learning about.
- ECorrect
This captures our prediction while acknowledging Locke's earlier scholarship. His books hadn’t examined the crucial question of earlier African influences; Porter’s did (paragraph 2). He broke new ground within an existing field.
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