PrepTest 104, Section 4, Question 23
Much of today's literature is inferior: most of(45 more words not shown)
Which one of the following(11 more words not shown)
- AMuch of today's(14 more words not shown)
- BMuch of today's(8 more words not shown)
- CHypatia's latest novel(8 more words not shown)
- DHypatia's latest novel(9 more words not shown)
- EHypatia's latest novel(16 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
Is mediocre literature a new problem? My first reaction is to wonder whether older books look better because we mainly remember the ones worth keeping. Today's weaker work is still right in front of us.
But the passage doesn't ask us to settle that historical comparison. It gives a broad criticism of current writing, then says Hypatia's newest novel is promising. Keep the comparison straight: its maturity, complexity, and grace exceed those of her earlier work.
Better than before doesn't automatically mean good. A writer can improve and still have room to improve further.
What we’re looking for
For the question asking what is most strongly supported, my initial expectation is a limited claim about improvement over her earlier books. I don't have a more precise prediction yet. We'll need to check what the passage actually connects, without turning “promising” into an award for literary excellence.
Working the answers
- A
We aren't told how much Hypatia's novel focuses on significant matters. The passage names that focus as a feature of good literature, but praises her latest book for different stated qualities. We can't assume that an encouraging description gives her every desirable literary property, then use that assumption to compare her with other writers.
- B
The criticism of much of today's literature concerns intricacy and a focus on the significant. It doesn't say that those works lack grace. Hypatia's book having more grace than her earlier work doesn't establish a broad lack of grace elsewhere—or even a total lack of grace in her own earlier books.
- C
This converts “promising” into “good literature.” Improvement makes a favorable judgment more plausible, but the passage doesn't actually establish that the novel meets the standard for good literature. It could be an encouraging step forward without reaching that level.
- D
Better than her earlier books doesn't mean better than most current books. Those are different comparisons. The passage criticizes much of today's literature, but doesn't rank Hypatia's latest novel against the majority of it. We shouldn't supply that ranking merely because the description of her progress is positive.
- ECorrect
Here is the connection: good literature has intricacy, and her new novel has greater complexity than her earlier works. In this context, intricacy and complexity describe the same relevant quality. We don't need the identical word to recognize the match.
So at least one property of good literature is present to a greater degree. That's a carefully limited conclusion. It doesn't require the novel to have every property of good literature, to count as good overall, or to outperform other authors. It stays with an improvement we can support.
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