PrepTest 111, Section 2, Question 6
Of the more than one thousand people who(452 more words not shown)
Based on the passage, which(38 more words not shown)
- AThe depiction should(6 more words not shown)
- BThe depiction should(4 more words not shown)
- CThe depiction should(7 more words not shown)
- DThe depiction should(7 more words not shown)
- EThe depiction should(7 more words not shown)
Reading the passage
The question points to the scholars who defend careful inspection of the memoirs, then narrows the subject to events known only to the writer. For a public event, we might compare several accounts. A private experience doesn't give us that same opportunity.
What we’re looking for
So how do we judge the private account? Does the sequence make sense? Does the person's behavior fit what we know about their character? Or does the telling sound so self-justifying that it loses credibility? Those are the checks we need here.
Working the answers
- ACorrect
Paragraph 2 asks whether the writer’s reported actions fit their known personality. Consistency with the author's personality restates that criterion. We compare the behavior described with what we know about the person.
- B
Demonstrable factual accuracy sounds desirable, but it isn't the particular subjective check given for events known only to the author. The question asks for the scholars' stated criterion, not another generally appealing standard for historical writing.
- C
No deadline for verification is given. “Shortly after being written” adds a timing requirement that neither the public-event check nor the private-event checks impose.
- D
Partisanship calls for scrutiny; it doesn't automatically disqualify an account. The scholars explain how to assess these memoirs rather than excluding every writer who took a side.
- E
Wanting to preserve a particular picture of the past is introduced as a possible source of distortion. It's a reason to question the account, not a criterion that establishes credibility.
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