PrepTest 114, Section 3, Question 13
Intellectual authority is defined as the authority of(434 more words not shown)
The author discusses the example(6 more words not shown)
- Adistinguish the notion(8 more words not shown)
- Bgive an example(14 more words not shown)
- Cidentify an example(14 more words not shown)
- Dillustrate the claim(10 more words not shown)
- Edemonstrate that the(11 more words not shown)
Reading the passage
Why bring in musicology? My first thought is that the waiting period illustrates an institutional rule. Why judge someone's genius after a few decades rather than a hundred years? That cutoff seems to come from an accepted practice.
What we’re looking for
I'm not yet satisfied that this tells us the example's full job. Let's check how the choices connect it to the surrounding argument.
Working the answers
- A
The opening defines and distinguishes the two kinds of authority. This example does more than repeat those definitions; it develops an objection about their relationship.
- B
We aren't told that this composer really is a genius whose work went unrecognized. The example asks how to judge that claim. It doesn't establish an intellectually sound argument that failed to win acceptance.
- C
No earlier judgment of genius is shown to have failed over time. The question is how long to wait before making the judgment.
- DCorrect
This sharpens the initial prediction. The critics say intellectual authority is recognized through institutional consensus. Their example asks how we judge musical merit and points to an established waiting period that has proved useful in the past. The institutional rule is being used to assess intellectual authority, which is the connection D identifies.
- E
Explaining the critics' objection isn't the same as proving that all authority in judging musical genius is institutional. The example supports their argument; the writer doesn't establish E's sweeping conclusion.
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