PrepTest 115, Section 1, Question 11
Thurgood Marshall's litigation of Brown v.(446 more words not shown)
The function of the third(3 more words not shown)
- Aprovide support for(7 more words not shown)
- Bsharpen the distinction(5 more words not shown)
- Cquestion the claim(5 more words not shown)
- Dsummarize the argument(6 more words not shown)
- Ecounter the criticism(9 more words not shown)
Reading the passage
The third paragraph shows the setup for Brown in action. Shelley gave Marshall a way to connect individual inequalities to a wider pattern, and that success helped prepare the court for the school case. So I'd expect an answer about supporting the opening claim that earlier cases made the later victory possible.
Working the answers
- ACorrect
The first paragraph calls the cases “necessary forerunners.” The third supplies the concrete example: Marshall developed and successfully used a strategy in Shelley, then used it in Brown. That connection gives evidence for the opening view.
- B
The practical-versus-theoretical distinction helps us understand the strategy, but the paragraph's main job isn't to make that distinction sharper. It shows how an earlier success contributed to the later one.
- C
The example supports the opening claim. It doesn't give a reason to doubt that the earlier cases prepared the way.
- D
A summary would restate the earlier discussion. Shelley, the housing data, and their later application to schools are new supporting details. The paragraph develops the argument rather than just repeating it.
- E
Countering that criticism would mean defending separate but equal against it. The paragraph instead describes the strategy that helped defeat the doctrine.
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