PrepTest 116, Section 4, Question 14
In studying the autobiographies of Native Americans, most(441 more words not shown)
Which one of the following(9 more words not shown)
- AScholars have tended(18 more words not shown)
- BAs demonstrated by(15 more words not shown)
- CThe Native American(22 more words not shown)
- DEarly Native Americans(15 more words not shown)
- EThe autobiographical forms(19 more words not shown)
Reading the passage
Our main-point prediction was that a familiar European model misses the ways early Native Americans expressed their lives. We saw names, performances, and artifacts, along with different ideas about identity and how to tell a life story. Now we want the conclusion that brings those features together.
What we’re looking for
The right answer can improve on our phrasing. It doesn't have to make the scholars the subject of the sentence just because our initial prediction did.
Working the answers
- A
Overlooking ideas about identity is part of the criticism, but it leaves out the different forms of autobiography that occupy much of the discussion.
- B
The examples do show that autobiography can exist outside written documents. But this turns Native Americans into an illustration of a general claim about media. The central subject is their autobiographical practices, including the assumptions behind those practices.
- C
This compares the wrong accounts. The author explains traditional Native American forms in contrast with the European model, not this claimed difference between the written as-told-to accounts and European autobiographies.
- DCorrect
This captures both forms and underlying assumptions. Songs and decorated objects show different forms; relational identity and expressing events as they happen show different assumptions. D puts the Native American autobiographies themselves at the center, refining our prediction about what scholars missed.
- E
“Seemingly more fragmented” is one comparison, not the overall conclusion. The answer also adds that these forms are therefore less recognizable as personal history. That consequence isn't established.
More Main Point questions
Learn the LSAT our way
Our platform drills Main Point questions at your level and adjusts as you improve.