PrepTest 154, Section 1, Question 16
The prevailing view among historians is that medieval(50 more words not shown)
Which one of the following,(8 more words not shown)
- AAmong the written(26 more words not shown)
- BMany members of(18 more words not shown)
- CWritten records produced(16 more words not shown)
- DHistorians cannot develop(26 more words not shown)
- EDocuments produced by(16 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
A religious record keeper might see everything through a religious lens. That is a reason to examine the records carefully. It isn't proof that the peasants' devotion was exaggerated.
Imagine someone trying to understand an entire society by reading only an LSAT teacher's social-media posts. They might come away thinking everyone spends enormous amounts of time worrying about the LSAT. The writer's interests could distort the picture. The proposed concern about the clergy's records is similar: the people doing the recording may emphasize what matters to them.
But could their perspective distort the records, or did it? And are those records the historians' only evidence? Perhaps physical evidence—religious objects in homes, for example—supports the view that peasants were devoted to religion. Perhaps there is relevant evidence about churches and their use. Those are possible sources to investigate, not historical facts we've been given.
What we’re looking for
For the weaken question, my first thought is independent evidence of the peasants' devotion. That would challenge the move from suspecting the records to doubting the historical view.
Working the answers
- A
Describing nonreligious activities doesn't prevent a writer from exaggerating religious devotion elsewhere. An account could discuss peasants' farming or daily routines accurately and still overstate their piety. The presence of secular material therefore doesn't settle the concern about the religious descriptions.
- B
Spending time with peasants would give clergy opportunities to observe them. But access to the people isn't a guarantee of impartial reporting. The author could still argue that the clergy described what they saw through their own religious perspective. B doesn't directly challenge that proposed distortion.
- CCorrect
This takes a different route from my prediction. The clergy rarely portray merchants and nobles as devoted to religion, even though those records come from the same profession. So their religious occupation doesn't seem to make them describe everyone as religious.
That selective portrayal makes the general bias story less persuasive: perhaps the peasants really did differ from the other groups. C doesn't prove the peasants' piety or rule out every possible bias against or in favor of a particular class. It gives us a reason to doubt that the clergy's occupation alone explains the reported devotion.
- D
This sets a demanding standard for reliable historical work, but doesn't say whether these historians met it. Were all relevant surviving records consulted? We don't know. A rule about what researchers must consult doesn't establish that the prevailing view has support beyond the records the argument questions.
- E
Detailed descriptions are still descriptions in the disputed records. A writer can provide many details and exaggerate their meaning or frequency. E tells us more about what the records contain without supplying a reason to trust their portrayal of devotion.
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