PrepTest 158, Section 1, Question 17
Passage A is adapted from an essay by(467 more words not shown)
Passage A(235 more words not shown)
Passage B(240 more words not shown)
By using the phrase "political(19 more words not shown)
- Aa zealous determination(6 more words not shown)
- Ban intense ambition(6 more words not shown)
- Ca powerful desire(4 more words not shown)
- Da passionate eagerness(4 more words not shown)
- Ea heartfelt support(4 more words not shown)
Reading the passage
Read political fervor in the context of Rosenthal's project. She is challenging traditional distinctions among plagiarism, imitation, and originality, and Ricks describes her work as driven by strong political and moral commitments. Fervor points to the intensity of that commitment.
What we’re looking for
We shouldn't jump from the word political to a campaign, a party, or a revolution. The activity being described is scholarship aimed at changing how a subject is understood.
Working the answers
- ACorrect
Zealous here means intensely committed or enthusiastic; it doesn't have to mean religious. Rosenthal's stated effort to question established categories supplies the object of that determination. The answer connects her energy to the intellectual change her book seeks.
- B
No ambition to influence public policy is identified. Trying to reshape how scholars understand plagiarism doesn't by itself mean trying to change laws or government decisions.
- C
A political revolution is much more specific than anything described. The force of her convictions doesn't establish that she wants to overthrow or transform a political system.
- D
Strong commitment to a position doesn't show that provoking heated debate is her aim. Ricks describes what drives her analysis, not a desire to start an argument for its own sake.
- E
We aren't told which political party, if any, she supports. Political commitments in an intellectual argument don't automatically identify party allegiance.
More Author's Opinion questions
Learn the LSAT our way
Our platform drills Author's Opinion questions at your level and adjusts as you improve.