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Paired Passages Essential Strategy
Because of the difference in format, we’ll need to modify our Reading Comp
Essential Strategy to handle these most effectively.
Step 1: Scout the Territory. Instead of distinguishing Big
Picture questions from Content questions, your basic task in this initial step will
be to locate any Passage-Specific questions among the question set. Remember, most
questions in the set will be Comparison questions that you won’t be able to answer
until you’ve read both passages, but if you note the Passage-Specific issues up
front, you can keep your eye out for them.
Step 2: Mine the Essential Elements of Passage A. You still need
to extract the relevant information from each passage to answer the questions, so
your focus on the Essential Elements discussed earlier in the chapter remains the
same. First focus on passage A, paying special attention to the tested issues of
Passage-Specific questions that you highlighted in Step 1.
Step 3: Divide and Conquer Passage A Questions. When you finish
analyzing passage A, answer all questions pertaining only to that passage. It makes
sense to tackle those Passage-Specific questions while passage A is still fresh in
your mind.
Step 4: Mine the Essential Elements of Passage B. Extract the
relevant information that will allow you to answer any Passage-Specific questions
based on passage B. However, you must also gear up at this point for the Comparison
questions, so as you analyze passage B, take note of how the author’s purpose,
style, tone, and opinions compare with those of passage A.
Step 5: Divide and Conquer Passage B Questions. When you finish
analyzing passage B, answer the questions that pertain only to that passage.
Step 6: Divide and Conquer Comparison Questions. Relational
thinking is generally more difficult than direct analysis, so the Comparison
questions usually require a higher level of abstract thought. We therefore advise
that you hold off on the Comparison questions until after you’ve finished all of the
Passage-Specific questions. You can tackle them in order, or in any order that seems
efficient to you. In the next section, we provide specific advice and practice on
the kinds of Comparison questions you’re likely to see.
Step 7: Mine the Experience. As always, we implore you to milk
each practice passage for all of the test day lessons it provides.
It may seem like a lot of things to do, but basically you’re repeating the
same steps you’ve learned already for two different passages, and then hitting the
Comparison questions that refer to both. You’ll have an opportunity to try out the
full method on the practice test at the end of the book, but for now let’s focus
specifically on the major thing that sets this passage type apart, Comparison
questions.
Tackling Comparison Questions on Paired Passages
Comparison questions require you to think through the
relationship between the information in both passages and to
consider both passages before answering.
Read Proactively.
Since the majority of questions you’ll face in a Paired Passage set will
be Comparison questions, it makes sense to begin preparing for them during your
analysis of passage B. Things you should watch out for include:
- Central topic of both passages
- Points of disagreement
- Points of agreement
- Details common to both passages
- Similarities and differences in style, tone, and structure
Mix and Match.
Some Comparison questions ask how the specifics of one passage relate to
the specifics of the other, or for one author’s take on a detail from the other
passage. In these, home in on the elements being compared and search for the
choice that addresses the relevant issues. Use your Logical Reasoning Matching
skills to meticulously compare each choice to the subject in question. The wrong
choices may present extraneous issues, or the author’s view on an entirely
different topic than the one under consideration. And speaking of wrong
choices . . .
Spot the Traps.
The wrong answers in Comparison questions fall into the same categories
as the ones you’ve seen already—Overreach, Twister, Opposite, etc.—although they
do tend to vary depending on what kind of Comparison question is at hand. The
most effective way to learn how to spot these is to see them in context, so
let’s move on to some practice questions that illustrate the most common types
of Comparison questions and the kinds of wrong choices they contain.
Practice: Comparison
The following Paired Passage set is adapted from the “Mumford on Art”
passage discussed earlier in the chapter. Read and compare the passages, and
then use the sample questions that follow to learn about the common types of
Comparison questions.
| Passage A | |
| The role of medieval art corresponded to the unity of life | |
| characteristic of this pre-technological period. Medieval | |
| Line | citizens did not attend the theater, concert hall, and museum as |
| (5) | activities unto themselves as we do but rather witnessed a fusion |
| of music, painting, sculpture, architecture, and drama in unified | |
| religious ceremonies that incorporated people into the shared | |
| social and spiritual life of the community. Integral to this | |
| phenomenon was the non-repeatability of the experience. | |
| (10) | Everything in the artist’s repertoire was brought to bear to |
| ensure maximum receptivity to the political, social, and | |
| religious teachings at the heart of this medieval spectacle. | |
| The mass production of text and images from the sixteenth | |
| century forward ultimately disrupted the unity exemplified by the | |
| (15) | medieval experience, and with it, the role of art as a testament |
| to and reinforcement of that unity. Modern communication | |
| technologies encourage the fragmentation of time, the | |
| dissociation of event and space, and the degradation of the | |
| symbolic environment via an endless repetition of cultural | |
| (20) | elements. The result is the oft-commented upon “alienating” |
| experience of modern life. A new aesthetic orientation emerged to | |
| express this new reality. Individual arts, no longer | |
| indispensable elements of a superbly integrated communal | |
| expression, ventured off in their own directions, each concerned | |
| (25) | with nothing loftier than its own perpetuation. The medieval art |
| world exemplified a unity greater than the sum of its parts. | |
| Compared with this majestic tapestry, the arts infusing our | |
| modern technological landscape are diminished in isolation. |
| Passage B | |
| The Middle Ages was characterized by an interrelationship | |
| among the arts that intensely dramatized the communal spirit of | |
| Line | towns and villages and reinforced the cohesion that dominated the |
| (5) | social sphere. Live musicians, specially commissioned scores, |
| unique paintings and sculptures, and inimitable speakers filling | |
| incomparable cathedrals with exhortation and prayer coalesced | |
| into a vast display of societal expression. Despite the grandeur | |
| of this totality, the extent to which medieval artists longed to | |
| (10) | give free rein to individualistic visions is evidenced by the |
| explosion of artistic creativity following the detachment of art | |
| from the communal sphere following the rise of technology as the | |
| dominant milieu of the modern age. | |
| In response to this new social reality, modern art has | |
| (15) | turned inwards to focus on man’s struggle against a |
| bureaucratized, impersonal, technological civilization. The | |
| dissociation of art from communal obligations has greatly | |
| expanded the realm of artistic possibilities. Freed from its | |
| integrative purpose, modern art is set loose to traverse | |
| (20) | previously inappropriate realms of psychology and individualism |
| in startling new ways. The magnificent innovation born of this | |
| freedom is evidenced in such diverse forms as Braque’s Cubism, | |
| Debord’s Lettrism, and Schoenberg’s twelve-tone compositions. The | |
| huge social changes brought about by the spectacular rise of | |
| (25) | modern technology has both freed the artist and once again |
| demonstrated art’s enduring power to illuminate the human | |
| condition. |
Question 1: Central Topic
The two passages will likely contain different perspectives but
will always be written on the same general subject. Chances are you’ll
be asked to recognize the topic that’s central to both, or the general
issue the passages are written to address. In some cases, the choices
will be written in the form of questions, like so:
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Both passages state that technological advancement led to social
upheavals, distancing art from its traditional role in medieval society
and leading to drastic changes in the art forms of the modern world. One
author thinks these changes are good, the other bad, but both authors
are concerned with the question of how modern art has been influenced by
technology, choice D.
A describes an issue discussed only in passage B,
while choice E deals with something explicitly mentioned
only in passage A. In any case, how the arts combined is hardly the
central issue in either passage.
Some wrong choices in a Central Topic
Comparison question will mention something contained in only one
passage, so keep your eye out for issues irrelevant to one (or even
both) passages.
B is an Opposite choice, since both authors are
concerned with the reverse relationship, the effect of technology on
art. C makes no mention of the main subject of both
passages, art.
Question 2: Agreement
Just because the passages are generally written from different
standpoints doesn’t mean there can’t be certain points of agreement. For
example, the two authors may rely on the same assumptions or agree on a
specific fact yet use that fact to support different conclusions. As you
analyze passage B, stay alert to any such similarities that may exist
between the passages, such as the one highlighted in the following
question.
| 2. It can be inferred from the passage that both authors hold which one of the following views? Changes in social conditions can affect the ways in which the members of a society express themselves. Communication technologies have had a greater impact on modern society than have other kinds of new technologies. Art forms operating in isolation from one another are inferior to art forms operating in tandem. Some medieval artists desired to express themselves in ways that were not sanctioned by their society. Art is a significant binding force in modern society. |
Both authors agree that technological advancements caused societal
changes from medieval to modern society and that those changes
influenced the orientation of art. Since artists are members of society
and expression is a central component of art, choice A
qualifies as a point of agreement. Notice how A is worded
generally enough to accord with the thinking of both authors.
B: Neither passage compares the impact of
communication technologies with the impact of other kinds of new
technologies.
C, if anything, leans the other way. The author of
passage A thinks that modern art forms are “diminished in isolation,”
while the author of passage B thinks that “freed from its integrative
purpose,” modern art has been characterized by “magnificent, startling
innovation.” So the authors would more likely disagree, not agree on
C.
Agreement questions often contain Opposite
choices on which the two author would disagree, so
the skills you develop to handle Logical Reasoning Disagreement
questions may well come in handy here too. Those skills relate even
more directly to the next question type we’ll cover which tests
specifically for points of disagreement.
D: The notion of artists’ desires is reflected only
in passage B, so the opinion of passage A’s author regarding this
subject is unknowable.
Irrelevant wrong choices appear in many
different Comparison questions, since choices commonly focus on
issues not considered by one or both authors.
E: If we changed “modern” to “medieval” we’d have a
winner, since both authors emphasize the role of art in contributing to
the communal spirit of the Middle Ages. But neither author appears to
believe that art serves the same function in modern times.
Question 3: Disagreement
While there may be some points of agreement between the two
passages, it’s fairly certain that there will be points of disagreement
and elements of conflict. So keep your eye out for ways in which the
author of each passage takes exception to the facts or opinions
presented in the other passage. Use the techniques we discussed to
handle Logical Reasoning Disagreement questions: First pinpoint the
choices that contain an issue relevant to both passages. Then test those
choices for conflicting viewpoints. Let’s try out this approach on
question 3:
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A and E: While both passages consider
how societal changes brought about by technological advances influenced
the artistic orientation, neither says anything about artists actually
using technology to create their works, so choice
A fails the test for relevance. E does as
well, since only passage B mentions some modern art forms that explore
previously forbidden territories. So we can cut these two choices off
the bat and consider the others in greater depth.
B: The author of passage A argues that the alienating
experience of modern life has produced a new aesthetic orientation
characterized by art forms that are “diminished in isolation.” So that
author thinks that modern art has suffered from changes in social
conditions; the shift from a communal experience to an alienating one.
The author of passage B agrees that such social changes have come about,
but praises the art forms that emerged as liberating, innovative, and
powerful. So the two authors would most likely disagree on the sentiment
expressed in B.
In some cases, the Disagreement question will
be a direct offshoot of the Central Topic question. Here, question 1
concerns the single question the two authors are intent on
exploring, while question 3 concerns the answers they
give.
C is a statement that both authors would agree with,
as they both speak to the communal spirit and shared social life of the
medieval community. Likewise, both authors agree on the unifying role
that art played in cementing the social cohesion of the Middle Ages, so
they would likely agree on D as well.
Just as you may come across Opposite choices
in Agreement questions (statements on which the authors would
disagree), eliminate points of agreement that
represent Opposite choices in Disagreement questions.
Question 4: Method
You may be asked to compare the ways in which the authors
structure their arguments or the methods they use to advance their
positions. Author behavior, one of our Essential Elements for Reading
Comp, comes in especially handy in such questions, as do the techniques
you learned to handle Logical Reasoning Method questions. Give Method
question 4 a shot and then compare your thinking to ours.
|
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As we’ve seen in previous questions, there’s a good deal of
synergy between the passages. Both cite the communal spirit of the
medieval period, the role that art played in contributing to that
spirit, and the distancing of art from communal obligations following
societal changes brought on by technological innovations. The passages
are therefore in accordance regarding the function of medieval art and
both cite facts regarding a previous society, eliminating choices
A and B. Moreover, the authors are on the
same page regarding technology, so C isn’t correct either.
E has it right: The authors both describe how social
changes caused individual arts to switch from serving a communal,
integrative function to existing on their own. However, from this same
evidence (which allows us to chop choice D), they come to
drastically different conclusions. The first author thinks modern art
suffered from this historical change, while the second author thinks it
flourished.
Question 5: Tone
You may be asked to recognize how the style of writing and tone of
passage A compare with the style and tone of passage B. There are many
ways in which the passages can differ on this count. For example, some
passages may be mostly descriptive, while others are more argumentative.
Noting the behavior of each author will help, much as it helps you
answer Method questions. Use the following question to check out some
examples of possible tones you may encounter, and see if you can pick
out the choice that fits the bill here.
|
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D is correct. As we’ve seen, the author of passage A
finds fault with modern forms of art, concluding that they are
“diminished in isolation,” while the author of passage B says only
positive things about modern art.
The right answer to a Tone Comparison
question will be consistent with everything you’ve learned regarding
the relationship between the passages. The major difference is that
the choices are worded more generally.
A: “Accusatory” is too strong to describe the
viewpoint in passage A, while “hesitant” understates the firmness of the
position put forth in passage B.
B: Both passages contain objective analyses.
Moreover, passage B cannot be properly described as “emotional” just
because it contains a clear argument, firmly stated.
C and E: “Nonpartisan” and
“noncommittal” imply taking no sides. Each author clearly weighs in with
an opinion, so these choices are incorrect.
Question 6: Analogy
This may be the most challenging Comparison question you may face,
asking you to choose the answer containing a pair of things that mimics
the relationship between the two passages. The pair can be a pair of
titles, a pair of documents, or a pair of whatever the test makers can
think of that mirrors the connection between passages A and B. Sound
familiar? Yup—it’s like Parallel Reasoning from the Logical Reasoning
section. It’s no cakewalk there, and it’s certainly no cakewalk here,
but Analogy questions are doable if you approach them systematically and
not get intimidated by the length of the answer choices. The following
question will familiarize you with this difficult question type and
provide some pointers on how to go about it.
|
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The relationship between the passages basically boils down to
this: They take similar evidence concerning a societal change and run in
different directions with it regarding the effect of this change on a
specific societal element (art). That’s an effective starting point when
tackling the intimidating choices. Only the documents in C
mirror this relationship. They both start with a common phenomenon (the
trend toward interdepartmental independence within companies), but part
company regarding its effect. The business essay says
it makes departments function better, while the consultant says it makes
them function worse. Same fact, different conclusion—just like in the
passages.
For Parallel Reasoning questions, we advise
that you characterize the conclusion of the original argument before
venturing off into the choices. Similarly, in Analogy Comparison
questions, it helps to characterize the relationship between the
passages in general terms before looking at the choices in order to
get a sense of what the relationship you seek will sound like. That
should help you blow past at least a few of the lengthy choices,
leaving more time to analyze the rest.
Of the wrong choices, only E contains a common
underlying phenomenon agreed upon by the authors of both documents—both
the think tank and the political scientist seem to agree that interest
groups play some role in the political process. However, they appear to
be on the same side of the fence on the issue, unlike the authors of
passages A and B. The other wrong choices don’t even get that far, since
not one contains a pair of documents based on the same underlying
premise. The pair in choice A concerns different issues,
and are related only by the fact that both deal with the heart. The
documents in B don’t conflict, since the editorialist
posits a cause and effect relationship while the article writer makes a
recommendation. D also lacks the element of pro and con
found in the original, since the slower increase cited by the census
report is not inconsistent with the agricultural study’s warning that
food may become scarce. After all, the population is still rising
according to the census, just not as quickly.
The previous questions should give you an excellent idea of what
to expect in the Paired Passages question set. Remember that an actual
Paired Passage set would include Passage-Specific questions as well.
You’ll get practice handling a complete Paired Passage question set on
the practice test at the end of the book. But now let’s move on to get
some Real Deal practice on standard passages, which, after all, still
make up three-fourths of the Reading Comp section.
______________________
Now try the following two actual released full-length passages and
question sets.
NOTE: The following “Real Deal” practice set contains actual LSAT reading passages and questions from previous exams and could not be included in the online version of this book.
NOTE: The following “Real Deal” practice set contains actual LSAT reading passages and questions from previous exams and could not be included in the online version of this book.
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