Mining the Essential Elements
Extracting Essential Elements from Reading Comp passages takes practice, so
let’s work through the four paragraphs of the X-ray passage you saw earlier. Read
the first paragraph carefully, and see what you can take out of it in terms of the
seven Essential Elements we’ve just discussed. Then compare your paragraph synopsis
to ours.
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Common to most interpretations of the role of art is
the notion that art correlates directly with the environmental
characteristics of its period of origin. If we understand technology
not only as a practical set of techniques and machines but also as
an evolving dominant ideology of the modern age, it follows that we
should witness an infiltration of technology into art not just in
terms of the tools and processes at artists’ disposal but also in
terms of technology’s influence on art’s place within society. The
latter supposition has been explored by American writer and critic
Lewis Mumford during various stages of his prolific
career.
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- Giveaways: The construction “If we understand . . . it
follows that . . .” sets up the idea that based on a certain definition of
technology, a certain result should follow. Pay careful attention when an author
says something should happen, especially at the beginning of
the passage. The word “prolific” suggests a slight touch of admiration for
Mumford—at the very least, the author thinks he’s no slouch.
- Purpose: Part of the purpose of every first paragraph is to
introduce the passage’s topic, which in this case is the “infiltration of
technology into art.” We know this thanks to the giveaway above in which the
author states that a certain result should follow from a particular definition.
The “If we understand . . . it follows that . . .” sentence construction
suggests what will be the author’s main concern in the passage: the influence of
technology on art’s place in the world. By mentioning someone who has explored
this issue, the final sentence of the paragraph serves to introduce a possible
player in the passage whom we should keep an eye on.
Your key task in the first paragraph is to grasp the
general scenario. As you get better at reading the passages, you’ll also be able
to anticipate the likely directions a passage may take based on its
introduction. Keep in mind that there are only a limited number of passage
structures that LSAT authors employ.
- Players/Extras: Lewis Mumford. We need to see how things play
out, but when a theory or supposition is introduced early on in the first
paragraph (technology’s supposed effect on art) and someone who has explored
that issue is mentioned, chances are that person will be a player.
- Main Point: The author introduces a topic (technology’s
influence on art) and then someone who has studied that topic. There’s a long
way to go, but for now we can simply describe the main point of this first
paragraph in those terms: Mumford has explored the way technology has influenced
art. We don’t need to get any more specific than that at this point; we’ll see
where things go from here soon enough.
- Author Behavior: The author is making a prediction of what
should follow from a specific interpretation. This usually indicates that some
sort of test of the prediction will occur.
- Author Opinion: Nothing much to speak of, unless we count the
author’s interpretation of technology as an opinion. Perhaps a whole passage
could be structured around this interpretation, but that’s doubtful here since
the author seems to be more concerned with what follows from this particular
understanding. So we’ll reserve judgment for now regarding authorial opinion.
- Passage Main Idea: Too soon to tell, but it’s reasonable to
anticipate, based on the giveaway discussed above, that seeing whether the
technology/art prediction is correct might be the focus of the passage. The
passage may deal mainly with Mumford’s examination of the issue or may veer in a
different direction; again, it’s too early to know.
Sometimes the passage’s main idea is evident up front.
Other times, the situation is pretty wide open following the first, and even
second, paragraph. Don’t stress over the passage’s main idea so early on, but of
course you need to be receptive to indications of it anywhere they appear.
Don’t be overwhelmed by the amount of stuff it appears
there is to know about a single paragraph. We present you with very
comprehensive paragraph synopses based on our seven Essential Elements to teach
you how to reflect on the kinds of issues that lead to points, but we don’t
expect you to reproduce such a lengthy analysis for every paragraph. The point
is to learn to think through these kinds of issues quickly and instinctively as
you proceed through the passage.
Now try the second paragraph:
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Mumford posited an integrative role of medieval art
corresponding to the unity of life characteristic of this
pre-technological period. Medieval citizens, he argued, did not
attend the theater, concert hall, and museum as 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—live musicians, specially
commissioned scores, unique paintings and sculptures, and inimitable
speakers filling incomparable cathedrals with exhortation and
prayer. 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.
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- Giveaways: “Mumford posited . . . ” connects this paragraph
to the last line of paragraph 1 and indicates, as we may have expected, that
this paragraph will detail facts of Mumford’s exploration of the issue at hand.
- Purpose: As just indicated by the giveaway, the purpose is to
tell us what Mumford thought about the whole thing. But there’s a surprise: The
paragraph seems to veer off topic. The astute reader will immediately notice the
difference between the technology issue of the first paragraph and this
description of the “pre-technological” medieval period and infer that this
paragraph serves to present some kind of contrast. This might not become fully
evident until the next paragraph, but this kind of anticipation is part of the
“comprehension” this section tests.
- Players/Extras: Mumford, who shows up again in the second
paragraph, appears to be a player. The medieval situation, citizens, and artists
he describes may be extras or players; we’ll have to wait and see.
- Main Point: In “pre-technological” medieval days art was
“integrative”; it corresponded to a “unity of life.” Most of the paragraph
consists of examples of how this was so—it brought about community, was used for
teaching values, etc.—but these are details you can return to later if need be.
The main point simply has to do with the fact that art in medieval times was
integral and tied in to society in many ways.
- Author Behavior: There’s nothing other than plain old
description. Skip for now.
- Author Opinion: No sign of opinion here at all. The author
merely presents Mumford’s take on medieval art, without providing any commentary
of her own.
- Passage Main Idea: This paragraph doesn’t add to our previous
tentative notion of the passage’s main idea, and it reinforces the conjecture,
discussed above, that this paragraph serves as a contrast. It will somehow
contribute to the “technology’s influence on art” prediction that the author
appears to want to test, but by itself it doesn’t get us any further along. We
can tolerate a bit of ambiguity, secure in the knowledge that each paragraph
must contribute logically to the passage’s main idea. We
just need to read a bit further to piece it all together.
Reading Comp passages commonly contain contrasts. Here,
we sense from paragraph 1 that the main issue has something to do with
technology and art, but then we get a long paragraph on a
pre-technological period. This apparent detour may confuse the
average test taker who’s focusing only on details, not context and structure.
But there must be a reason for this paragraph; it
has to relate somehow to what came before. And the most logical
reason to delve into pre-technological days is to present a contrast that will
somehow highlight the author’s main concern—the influence of technology on art.
Moving on, see what you can make of the third paragraph.
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Mumford further speculated that the mass production of
text and images from the sixteenth century forward ultimately
disrupted the unity exemplified by the medieval experience, and with
it the role of art as a testament to and reinforcement of that
unity. He believed that 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 elements. The result is the
oft-commented-upon “alienating” experience of modern life.
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- Giveaways:
Mumford, Mumford, Mumford . . .(Whined to the tune of
“Marsha, Marsha, Marsha . . . ,” Jan Brady’s lament at living in the shadow
of her older, more glamorous sister on The Brady
Bunch.) Anyhow, no complaints here—the opening phrase
“Mumford further speculated . . .” tells us we’ve got a continuation of
Mumford’s account upcoming. “He believed that . . .” in the middle of the
paragraph indicates we’re still learning about Mumford, not the author. The
phrase “modern communication technologies” suggests that we’re finally getting
to the prediction raised in paragraph 1.
- Purpose: To continue Mumford’s account, bringing things
up-to-date with the modern period and thus, as just mentioned, getting to the
heart of the matter—technology’s influence on art.
- Players/Extras: No changes. It’s clear by now that Mumford is
a major player. The medieval experience seems to be an important element of the
passage, but one that leads to something bigger as the focus shifts to the
modern day.
- Main Point: Mass production of text and images (a form of
technology) changed the medieval experience and with it the function of art in
society. The paragraph ends with ways that modern technologies cause alienation,
which seems to be a transition into the final paragraph. We can return to these
details if need be. For now, “technology bad for society” will suffice.
- Author Behavior: Just run-of-the-mill description.
- Author Opinion: Still no indication of an opinion on the part
of the author.
- Passage Main Idea: We’re finally closing in on the main point
now. The passage began with the idea that technology should have an impact on
art’s function, and now we find out that because of certain tech advances, art
no longer testifies to or reinforces societal unity because, well, there is none
to speak of. Poor us. But it’s not end of story yet, with the longest paragraph
yet to go.
Context is crucial. Notice how the main idea of paragraph
3 helps solidify our understanding of paragraph 2; not just regarding what it
says but why it’s there at all. Paragraph 3 relates even better to paragraph 1,
which sets out the question regarding technology and art in the first place, a
question just beginning to be answered now. And we should expect that this
paragraph also sets the stage for the finale in paragraph 4.
Okay, time to bring it on home with paragraph 4:
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A new aesthetic orientation emerged to express this
new reality. Art turned inward to focus on man’s struggle against a
bureaucratized, impersonal, technological civilization. Mumford
readily admits that the dissociation of the artist from communal
obligations greatly expanded the realm of artistic possibilities;
freed from its integrative purpose, art was set loose to traverse
previously inappropriate realms of psychology and individualism in
startling new ways. However, the magnificent innovation born of this
freedom has been somewhat hindered by art’s apprenticeship to the
dominant force of the technological milieu: the market. Out of
necessity, money has replaced muse as motivation for many artists,
resulting in the art world of today: a collection of “industries,”
each concerned with nothing loftier than its own perpetuation.
Mumford testified admirably to a unity of art greater than the sum
of its parts. Despite modern art’s potential, it is reasonable to
infer the converse: that the individual arts of our technological
landscape are diminished in isolation.
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- Giveaways: “A new aesthetic orientation emerged to express
this new reality.” This whole first sentence screams “main point time coming
up!” as it relates a new kind of art (“new aesthetic orientation”) with the
alienating results of technology (“this new reality”). This segment—“Mumford
readily admits . . . greatly expanded the . . . possibilities . . . however”—is
quite telling, as it indicates that something good may have come out of the
situation, yet even that good thing has been hampered by some other negatives.
Another giveaway worth noticing is the phrase “Mumford testified admirably . . .
.” “Hindered” and “diminished in isolation” are excellent indicators of the
author’s assessment of modern art. The entire final sentence is important,
especially “it is reasonable to infer . . . ,” which suggests that an opinion of
the author is finally forthcoming.
- Purpose: To draw a conclusion regarding the societal change
documented in the previous two paragraphs, and to fulfill the promise to
investigate the prediction introduced in paragraph 1.
- Players/Extras: Mumford makes a few cameos, but we get the
sense (especially from the giveaway “it is reasonable to infer . . .”) that the
author has stepped forward to drive the main point home. The author is therefore
the major player in this final paragraph, offering an opinion on the
art/technology issue discussed throughout the passage.
- Main Point: Art needed to change to deal with the alienating
form of modern life brought on by technological advances. While this introduced
the promise of great innovation, by and large art is “diminished” in its modern,
less unified, more isolated form.
- Author Behavior: Still mainly descriptive, although the
author does take a position by the end.
- Author Opinion: The author’s opinion is sounded in the middle
of the paragraph and comes through especially clearly in the final sentence. As
is often the case, the opinion that emerges in the final paragraph forms a large
part of the passage’s overall main idea, which we can now state with finality as
our last Essential Element.
- Passage Main Idea: Technology is a big part of modern
culture; therefore it should influence how art functions in society. And in
fact, it does, by creating a new form of existence that requires a new kind of
art, one that the author finds promising yet “hindered” and “diminished.” This
point is developed with the aid of Mumford’s analyses and especially the
contrast he charted between the art of modern times and that of the
pre-technological medieval period.
So, why do we care about all this context, purpose, and passage structure
stuff again? Because those are the kinds of things the questions ask about. Points,
remember? LSAT score moving closer to 180 and further from 120? Better law school?
Better career? More money? Making your parents proud? Proving your worth to the
world? Whatever—we all have our reasons. Let’s stick with the first one: We care
about context, purpose, and passage structure because those are things that Reading
Comp questions ask about.
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