Q14

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LSAT-Chang
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Q14

by LSAT-Chang Tue Sep 06, 2011 1:34 pm

Could someone help me with this question? I thought the scale was something along the lines of:

Side A -- as-told-to life histories are sufficient to study about autobiographies of Native Americans (most scholars)

Side B -- as-told-to life histories are insufficient to study about autobiographies of Native Americans (author)

and then I thought the next 3 paragraphs were all supporting the author's point that autobiography in Native Americans is different than the one we commonly believe in. So with this scale in mind, I chose answer choice (A), though I was down to A, C and D. I thought all fit well, but went with A because to me, that seemed like the main conclusion -- that the scholars have overlooked some important things. Is it because (A) doesn't have anything about autobiographies included in it, when the whole passage is about autobiographies??
 
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Re: Q14

by timmydoeslsat Tue Sep 06, 2011 9:10 pm

This passage is one-sided.

I created a visual scale in my head that was essentially all evidence of why Native Americans could not be understood with a European style of autobiography.

Scholars focused on documents that were written by non-Native Americans as told by the Native Americans that were solicited.

vs

Scholars will not have full understanding of the personal history of Native Americans by using a European form of autobiography
- Author
- Differed from Europeans in assumptions about self, life, and writing.
- Idea of self was bigger than just individual. (relation to society, cosmos, landscape)
- Dance, drama, tepee symbol designs, tattoos, decorated shield, robe of pictographic history of battles.


#14

Answer choices:

A) This answer choice does not mention anything about autobiographies.

B) This is a straight to the point kind of answer. This is true as shown by the passage, but the main point? No. The author's point was not that autobiography was more than just written documents. He or she was not trying to establish that as the point. It goes deeper than that, we need something about how Native Americans view self or the world differently than non-Natives.

C) The test writer chose one of three inclusive ideas of self described in paragraph two and presented this as an answer.

I also think there is another issue in this answer choice. The autobiographies written by the non-Natives as told to them by the Natives were edited by the non-Natives. We do not know the content and how their story was presented. We do not even know if Natives' ideas about self were even included in the autobiography.

D) I like the safe word of frequently (some). I like that it mentions that Native Americans differed from European-style autobiographies with assumptions and form. It includes everything I would have wanted. Keeping it for now, will look at the next one too.

E) Not the main point. The easiest to eliminate of the answer choices. Way too narrow to be the main point.
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Re: Q14

by maryadkins Wed Sep 07, 2011 10:55 am

changsoyeon Wrote:Is it because (A) doesn't have anything about autobiographies included in it, when the whole passage is about autobiographies??


Agreed, yes! Nice discussion here. But a small point--I wouldn't say the passage is one-sided. You were each able to create a scale with two sides (and do so well), even though the author clearly falls on one side and devotes most of the passage to discussing it.