PrepTest 73, Passage 2, Question 8
Question eight. The question I asked for the main point of the passage which we call a main point question. On the main point question you're being asked for an answer choice that sums up the argument of the passage as a whole. Correct answer doesn't have to mention everything that came up in the passage. But it has to be broad enough to cover everything that came up in the passage.
And since one of the main things that you do while reading the passage is look for the main point and ask yourself about it. You should already have a pre phrase or a prediction for what the answer is going to look like. Here our prediction is probably gonna be Cameron is pretty good. There's a doubleness about her work that's inescapable.
There's a combination of the artistic and the amateur, which is great. She was a good artist, even though she didn't do what she intended to do. So that's what we're gonna be looking for in the answer choices. Answer choice A. This is true, but it's not the main point of the passage. It's just something that was mentioned in the first paragraph.
Just being mentioned isn't enough to be the main point. It has to be able to cover everything that the author said. Answer choice B, the peculiar charm of Cameron's fancy-subject pictures derives from the viewer's simultaneous awareness of the fictional scene portrayed and the circumstances of its portrayal. This is our answer.
Each of the parts that we outlined of the main point of the passage show up here. The author says it's good, thus the peculiar charm. That doubleness is the viewers simultaneous awareness of things. And the combination of the art and the amateur elements, that's the scene that's being portrayed in the art and the circumstances of the portrayal. So every part is represented.
Answer choice B is what we wanted, which means that C, D and E must have problems. And C mentioned something from the first paragraph, but something that's only brought up in the first paragraph and it's definitely not the author's overall point. Answer choice D is the opposite of what the author says the author says that the doubleness is inescapable. This says the best pictures that Cameron made were the ones where the viewer is completely unaware of the role playing.
And answer choice E mentioned something in the first paragraph. The people who were in the pictures that is important, but it's not exclusively important. It's the combination that's important. So the main point would never get the author's understanding wrong. So answer choice B was our answer.
Read full transcriptAnd since one of the main things that you do while reading the passage is look for the main point and ask yourself about it. You should already have a pre phrase or a prediction for what the answer is going to look like. Here our prediction is probably gonna be Cameron is pretty good. There's a doubleness about her work that's inescapable.
There's a combination of the artistic and the amateur, which is great. She was a good artist, even though she didn't do what she intended to do. So that's what we're gonna be looking for in the answer choices. Answer choice A. This is true, but it's not the main point of the passage. It's just something that was mentioned in the first paragraph.
Just being mentioned isn't enough to be the main point. It has to be able to cover everything that the author said. Answer choice B, the peculiar charm of Cameron's fancy-subject pictures derives from the viewer's simultaneous awareness of the fictional scene portrayed and the circumstances of its portrayal. This is our answer.
Each of the parts that we outlined of the main point of the passage show up here. The author says it's good, thus the peculiar charm. That doubleness is the viewers simultaneous awareness of things. And the combination of the art and the amateur elements, that's the scene that's being portrayed in the art and the circumstances of the portrayal. So every part is represented.
Answer choice B is what we wanted, which means that C, D and E must have problems. And C mentioned something from the first paragraph, but something that's only brought up in the first paragraph and it's definitely not the author's overall point. Answer choice D is the opposite of what the author says the author says that the doubleness is inescapable. This says the best pictures that Cameron made were the ones where the viewer is completely unaware of the role playing.
And answer choice E mentioned something in the first paragraph. The people who were in the pictures that is important, but it's not exclusively important. It's the combination that's important. So the main point would never get the author's understanding wrong. So answer choice B was our answer.
