Multiple+Choice+'Examiner's+Notes'

p. 209 Test 4. Add your notes below (first come, first served!) to ONE question you originally got wrong. Concentrate on where 'students' will go wrong and what 'astute students' will notice ...

1. The question asks for an inference based on details in the passage. Upon finding the phrase "solitary philosopher" at the end of the first paragraph, the student may be fooled into basing an answer choice with evidence from the first paragraph only and may overlook the crucial details in the last few lines of the following paragraph: "...convinced a number of art historians that the model was none other than Michelangelo, whom Raphael added to the fresco as an act of homage after seeing the Sistine ceiling." Choice A, Choice B and Choice C can be eliminated as there is no evidence from the text that can give such an inference. Choice E is unrelated as the speaker makes no attempt to describe the variety of personalities in an ancient Athenian school throughout the entire passage. This leaves students to Choice D, which is supported by the last few lines of the second paragraph. - Jean

2. This question asks for the rhetorical purpose behind the description of "the thinker" that is presented in the passage. First off, the student should recognize that the question is inquiring about the description of the painting of Heraclitus and what the description achieves rhetorically. In the second paragraph, the speaker shows that Heraclitus is the only one that remained "outside the teacher-student groups" and as a "self-absorbed, downcast figure". The speaker also notes his obliviousness and his considerably different method of dressing. All of these descriptions help to set "the thinker" apart from his fellow philosophers. Choice B addresses this and is the correct answer. Choices A, C, D, and E do not address the speaker's rhetorical purpose and all fail to mention what the visual details provided achieve.- Frank Students may be thrown off by choice B because of its obviousness, but students should focus in on the larger picture of the author demonstrating that Heraclitus is different from the other philosophers. - Wendy, Tait, Frank, Kim, Amelie, Cynthia

3.This question asks for what what can not be inferred from the description of the solitary figure. Most importantly, the student should recognize that this questions is completely content based and may take time to find the "except" answer. Answer choice A is found in the second paragraph primarily through the author's descriptions of Heraclitus; such as how "no eager philosophical apprentices [huddled] around him". Answer choice B can also be found in the second paragraph and third paragraph through the descriptions of Heraclitus's disposition. Answer choice C is also found in the second paragraph as the author describes how Heraclitus is "oblivious" to the other philosophers "raging about him", which shows how he is disconnected from the majority. Answer choice D is found in the second paragraph when the author describes how Heraclitus "rests his head on his fist as he scribbled distractedly on a piece of paper". Finally, after eliminating all of the other answer choices the student will be left with Answer choice E. - Scott (In order to answer the question more efficiently, students should refer to the wording of "solitary figure" in the question rather than the passage to eliminate choice A, as being solitary makes you alienated. Choice B would also imply "solitary" behavior, so students might consider eliminating that as well. This would be helpful because the student would be referring to the question instead of flipping back to the passage.) - alex s, scott, michael, lynette

4. "Choice D can also be eliminated because in no way does the passage suggest that the speaker thinks the comparison is "beyond the edge of reason". But it is not this philosophy of universal change that seems to have inclined Raphael to lend him the features of Michelangelo; more likely it was Heraclitus's legendary sour temper and bitter scorn. This quote immediately eliminates Choices A and B as the comparison was both a compliment and an insult to Michelangelo. At this point, astute students would have realized that the correct answer is Choice C. Students will go wrong when they start to overanalyze Choice E. At this point, students who pick E would have missed the fact that the speaker knows what his opinion of Michelangelo is: "Raphael was beautiful but Michelangelo is sublime." These students would have been fooled into thinking that Raphael was "conflicted" by the insulting comparison of Michelangelo to Heraclitus and complimentary closing line. - Nataly In questions like these where the meaning of a certain term is asked, students would do well to peruse not only the line the term is in but also the context in which it appears. Often the speaker's purpose of using a word becomes clearer after carefully reading the surrounding sentences or paragraph. - Alex Z. Dan Kevin Grace In questions where a certain individual's views [eg speaker] are given or asked about, it is important to read the question carefully to fully understand "who" they are talking about. Once the "who" has been identified then go back to the passage to isolate the true opinion of the "who" being careful not to confuse with opinions of other individuals. (Emily, Zara)

5. This question simply tests the student's reading comprehension skills. The author's description of Heraclitus appears in paragraph 3, where all of the answer choices can be found. Immediately, choices C, D and E can be eliminated because of their appearance in this paragraph. The author states that Heraclitus was indeed known as "the Weeping Professor", while noting his "legendary sour temper and bitter scorn for all rivals." Additionally, the author includes the idea of ridicule, as Heraclitus "heaped derision on predecessors such as Pythagoras, Xenophanes, and Hecataeus." This leaves answer choices A and B, neither of which are explicitly stated in this paragraph. However, the idea that Heraclitus was known for being difficult to understand is implied; his "two most famous sayings" as well as his "theory of universal change" are shown to be confusing and add to his characterization as a cantankerous figure. That leaves choice A as the correct answer. While the paragraph does remark that Heraclitus did not look too fondly upon the citizens of Ephesus, nowhere does it say anything about the citizens' view of him in return. - Dan

6. Since the question is worded to find the "most important rhetorical function" in paragraph 5, the student can assume that all answer options are functions, and therefore the best way to go about this question would be process of elimination to rule out wrong answers. Choice E can be immediately eliminated as it is not the closing line of Edmund Burke, but rather the speakers. Choice C can also be eliminated because the artists' style was not analyzed no any degree; it was only described as "sublime" or "beautiful". For this reason Choice B can also be eliminated. Further reason to rule out Choice B would be because it described the artists' styles as "modern" although the passage did not once mention their styles as modern. A student who might choose Choice A over Choice D might do so because of the wording of "Raphael was beautiful but Michelangelo sublime". The arrangement to put Michelangelo at the second half of the second with a "but" preceding it might hint that the Michelangelo is given more importance than Raphael. However, at close inspection the student should note that Choice A states that it presents information about how the artists were "regarded in their own time" but the passage does not do so. - Zara

7. Question 7 sets the student to use process of elimination to determine what direct features, describe the pensieroso. All choices can be eliminated, except for A, based on sentences 15 to 27. As soon as the student reads this question, they should immediately refer back to the passage, and cross off all answers that are explicitly mentioned. Astute students will almost immediately notice that answers B, C, D, E are all almost direct quotes of the passage, eliminating them. Therefore, the answer is A. However, since answer A is structured as "his garb is less modern than his fellow philosophers", a number of reckless students might miss that crucial double negative, that makes this question one of whether or not a student can properly and rationally read all answers carefully. - Alex Z.

8. In order to answer this question more efficiently, the student should first determine if the description of Heraclitus is positive or negative. Depending on if the answer is positive or negative, the student can eliminate multiple answers and refer back to the passage for the remaining choices. - michael, alex s, scott, lynette

9. The speaker integrates Heraclitus's two most famous sayings as quotes in the passage in order to make up for the previous negative descriptions about this philosopher. As soon as the student reads all the answer choices, the student should recognize that choices A, B, and C all fall under the same category. Nowhere in the passage does it say that the individuals presented in the these answer choices followed Heracltius's teachings. With elimination of these three choices, the student should be left with choices D and E. From then on, it is quite simple, as the student should recognize that the fact that the speaker included Heraclitus's quotes can hint that the speaker does understand more than little of this philosopher's teachings. With this, the student should be able to come to the answer, which is E. "Add[ing] depth and humanity to his [Heraclitus's] teachings" makes up for the previous negative descriptions described above. - Grace

10. This question requires the student to consider the author's description of the original //School of Athens// and Heraclitus to eliminate answer choices and find the one that does not fit the description. Answer choice D can be quickly eliminated, as the author clearly states that the men in the original art-piece were not dressed like Heraclitus, and were "wrapped in flowing robes". Choices C and E can also be eliminated, as the description also states that Heraclitus was different because "No eager philosophical apprentices huddle around Heraclitus" and that "No eager philosophical apprentices huddle around Heraclitus". Students might be tricked to choosing answer choice A, as the student might miss the author's brief statement that other philosophers argue with one another when the author describes Heraclitus as "utterly oblivious to the philosophical debates raging around him". This leaves answer choice B as the correct answer, as the author does state that Heraclitus is self absorbed, unaware of his surroundings, and not involved in the arguments around him. - Tait From question 2, the general picture is established that Heraclitus is a "lone thinker," therefore it is inferred that the other philosophers did not include him in "philosophical debates." -Cynthia, Frank, Tait, Kim, Amelie, Wendy

11. While this question directly refers to the closing line, a student answering this question may refer back to the preceding lines where “beautiful” and “sublime” are derived (alternatively, the entire paragraph); doing so gives the student a better sense of the closing line’s context/purpose. Options A and E may be crossed off on the first pass as they are not as strong as the remaining selections. Option D may then be subsequently removed because the closing line does not summarize Burke’s views, but rather uses his “aesthetic categories” in order to describe his own position. The student would now decide between B and C. B is less correct because the speaker does not explain his position. This leaves C as the correct choice since the closing line does summate the speaker’s position. - Kevin Ma

12. This question requires students to not only understand the final comments but also the passage as a whole. Most students will be able to eliminate choices A,B, and E fairly quickly. Referring to lines 65-73, one can see that Burke considered “those things we call beautiful have the properties of smoothness, delicacy, softness of color, and elegance of movement”. He then later on calls Raphael beautiful. Therefore, Choice A can be inferred from the passage because if Raphael was beautiful, he must have had the elegance of movement. Similarly, Choice B can be eliminated because Burke also defined “sublime [to] comprehend the vast, [be] the obscure, the powerful…” and describes Michelangelo as sublime. Thus, it can be inferred that Michelangelo’s style delved into mysteries. Since “for the people of Rome in 1511, Raphael was beautiful but Michelangelo”, Choice E can also be eliminated because it can be inferred that the people of Rome held both artists in high regard. Down to Choices C and D, the astute student will realize that even though not specifically stated in the final paragraph, the whole passage does describe the conflict between the two artists and thus astute students will be able to infer choice C and eliminate it. Choice D can act like a trap because if students analyze the structure of the sentence “Raphael was beautiful **but** Michelangelo sublime”, students may infer Michelangelo was the superior artist. However, the astute student will use the whole passage to help him/her decide that C can be inferred more clearly than D. - Juhi In questions like these, good students will recognize whether the question requires them to refer to a specific sentence or an entire paragraph. They will take note of the specific parallel structure of the fifth paragraph that equalizes 'beautiful' and 'sublime'. To help with an issue of time you could connect the questions. For this question specifically, the answer to question 6 would help. If you knew that the answer to question 6 was D, then the student would know that "they were equally invaluable"; therefore, answer 12 can not be D, which stated that "Michelangelo was obviously a superior artist" - Jou and Ji Young

13. This question tests the ability of students to correctly read and interpret passage footnotes. Upon reading note #1, choice B can be eliminated. Students who understood footnote 1 will have noticed that this footnote explicitly states that "the pensieroso is known to be a later addition because it does not appear in Raphael's cartoon for The School of Athens", which is the opposite of choice B. Choice D can also be eliminated. Though the footnote does mention the Stella della Segnatura, it only does so briefly and does not give any examples of similar works by Raphael in the Stella della Segnatura. Nowhere in note #1 does the speaker express his own conclusions regarding the pensieroso, so therefore choice E can be eliminated. When down to the last two choices, A and C, students can be easily fooled into choosing A, because the footnote does give evidence about the timing of the addition to the School of Athens. However, astute students will notice that the footnote states, "The exact timing of this addition is speculative", so therefore the evidence is not "conclusive", as stated in answer choice A. Choice C is correct; the footnote provides additional documentation (referencing other sources), in turn adding credibility to the speaker's view that the figure was a later addition to the School of Athens. -Cynthia In questions like these, astute students would note the wording of the footnote and pay more attention to the details. In questions asking for purpose, student should note carefully the adjectives surrounding the purpose, such as "rhetorical" or "most important," to be able to select the answer choice that best answers the question. Often times the student could be fooled by choices which, while true, are not the best answer according to the specific demands of the question. (Emily, Zara)

14. Like the previous question, question 14 also tests the ability of the students to interpret footnotes. Answer choice C can be eliminated because the author mentions how one expert did not offer strong counterarguments, which implies that the speakers does not agree with this expert.This same reasoning can be used to eliminate answers D and E. If the author disagrees with the claim that Michelangelo was the model for the //pensieroso// is "implausible", then he must agree with the claim that it is possible that Michelangelo was the model. Students who made the mistake of choosing C or D, probably got mixed up in the wording. Answer choice B can be eliminated because the author never states that he believes these statements, and is merely restating what others have said. Also, Raphael is not mentioned in the footnote, and the question specifically asks for what "note #2 implies". Therefore, due to process of elimination, answer choice A must be correct. - Jou

15. In order to answer this question with relative certainty, the student must understand the definition of a number of terms: Simple, complex, compound, and compound-complex sentences, as well as appositives, participial phrases, and adverbial clauses. Simple sentences have only one clause, with a single subject and predicate. Complex sentences have an independent clause (a phrase that can act as a sentence on its own) and at least one dependent clause (a phrase that modifies the independent clause and cannot be a sentence on its own). Compound sentences, on the other hand, have multiple independent clauses. A compound-complex sentence has two or more independent clauses and one or more dependent clauses. Knowing the definitions of these sentence types, the educated student will see that both of the sentences in lines 65-72 are complex sentences ("For Burke,.." (dependent clause) with "...those things we call beautiful have the properties of smoothness, delicacy..." (independent clause), and "The sublime... comprehends the vast, the obscure..." (independent clause) with "...attributes which produce in the spectator a kind of astonished wonder and even terror" (dependent clause)). These sentences also include parallel construction ("smoothness, delicacy, softness... elegance"; "the vast, the obscure, the powerful, the rugged, the difficult"), making choice B the correct answer. - Michael Questions like these, need to be addressed by properly reading the question. The caps lock NOT and EXCEPT usually are indicative of eliminating all the right answers, so students should stress to looking for those keywords, that change the question altogether. - Alex Z. Dan KMa Grace To help with time issues, this question could be sped if the student recognized the differences between each answer. Then the use of process of eliminate would much easier because you would only have one specific thing to look for. - Jou and G-Young