PrepTest 141, Section 1, 2nd passage: “What Cameron called…”

Highlight the author’s conclusions:

p1:
These traces, of course, are what give the photographs their life and charm.

p2: 
It is precisely the camera’s realism…that has given Cameron’s theatricality and artificiality its atmosphere of truth.

p3: 
What gives Cameron’s pictures of actors their special quality…is their singular combination of amateurism and artistry.

***

p1 is mostly background on Cameron’s pictures. No worries if you weren’t sure about a conclusion in this paragraph. When you see “of course” you probably know that’s a statement the author will give support for, but you might not be sure that’s the conclusion until you get into the next paragraph.

p2 and p3 each start with a conclusion that the rest of the paragraph supports. And these two conclusions echo the overall conclusion in the first paragraph: Cameron’s pictures have “life and charm”, an “atmosphere of truth”, and a “special quality”. Cool.

Map the wording of the answers to the reference in the prompt, or to the author’s conclusions:

8. Which one of the following most accurately expresses the main point of the passage?

Map the answers to the author’s conclusions.

(A) This is definitely an accurate detail from the passage, so make sure you know that’s NOT what you’re being asked for here. There’s nothing in the conclusions about the pictures being “unintentionally comical”.

(B) “The peculiar charm” maps really well, and the author’s conclusions are definitely about where that charm “derives from”. Everything in the “simultaneous awareness” is mentioned in there. Love this.  

(C) “…undermined by the obtrusiveness of the sitters” does map to the example about Raphael and Giotto in the first paragraph, but it doesn’t align with the conclusions. There’s no support for this statement given anywhere, so it’s not a main point.

(D) “The most successful…” Stop. There’s no mention of which pictures are most successful.

(E) Not bad until it gets to “not in the imaginary scene they portray”. That doesn’t map to any statements made by the author.

(B) is the correct answer.

9. The author mentions the props employed in The Passing of Arthur as

Map the answers to the reference in the prompt. This reference immediately follows the conclusion about the “combination of amateurism and artistry”, so it should be clear it’s an example meant to support that conclusion. 

(A) Maps perfectly to “for example” and the preceding conclusion.

(B) “transformative power of theater”? The author is talking about a photograph, not a play. Out.

(C) The author seems to be a fan of Cameron’s work, but doesn’t ever say she has “ingenuity”.

(D) There’s nothing to support that “the work is intended ironically”. The author didn’t really get into Cameron’s intentions, just the effects of her work.

(E) It should be clear that “negative appraisal” doesn’t align with the author’s conclusions.

(A) is the correct answer.

10. Which one of the following, if true, would most help to explain the claim about suspension of disbelief?

Map the answers to the reference in the prompt.

(A) Don’t assume any connection between how long the piece takes and “suspension of disbelief”. There certainly isn’t any direct common sense link.

(B) Something “obviously impossible” would be harder to suspend your disbelief about, so this actually hurts the author’s claim.

(C) Like (A), there’s no clear connection between this info and “suspension of disbelief”.

(D) If the artist can “suppress details…at odds with an imaginary persona” that would help with “suspension of disbelief”, right? How much fun are you having thinking about this?

(E) One more time, there’s just no direct link between a “stylistic imprint” and suspension of disbelief, although you could argue that would also make “suspension of disbelief” harder. So if anything this also contradicts the author’s claim.

(D) is the correct answer.

11. Based on the passage, Cameron is most like which one of the following in relation to her fancy-subject pictures?

Map the answers to the author’s conclusions. The right answer could come from a specific reference, but the passage doesn’t tell us where to look. So start by eliminating answers that don’t map to the conclusions before re-reading anything.

(A) I like the first part about “incongruous elements”, but the part about “a distance between characters and audience” doesn’t map to any statements made in the passage.

(B) Nothing in the passage says Cameron’s work was “designed to subvert” anything.

(C) Love this! Mentioning both “grandeur” and “ordinary objects” sounds just like the author’s conclusion about the “combination of amateurism and artistry”.

(D) This is way off, since there’s nothing that sounds like “as functional as possible” anywhere in this super artsy fartsy passage.

(E) Careful! This starts out sounding good but “give the appearance of a documentary” doesn’t align with anything we read about Cameron.

(C) is the correct answer.

12. Based on the passage, the author would agree with each of the following statements except

Map the answers to the author’s conclusions.

(A) This sounds exactly like the comparison the author makes between painting (“less realistic medium”) and photography (“more realistic medium”) in the 2nd paragraph. 

(B) All the conclusions imply that “amateurishness is a positive quality”. One even said it explicitly.

(C) Saying an “incongruity…can actually enhance” a picture sounds just like our author’s conclusions.

(D) The author definitely explained in each paragraph that “we are sometimes aware of both the real and the imaginary…”

(E) This directly contradicts the author’s conclusions. The whole point was that Cameron’s work is successful partly in spite of itself.

(E) is the correct answer.

13. The passage provides the most support for inferring that in Cameron’s era

Map the answers to the reference in the prompt. It doesn’t tell us where to look, but “Cameron’s era” isn’t part of the author’s conclusions, so there must be some timeframe specific detail this will match. Questions like this tend to be easy, but let’s not waste too much time if we can’t find the right detail quickly.

(A) There’s no discussion at all of what kinds of photographs were popular at the time, so we don’t know if “there was little interest” or a whole lot.

(B) There’s also absolutely no discussion of other photographers besides Cameron.

(C) Just like (A), there’s no support for what was “coming into vogue”.

(D) Cameron didn’t use professional models, but that doesn’t support a matter of fact claim that there weren’t any.

(E) This is intimated in a couple spots, but the most direct reference is in the middle of the 2nd paragraph where it says the folks in her pictures were “trying desperately hard to sit still.”

(E) is the correct answer.

14. The discussion of suspension of disbelief in the second paragraph serves which one of the following purposes?

Map the answers to the reference in the prompt. Everything in the second paragraph is meant to support the conclusion at the top about “the camera’s realism” and the “atmosphere of truth”.

(A) “It is the main conclusion…” Stop. No it isn’t.

(B) All of this maps. The conclusion is about the “contrast” and “peculiar nature” of Cameron’s pictures. Let’s hang on to this one.

(C) You know “the author’s negative appraisal” is inaccurate.

(D) There is nothing about “criticism of Cameron” in the reference.

(E) Maybe you liked the part about the “contrast”. In any case, there’s no comparison made to support that Cameron’s work is “more like” painting than drama.

(B) is the correct answer.

15. The main purpose of the passage is

Map the answers to the author’s conclusions.

(A) If the purpose was to “chronicle Cameron’s artistic development”, we’d see a paragraph about her earlier work, then one about how her work changed over time. That ain’t happenin’ here.

(B) So there isn’t an exact synonym for “tension” in there, but you’re expected to get that from the author’s conclusion about “artificiality” and “truth”, and from the one about the “special combination”. In any case that’s not enough to eliminate this one.

(C) There’s definitely nothing in any of the conclusions that sounds like “essentially theatrical vision”.

(D) I hate all of this. There’s nothing in the author’s argument about “acquiring for photography the prestige accorded to painting” and nothing was “doomed to failure”.

(E) “to defend Cameron’s masterpiece The Passing of Arthur…” Stop. Nope. That was just an example. This doesn’t map well to any of the author’s conclusions.

(B) is the correct answer.