Appendices.pdf - NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc.

Specific Strategies u u u
Verbal
uQuestion 1
In Reading, the first question will always ask for the general
theme of the passage. The correct answer must encompass
the main points without being overly broad. Options A and B
are details, not the main theme. Option E, “a brief history of
impressionism,” is too broad. The passage focuses on only
one impressionist painter, Mary Cassatt. Option C looks
attractive, and while Cassatt is depicted as an independent
and confident woman, which might be considered traits of a
feminist, that term is not used in the passage and requires an
inference that is not supported by the passage. Option D is
best. The phrase “development as an artist” includes
Cassatt’s background, education, artistic style, subject
matter, and influence on the art world.
u Question 2
The answer to this question is found directly in the reading
passage (lines 14-15): “she felt stifled by the rigid curriculum.”
“Stifled” in this sense means repressed or held back. Option G
restates this idea. Option F is not true (Cassatt’s father did not
want her to study in Europe), and Option H, while a true statement,
does not explain why she left her studies. Cassatt had
not yet decided to study with French Impressionists (Option J),
so that cannot be the reason. Option K is not mentioned.
u Question 5
This question requires you to read all of the options and
choose the best one. Option A was true of all impressionists,
not just Cassatt. The passage provides no evidence that her
friendship with Degas made her unusual among impressionist
painters (Option B). Option C is not true; by joining the
impressionists (called “outsiders” in line 24), she left, not
remained in, the artistic mainstream of her day. Option D is
true of many artists, so it is not what made Cassatt unusual.
Option E is the best answer. Lines 55-57 state, “As a woman
and as an American, Cassatt stood virtually alone among the
impressionist painters.” In other words, she was unusual as a
successful female American impressionist painter.
u Question 6
Art collections in the United States are mentioned in the last
paragraph. Cassatt introduced impressionist art from Europe
to her wealthy American friends, thus influencing many of
them to buy it. Option H best summarizes this idea. None
of the other options explain how Cassatt influenced art
collections in the United States.
u Question 3
The mother-child theme in Cassatt’s work is discussed in lines
45-48. It was first suggested by Edgar Degas, a fellow artist,
which is Option C. The other options are not mentioned in the
passage.
u Question 4
The question asks for a description of Cassatt before 1865.
Cassatt began her studies at the Pennsylvania Academy of
Fine Arts in 1861. Four years later, in 1865, she left the academy
to study in Europe. Option F cannot be correct; she was
never interested in fashion and social standing. Options H, J,
and K are descriptive of dates much later than 1865. Option
G, “an independent thinker,” best describes the young woman
who left the social world of the upper classes and returned to
Europe against her father’s wishes.
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