Q12

[priyanka.krishnamurthy]

"Which one of the following most accurately characterizes.."

I initially chose E here, but on the second go around chose A. I am not in love with really any of the ACs but was hoping someone could highlight where we can infer AC A part of "..sets her work apart from that of many of her contemporaries.."?

Any breakdown would be appreciated.

[ohthatpatrick]

Question Type:
Author Opinion

Answer expected in lines/paragraph:
Lines 1-7, 28-30 seem to be the closest thing to sentences announcing her "accomplishments".

Any prephrase?
We know the author has an overall favorable tone and stresses certain themes about Gray's work: hidden details and simple forms rather than complicated intricacies.

Correct answer:
A

Answer choice analysis:

(A) Worth keeping on a first pass. Can we justify that her philosophy/materials/range "sets her apart from contemporaries"? Her dedication to lacquer, which is a "little known craft in Europe at the time" (line 11), and her eschewing (rejection) of the flowy, leafy lines of Art Nouveau (lines 13-16) would set her apart.

(B) Strong language: "refusal to conform" / "periphery of the art world". We can't find lines to support that.

(C) Strong language: "unique contribution". Can't find a line to support that. It's also not clear that she "remained faithful to Japanese traditions".

(D) Strong language: "ENSURED her reputation as an avant-garde artist". Can't find good support for that.

(E) Strong language: "REVOLUTIONIZED the field of structural design". Can't find language to support that.

Takeaway/Pattern: Overall, I hate this correct answer, but all the other answer choices made much bolder claims. The author really wasn't dramatic about Gray, so even though we might be tempted to sensationalize what we read, what we actually read is pretty tame in terms of excitement. Almost every LSAT passage about an artist has attempted to show what was distinctive or noteworthy about that artist, so the big ideas of "hidden details and simple forms" would usually show up in this sort of question's correct answer. Instead, the four wrong answers make superlative claims we can't find support for, and the correct answer says "her overall body of work sets her apart from many of her contemporaries". That's an incredibly safe idea.

#officialexplanation

[JinZ551]

[quote="ohthatpatrick"]Question Type:
Author Opinion

(D) Strong language: "ENSURED her reputation as an avant-garde artist". Can't find good support for that.


Can I say D is wrong for the ''rapid development in her career'' being unsupported?