Q11

[kimjy89]

I feel B, C and D are all functions the second paragraph serves. If I am confused about this type of question (what is the primary function of X paragraph?) are there any clues I could look for in the passage?

Thank you!

[ManhattanPrepLSAT1]

Great question. I think you should have been able to get rid of answer choice (C) though. Reread the correct answer to Q8 and you'll see that the author is not challenging the European ideas about naming, but rather saying that they do not adequately represent aesthetic qualities within Hopi names.

So I think I would have been between answer choices (B) and (D). At that point, I ask myself, "which one of these answer choices describes what is being presented, and which one is describing why the information is here?" Answer choice (B) is true, but that's not why the paragraph exists in the passage. The paragraph exists in the passage to show that the European ideas about naming do not recognize some important aesthetic qualities that exist in Hopi names.

So while answer choice (B) discusses something we know to be true from the information in the second paragraph, answer choice (D) discusses why the second paragraph even exists in the first place.

Does that help clear this one up?

[skapur777]

I put B. I eliminated C because I thought 'refutes' was a strong word nor did I think that was the point of the paragraph or what the paragraph was saying.

What exactly is 'semantic content'? Does that mean, 'content that has meaning'? And so, they asked about his in order to illustrate that Hopi names have meaning to them, evidence being lines 24-29, which talk about how the names are comprised of different things that reflect the child's characteristics, blah blah blah?

[ManhattanPrepLSAT1]

What exactly is 'semantic content'? Does that mean, 'content that has meaning'?

I believe that was meant as a question, yet the rest of your explanation is so correct, I wasn't sure if you meant it rhetorically!

Regardless, yes. "Semantic content" is content that has meaning and we can pick that up between (lines 3-7). Otherwise, great explanation, thanks!

[mcrittell]

I felt like D was way too general. I selected B because I looked at P1's concluding sent ln 16-18, P2's topic sentence 19-20, and P3's topic sentence 30-32. Plus, I feel like all of P2 talks about "several names in a sequence of ritual initiations," which I thought B's language captured by stating "reference to events in the recipient's life."

[ManhattanPrepLSAT1]

In (lines 26-29) we get the conclusion of the 2nd paragraph, which is that "a name might translate to something as simple as 'little rabbit,' which reflects both the child’s size and the representative animal."

Answer choice (B) is just too narrow focusing on only the events in the person's life and ignoring the part of the name that relates to the child's characteristics.

Answer choice (D) however is really vague and doesn't tell us exactly what that semantic content is, because the purpose of the paragraph is not to show through it's examples the specific instances and ideas, but rather the potential of names to carry certain kinds of information (semantic content).

Hope that helps, but let me know if you still have a question on this one!

[mcrittell]

Def makes sense. I guess I read the topic sentence and the surrounding evidence, instead of the taking the paragraph as a whole.

[T.J.]

As to (C), pay attention to how the author constructed this paragraph. First, she lists the occasions, such as birth and puberty, in which names would be given. Second, she gives information about the name givers. Last but not least, these names have semantic contents. As you can see, the author takes the first two steps to lead up to the third point, the most important one.
The conclusion of a paragraph can be placed at the beginning or the end. In this case, we have to ascertain the supporting structure. Not only is the main idea of a passage important, the main conclusion of a paragraph is also essential, as they add up to a solid and accurate understanding of the passage.
Also, paragraph 3 is where the passage really talks about events (LINE 31).

[ManhattanPrepLSAT1]

Hey T.J. good points!

I'm wondering if you feel there is a thesis sentence in paragraph 3 or whether you feel paragraph 3 serves to support the passage's overall thesis?

My take is the latter, but I'd love to hear what you think!

[T.J.]

Hey Matt, thanks for replying and I agree with you on the question you posted. The reason is that the second paragraphs is kinda loosely constructed. There isn't a definitive thesis sentence, which is the reason why (B) seems appealing. The 2nd paragraph, if taken alone, does support (B). However, that's not the way we should look at it. It has to be the big picture. The real question is why would the author write this paragraph in this particular passage. To answer this, we have to know what the main point is, which can be found from line 10 - 12. Taking that into account, it's clear that the author intends to use 2nd paragraph to do what (D) says.

[Heart Shaped Box]

B is wrong is bc there there is no reference to events in second paragraph. It first tells us 3 ritual occasions where a child would get names, and that's it. It was a simple one sentence description, nothing else. There is no "referencing" any kind of "events" such as a how a ritual ceremony goes, (they run, sing, dance, play fire or whatever) how it refers to a child's name, etc. And yet the rest of the paragraph talks about the meaning of a child's name (little rabbit) hence its semantic content. (D)

I think the confusion here is what the passage supports and what second paragraph supports. The first paragraph of the passage (line 14) does support B, but the second paragraph itself does not support the info in B, for there is simply no reference to events in second paragraph, though the author manipulates it in a way such that it "looks like" it does.

[LolaC289]

The biggest difference between B and E is their scope. I will say both of them are factually correct.

But when the LSAT asks for the function of a whole paragraph, it is certainly a more "global" question than a "local" one.

We know that when we are writing to make an argument, especially the complicated ones, most of the time one single paragraph is just not enough, in order to convince the others.

But do we write all these paragraphs for their individual sake? Definitely not. All things in our passage serves one ultimate goal: for our argument. Or branches of our argument.

B says the second paragraph functions as providing support for the claim that......this general and integral wording sounds promising!

But wait, what is the claim?

The claim, according to answer choice B, is "Hopi personal names make reference to events in the recipient's life."

Where did the author make this claim?

Well, the author made this claim right in the beginning of paragraph two (line19-20).

In other words, answer choice B is saying the whole paragraph is to provide support for itself. This statement thus is more of a wrap-up for its content, rather than its function.

How are things different with answer choice D?

Where is the "ways in which Hopi names may have semantic content" mentioned in our passage?

It is in paragraph one. Line 1-3 says the two European thinkers deny that names have any significant semantic content. And all the following paragraphs are used to refute this school of thought, using the case of the Hopi.

D is a very broad summary due to its scope. But it is nevertheless correct.

Consider this. I want to write an essay on why apples are a bette choice than Bananas.

In first paragraph I addressed all the nutrients apples have but bananas don't;
in the second one I mentioned how apples are generally cheaper in local stores;
in the last paragraph I conclude thus apples are better than bananas.

If someone asks for the function of the second paragraph of my apple essay, answer choice B would be like "to support the claim that apples are cheaper" while D would be like"to illustrate ways in which apples are better than bananas".

While I, as the author, would definitely say:"well, I do think apples are cheaper(after all, that's what I said in my essay!). But I am writing this paragraph to prove apples are better than bananas not only for its nutrition, but also price-wise!"