Q13

[peg_city]

Why is E wrong?

It was between C and E and I guessed wrong

[LSAT-Chang]

I was also down to (C) and (E) -- but (E) actually contradicts lines 56-60. The author asserts that it was NOT Valdez's academic training that helped bring out the recognition whereas (E) says the academic conditions did bring about he recognition.

[ohthatpatrick]

I wouldn't quite say lines 56-60 contradict (E).

(E) says that Valdez's political and academic connections brought recognition to Teatro Campesino.

Lines 56-60 are just saying that Teatro Campesino was a distinct art form, borrowing from both carpas and from the traditional European theater.

(C) and (E) are so closely worded, that we should isolate the difference and look it up in the passage:

They both admit that Teatro Campesino was a collective achievement, but then go on to credit Valdez for doing SOMETHING significant.

(C) says Valdez's efforts and expertise helped determine the form of Teatro Campesino.

(E) says Valdez's political and academic connections brought the theater recognition.

The sentence that begins on line 54 is the best encapsulation of the author's final assessment of this whole passage. In this sentence, the author says that Valdez's artistic contributions were crucial to the early development of Teatro Campesino.

It's not a perfect match for (C) or (E), but it's a much stronger match for (C).

"crucial to the development of" is a decent match for C's "helped determine the form" . (vs. E's "brought recognition to")

and "artistic contributions" is a decent match for C's "efforts and expertise" (vs. E's "political and academic connections")

When you're down to two, isolate the difference and look it up in the passage. There will always be some proof in the passage that better supports one over the other.

Hope this helps.