Q25

[lhermary]

Wow. Hard passage.

Why the answer D here and not C?

Thanks

[slimjimsquinn]

Agreed. The entire point of the passage flew over me.
What is the purpose of the third paragraph?

How is it used to show that Herbert's treatment of Impressionism was inadequate?

Thanks!

[alexg89]

There is no alternative thesis being presented. That's one reason why C is wrong

First paragraph : Author makes a claim about Herbert adequacy in restoring paintings to their sociocultural context. He says Herbert's arguments are not persuasive. Lines 15-22 illustrate this part of the passage.

Second and Third Paragraphs are all support for this claim.

[WaltGrace1983]

Is the "moreover" at the beginning of the third paragraph the tipoff that paragraph 3 is just giving another reason why Herbert's arguments aren't persuasive?

[christine.defenbaugh]

Is the "moreover" at the beginning of the third paragraph the tipoff that paragraph 3 is just giving another reason why Herbert's arguments aren't persuasive?

Absolutely. "Moreover" is a great signal word that tells us that the third paragraph is continuing the main thrust of the argument with a new point to support it.

For the structure question, we've got to view the paragraphs with a big picture lens.

Paragraph 1 - lays out the divide between the old-view (all style, all the time) and the new-view (sociocultural context). The author caps it off with his Big Idea: Herbert (of the new-view) is not persuasive.

Paragraph 2 - All about Herbert redrawing the boundaries of Impressionism, and ultimately, how that's bad.

Paragraph 3 - How the rationale for Herbert's view is undermined by what Impressionists left out.

Both paragraphs 2 and 3 support the Big Idea (thesis) thrown at us in the final sentence of paragraph1. That's exactly what (D) gives us.

Let's spin through the incorrect answers:
(A) The first paragraph doesn't give any support for a later claim, instead, it gives us a claim that is later supported!

(B) While a thesis is stated in P1, there's no revision to it in P2. P2 is all about support!

(C) While we could make an argument that the first two paragraphs are criticizing Herbert's thesis, the third paragraph doesn't present the alternative view. The "alternative view" would be the author's position, which is laid bare in Paragraph 1. Also, if paragraphs 1 and 2 criticize Herbert's thesis, paragraph 3 just continues to do the same.

(E) No counterargument to the author's Big Idea is offered in P2, and the author certainly never attempts to resolve the dispute between his own thesis and Herbert's ideas.

Remember, for a structure question, you have to get a big picture sense of how each paragraph relates to the others!