Q6

[vkgarrett]

I chose D for this answer, and even crossed out the correct answer "a" as not being possible!

Please explain thanks

[kaseyb002]

I'll give it a shot.

The tough thing about this question is the q stem. I would highlight "part of an attempt to". So really, this stem has very little to do with "corpus of traditional lore" than it does with the broader purpose of the whole sentence/ maybe even paragraph.

While D does accurately describe the role played by that phrase, what is the point of that role? In other words, why would the author need to elucidate those characteristics?

It's used a means to the bigger purpose of distinguishing expectations from different genres. Hopefully that makes sense. I could be telling the wrong stuff though.

[woof90]

Hello. I will try to give my 2 cents. After some thought, I agree with what is said above.

The reason why (D) appears less attractive (took me a while to think this) is that (D) simply does not describe the role of the author's reference to "corpus of traditional lore" as well as (A). Yes, the reference does serve the function of elucidating in some ways the characteristics of one literary genre from another (though I'm giving it a bit of slack by saying that there are 'direct counterparts').

But, that's not the author's intention for making that reference, and that's key. The author wanted to draw attention to what is distinctly expected of the teller of folktales, and s/he uses this 'corpus ...' reference to do it.

[mornincounselor]

So, "as part of an attempt to" is different than if the question stem read: "in an attempt to"?

With the former (A) is the credited choice because it refers to not only the specific phrase quoted but, rather, the entire context in which that phrase is introduced. However, in the later (A) would be outside the scope of the question and (D) might be the best choice despite "direct counterparts in another, largely dissimilar genre" not being perfect.

[christine.defenbaugh]

Really interesting discussion going on here guys, but I'm going to go against the grain here - strongly.

There is zero functional difference between "as part of an attempt to" and "in an attempt to", and overfocusing on that sort of irritating nuance is precisely what leads people to believe that the LSAT is a hair's breadth away from arbitrary and ridiculous.

I completely disagree that (D) is an accurate reflection, at all, of the purpose of the phrase "corpus of traditional lore". And even if the question were more explicit about zeroing in on that phrase alone, (A) would not be out of scope.

First, let's talk about why (A) is right, no matter how narrow the question stem is. We are, essentially, being asked WHY the author trots out that reference to the "corpus of traditional lore". It is not possible to determine why a phrase is being used without understand the entire sentence (or at the very least, the clause) where it lived. Phrases do not live in vacuums where we can analyze their meaning or purpose without the rest of the sentence (or clause). So, even if this question used "in an attempt", we would still need to reflect upon the entire sentence (or clause).

The relevant clause is "but it is important to bear in mind that whereas realism and originality are expected of the novel, the teller of folktales is expected to derive subjects and frameworks from the corpus of traditional lore."

That clause is a comparison between two things: the expectations of novels and the expectations of folktales. The only reason that the author is trotting out the reference to the "corpus of traditional lore" is in order to make that comparison.

(A) gives us this precisely: distinguishing expectations between two genres.


Now, let's talk about why (D) is wrong, regardless of how narrow the question reads.

This answer suggests that the author's purpose is to explain those characteristics of one genre that have "direct counterparts" in another. This does NOT simply say "to explain some characteristics", which might have made it more tempting. It specifically refers to "those characteristics that have direct counterparts" in another genre.

"Direct counterparts" would need to be some analogous literary element - for instance, if one genre uses gods to intervene and 'fix things' when the tragedy hits the worst point, perhaps another genre uses randomly introduced quasi-magical technology to fulfill the same essential literary function. We don't have any "counterparts" at all, here - in fact, the author goes to great lengths to argue that the two genres are fundamentally different.

We cannot say that "the expectations" are a "direct counterpart" - every genre of literature has some expectations, and it would be silly to suggest that ALL genres have "direct counterparts" in one another, solely for that reason. It would be very odd to refer to "expectations" of a genre as having a "direct counterpart" in another.

No - it's far simpler, and entirely more accurate to say that the author is comparing the expectations, rather than elucidating characteristics with "direct counterparts".

Now, while we're here, let's take a brief look at the remaining incorrect answer choices:
(B) The author never suggests novels and folktales are (or aren't) equally valuable.
(C) We are contrasting two genres, not discussing "blending" them.
(E) The author simply compares expectations, he never argues for a "more precise analysis."


Don't forgive a truly problematic word choice ("direct counterparts") and then hairsplit on the wording of "as part of an attempt" vs "in an attempt". This is essentially ignoring the log in the eye of (D) to focus on a possible speck in the eye of the question stem. Between these two potential issues, it is simply far more likely that the word choice in (D) will matter.

Note that no one has actually given a solid defense of the "direct counterpart" language. I usually see this happen when everyone sort of knows that it's problematic, but you can't put your finger on precisely why. I'd challenge you to investigate that, rather than split hairs on which prepositions are used in the question stem!

I hope this clears some things up for a sticky question!