#9 - Global Reference, Must Be True

[Administrator]

Please post below with any questions!

[ChicaRosa]

Why is E correct and not C?

I had a hard time with this question because from the passage it seems like Gray made her work of art aesthetically pleasing while make it functional which was why I chose C. Is C wrong because it served as a functional purpose but no aesthetics?

Is E correct because of ln 34-39?

Thanks!

[Emily Haney-Caron]

Hi ChicaRosa,

E and C definitely seem similar at first glance, and it takes some careful analysis to distinguish between them. The good news is, when you went back and looked it over, you did an excellent job identifying why the correct answer is E. Great work! You answered your own question on this one.

[jmramon]

I'm totally baffled with this one . I could easily rule out A and D, but not the others. I thought B could be right because it blends interior and exterior, as the artist did. I thought C could also be right because is downplays the distinctions between interior and exterior too b/c the vase is supposed to resemble the flowers it will hold. Lastly, E seems right b/c it is made of metal (I guess similar to the tubular steel the artist used) and is functional by fitting the human form--another aspect implemented in Eileen's work. How did you rule out B and C? Thank you very much!

[Francis O'Rourke]

Hi JMRamon,

Take another look at the description of Gray's towards the end of the first paragraph. Around line 15, the author states that Eileen Gray eschewed the "flowing, leafy lines" of other artists, and she preferred "austere beauty" of straight and simple lines and patterns.

Taking this into account, we can eliminate any answer choice that states that a work with flowing, leafy, intricate or showy. This means that an ornate vase that resembles flowers (answer choice C) and a table with intricate carvings of a bright nature scene (answer choice B) are not austere enough for Gray's style.

Remember that you must eliminate any answer choice that does not conform to what you read in any important way, even if it has elements in it that are correct.

[CPA2lawschool]

Hi all,

A bit perplexed by the rationale for this question (answer choice C, specifically) as compared to #10.

In #10, correct answer E says that "Much of Gray's later work was functional as well as ornamental."

This implies that a justification can be made for Gray's work to be intentionally decorative. If that is the case, how can C be an incorrect answer?

Thanks in advance!

[Brook Miscoski]

CPA2LawSchool,

The problem with (C) is that "ornate" is not the same as "ornamental." Throughout the passage, we find that Gray avoided the showy and chose the austere and even preferred straight lines to "flowing, leafy lines..." Thus (C) for #9 cannot be correct, and that does not challenge the validity of (E) for #10.

These kinds of nuances are intended to create challenging questions and confusion. The way you can move past it is making sure your understanding of the passage is fine-tuned.

[cornflakes]

Hi Powerscore,

Based on the rationale stated above, I'm gleaning that one needed to know the meaning of "ornate" in order to effectively understand your analysis. Unfortunately, ornate is not an active part of my lexicon (I know some fancy words, but not others) - for those of us who don't know the meaning of some words like this, what is your advice?

If one doesn't know the meaning of "ornate" in this sentence - what do you do? Similar to a previous poster, I felt that when she stated the following it lent some support to answer choice C: "She did not believe that one should divorce the structural design of the exterior from the design of the interior"

Taking the example of the vase resembling the flowers it will hold, I felt that this was a representation of her paralleling the structural design of the exterior (the design of the vase itself) with the design of the interior (being the flowers which the vase held).

I can understand how the answer choice gets poisoned by the word "ornate" after looking up the definition and seeing that is essentially an antonym to the "straight lines and simple forms" that she preferred. My issue, however, is how do not make this error in the future if I don't know the word and there aren't context clues within the answer choice to clue me into inferring its meaning.

Thanks,
Alex

[Adam Tyson]

All you can do when dealing with challenging vocabulary, Alex, is use some context, maybe keep the answer as a contender, and see if another answer in any way seems better. Between two answers, if I have one that is clearly wrong and one that is confusing, I will pick the confusing one, even if the vocab is the source of my confusion. But between a clearly good answer and a confusing one, I'll take the good one every time! And then I jot that word down and look it up later, as you did, to be better prepared in case it comes up again.

I see this problem all the time with students for whom English is not their first language, and pretty often even for those for whom it is, and it is a real challenge. Some LSAT vocab is tough! I encourage my students to keep a running list of challenging words they encounter, both in their practice and outside it, and look those words up daily.

If on the day of the test you encounter an unfamiliar word, just do your best with the context and root words, suffixes and prefixes. Remember that we are tasked with selecting the best answer, so if another answer is great, go with that instead.

[morri3mg]

I chose 'C' over 'E' specifically because it uses the word "metal," and I thought "oh, it's confusing metal with steel- a trap answer!" I understand that the metal chair is described as simple, and that matches Gray's artistic style, but does this mean that other synonyms not mentioned within the passage can be used as a correct answer choice? If so, does it depend on the question type?