LSAT 139 | Section 2 | Reading Comprehension: Q13

RC Question 13 Explanation

DISCUSSION: My prephrase was “Actos were an important part of Chicano political activism, and they were created by Luis Váldez, though not solely by him.”

This wasn’t quite the form the right answer took, as I discuss below. But it was enough of a prephrase that I could eliminate the wrong answers, and recognize how the right answer was right. (The part I missed was the split between Váldez’s expertise and efforts.)

___________

1. This only describes paragraph 3, and only part of it.
2. The passage never said Chávez developed actos. It just says Váldez approached Chávez about doing theatre (lines 10-11). This answer takes the idea in lines 40-56 (that workers helped create actos) and inserts César Chávez into it.
3. CORRECT. This answer describes how Váldez’s expertise and efforts helped create the Teatro Campesino. The collective effort part of this answer refers to the first part of paragraph 3: workers also had a role in artistic direction through their carpa experience.
    
   But this answer also mentions Váldez’s efforts. What were those? Váldez approached Chávez (lines 10-11), and Váldez gathered together striking farm workers and asked them to talk about their experiences (lines 17-19). Actos may not have occurred without these efforts.
    
   Finally, it mentions Váldez’s expertise: this refers to lines 56-60.
    
   So those three factors provide a fair summary of the passage (workers’ expertise, Váldez’s expertise, Váldez’s efforts).
4. The passage didn’t say this. If anything, Váldez’s early performers weren’t particularly talented. They were just ordinary farmworkers, and Váldez took the least timid of them (lines 17-23).
    
   The farm workers were important, but that’s not the same thing as having special talent.
5. “Connections”? This answer misrepresents paragraph 3. That section says Váldez contributed his artistic training to actos (lines 56-60). Political connections would be “Senator, could you talk about this theatre show for me”?
    
   The passage didn’t mention Váldez as being a well connected mover and shaker.