LSAT 147 | Section 2 | Reading Comprehension: Q12

RC Question 12 Explanation

DISCUSSION: The author has a positive view of Gray. They never criticize her, and always praise her.

However, all of the answers get this part right. What makes the wrong answers wrong is that their facts are wrong.

So while this seems like an “author’s opinion” question, it’s actually a hidden “do you know what the facts in the passage said?” question.

___________

1. CORRECT. This fits well. It didn’t mention lacquer specifically, but “the range of her work” covers that adequately, as well as “her aesthetic philosophy”, which we know was based on lacquer.
    
   Crucially, unlike the other answers, every part of this answer is supported by the passage.
2. The final part is wrong. The passage did not say that Gray’s lacquer work ostracized her from her contemporaries. 
3. The final part is wrong. While Gray stayed faithful to Japanese lacquer traditions, it sounds like her architectural work was not in a traditional Japanese style.
    
   (Indeed, traditional Japanese architecture used wood, screens, tatami, etc.)
4. The passage says Gray was best known for her lacquer work (line 1). This was a traditional Japanese art form, and so she likely did not have a reputation for being avant garde. (In that her reputation was based on only part of her work: traditional lacquer work)
    
   You might have picked this because of lines 15-17, show she avoided the Art Nouveau movement. But “avant garde” is more than just avoiding a popular thing. It usually means pushing an art medium forward. Working in an old, foreign tradition does not do that.
5. The passage never says whether Gray revolutionized structural design. She was best known for her lacquer work (line 1), so this is unlikely.