Pico Workers

Answer choices

1. A

   Out of Scope: recent developments2% picked this

   describe recent developments in the Korean American community that have strongly affected other ethnic communities

   This passage is telling a story about something that happened in 1990 that affected the Korean American community. Does that count as "a recent development in the Korean American community"? Also, why would we say "recent developments", plural? This passage is about one story of the Pico Union coming to America and gaining the support of Korean Americans. Finally, while the "lesson" in the last paragraph potentially applies to other ethnic communities of immigrant derivation, the passage doesn't contain a story in which the Korean American community strongly affected other ethnic communities. The closest we come is saying that the Pico workers from Korea had a warm exchange with some immigrants from China.

   2%
2. B

   Correct74% picked this

   describe a situation in the Korean American community that presents a model for the empowerment of ethnic

   Why this is right

   The passage is telling the story of the Pico Union coming to the U.S. and galvanizing "an unprecedented coalition of Korean American groups", and in the final paragraph the author turns this story into a lesson. The Pico workers' campaign thus offers an important lesson. It demonstrates that ethnic communities need more than X. It shows that perhaps the most effective means of empowerment for many ethnic communities of immigrant derivation may be Y." "Offers a lesson" = presents a model

   Skill tested: Primary Purpose · how this choice captures the passage's function is the move to repeat next time.

   74%
3. C

   Out of Scope: detail the problems11% picked this

   detail the problems faced by the Korean American community in order to illustrate the need for the empowerment of

   The second half of this answer matches the end of the passage (just like in choice B), but the first half doesn't match the rest of the passage. The rest of the passage is telling the story of the Pico Union workers' trip to the U.S. and their support among the Korean American community. The passage never "details the problems faced by the Korean American community".

   11%
4. D

   Out of Scope: injustice in Korea1% picked this

   argue against economic and social injustice in the countries of origin of ethnic communities

   This answer would basically be saying that the primary purpose of this passage was for the author to yell at the corporation in Korea that shut down operations when they found out their workers were unionizing. The author never talks about the parent company other than in the first sentence of the passage. The passage is focused on what's happening in America, for Korean Americans, not what's happening in Korea (the "country of origin" for this ethnic community).

   1%
5. E

   Out of Scope: unionization movement12% picked this

   assess the impact of the unionization movement on ethnic communities of

   We only know about this one group of workers that were trying to unionize and ended flying to America to fight their parent employer. The passage never talks about any broader unionization movement . The author is assessing the impact of the Pico Workers' union on the Korean American community (and ends up extrapolating that a unifying force such as this can be good for ethnic communities of immigrant derivation -- but the unifying force doesn't need to have anything to do with unions).

   12%