Reading Comprehension

PT103 · S4 · P2 · Q6 James Porter

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James Porter (1905–1970) was the first scholar to identify the African influence on visual art in the Americas, and much of what is known about the cultural legacy that African-American artists inherited from their African forebears has come to us by way of his work.

Topic

James Porter’s pioneering scholarship on the African influence in African-American visual art

Framework

Highlight Noteworthy

Main Point

James Porter was the first major scholar to document and analyze the African roots of African-American art, making fundamental contributions that integrated African-American visual arts into the broader context of American art history. ()

P1: Porter's Foundational Research and Discoveries

Porter broke new ground by connecting West African artistic traditions to African-American crafts from the 18th and 19th centuries, recognizing distinct influences in ordinary, everyday items. He went further to map out the cultural legacy inherited by future generations of African-American artists.

P2: Porter's Impactful Publications and Approach

He set the record straight on artists like Duncanson and Johnston, proving their African heritage, and published an influential history that for the first time truly explored the influence of African art, unlike earlier works by Locke. Porter’s personal art reflected his deep awareness of these African ties.

P3: Porter's Ongoing Scholarship and Legacy

Porter continued to refine his work, correcting earlier errors and making discoveries about notable African-American artists. Even after his death, his unfinished research and notes continue to offer valuable insights for scholars today, especially regarding the broader impact of African art on Western art overall.

Which one of the following most accurately states the main idea of the passage?

Because the connections between African-American
Unsupported Causal Relationship
This answer is saying because people had already covered the connection between African-American and other American art, Porter decided to focus on the influence from Africa. That second idea is definitely the main emphasis we want, but the causal wind-up is unsupported. The passage never explicitly says what caused Porter to undertake this research, but at the end of the second paragraph it speculates that what may have caused him to do so was the fact that his own art was consciously trying to link back to African art. So not only can we not support the causal relationship this answer choice is building, we also have some support for an alternate causal relationship.
4% picked this
In addition to showing the
Wrong Emphasis Too Strong: most important
This answer includes the idea we want as our main point, but it doesn't feature that idea in the main clause. We want the main clause to be like, "Porter was dope because he was the first to show the connection between African-American and African art". So this answer choice is like, "In addition to The Main Point, Porter's most important thing was [something else]."
24% picked this
Despite the fact that his
Wrong Emphasis
This answer says that Porter is noteworthy because he was the first person to exclusively profile African-American artists (it sounds more like his professor Locke was the first person to do that). Porter is noteworthy for being the first to show the connection of African-American art to African art.
3% picked this
Although showing the connections between
Wrong Emphasis Too Strong: primarily
This answer includes the idea we want as our main point, but it doesn't feature that idea in the main clause. We want the main clause to be like, "Porter was dope because he was the first to show the connection between African-American and African art". So this answer choice is like, "Although Porter did The Main Point, Porter's work concentrated primarily on [something else]."
8% picked this
Correct
While not the first body
Why this is right
Finally, we have a main clause that is correctly identifying why Porter is noteworthy: he was the first to make the connections between African-American art and African art. The subordinate clause that starts this answer is just referring to his professor Locke.
Skill tested: Main Point · how this choice captures the passage's function is the move to repeat next time.
62% picked this

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