Julia Margaret Cameron

Answer choices

1. A

   Not the Main Conclusion9% picked this

   It is the main conclusion of the passage, for which the discussion of Cameron's fancy-subject pictures serves

   In all the Local Purpose questions ever, this might be the only answer choice that has ever dared to say, "The role is plays is Main Point!" It's pretty safe to guarantee that the role of something Local will never be the main point. This answer describes a Theme / Example style passage in which the first paragraph starts a broader discussion of suspension of disbelief and then Cameron is introduced later as an example to illustrate this. This passage, of course, is totally Cameron-centric. She is the main event; this discussion of suspension of disbelief is a tiny interlude that helps to accentuate a point about the experience of looking at her photos.

   9%
2. B

   Correct64% picked this

   It introduces a contrast the author uses in characterizing the peculiar nature of our response

   Why this is right

   We can sign off on all parts of this. introduces a contrast Sure, it's saying while we can suspend our disbelief with narrative paintings, we can't do so with narrative photos. We're always aware of the photograph's doubleness - of each figure's imaginary and real personas. used to characterize the peculiar nature of our response to Cameron "It is precisely the camera's realism that has given Cameron's theatricality and artificiality its atmosphere of truth. It is is the truth of the sitting, rather than the fiction [people dressed up in order to depict], that wafts out of these wonderful and strange , not quite-in-focus photographs". Cameron's photos are captivating because of how funny it is to think about the real people posing for these pictures, and we can't help but notice the real people because of the camera's stubborn obsession with realism, its power to override our suspension of disbelief.

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

   64%
3. C

   Too Strong5% picked this

   It is the key step in an argument supporting the author's negative appraisal of the

   Too Strong: the key Out of Scope: negative appraisal Five words out of the gate, this answer is sounding corny. In order to call anything the key step in an argument, the author would have to announce it with some emphasis like "most importantly / most critically". If we read any further, we'll see it's accusing the author of having a negative opinion overall on the field of narrative photography. The author isn't being negative. She isn't saying an artistic project is crap if it doesn't allow you to suspend disbelief. She's just pointing out a distinction between two things. If we pointed out that, "A flat painting you can potentially see all at once, whereas a sculpture has to be seen in time as you move around it", we're not elevating or disparaging either art form.

   5%
4. D

   Out of Scope: criticism6% picked this

   It is used to explain a criticism of Cameron's fancy-subject pictures that the author shows

   There aren't any criticisms of Cameron discussed in the passage, so this couldn't possibly be part of an argument to show such a criticism is confused. All the evaluative thoughts in the passage belong to the author.

   6%
5. E

   Unsupported Comparison Detail-Sentence Bait16% picked this

   It draws a contrast between narrative painting and drama to support the author's conclusion that Cameron's fancy-subject pictures

   The author never implies that Cameron's photos are more like narrative painting than like drama. Drama is like narrative painting sometimes, in that the viewer can suspend disbelief. But drama is like narrative photos sometimes, in that the viewer cannot suspend disbelief. (Drama is sometimes yes, sometimes no, when it comes to suspension of disbelief). This answer is laying the classic trap on Local Purpose questions of baiting us into considering it by using wording from the actual Detail Sentence itself. If students were to go looking for the sentence that says "suspension of disbelief", they would see the words narrative painting right next to it. That's a cheap, superficial reason to like this answer (i.e. more likely to be a trap answer). Real answers make you work for it, via synonyms / restatements / deeper comprehension.

   16%