Federal Theater Project

Answer choices

1. A

   Weakens, if anything2% picked this

   The majority of plays produced by black theater groups predating the Negro Units were from original scripts

   We want the Negro Units to sound like the first national black theater, but this answer is saying "even before the Negro Units, most plays produced by black theater groups were written by African Americans". That makes it sound like there was "truly black" theater prior to the Negro Units.

   2%
2. B

   Weaker than Correct Answer24% picked this

   Before the Negro Units were founded, government funding for the dramatic arts in African American

   This is pretty good, since it sounds like the Negro Units were the first time that government funding for black theater existed. Of course, maybe there was private funding for black theater prior to the Negro Units. I don't think we need so assume that government funding is a necessity for having a truly national black theater. This is worth keeping on the first pass, but it's weaker than our correct answer. It's more of a sketchy link to say, "If it wasn't receiving government funding, then it wasn't a truly national black theater" than it is to say, "If it almost exclusively performed in big eastern cities, then it wasn't a truly national black theater".

   24%
3. C

   Correct54% picked this

   Prior to the establishment of the Negro Units, the vast majority of dramas written by and for African Americans were produced and

   Why this is right

   This has really strong language, which is great, because we're looking for maximum strengthening impact. If almost everything before the Negro Units that was written by and for African Americans was made and performed exclusively in large eastern cities, then it sounds very regionally limited. Since the Negro Units were "in cities spread throughout the United States", we can argue that this is the first time that black theater was truly national. When we read "truly national black theater" in context, it's not clear whether we should be thinking: 1. this is the first time theater has been truly black? 2. first time black theater has been truly national? 3. first time theater has been black and national? Technically, the adverb truly is modifying the adjective national, so if we place the right emphasis on that claim, it's easier to like this answer. The Negro Units came closer to establishing a black theater company that was truly national, since prior to the Negro Units, the vast majority of black theater was made and performed exclusively in eastern cities.

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

   54%
4. D

   Unclear Impact14% picked this

   African American dramatic arts organizations founded prior to the Negro Units drew audiences of fewer than 100 people on

   Since we don't know how many people on average attended performances by the Negro Units, it's really impossible to judge how the past theater companies compared to the Negro Units from this answer choice. And nothing in the phrase "the first truly national black theater" seems to convey any assumed notions about minimum audience size per show.

   14%
5. E

   No Impact5% picked this

   Theater historians have had difficulty locating historical documents relating to the earliest activity of organized

   Since this is just telling us that we find it hard to find good data on the older theater groups, it would neither strengthen nor weaken. It could only strengthen if we thought, "If it's hard to find historical documents relating to them, then they weren't a truly national black theater". But that's a much more strained link then, "If it almost always performed exclusively in big Eastern cities, then it wasn't a truly national black theater".

   5%