Those scholars who are engaged in the attempt to explain human experience realize that while experience is ungraspable in one...
GMAT Reading Comprehension : (RC) Questions
Those scholars who are engaged in the attempt to explain human experience realize that while experience is ungraspable in one sense, it is also a human construct. Feminist theory brings the added awareness that the construction of women's experience has never been adequate. Whether that experience was made trivial or enviable, sanctified or mystified, it has been peripheral. Described and explained primarily not by women themselves, but by men. Since women's experience has so rarely been a direct focus for theoretical consciousness, a whole range and spectrum of human life remains to be explored, depicted, and understood.
For this reason, feminist theory is fundamentally experiential. Its subject is women's lives, past or present, historically recorded or known only by inference, experienced in association with men of the dominant culture or with men who are also oppressed. Feminist theory reconsiders historical, economic, religious, biological, artistic, and anthropological constructs and explanations. It brings to theoretical consciousness facets of women's experience that have hitherto escaped attention because they have not been part of, and may even have contradicted, predominant theoretical accounts of human life. It rethinks thinking itself, for to conceive women's lives as actual often fractures the theoretical and philosophical constructs that Ica those lives out of amount.
Thus, the essential first step in feminist theory is consciousness-raising, which supplies, as Catharine MacKinnon points out, "the major technique of analysis, structure of organization, method of practice, and theory of social change [for] the women's movement." At one level, all women's experiences must be embraced in statements about women in general; and yet, as Mary O'Brien puts it, "There is no Woman but real flesh and blood female creatures with brains and pains and aspirations." Individual women have become conscious of their situation by a personal re-vision of the economic practices, sexual mores, and political realities that have assigned that situation to them. Those of them who are feminist theorists must also come to terms with the philosophical constructs that shape their milieu, and with the theorists who first produced those constructs as living thought Marx, Confucius, Freud, and Saint Paul. They must scan the beacons that flare along the horizon of all culture, asking whether any one of those beacons is their own lighthouse.
Feminist theory must also criticize itself and counter the tendency to congeal into a new ideology. Ideologies encompass unexamined thoughts about people's lives; they are frozen theory, adopted as convenient or embraced fervently as dogma, unquestioned. To remain true to their own vision of the truth, feminist theorists must continue to test thinking against experience, making sure that it remains rooted in the real lives of women.
The primary purpose of the passage is to
Passage Analysis
Progressive Passage Analysis
| Text from Passage | Analysis |
|---|---|
| "Those scholars who are engaged in the attempt to explain human experience realize that while experience is ungraspable in one sense, it is also a human construct." | What it says: Researchers studying human experience understand it's both impossible to fully grasp AND something humans create. What it does: Sets up the foundational tension - introduces the complexity scholars face Source/Type: Author's statement about what scholars realize Connection to Previous Sentences: First sentence - establishes the opening premise Visualization: Think of 100 scholars studying human experience - they all agree on this paradox: experience is like trying to hold water (ungraspable) but also like building with blocks (constructed) Reading Strategy Insight: Note the "while...also" structure - this sets up a paradox but doesn't resolve it yet. Don't worry about the complexity - the author will clarify. |
| "Feminist theory brings the added awareness that the construction of women's experience has never been adequate." | What it says: Feminist theory adds the insight that how women's experience has been constructed/built is insufficient. What it does: Introduces feminist theory as bringing additional awareness to the general scholarly problem Source/Type: Author's claim about what feminist theory contributes Connection to Previous Sentences: This builds on Sentence 1 by introducing a specific theory (feminist) that adds to what "those scholars" realize. The word "added" explicitly connects to previous knowledge. Visualization: If 100 scholars see the experience paradox, feminist theorists are a subset of those 100 who notice something extra: the construction for women specifically has been inadequate (like a building with a faulty foundation) Reading Strategy Insight: Key insight - we're moving from general scholarly awareness to a specific type of theory. This is narrowing focus, not adding complexity. |
| "Whether that experience was made trivial or enviable, sanctified or mystified, it has been peripheral. Described and explained primarily not by women themselves, but by men." | What it says: No matter how women's experience was portrayed (unimportant, desirable, holy, mysterious), it was always pushed to the sidelines. Men, not women, did most of the describing and explaining. What it does: Provides specific examples of inadequate construction and explains why it's inadequate Source/Type: Author's explanation with concrete examples Connection to Previous Sentences: This directly elaborates on "never been adequate" from Sentence 2. The author is explaining WHAT inadequate looks like and WHY it happened. Visualization: Picture 4 different portraits of women: 1) trivial (unimportant), 2) enviable (to be desired), 3) sanctified (holy), 4) mystified (mysterious). Despite being different, all 4 portraits are pushed to the edges of a gallery (peripheral), and all 4 have male artists' signatures, not female ones. Reading Strategy Insight: Feel relieved here - this is explanation, not new complexity! The author is helping by giving concrete examples of the abstract concept "inadequate." |
| "Since women's experience has so rarely been a direct focus for theoretical consciousness, a whole range and spectrum of human life remains to be explored, depicted, and understood." | What it says: Because women's experience hasn't been the main focus of theoretical thinking, there's a huge portion of human life that still needs to be studied and understood. What it does: States the consequence of the problem and sets up why feminist theory is needed Source/Type: Author's logical conclusion based on previous statements Connection to Previous Sentences: This is a direct consequence statement ("Since...") that follows from Sentences 2-3. If construction has been inadequate and done primarily by men, THEN logically there's lots left unexplored. Visualization: Imagine human experience as a 1000-piece puzzle. If women's experience has "rarely been a direct focus," then maybe only 300 pieces have been properly examined, leaving 700 pieces ("whole range and spectrum") still in the box waiting to be explored. Reading Strategy Insight: This "Since..." structure is showing logical flow, not introducing new problems. The author is building an argument step by step. |
| "For this reason, feminist theory is fundamentally experiential. Its subject is women's lives, past or present, historically recorded or known only by inference, experienced in association with men of the dominant culture or with men who are also oppressed." | What it says: Because of this gap, feminist theory is basically about real experience. It studies women's actual lives across all times and situations - whether documented or inferred, whether with powerful men or oppressed men. What it does: Defines what feminist theory IS and describes the scope of its subject matter Source/Type: Author's definition and explanation Connection to Previous Sentences: "For this reason" explicitly connects to Sentence 4's conclusion about unexplored territory. This explains HOW feminist theory addresses that gap - by being "experiential" (focused on real experience). Visualization: Think of feminist theory as a research project examining women's lives like a comprehensive photo album: old photos and new photos (past or present), some clear photos and some where you have to guess what's happening (recorded or inferred), photos with powerful men and photos with oppressed men. All focused on the women in the pictures. Reading Strategy Insight: Key insight - "experiential" directly connects to "experience" from Sentence 1. The author is creating coherence, not scattering concepts. |
| "Feminist theory reconsiders historical, economic, religious, biological, artistic, and anthropological constructs and explanations." | What it says: Feminist theory takes another look at theories and explanations from 6 major fields of study. What it does: Lists the broad academic areas that feminist theory examines Source/Type: Author's description of feminist theory's scope Connection to Previous Sentences: This expands on "fundamentally experiential" by showing HOW comprehensive this reconsideration is - it touches multiple academic fields. This connects to the "whole range and spectrum" mentioned in Sentence 4. Visualization: Picture 6 large academic buildings representing different fields of study. Feminist theory is like a research team that goes into each building and re-examines all the conclusions and explanations inside, asking "But what about women's perspectives?" Reading Strategy Insight: This list shows the breadth of feminist theory's work - it's comprehensive, which supports the earlier point about "whole range and spectrum" being unexplored. |
| "It brings to theoretical consciousness facets of women's experience that have hitherto escaped attention because they have not been part of, and may even have contradicted, predominant theoretical accounts of human life." | What it says: Feminist theory makes scholars aware of aspects of women's experience that were previously ignored because they didn't fit, or actually went against, the main theories about human life. What it does: Explains WHY those 6 fields needed reconsideration - they missed or excluded women's experiences Source/Type: Author's explanation of the mechanism behind feminist theory's work Connection to Previous Sentences: This explains WHY the reconsideration from Sentence 6 is necessary. It connects back to "peripheral" from Sentence 3 - things "escaped attention" because they weren't central to existing theories. Visualization: Imagine the 6 academic buildings have security systems that only let certain information in. Women's experiences are like visitors that either get turned away at the door ("have not been part of") or set off alarms ("may even have contradicted"). Feminist theory changes the security settings. Reading Strategy Insight: This is clarification, not complication! The author is explaining the same point about exclusion in more precise terms. |
| "It rethinks thinking itself, for to conceive women's lives as actual often fractures the theoretical and philosophical constructs that left those lives out of account." | What it says: Feminist theory rethinks the very process of thinking, because when you treat women's lives as real and important, it often breaks the theories that ignored those lives. What it does: Explains the deeper, more fundamental impact of feminist theory on knowledge itself Source/Type: Author's analytical claim about feminist theory's deepest effect Connection to Previous Sentences: This escalates from reconsidering specific fields (Sentence 6) to reconsidering thought processes themselves. The word "fractures" intensifies "contradicted" from Sentence 7 - it's not just inconsistency, but actual breaking of old frameworks. Visualization: If academic theories are like buildings, feminist theory doesn't just renovate them - when it makes women's lives central ("actual"), it sometimes causes the foundation of these theoretical buildings to crack and break apart ("fractures") because they weren't designed to support this weight. Reading Strategy Insight: This shows the power of feminist theory - it doesn't just add information, it can transform entire ways of thinking. Notice how this builds on all previous points about inadequacy and exclusion. |
| "Thus, the essential first step in feminist theory is consciousness-raising, which supplies, as Catharine MacKinnon points out, 'the major technique of analysis, structure of organization, method of practice, and theory of social change [for] the women's movement.'" | What it says: Therefore, the crucial beginning step in feminist theory is consciousness-raising. An expert (MacKinnon) explains that this is the main way feminists analyze, organize, practice, and create theories for social change. What it does: Identifies the primary method of feminist theory and provides expert support Source/Type: Author's conclusion supported by expert citation (Catharine MacKinnon) Connection to Previous Sentences: "Thus" shows this logically follows from the previous discussion. If feminist theory rethinks thinking itself and brings ignored experiences to awareness, THEN consciousness-raising (making people aware) is the logical first step. Visualization: Think of consciousness-raising as turning on lights in a dark house. MacKinnon is saying this light switch is the master control that powers 4 different systems: 1) analysis tools, 2) organization structure, 3) practice methods, and 4) social change theories. Reading Strategy Insight: Feel confident here - "Thus" signals the author is wrapping up the logical argument, not starting something new. The expert quote reinforces rather than complicates. |
| "At one level, all women's experiences must be embraced in statements about women in general; and yet, as Mary O'Brien puts it, 'There is no Woman but real flesh and blood female creatures with brains and pains and aspirations.'" | What it says: On one hand, when we talk about women generally, we need to include all women's experiences; but on the other hand, another expert (O'Brien) reminds us that "Woman" as an abstract concept doesn't exist - only real individual women with thoughts, suffering, and dreams. What it does: Introduces a tension within feminist theory between generalization and individualization Source/Type: Author's observation supported by expert citation (Mary O'Brien) Connection to Previous Sentences: This begins to address a complexity within the consciousness-raising process - how do you raise consciousness about "women" when every woman is different? This connects to "women's lives" being diverse (from Sentence 5). Visualization: Picture trying to write a statement that represents all women - you need a circle big enough to include 3.5 billion individual women worldwide. O'Brien is saying don't forget that inside that huge circle are billions of individual people, each with their own brain, pain, and aspirations - not just an abstract concept called "Woman." Reading Strategy Insight: The "and yet" structure presents a productive tension, not a contradiction that undermines feminist theory. This is about balancing general and specific. |
| "Individual women have become conscious of their situation by a personal re-vision of the economic practices, sexual mores, and political realities that have assigned that situation to them." | What it says: Individual women have gained awareness of their circumstances by personally re-examining the economic systems, sexual norms, and political facts that put them in those circumstances. What it does: Describes how consciousness-raising works at the individual level Source/Type: Author's description of the consciousness-raising process Connection to Previous Sentences: This explains how "consciousness-raising" from Sentence 9 actually works for "real flesh and blood female creatures" from Sentence 10. It shows the process moving from theory to individual practice. Visualization: Imagine an individual woman looking at 3 areas of her life through new glasses: 1) her economic situation (job, pay, financial dependence), 2) sexual expectations and rules in her culture, and 3) political power structures. The "re-vision" is literally seeing these areas with fresh perspective. Reading Strategy Insight: This bridges the gap between abstract theory and individual experience - showing how the general process of consciousness-raising becomes personal. |
| "Those of them who are feminist theorists must also come to terms with the philosophical constructs that shape their milieu, and with the theorists who first produced those constructs as living thought Marx, Confucius, Freud, and Saint Paul." | What it says: Women who become feminist theorists (not just conscious individuals) must also grapple with the big philosophical ideas that shape their intellectual environment, and with the major thinkers who created those ideas - like Marx, Confucius, Freud, and Saint Paul. What it does: Describes the additional work required for women who become theorists themselves Source/Type: Author's description of advanced theoretical work Connection to Previous Sentences: "Those of them who" connects to individual women from Sentence 11, but identifies a subset who take on theoretical work. "Must also" shows this is additional to personal consciousness-raising. This connects back to "rethinks thinking itself" from Sentence 8. Visualization: Picture the women from Sentence 11 who gained personal consciousness. Now imagine a smaller group among them who decide to become theorists. These women must engage not just with their personal situations, but with the heavyweight intellectual champions (Marx, Confucius, Freud, Saint Paul) who shaped how everyone thinks. Reading Strategy Insight: This shows levels of engagement - personal consciousness-raising for all women, plus additional theoretical work for those who become feminist theorists. It's building complexity systematically. |
| "They must scan the beacons that flare along the horizon of all culture, asking whether any one of those beacons is their own lighthouse." | What it says: These feminist theorists must examine the guiding lights of human culture, questioning whether any of these guiding principles truly belongs to them or represents them. What it does: Uses metaphor to describe the search for authentic theoretical foundations Source/Type: Author's metaphorical description Connection to Previous Sentences: This restates and elaborates the work described in Sentence 12. "Scan the beacons" is a metaphorical way to describe "come to terms with philosophical constructs and theorists." The lighthouse metaphor makes the abstract idea concrete. Visualization: Imagine standing on a shore at night. All along the horizon are lighthouse beacons (representing major cultural and intellectual traditions - Marx's economics, Confucius's ethics, Freud's psychology, Paul's theology). Each lighthouse guides ships, but the feminist theorist asks: "Is any of these MY lighthouse? Does any of these guide me safely home?" Reading Strategy Insight: Beautiful simplification! The author takes the complex academic work from Sentence 12 and makes it understandable through a clear metaphor. Feel more confident, not less. |
| "Feminist theory must also criticize itself and counter the tendency to congeal into a new ideology." | What it says: Feminist theory must also be critical of itself and fight against becoming a rigid new belief system. What it does: Introduces a warning about feminist theory's potential dangers Source/Type: Author's prescriptive statement about how feminist theory should operate Connection to Previous Sentences: "Must also" indicates this is another requirement for feminist theory, adding to consciousness-raising and engaging with traditional theorists. This introduces self-awareness as essential to the theoretical project. Visualization: Think of feminist theory as a flowing river that must keep moving. "Congeal" suggests the danger of turning into ice - solid, rigid, unmovable. The theory needs to actively fight against freezing into a fixed form (ideology). Reading Strategy Insight: This shows the author's sophisticated understanding - feminist theory isn't presented as perfect, but as something that requires constant vigilance against its own potential problems. |
| "Ideologies encompass unexamined thoughts about people's lives; they are frozen theory, adopted as convenient or embraced fervently as dogma, unquestioned." | What it says: Ideologies are unexamined ideas about how people live; they're theory that has frozen/stopped evolving, taken up because it's easy or held onto passionately as absolute truth, never questioned. What it does: Defines what ideology is and why it's problematic Source/Type: Author's definition and explanation Connection to Previous Sentences: This defines "ideology" from Sentence 14, explaining exactly what feminist theory must avoid becoming. "Frozen theory" connects to "congeal" from the previous sentence - both suggest stopping or hardening. Visualization: Compare two states of water: 1) Flowing river (good feminist theory) vs. 2) Ice block (ideology). The ice block forms when theory stops flowing and examining itself. People use the ice block either because it's convenient (easy to grab) or because they worship it as perfect (dogma), but nobody questions whether it should be ice instead of flowing water. Reading Strategy Insight: This is definition and explanation - the author is helping you understand exactly what to avoid. The "frozen theory" phrase makes the abstract concept concrete. |
| "To remain true to their own vision of the truth, feminist theorists must continue to test thinking against experience, making sure that it remains rooted in the real lives of women." | What it says: To stay loyal to their understanding of truth, feminist theorists must keep checking their ideas against real experience, ensuring their theories stay connected to actual women's lives. What it does: Provides the solution/method for avoiding ideology and concludes the passage Source/Type: Author's prescriptive conclusion Connection to Previous Sentences: This provides the antidote to "ideology" from Sentences 14-15. It circles back to "fundamentally experiential" from Sentence 5 and "women's lives" throughout the passage. "Test thinking against experience" is the opposite of "unexamined thoughts." Visualization: Think of feminist theory as a plant that needs its roots in the soil of "real lives of women." Ideology is like a plastic plant - looks like theory but has no living roots. The testing process is like regularly checking that the roots are still deep in real soil, not floating in air. Reading Strategy Insight: Perfect circular conclusion! The passage ends by returning to its core theme of experience and women's lives. Notice how this brings us full circle to the opening discussion of experience as both graspable and ungraspable. What We Know So Far: 1. Feminist theory addresses gaps in traditional scholarship about women 2. It uses consciousness-raising as its primary method 3. It must balance general statements with individual experiences 4. It requires engaging with major traditional theorists 5. It must avoid becoming rigid ideology through constant self-examination |
2. Passage Summary:
Author's Purpose:
To explain what feminist theory is, how it works, and what challenges it faces in studying women's experiences that have been ignored by traditional scholarship.
Summary of Passage Structure:
In this passage, the author builds their explanation of feminist theory in clear steps:
- First, the author identifies a problem - scholars know human experience is hard to study, but feminist theory shows that women's experience has been especially poorly understood because it was mostly described by men, not women
- Next, the author explains what feminist theory does to fix this problem - it focuses on real women's lives and re-examines theories from many academic fields to bring ignored aspects of women's experience into focus
- Then, the author describes how feminist theory works through consciousness-raising, both for individual women who gain awareness of their situations and for feminist scholars who must engage with major traditional thinkers
- Finally, the author warns that feminist theory must constantly examine itself to avoid becoming a rigid belief system and must stay connected to real women's lives
Main Point:
Feminist theory is valuable because it brings attention to women's experiences that have been ignored, but to stay effective, it must keep testing its ideas against real women's lives rather than becoming a fixed set of beliefs.
3. Question Analysis:
This question asks us to identify the primary purpose of the passage - essentially, what is the author's main goal in writing this text? We need to determine whether the author is primarily trying to refute something, discuss something, broaden something, support something, or modify something.
Connecting to Our Passage Analysis:
From our detailed passage analysis, we can see that the author follows a clear explanatory structure:
1. The author identifies a gap in traditional scholarship regarding women's experiences
2. The author explains what feminist theory is and how it addresses this gap
3. The author describes the methods feminist theory uses (consciousness-raising)
4. The author outlines the challenges feminist theorists face
5. The author concludes with recommendations for how feminist theory should operate
Throughout the passage, the author maintains an explanatory tone, defining terms like "fundamentally experiential" and "consciousness-raising," providing expert citations from MacKinnon and O'Brien, and systematically building understanding of how feminist theory works.
Prethinking:
Based on our analysis, the author is not attacking or refuting any particular argument, nor supporting a specific hypothesis with evidence. Instead, the author is systematically explaining what feminist theory is, how it works, what methods it uses, and what challenges it faces. This is a comprehensive discussion of a theoretical approach - feminist theory - that covers its purpose, methods, scope, and potential pitfalls. The passage reads like an educational explanation designed to help readers understand this theoretical framework
Why It's Wrong:
\n• The author never presents a specific theoretical argument to attack or disprove
\n• The passage builds understanding of feminist theory rather than tearing down opposing views
\n• While the author mentions limitations of traditional scholarship, this serves to explain why feminist theory exists, not to refute a particular argument
\n\nCommon Student Mistakes:
\n1. Does the author's criticism of traditional scholarship mean they're refuting an argument?
\n→ No - the author uses this criticism to set up context for why feminist theory emerged, not to systematically refute a specific theoretical position
\n2. When the passage mentions that women's experiences "contradicted predominant theoretical accounts," isn't that refutation?
\n→ This describes what feminist theory discovered, but the passage's purpose is to explain this discovery, not to refute the original accounts
Why It's Right:
\n• The author systematically explains what feminist theory is, how it works, and what challenges it faces
\n• The passage follows a clear explanatory structure: identifying the problem feminist theory addresses, describing its methods, and outlining its requirements
\n• The author provides definitions, expert citations, and comprehensive coverage of the theoretical approach
\n\nKey Evidence: The passage begins by explaining that "feminist theory brings the added awareness" and proceeds to systematically discuss its characteristics ("fundamentally experiential"), methods ("consciousness-raising"), requirements (engaging with traditional theorists), and challenges (avoiding ideology).
Why It's Wrong:
\n• The author doesn't expand the boundaries of an existing theoretical category
\n• Instead of broadening something that already exists, the author explains a distinct theoretical approach
\n• The passage treats feminist theory as its own approach rather than an expansion of traditional theory
\n\nCommon Student Mistakes:
\n1. Since feminist theory "reconsiders" multiple academic fields, isn't it broadening those categories?
\n→ The passage shows feminist theory examining these fields from its own perspective, not expanding the fields themselves
\n2. When the author mentions "a whole range and spectrum of human life remains to be explored," isn't that broadening?
\n→ This describes the scope of what feminist theory studies, not the passage's purpose of broadening a category
Why It's Wrong:
\n• The author doesn't present a specific hypothesis and then provide evidence to support it
\n• The passage is explanatory rather than argumentative - it describes rather than proves
\n• No clear hypothesis is stated that the rest of the passage then supports with evidence
\n\nCommon Student Mistakes:
\n1. Isn't the idea that "feminist theory is fundamentally experiential" a hypothesis being supported?
\n→ This is presented as a defining characteristic to explain, not as a hypothesis to prove with evidence
\n2. Don't the expert quotes from MacKinnon and O'Brien serve as supporting evidence?
\n→ These quotes help explain concepts rather than provide evidence for a hypothesis - they're illustrative, not probative
Why It's Wrong:
\n• The author doesn't take an existing explanation and modify or revise it
\n• The passage presents feminist theory as a distinct approach rather than a modification of something else
\n• While feminist theory does modify how we understand women's experiences, the passage's purpose is to explain this theory, not to modify an explanation
\n\nCommon Student Mistakes:
\n1. Since feminist theory "reconsiders" and "rethinks" existing theories, isn't the passage modifying explanations?
\n→ The passage describes what feminist theory does (modify existing theories) but the passage's own purpose is to discuss/explain this theoretical approach
\n2. Doesn't the consciousness-raising process modify how women understand their experiences?
\n→ Again, this describes what the theory accomplishes, but the passage's primary purpose is to explain how this theoretical approach works