16Hit1600
Craft and StructureVery hardTwo authors on the interpretation of a record

Craft and Structure practice question

Text 1 The court rolls show the manor's tenants as quarrelsome, argues historian Fay Orr: hardly a session passes without a case of trespass, assault, or slander between neighbours. Text 2 The rolls record what came to court, and only that. A community that settled its disputes at the church door would leave no trace; one that used the court left a full one. The rolls may show not a quarrelsome manor but a litigious one, whose tenants trusted the court enough to use it.

Which choice best describes how the author of Text 2 responds to Orr's reading?

  1. A. By arguing that the volume of cases may reflect the tenants' willingness to use the court rather than their tendency to quarrel.Correct
  2. B. By denying that the rolls record disputes.
  3. C. By agreeing that the tenants were unusually quarrelsome.
  4. D. By arguing that the rolls are incomplete forgeries.

Answer: A. By arguing that the volume of cases may reflect the tenants' willingness to use the court rather than their tendency to quarrel.

Litigious, not quarrelsome: the record shows court use, not conflict.

Why the other answers are wrong

B. By denying that the rolls record disputes.
Text 2 accepts the record.
C. By agreeing that the tenants were unusually quarrelsome.
The reverse.
D. By arguing that the rolls are incomplete forgeries.
Not suggested.

More Craft and Structure questions

Not affiliated with the College Board. SAT is a trademark of the College Board.