00:01
And that they will again
really just come out
and say what their
main point is.
00:06
So how do we figure it out?
We want to look at how the
text itself is structured.
00:13
And this really now gets into some
specifics for things we've been discussing
that can actually help increase
your score on the CARS section.
00:22
First, we'll break down a few of those
rhetorical tools we've referenced.
00:26
Then we'll talk about word
choice and strategic omission,
which can serve the same purpose as
the expression of a strong viewpoint.
00:36
Last but not least
for this section,
we'll familiarize ourselves with
a few common passage structures
you can expect to see
on the CARS section
based on the type of
passage you're given.
00:46
And then from there,
we can give you some tips
for how to find these common
passage structures on your own
for other topics we're
not able to discuss
for time considered
writing purposes.
00:58
More so than simple
rhetorical flourishes,
an author will often lean on
so called rhetorical devices.
01:06
These are tried and true
methods that past communicators
have pioneered to strategically
get a point across to an audience.
01:17
The basic framework of logic
the author wants to communicate
has already been established
in the author's mind.
01:23
Let's call the general term
rhetoric, clothing for that logic.
01:27
Rhetorical devices then,
might be the common styles of clothing,
such as a t shirt,
or a pair of pants that everyone uses,
but with tremendous capacity
for individualization.
01:40
So let's break down a few
common rhetorical devices
that we can expect
authors to use.
01:47
Firstly, amplification.
01:50
This is where an author
might repeat him or herself
to indicate a point
is worth listening to.
01:57
How about disruption?
This is where an
author will interrupt
a train of thought in
order to imply a point,
rather than just
stated directly.
02:08
How about language of contrast?
This is where an author
will deliberately use
opposing examples to grab
a reader's attention.
02:19
Okay, next, we can consider
summative contradiction.
02:24
This is where the conclusion of
an author will hinge on the fact
that it wasn't supposed to be
true, but in fact, it is.
02:32
Authors love to draw conclusions
that readers weren't expecting.
02:37
How about one that we've probably
all heard of, and that is epilogue.
02:41
This is a written element that
diverges from the primary narrative
to solidify some aspect
of that narrative.
02:48
CARS passages sometimes
need their final paragraph
to a bit unnaturally
resolve tensions that may
have been introduced
by the passage itself.
02:58
How about parallelism?
This is where you might expect to
see symmetry within a CARS passage.
03:05
Most often those will show up
between the first and last paragraph,
or the final paragraph
provides commentary
on the ideas
introduced in the first
using an understanding of
the context of the passage.
03:18
Next examine,
anticipation of counter-arguments.
03:23
This is exactly
what it sounds like.
03:26
This is where an author
predicts what the common
counters to his or her
points of view might be,
and then proactively
addresses those.
03:34
So that even though he's not
actively talking to his opponent,
he's able to kind of quell
resistance that might
naturally emerge to his
or her points of view.
03:46
How about Synedoche?
I would say this is the
most important rhetorical
device to master for
the CARS section.
03:54
This is where an author
will use a short phrase
to refer to a larger concept.
03:59
We might use this in everyday life with
phrases such as boots on the ground,
referring to soldiers
with boots on the ground.
04:08
So you might see
within a CARS passage,
something like the
wave of a hand,
or the wink of an eye,
and you need to understand what that is,
what it signifies in the
context of the passage,
and then just expect
that that might be
a common thing to
show up in a question.
04:23
The last rhetorical device
to consider is thesis.
04:27
This is a clear statement of an
author's argument or purpose.
04:31
Usually in a CARS passage,
the thesis needs to be inferred.
04:36
Word choice alone can indicate
an author's intentions.
04:40
When you review your wrong
answers for an explanation,
you might find a seemingly obscure
description of a person or thing
was necessary to have noticed
to answer a question correctly.
04:52
An author describe an individual's
actions as full guile.
04:57
Does a person associate
with charlatans?
Were someone's action rueful?
When students I work
with don't understand
why they got a CARS
question wrong,
it's usually because they
failed to refer back to
a descriptive word or
phrase that an author used.
05:16
Now, when listening
to a piece of music,
you don't need to be a
vocal expert to appreciate
deeper levels of
harmony, tone and depth.
05:26
Read everything on your CARS section
as if it were written for a reason,
just like a masterpiece of
music for a defined purpose,
to communicate an idea even with the
most subtle of expressions or phrases.
05:42
Now, the word perspicuity is one of the
formal logical principles of language.
05:49
And it states that we
should state in our speech
that which is
necessary, and no more.
05:56
According to the noted
language theorist,
H.P. Grice in his classic
paper, Logic and Conversation,
this is known as the principle
in speech of quantity.
06:07
But when an author states
less than what is required,
this break from formal logic
is done so to make a point.
06:14
If an author states that an
individual is not intending
to wake up at 2am,
and that's the maranga,
this probably indicates that that
person is not mentally sound,
if we were just to have assumed that that's
something that they would normally do.
06:28
To take an even simpler
example from daily life.
06:31
If someone walks up to
you, and tells you that
they are not going to
harm or slash your tires,
you're probably
missing something.
06:40
This omission of context
alone speaks volumes
as to the social situation which
you have just found yourself.
06:49
Last but not least, we can infer
the structure of a CARS passage
before even having completed it
based on common patterns for how
certain topics are treated in
the broader academic community.
07:02
A behavioral science passage might
be cause and effect structured.
07:06
A history passage might be
chronological in nature,
and the political science passage might
be point and counterpoint structured.
07:16
How a passage is structured is itself
an expression of tried and true methods
for communicating about
a particular topic?
To take the previous examples.
07:27
Behavioral science passages might
be cause and effect structured,
that is to distinguish
correlation away from causation.
07:34
History oriented passages might
be chronologically structured
to neatly organized
large volumes of data,
and political science passages might
be pointing counterpoint structured
to mimic the dynamics
of a courtroom trial.
07:50
As such, the consistent treatment of
particular topics by academic writers
is an ongoing discussion
about the topics themselves.
07:58
Never fail to answer for what
purpose of passage was written
and how its structure
fits that purpose.