Digital PSAT Reading and Writing Practice Question 30: Answer and Explanation

Question: 30

Think traditions. Think stories, dances, jokes, and old fairy tales. But don't stop there. Think about ways of living and expressing oneself-maybe through language, or cooking, or laughing, or rituals. The Center for Folklore Studies at Ohio State University defines it this way: "Folklore may be seen as the products of human work and thought that have developed within a limited community and that are communicated directly from generation to generation, usually orally, with the author or creator unknown."

Which choice best states the function of the underlined sentence in the text as a whole?

• A. To explain a method whereby a topic will be researched
• B. To analyze a specific work of folklore artistry
• C. To cite an authoritative source in order to clarify an idea
• D. To highlight the shortcomings of folklore as a communication approach

Correct Answer: C

Explanation:

(C) Prior to the underlined sentence, the narrator states that the idea of folklore can be defined in this way, and the narrator defines folklore by citing the Center for Folklore Studies-an authoritative source. So, (C) is the most logical option. It is not (A), because there is no mention of the methodology that will be used to study folklore. It is not (B), because the description of folklore is very general, not of a specific work. It is not (D), because the selection is a definition, not a mentioning of shortcomings.