Which one of the following statements, if true, most strengthens the author's claim that the African American artists...

SamA on October 14, 2019

Hello @sophi98,

To answer this question, I think we need to understand the author's use of the word "national." Based on the context of the passage, I take it to mean nationwide, involving people from all over the country. See line 5: "...operated 185 production units in 28 states." Line 13: "...as many as eighteen of these units in cities spread throughout the united states." These characteristics are what made the FTP's Negro Units a national entity.

Which answer choice supports the claim that these units came closest to founding a national black theater? We need to demonstrate that a national black theater had not already been established. Let's compare C and D.

The problem with D is that the size of each audience does not necessarily determine the organization's national status. We don't really care about the crowd size. Even if less than 100 in the audience is small, this does not demonstrate that these earlier theater projects were not truly national. These small productions could have been spread across the country, which would qualify as national.

C is the correct answer because it involves location. If earlier black theater projects were only found in a select few places, then they were not truly national. The author makes the following claim about the Negro Units in the last sentence of the passage: "This allowed the Negro Units to produce dramatic art that reflected the genuine diversity of African American artists and their audiences nationwide." This diversity is what made them so unique, which is the author's basis for the conclusion that these units came closer than any precursors to forming a truly national black theater.

tomgbean on November 30, 2019

Is B wrong because it also did not mention location but funding? I got this question right on the retake so I think I understand it.

shunhe on December 24, 2019

Hi @tomgbean,

(B) could actually be seen as potentially strengthening the argument slightly, though yes, it doesn't discuss the "widespread" nature of the argument that the author makes. At its heart, (B) simply does not strengthen the argument as much as (C) does, and in a "most strengthen" question, we need the answer that strengthens the argument the most. Hope this helps.