Text 1Virginia Woolf's 1928 novel Orlando is an oddity within her body of work. Her other major novels consist mainly...
GMAT Craft and Structure : (Structure) Questions
Virginia Woolf's 1928 novel Orlando is an oddity within her body of work. Her other major novels consist mainly of scenes of everyday life and describe their characters' interior states in great detail, whereas Orlando propels itself through a series of fantastical events and considers its characters' psychology more superficially. Woolf herself sometimes regarded the novel as a minor work, even admitting once that she 'began it as a joke.'
Text 2Like Woolf's other great novels, Orlando portrays how people's memories inform their experience of the present. Like those works, it examines how people navigate social interactions shaped by gender and social class. Though it is lighter in tone—more entertaining, even—this literary 'joke' nonetheless engages seriously with the themes that motivated the four or five other novels by Woolf that have achieved the status of literary classics.
Based on the texts, how would the author of Text 2 most likely respond to the assessment of Orlando presented in Text 1?
By conceding that Woolf's talents were best suited to serious novels but asserting that the humor in Orlando is often effective
By agreeing that Orlando is less impressive than certain other novels by Woolf but arguing that it should still be regarded as a classic
By acknowledging that Orlando clearly differs from Woolf's other major novels but insisting on its centrality to her body of work nonetheless
By concurring that the reputation of Orlando as a minor work has led readers to overlook this novel but maintaining that the reputation is unearned
Step 1: Decode and Map the Passage
Part A: Create Passage Analysis Table
| Text from Passage | Analysis |
|---|---|
| Text 1: | |
| "Virginia Woolf's 1928 novel Orlando is an oddity within her body of work." |
|
| "Her other major novels consist mainly of scenes of everyday life and describe their characters' interior states in great detail, whereas Orlando propels itself through a series of fantastical events and considers its characters' psychology more superficially." |
|
| "Woolf herself sometimes regarded the novel as a minor work, even admitting once that she 'began it as a joke.'" |
|
| Text 2: | |
| "Like Woolf's other great novels, Orlando portrays how people's memories inform their experience of the present." |
|
| "Like those works, it examines how people navigate social interactions shaped by gender and social class." |
|
| "Though it is lighter in tone—more entertaining, even—this literary 'joke' nonetheless engages seriously with the themes that motivated the four or five other novels by Woolf that have achieved the status of literary classics." |
|
Part B: Provide Passage Architecture & Core Elements
Main Point: Text 1 presents Orlando as an unusual, minor work in Woolf's canon, while Text 2 argues that despite its lighter tone, Orlando engages with the same serious themes that make Woolf's other novels classics.
Step 2: Interpret the Question Precisely
What's being asked? This is a Cross-Text Connections question asking us to predict how one author would respond to another's argument. The question wants us to characterize how Text 2's author would most likely respond to Text 1's assessment of Orlando.
What type of answer do we need? A prediction of Text 2 author's response to Text 1's assessment
Any limiting keywords? "most likely respond"
Step 3: Prethink the Answer
- Text 1 argues Orlando is an oddity and minor work that differs significantly from Woolf's other novels
- Text 2 takes a different approach—it acknowledges that Orlando has a lighter tone and is more entertaining, but argues it nonetheless engages seriously with the themes of Woolf's classics
- Text 2's author would likely acknowledge the differences Text 1 points out while pushing back against the implication that these differences make Orlando less important to Woolf's work
By conceding that Woolf's talents were best suited to serious novels but asserting that the humor in Orlando is often effective
- This suggests Text 2 would concede Woolf was better at serious novels but praise Orlando's humor
- Text 2 doesn't argue about Woolf's talents being better suited to serious work—it argues Orlando IS serious despite its lighter tone
By agreeing that Orlando is less impressive than certain other novels by Woolf but arguing that it should still be regarded as a classic
- This suggests Text 2 agrees Orlando is less impressive but should still be considered classic
- Text 2 doesn't concede Orlando is less impressive—it argues Orlando shares the same serious themes as the classics
By acknowledging that Orlando clearly differs from Woolf's other major novels but insisting on its centrality to her body of work nonetheless
- Text 2 does acknowledge Orlando clearly differs (lighter tone, more entertaining) from other major novels but insists on its centrality by emphasizing it shares the same themes that motivated Woolf's classics
By concurring that the reputation of Orlando as a minor work has led readers to overlook this novel but maintaining that the reputation is unearned
- This focuses on readers overlooking Orlando due to its minor work reputation
- Text 2 doesn't discuss reader perceptions—it focuses on thematic analysis to establish Orlando's importance