Read a Strategy Session

Topic: Reading, Language, Literature
Strategy Used: Search for matching/mirroring language or concepts

This can be a tricky technique to master, but it’s worth its weight in extra points. What you want to do is go back to the question, look at the key words you’ve marked, search for any others you might have overlooked and mark those; then reread the two (or more) answers you have not yet eliminated for language that aligns with the language or concepts in the question.

Here’s an example

After World War II, women in the state of California and throughout the nation experienced a newfound political and economic power.Which of the following was the most important reason for their increased role outside the home?

1. The nineteenth amendment to the U.S. Constitution gave women the right to vote.
2. In the postwar economy it was necessary for families to have two incomes.
3. Feminist writers and activists urged women to liberate themselves from the yoke of oppression and work for social change.
4. Many women, urged to take jobs outside the home during the war, stayed in the workforce following the war and became increasingly independent and empowered.

On the first read-through, remember to circle or underline key words and phrases. After World War II is key, as it specifies the time period. Women is the next crucial bit of information. Theonly thing really important about the next phrase, in California and throughout the nation, is thatthis question will apply to women throughout the nation, so perhaps you’ll want to underline nation. Newfound is an important concept; it implies a discontinuity with what came before.

When you put it with the next phrase, political and economic power, you have the crux of the question. The actual question is asked in the next sentence. Most important reason is important, of course. Increased sway is a repetition of and reference to newfound political and economic power. Outside the home seems almost irrelevant at first glance, so we’ll leave it aside for now, because the question has already been stated.

Rephrasing the question, you might say something like, why did women in the United States become more powerful in politics and economics after World War II? Now it’s time to look at theanswers. Choice (A) might be appealing because having suffrage—the right to vote—certainlywould give a group increased political power. The nineteenth amendment, however, became lawin 1920, more than 20 years before World War II began and therefore would have been unlikelyto be the cause of increased power after that war. Mark through (A) so you don’t have to look atthat choice again.

Choice (B) is appealing at first glance. Certainly it has become harder and harder for families to make ends meet on a single income. But was that the case in the late 1940s and 1950s? Have you seen movies or television shows from that era? Few of the women in those shows worked outside the home. Did your mothers or grandmothers work during those years? For some of you, the answer is yes; but at that time, it was quite possible for a family to live comfortably on the earnings of a single worker. Note that the choice states it was necessary for families to have two incomes. Any time you see an absolute kind of word, such as necessary, make sure it is absolutely true before choosing the answer that contains it. Choice (B) is not true, so it is not the correct answer.

Choice (C) takes note of the feminist reform effort that took off in the 1960s and 1970s.  Certainly, many women decided at that time to utilize the power of their votes. Feminists also urged women to become economically independent as a means of casting off the oppression of sexism. It could be the correct answer, but the time frame is off a bit. Feminism wasn’t exactly rampant after the Second World War. Still, the answer speaks to both political, and possibly economic power, and may be worth a second look; so we move on to (D).

Choice (D) is true. During World War II, with so many men serving in the armed forces, there was a shortage of workers to fill positions in the defense industries as well as other businesses. The United States government launched a publicity campaign designed to entice women into the workforce to fill those jobs. Many women responded to the appeal to their patriotism and desire to serve the war effort. For the first time, many women did “men’s work.” And many of them liked it—so much so that, when the war ended and the men returned home, the women didn’t want to leave their new jobs. This would certainly give women new economic power, but political power? Now we have two choices, (C) and (D), that could be correct. Going back to the question, which of the key words or phrases gives the clue to the right choice? It is the very first one, after World War II. Though each of the answers is factually correct on its own, only (D) speaks to the correct time period. The fact that many women stayed in the workforce after the war, earning their own paychecks, created the conditions that allowed feminism, with its exercise of political power, to bloom more than a decade later. To confirm (D) as the correct answer, look at the phrase outside the home, which we didn’t underline the first time through. That phrase has come to be used by feminists and others who want to convey respect for women who work in the home (i.e., those who were formerly called housewives). Its use in the answer echoes its use in the question. The language of outside the home aligns with the phrase political and economic power to confirm the correct answer.