Loading...

Advanced CARS and Advanced Psychology

Advanced CARS: Dense Humanities Passages

At the 515+ level, CARS passages become significantly more difficult in three ways: (1) argument structure is more complex — multiple sub-arguments, nested counterarguments, and authorial qualifications; (2) language is more abstract and domain-specific (philosophy, literary theory, art history, cultural criticism); (3) questions test subtle distinctions between the author's view and views the author merely describes. The key advanced skill is tracking exactly which claims belong to the author and which are attributed to other sources. Phrases like 'critics argue,' 'traditional scholarship holds,' and 'the prevailing view has been' signal views the author is about to challenge. Your margin notes must distinguish: 'A says X' (author's view) vs. 'A describes others saying Y' (attributed view). Most CARS errors at this level come from conflating these two.

Advanced CARS and Advanced Psychology

Advanced CARS: Dense Humanities Passages

At the 515+ level, CARS passages become significantly more difficult in three ways: (1) argument structure is more complex — multiple sub-arguments, nested counterarguments, and authorial qualifications; (2) language is more abstract and domain-specific (philosophy, literary theory, art history, cultural criticism); (3) questions test subtle distinctions between the author's view and views the author merely describes. The key advanced skill is tracking exactly which claims belong to the author and which are attributed to other sources. Phrases like 'critics argue,' 'traditional scholarship holds,' and 'the prevailing view has been' signal views the author is about to challenge. Your margin notes must distinguish: 'A says X' (author's view) vs. 'A describes others saying Y' (attributed view). Most CARS errors at this level come from conflating these two.