Question 88·Easy·Cross-Text Connections
Text 1
Photographer Dorothea Lange is widely celebrated for her poignant images of farmworker families during the Great Depression, especially the photograph Migrant Mother. While Lange went on to document labor strikes, World War II relocation camps, and postwar urban life, critics continue to associate her most strongly with her Depression-era rural portraits.
Text 2
Scholars often focus on Dorothea Lange’s wartime pictures of Japanese American incarceration, but this emphasis overlooks the breadth of her output. Lange also produced studio portraits, highway landscapes, and photo essays on health care. Because she continually explored new subjects across decades, any account of her career must recognize this diversity.
Based on the texts, both authors would most likely agree with which statement?
For cross-text agreement questions, first paraphrase the main point of each passage in one sentence, then underline or list the key details (especially repeated or similar ideas). Look for the concept that appears in both texts—this is usually about what’s true in reality, not just what critics or other people think. Test each choice against both texts: if either text would disagree, eliminate it. Pay special attention to extreme wording (like “always,” “never,” “rarely,” “fully”) and reject choices that overstate what the texts actually say.
Hints
Summarize each text in your own words
Briefly say what Text 1 and Text 2 each argue about Lange’s work and how people view it. Don’t focus on small details yet—just the main idea.
List what Lange photographed in each text
Make a quick list of the different subjects or projects mentioned in Text 1, then do the same for Text 2. How many different kinds of things did she photograph?
Watch out for extreme language in choices
Look carefully at words like “almost entirely,” “rarely,” and “fully appreciated” in the answer choices. Do the texts really support such strong claims, or do they suggest something more balanced?
Ask: what would both authors agree on?
Some choices describe how critics or scholars currently see Lange. Others describe what her career was actually like. Focus on the statement that both authors themselves would agree with, based on what they write.
Step-by-step Explanation
Identify each text’s main point
First, restate what each text is mainly saying about Dorothea Lange.
- Text 1: Lange is famous for her Great Depression farmworker photos (especially Migrant Mother), but she also photographed labor strikes, World War II relocation camps, and postwar urban life. Critics still mostly link her with the Depression-era rural portraits.
- Text 2: Scholars often focus on her wartime pictures of Japanese American incarceration, but this focus ignores how much else she did, like studio portraits, highway landscapes, and health care photo essays. Any account of her career must recognize all this variety.
Find the idea both texts share
Now look for the overlap between the two texts.
- Both texts say people (critics or scholars) tend to focus on just one part of Lange’s work.
- Both texts also list several different things Lange photographed beyond that one well-known area.
So both authors agree on something about what Lange’s career actually looked like, and how narrow other people’s view of her has been.
Check each choice against both texts
Go through the answer choices and ask: “Does each text support this?”
- Some choices might match what others think about Lange (critics or scholars), but not what the authors themselves think.
- Be careful with extreme words like “almost entirely,” “rarely,” or “fully.” These often conflict with the details in the texts.
Eliminate any choice that contradicts either text’s description of Lange’s work or of how critics/scholars see her.
Select the statement both authors would agree with
Both texts clearly show that Lange worked on many different kinds of projects (farmworker families, labor strikes, relocation camps, postwar urban life, studio portraits, highway landscapes, health care photo essays) and that others overlook that variety. The only choice that matches this shared idea is: “Lange’s body of work encompasses a wide range of subjects.”