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Flashcards: Comparing and Contrasting in Humanities Passages
"Commentaries" by Matthew Minerd (2013)
The idea of a commentary is not anywhere as simple as most people think. To the popular imagination, the commentator makes a few observations based on a text, not going far beyond its contents. This standard opinion completely misses the various types of commentaries that can be written. Indeed, even the notion of “literal commentary” is itself so variegated that it is incorrect to imagine that such “literal” work is merely a slavish repetition of an original text.
Some literal commentaries truly are “literal,” that is, based on the letters and words of the text. Such philological studies investigate the language structures and meanings of a text. The interpretation of the text proceeds based on these linguistic investigations. Often, this process will note the types of rhetoric being used, the dialects utilized, and any odd language structures that might imply something with regard to the text’s meaning. All of these methods remain very concerned with the “letter of the text” in a very direct manner.
Indeed, even the Medieval commentaries on Aristotle’s works could be considered “literal,” though they do differ from such linguistic approaches. Men like Thomas Aquinas would very carefully read Aristotle’s text, giving what was called a divisio textus for every section of the text in question. This “division of the text” sought to provide a succinct but correct outline of the text in question so that its literal meaning might be more easily noticed. Certainly, the commentary that followed this divisio textus did express some aspects of Aquinas’ own thought. However, he (like other literal commentators of this type) would attempt to remain as close to the literal meaning of the text as possible, always using the divisio textus as a guide for understanding the structure of the original author’s thought.
What is the difference between the type of commentary mentioned in the second paragraph and that which is mentioned in the third paragraph?
The first merely provides an historical analysis, while the latter provides a true commentary.
The first type is far more scientific and historical than the latter, outdated medieval methodology.
The first type is based primarily on details of language, while the other focuses primarily on the outline structure of the whole text.
The first type is far more modern than the other type.
The first type of commentary is still being written, but Thomas Aquinas was the last person to do a literal, divisio textus commentary.
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The reading section of the HSPT consists of over 60 questions to be answered within only 25 minutes. The purpose of the reading section is to assess your child’s ability to understand details and meanings presented in different reading passages. The HSPT Reading Flashcards are designed to help strengthen these skills in two main categories: Comprehension and Vocabulary. The tiered structure includes concept-specific subtopics within these categories, helping your child focus on the topics in which they need the most improvement. For example, within the Comprehension category, your student could study a broad selection of content using the Passage Reasoning Flashcards, or they can select a more specific HSPT Reading review using the Passage Reasoning in Contemporary Life flashcards.
Once your child selects a concept to practice, an HSPT Reading sample question is presented in a multiple-choice format which simulates the actual exam. Once your child selects an answer, the flashcard flips and the correct answer is revealed, followed by a detailed explanation of the answer. The explanation also includes links to relevant concepts and definitions. The multiple-choice answers are randomly assigned with each use of the flashcard, securing a valid learning experience and denying the possibility of automatically memorizing the answers based on their order.
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