I got all the 3 wrong. Help me out!

[piyushraghav]

An essay which appeals chiefly to the intellect is Francis Bacon's "Of Studies". His careful tripartite division of studies expressed succinctly in aphoristic prose demands the complete attention of the mind of the reader. He considers studies as they should be: for pleasure, for self-improvement, for business. He considers the evils of excess study: laziness, affectation, and preciosity. Bacon divides books into 3 categories: those to be read in part, those to be read curiosly, and those to be read with care. Studies should include reading, which gives depth; speaking, which adds readiness of thought; and writing, which trains in preciseness. Somewhat mistakenly, the author ascribes certain virtues to individual fields of study: wisdom to history, wit to poetry, subtelty to mathematics, and depth to natural philosophy. Bacon's 400-word essay, studded with Latin phrases and highly compressed thought, has intellectually appealed indeed.

1. Which of the following is the most approprate title for the passage, based on its content?
a - "Of studies" : A Tripartite division
b - An Intellectual Excercise: Bacon's "Of Studies"
c - The Categorization of books acc to Bacon

2. Which of the foll can best be substituted for "aphoristic" in the 2nd line?
a - pithy
b - proverbial

3. The passage suggests that the author is most likely to agree with which of the following statements?
a - "Of studies" belongs in the category of works that demand to be read with care
b - scholar's personalities are shaped by the academic discipline in which they are engaged.
c- It is affectation to use foreign words in one's writing
d - An author can be more persuasive in a long work than a shorter one
e - studies should be undertaken without thought of personal gain

SPOILER: OAs: 1-b; 2-a; 3-a My answers: 1-c; 2-b; 3-e

Please explain why my answers are incorrect and why the OAs are correct?

[Laborer]

1. The key in this passage really isn't how Bacon organizes books between those that we should read only partially, those we should be curious about, and those we should care deeply about. The author and Bacon are really only concerned about studies (in general) and what we can derive from them, not merely just the categorization of books. The author seems to be enamored by Bacon's appeal to the intellect and how our studies should reflect that, and so B is the best choice.

2. Tricky here because the exact definition of aphorism is a proverb/apothegm/maxim/dictum. But pithy, which describes a brief statement that is full of energy and substance, more accurately describes prose. Prose isn't really made up of a bunch of proverbs, it's meant to flow. When we describe prose as aphoristic, we imply that it has the same POWER as an aphorism, achieving that precise, powerful quality even in brief statements.

3. I applied POE here. A seems to probably be true, since the author has a very reverential tone in writing about "Of Studies" and thus wouldn't merely regard it as something to be read partially or merely with curiosity, but with great care. There is nothing in the passage to suggest B, C, or D. E seems tempting but remember that Bacon said the purpose of studies should be for pleasure, self-improvement, and business. All 3 of these are for personal gain. We can infer the author at least somewhat agrees with this because he never gives it rebuttal.

[piyushraghav]

Thanks!

[rrgre]

thanks for sharing this reading comprehension ..
It was indeed one good brain exercise...