One of the most vexing problems in historiography is dating an event

OFFICIAL EXPLANATION

The correct answer choice is (B).

The stimulus is a fact set and offers a solution for dating an event when the usual sources offer conflicting chronologies: 1. Minimize the number of competing sources, possibly by eliminating the less credible ones. 2. Independent of the usual sources, determine which date is more likely to be right. Notice how the test makers throw in the word “historiography” in order to be intimidating. As usual, you do not need to know the meaning of this word (or any unusual word) in order to continue with the problem. The remainder of the sentence makes clear that dating an event is the point of discussion, and you can comfortably connect the “historio” word root to “date an event” and “historians” and confidently move on with a good idea that historiography is connected to history in some way. By definition, historiography is the writing of history.

Answer choice (A): The stimulus discusses dates where there is conflict between sources. In no way does the stimulus support answer choice (A).

Answer choice (B): This is the correct answer. As stated in the last sentence, historians are on occasion unsuccessful in determining independently the date of an event. If the usual sources offered are in conflict about the date of a particular event and an analysis independent of the usual sources fails to confirm a date, then a date cannot be reliably determined for the event.

Answer choice (C): About one-third of all test takers choose this answer. The stimulus speaks specifically of dating an event when the usual sources offer conflicting chronologies. The stimulus does not discuss dating an event when there is no conflict of chronologies, and most likely many dates could be set with certainty in the absence of any conflict. With this in mind, the language of the answer choice becomes problematic because “attaching a reliable date to any event” would not “require determining which of several conflicting chronologies is most likely to be true.”

Answer choice (D): The language of the answer choice is too strong in saying that an independent determination is an ineffective way of dating events. There is simply not enough information about what constitutes a “determination independent of the usual sources” to say it is ineffective.

Answer choice (E): This is another tricky answer, and just under a quarter of test takers incorrectly select this answer. The answer claims that the soundest approach to dating an event is to undermine the credibility of as many of the competing sources as possible. First, the stimulus suggests that the historian should, perhaps, eliminate the less credible ones. No mention is made of eliminating as many as possible, and the stimulus indicates that several remaining sources are to be expected. Second, that same section discusses eliminating less credible sources, not undermining the credibility of those sources.
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(A) We have no plausible chronology of most of the events for which attempts have been made by historians to determine the right date.
The passage does not talk about all the events, only the events with multiple date sources
(B) Some of the events for which there are conflicting chronologies and for which attempts have been made by historians to determine the right date cannot be dated reliably by historians.
Correct. This can be inferred from the passage
(C) Attaching a reliable date to any event requires determining which of several conflicting chronologies is most likely to be true.
We are not talking about all the events, only the ones with multiple date sources.
(D) Determining independently of the usual sources which of several conflicting chronologies is more likely to be right is an ineffective way of dating events.
No where is the passage talking about the ineffective ways
(E) The soundest approach to dating an event for which the usual sources give conflicting chronologies is to undermine the credibility of as many of these sources as possible.
To extreme, we have not talked about other ways, so soundest way should not be used
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One of the most vexing problems in historiography is dating an event when the usual sources offer conflicting chronologies of the event. Historians should attempt to minimize the number of competing sources, perhaps by eliminating the less credible ones. Once this is achieved and several sources are left, as often happens, historians may try, though on occasion unsuccessfully, to determine independently of the usual sources which date is more likely to be right.

Which one of the following inferences is most strongly supported by the information above?

(A) We have no plausible chronology of most of the events for which attempts have been made by historians to determine the right date. - WRONG. Goes offtrack in two different ways as highlighted.

(B) Some of the events for which there are conflicting chronologies and for which attempts have been made by historians to determine the right date cannot be dated reliably by historians. - CORRECT. A generic statement that surely can be inferred.

(C) Attaching a reliable date to any event requires determining which of several conflicting chronologies is most likely to be true. - WRONG. Like A this is also going in a wrong direction. The core of the passage is not about which events are likely to be true but reducing the events in the process of determining of dates.

(D) Determining independently of the usual sources which of several conflicting chronologies is more likely to be right is an ineffective way of dating events. - WRONG. All along opposite.

(E) The soundest approach to dating an event for which the usual sources give conflicting chronologies is to undermine the credibility of as many of these sources as possible. - WRONG. Determining in a relative manner is again offtrack.

Answer B.
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