Women's grassroots activism and their vision of a new civic consciousn

Time Taken: 12 mins.
The author of the passage mentions the observations of women historians (the highlight text) most probably in order to
A provide support for an assertion made in the preceding sentence
>> Ironically, though, child labor legislation pitted women of different classes against one another. To the reformers, child labor and industrial home work were equally inhumane practices that should be outlawed, but, as a number of women historians have recently observed, working-class mothers did not always share this view.
B raise a question that is answered in the last sentence of the passage
C introduce an opinion that challenges a statement made in the first sentence of the passage
D offer an alternative view to the one attributed in the passage to working-class mothers
E point out a contradiction inherent in the traditional view of child labor reform as it is presented in the passage
>> I went for this but then realized my mistake. There is no traditional view of CL presented in Para. Author mentions CL as case, which pitted women of different classes against one another.
What confused me was "women historians have recently observed".


The passage suggests that which of the following was a reason for the difference of opinion between working class mothers and women reformers on the issue of child labor?
A Reformers' belief that industrial home work was preferable to child labor outside the home
B Reformers' belief that child labor laws should pertain to working conditions but not to pay
C Working-class mothers' resentment at reformers' attempts to interfere with their parenting
D Working-class mothers' belief that child labor was an inhumane practice
E Working-class families' need for every employable member of their families to earn money
>>the passage and enforcement of stringent child labor statutes as a personal economic disaster and made strenuous efforts to circumvent child labor laws. Yet reformers rarely understood this resistance in terms of the desperate economic situation of working-class families, interpreting it instead as evidence of poor parenting

Hi there,

I'm reviewing the responses for this particular question and am seeing a lot of inconsistencies. And where I see commonalities in users' responses, I disagree with them. Should this proper answer to this question not be as follows?


12) The primary purpose of this passage is to... D - Discuss an oversight on the part of women reformers of the Progressive Era
13) The view mentioned in line 17 ("Working class mothers did not always share this view, Given the precarious finances...") refers to which of the following? - B - Reformer's belief that child labor and industrial home work should be abolished
14) The author of the passage mentions the observations of women historians ("Working class mothers did not always share this view...") most probably in order to... A - Provide support for an assertion made in the preceding sentence lines (lines 10-12)
15) The passage suggests that which of the following was a reason for the difference of opinion between working class mothers and reformers? E - Working class families need for every employable member of their families to earn money
16) The author of the passage asserts which of the following about women reformers who tried to abolish child labor? C - They were correct in their conviction that child labor was deplorable but shortsighted about the impact child labor legislation had on working class families
17) According to the passage, one of the most striking achievements of middle-class women reformers during the progressive era was... E - improving women's and children's working conditions

To summarize: My argument is that the correct answers for this reading passage are as follows: D, B , A, E, C, E

While I like to discuss these topics, what I like more is a consistent answer at the end of the thread, so that other people (like myself), can take that as a validated answer by the community. When a thread is left like this with multiple and different responses, it doesn't us any good, and leaves things pretty vague. I look forward to your feedback, all.


Best,

Tim

Hi Friends and mikemcgarry,
"The author of the passage asserts which of the following about women reformers who tried to abolish child labor?
A They alienated working-class mothers by attempting to enlist them in agitating for progressive causes.
B They underestimated the prevalence of child labor among the working classes.
C They were correct in their conviction that child labor was deplorable but shortsighted about the impact of child labor legislation on working-class families.
D They were aggressive in their attempts to enforce child labor legislation, but were unable to prevent working-class families from circumventing them.
E They were prevented by their nearly total disenfranchisement from making significant progress in child labor reform"

I have a problem with D in this question. First I struggled C and D, although I got C eventually, but I have no idea what's problem with D,
I read the OA, it says "the reformers' activities involved prompted legislation; there is no evidence in the passage that the reformers themselves attempted to enforce these laws."

Would you please help how should I figure out it is "the reformers' activities, not reformers themselves

thanks in advance
have a nice day
>_~

Dear zoezhuyan,

I'm happy to respond.

My friend, this is case in which what you are missing is not really in the passage but in an understanding of how the real world works.

Let's talk a very different issue in US history. In the 1960s, there were massive civil rights demonstrations, and in a great triumph for democracy, these demonstrators succeeded in getting civil rights legislation. You see, the way at least American society works is---before the law has been passed, the demonstrators have a lot of work to do. They have to continue to make the argument and attempt to sway public opinion. Once the law is passed, the job of those demonstrators is 100% done. They go home. Now that there's a law, it's entirely up to the police and the courts to enforce the law. That's a very different job. Police and courts simply enforce whatever the law is. By contrast, demonstrators and activists are trying to change what is the law. Two completely different jobs. This is very clear from background knowledge.

I realize that this all might be a bit unfamiliar to you, since you grew up in China. I will say, insofar as the GMAT has passages about American history, and especially if you ever plan to come to business school in the USA, it would be very good to have at least a passing familiarity with the various US civil right movements of the past century. Despite it's profession of equality when it was founded 200+ years ago, the USA has had atrocious inequalities of race, gender, etc. in its history, and even in 2016, it is far from a perfect equality for everyone. I think that sad fact is very important for every foreign citizen coming to live in the US to appreciate.

All of this is implied in this this passage. The women reformers were concerned with getting a law passed: we are a bit unclear on exactly how they made their case, but somehow, they succeed in getting this law passed. Once a law is passed, it's the job of the police and the courts to enforce the law. It's not explicitly stated in the passage, but again it's good background knowledge to know that, unlike in 2016, absolutely no woman was a police officer or a judge in the USA in the late 1800s. Of course these women were not involved in enforcing the law once it had been passed. After all, enforcing the law is a very very different job from getting a new law passed.

How does it work in China? Presumably the people who make the law and the people who enforce the law are usually not the same people, right? Similarly, if someone gets the government to change the law, that same person is not out there enforcing the law, right?

This sense of what happens in the real world is crucial for understanding GMAT CR and RC. See:
[urlhttps://magoosh.com/gmat/2014/gmat-critical-reasoning-and-outside-knowledge/]GMAT Critical Reasoning and Outside Knowledge[/url]
A similar logic applies to the GMAT RC.

Does all this make sense?
Mike

Hi mikemcgarry, thanks so much indeed.
I've heard that , in USA, the demonstrators would do their jobs before the law passed, but I have never combined my heard with this question.

For law, as a generally citizen, I have narrow knowledge about it , as I know, the people who maintain the what the law is and the people who make what is the law are different.

Have a nice day
>_~

[quote="JarvisR"]Time Taken: 12 mins.
The author of the passage mentions the observations of women historians (the highlight text) most probably in order to
A provide support for an assertion made in the preceding sentence
>> Ironically, though, child labor legislation pitted women of different classes against one another. To the reformers, child labor and industrial home work were equally inhumane practices that should be outlawed, but, as a number of women historians have recently observed, working-class mothers did not always share this view.



Hi

I have question here about why A is correct.

I see the highlighted sentence is starting from BUT even though yo are mentioning it is supporting the preceding sentence, Do yo think we should look for one sentence before
[color=#6ecff6]
Ironically, though, child labor legislation pitted women of different classes against one another.

Q.1 The primary purpose of the passage is to
Tone of the passage is neutral; Key line is - "working-class mothers did not always share this view" ; passage starts with citing work done by the reformers and then explores the oversight of middle class women and reformers.
A explain why women reformers of the Progressive Era failed to achieve their goals
<no such failure has been mentioned; misunderstanding of a view doesn't mean failure of a goal - incorrect >
B discuss the origins of child labor laws in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries
<none of the origins has been mentioned - incorrect >
C compare the living conditions of working-class and middle-class women in the Progressive Era
<no such comparison made - incorrect >
D discuss an oversight on the part of women reformers of the Progressive Era
<correct>
E revise a traditional view of the role played by women reformers in enacting Progressive Era reforms
<view of the role played by the women reformers is nowhere revised in the passage - incorrect >


Q.2 The view mentioned in the highlight text of the passage refers to which of the following?
Specific detail question that is mentioned in the line - it is reformers view - "To the reformers, child labor and industrial home work were equally inhumane practices that should be outlawed"
A Some working-class mothers' resistance to the enforcement of child labor laws
< we need reformers view not the WCM's view - incorrect >
B Reformers' belief that child labor and industrial home work should be abolished
<correct>
C Reformers' opinions about how working-class families raised their children
<no such opinion referred near the "view" - attribution to the wrong segment of the passage - incorrect >
D Certain women historians' observation that there was a lack of consensus between women of different classes on the issue of child labor and industrial home work
<it is not reformers' view - incorrect >
E Working-class families' fears about the adverse consequences that child labor laws would have on their ability to earn an adequate living
<we need reformers' view - incorrect >


Q.3 The author of the passage mentions the observations of women historians (the highlight text) most probably in order to
A provide support for an assertion made in the preceding sentence
B raise a question that is answered in the last sentence of the passage
C introduce an opinion that challenges a statement made in the first sentence of the passage
D offer an alternative view to the one attributed in the passage to working-class mothers
E point out a contradiction inherent in the traditional view of child labor reform as it is presented in the passage

How to differentiate among answer options - A, B, and E?


Q.4 The passage suggests that which of the following was a reason for the difference of opinion between working class mothers and women reformers on the issue of child labor?
Failure to understand the financial reason that is mentioned in the passage
A Reformers' belief that industrial home work was preferable to child labor outside the home
<no such comparison is made - incorrect >
B Reformers' belief that child labor laws should pertain to working conditions but not to pay
<out of context - incorrect >
C Working-class mothers' resentment at reformers' attempts to interfere with their parenting
<no such "resentment" has been mentioned - incorrect >
D Working-class mothers' belief that child labor was an inhumane practice
<out of scope - incorrect >
E Working-class families' need for every employable member of their families to earn money
<As stated in the passage - correct >


Q.5 The author of the passage asserts which of the following about women reformers who tried to abolish child labor?
The relevant information is present in the first two lines of the passage
A They alienated working-class mothers by attempting to enlist them in agitating for progressive causes.
<out of context - incorrect >
B They underestimated the prevalence of child labor among the working classes.
<out of scope - incorrect >
C They were correct in their conviction that child labor was deplorable but shortsighted about the impact of child labor legislation on working-class families.
< Correct >
D They were aggressive in their attempts to enforce child labor legislation, but were unable to prevent working-class families from circumventing them.
< hyper statement - no such event mentioned in the passage - incorrect >
E They were prevented by their nearly total disenfranchisement from making significant progress in child labor reform.
< incorrect C->E correlation mentioned - incorrect >

Q.6 According to the passage, one of the most striking achievements of white middle-class women reformers during the progressive Era was
Specific detail question directly from the line - "white middle-class women reformers won a variety of victories, notably in the improvement of working conditions, especially for women and children."
A gaining the right to vote in school elections
< tweaking the information present in the passage - incorrect >
B mobilizing working-class women in the fight against child labor
<action attributed to the wrong class - out of scope - incorrect >
C uniting women of different classes in grassroots activism
<180 turn - incorrect>
D improving the economic conditions of working- class families
<out of scope - incorrect>
E improving women's and children's working conditions
<correct>

What do you think about the reasons mentioned above to reject the wrong answer options?


Regards,
Akash

Good job! This was a tricky passage.

Time taken : 8 minutes

I ended up missing question number 3. After going through the OA, I understood my mistake. I basically hesitate in going back to the passage for certain questions.
Do you jot down notes while reading the passage?

Regards
Dkingdom

Hey Dkingdom

I actually tried that approach in which I took notes from the passage and guess what my accuracy was very poor while solving passages. I read GMATNinja's article regarding RCs in which he said to look at the bigger picture and try to understand what the author is trying to convey. With this new approach, my accuracy increased to 90%

I always refer back to the passage if I am unclear about the answer.

Hope this helps

3. The author of the passage mentions the observations of women historians (the highlight text)[women historians have recently observed] most probably in order to
A provide support for an assertion made in the preceding sentence
B raise a question that is answered in the last sentence of the passage
C introduce an opinion that challenges a statement made in the first sentence of the passage
D offer an alternative view to the one attributed in the passage to working-class mothers
E point out a contradiction inherent in the traditional view of child labor reform as it is presented in the passage


women historians have recently observed, working-class mothers did not always share this view.
Historian observation is in contradiction with previous sentence.(before highlighted text) but answer is given as A.

Kindly help

1. The primary purpose of the passage is to
PT - initially women got some success + challenges in middle + last why could not achieve .
A explain why women reformers of the Progressive Era failed to achieve their goals --- this is only the last part of the para. there are some success too.
B discuss the origins of child labor laws in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries ---- not true.
C compare the living conditions of working-class and middle-class women in the Progressive Era ---- no this one is small part of whole thing.
D discuss an oversight on the part of women reformers of the Progressive Era --- vocab is good; discuss ; seems best of the lot.
E revise a traditional view of the role played by women reformers in enacting Progressive Era reforms --- revise, not a good word here. that too of traditional view - no

-----------------------------------------

2. The view mentioned in the highlight text of the passage refers to which of the following?

To the reformers, child labor and industrial home work were equally inhumane practices that should be outlawed, but, as a number of women historians have recently observed, working-class mothers did not always share this view.

B Reformers' belief that child labor and industrial home work should be abolished -

------------------------------------------

3. The author of the passage mentions the observations of women historians (the highlight text)[women historians have recently observed] most probably in order to

To the reformers, child labor and industrial home work were equally inhumane practices that should be outlawed, but, as a number of women historians have recently observed, working-class mothers did not always share this view.

A provide support for an assertion made in the preceding sentence

----------------------------------------

4. The passage suggests that which of the following was a reason for the difference of opinion between working class mothers and women reformers on the issue of child labor?

E Working-class families' need for every employable member of their families to earn money - no doubt this one is right, last line of the passage.

------------------------------------------

5. The author of the passage asserts which of the following about women reformers who tried to abolish child labor?

C They were correct in their conviction that child labor was deplorable but shortsighted about the impact of child labor legislation on working-class families. -

-------------------------------------------

6. According to the passage, one of the most striking achievements of white middle-class women reformers during the progressive Era was

Though largely disenfranchised except for school elections, white middle-class women reformers won a variety of victories, notably in the improvement of working conditions, especially for women and children.

E improving women's and children's working conditions

Hi aragonn,

well i don't understand the third question. My only reason for selecting Choice A is because all others are very wrong.

3. The author of the passage mentions the observations of women historians (the highlight text)[women historians have recently observed] most probably in order to

To the reformers, child labor and industrial home work were equally inhumane practices that should be outlawed, but, as a number of women historians have recently observed, working-class mothers did not always share this view.

(A) provide support for an assertion made in the preceding sentence

Couldn't connect how A is the answer of the question.

We have a view point of reformers against which we have a observation by number of women historians.
So this observation is raised to argue against or show a different view than held by reformers.

But choice (A) says provide support for assertion ( fact or belief) in the preceding sentence. How does it support the preceding sentence.
I mean can you explain me what " number of women historians have recently observed, working-class mothers did not always share this view" is providing support for?

Probus

Probus - First, right POE bring you to the the right choice this means you are doing right things. kudos to that. Regarding your doubt, You have missed one simple thing. choice A is talking about "the preceding sentence", while you have not mentioned it. look at the situation this way.

Add this part to explanation , try to make its connection with rest, Hope you will get the explanation on your own.

I could not understand the solution of question 3. How can it provide assertion of preceding sentence because preceding sentence . I think it is not supporting it is just explaining the preceding sentence .
Please correct if i am wrong.

Hello Piggu18 ....... I tried my explanation for this Q3 earlier. I am not sure if you have missed that ( if not .. then the below would be a reiteration)

Below is my take :

To me the prior sentence is : 'Ironically, though, child labor legislation pitted women of different classes against one another ' - this is the assertion made by the author of the piece.

Now one class of women ( presumably , white middle-class women reformers ) think that : child labor and industrial home work were equally inhumane practices that should be outlawed

And the other class of women , working class women, (as recently observed by the women historians) do not share the aforementioned view.

Thus, the highlighted part (women historians have recently observed) is proving and/or supporting the point that two classes of women shared different view.

Hope this helps!!

Q5. The author of the passage asserts which of the following about women reformers who tried to abolish child labor?

B They underestimated the prevalence of child labor among the working classes.


C They were correct in their conviction that child labor was deplorable but shortsighted about the impact of child labor legislation on working-class families.

When I read the last few sentences of the passage, I find B and C both to be correct. Please could you help me understand the options

---
Hi Hoozan

Choice (C) corresponds exactly with the final sentence of the passage:
"This is not to dispute women reformers' perception of child labor as a terribly exploitative practice, but their understanding of child labor and their legislative solutions for ending it failed to take account of the economic needs of working-class families."
=> The former clause corresponds with the part "They were correct in their conviction that child labor was deplorable".
=> The latter clause corresponds with the part "but shortsighted about the impact of child labor legislation on working-class families."

Choice (B) only addresses the latter clause of the original sentence. Besides, the word "prevalence", which means "the fact of existing or being very common", does shift the meaning a little bit, as the intended meaning is about the crucial contribution of child labor to working-class families.