Two works published in 1984 demonstrate contrasting approaches to writ

Hello dear mike

In all the passage nowhere mentioned that colonial age ( or golden age) was not favorable for women! it is not discussed, we just see Buel's wrote is guideless and ambiguous .... could you explain, please?

Dear soodia,

I'm happy to respond.

The middle of the passage talk about Lesbock's book, noting a few different ways in which this shows the empowerment of women during the colonial period. Then we get the crucial pivotal point, at the beginning of the last sentence, "In contrast . . ." That's huge. That tells us that the material in this sentence is intended to present some alternative to what has been discussed in Lesbock's book. Here's that whole last sentence:
In contrast, Buel and Buel’s biography provides ample raw material for questioning the myth, fostered by some historians, of a colonial golden age in the eighteenth century but does not give the reader much guidance in analyzing the controversy over women’s status.
Thus, Buel and Buel give "ample raw material," i.e. evidence, "for questioning the myth . . . of a colonial golden age." Now, admittedly, if we are looking at this sentence in isolation, we would not be able to interpret the content of that ambiguous phrase "colonial golden age." Because that sentence begins with "in contrast," we know that we have to interpret everything in the sentence in terms of what came before. Lesbock provided some examples of positive empowerment for women in the 18th century, although Lesbock's nuanced analysis also pointed out ways that women didn't have power, so Lesbock herself is not indicating a "golden age." We could imagine that a less nuanced historian might simply grab on to those positive examples and portray this time as a "golden age" of women's rights. Buel and Buel provide ample evidence against that view.

Does all this make sense?
Mike

HI mikemcgarry, GMATNinja

According to the passage, Lebsock’s work differs from Buel and Buel’s work in that Lebsock’s work
(A) uses a large number of primary sources
(B) ignores issues of women’s legal status
(C) refuses to take a position on women’s status in the eighteenth century
(D) addresses larger historiographical issues
(E) fails to provide sufficient material to support its claims

OA is D why not E?

Dear NandishSS,

I'm happy to respond.

The passage clearly says: "Buel and Buel’s biography of Mary Fish (1736–1818) makes little effort to place her story in the context of recent historiography on women. Lebsock, meanwhile, attempts not only to write the history of women in one southern community, but also to redirect two decades of historiographical debate . . . " Thus, Lebsock is dealing with the modern historiographical debate, whereas Buel and Buel seemed to avoid that entirely. This is a big difference, and (D) summarizes this.

The passage also says, "Buel and Buel’s biography provides ample raw material for questioning the myth, fostered by some historians, of a colonial golden age in the eighteenth century" --therefore, Buel and Buel provided at least some material to support their claim. Was it "sufficient" material to support their claim? That's unclear, but certainly the author makes no claim one way or the other on this point. (E) is not supported.

Always remember that a person was writing this passage, and this person had opinions. The GMAT is always interested in those opinions. Right at the beginning, the author sets up this strong P vs. Q contrast between the two works. Furthermore, the language "makes little effort" is about as strong and emphatic as academic writing gets! The author is clearly showing an opinion here, and that's what the question is getting at.

Does all this make sense?
Mike

P1 - two theories around a topic given. then compared for different aspect.
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76. The primary purpose of the passage is to - first go i fee none are options, lets drill to best answer.
(A) examine two sides of a historiographical debate --- true two sides are there. and both are examining some facts.but that is not the whole picture.
(B) call into question an author’s approach to a historiographical debate --- two authors are there.
(C) examine one author’s approach to a historiographical debate --- again two authors are there.
(D) discuss two authors’ works in relationship to a historiographical debate ---- yes two authors and their work.
(E) explain the prevalent perspective on a historiographical debate ---- only talking about 2nd half of the p1.

Out of A and D actually both are not covering full para graphs. but when we look for big picture we can easily eliminate A. D is best possible answer.
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77. The author of the passage mentions the supervision of schools primarily in order to
Pre-thinking - "These certain jobs were taken over by men." E is best answer on these lines.

(E) illustrate how the answers to questions about women’s status depend on particular contexts ---
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78. With which of the following characterizations of Lebsock’s contribution to the controversy concerning women’s status in the nineteenth-century United States would the author of the passage be most likely to agree?
lines to look for - she shows that the debate itself depends on frame of reference: in many respects,
(B) Lebsock has demonstrated the importance of frame of reference in answering questions about women’s status.
--------------------------------

79. According to the passage, Lebsock’s work differs from Buel and Buel’s work in that Lebsock’s work
(D) addresses larger historiographical issues
--------------------------------

80. The passage suggests that Lebsock believes that compared to nineteenth-century American women, eighteenth-century American women were
prethinking - Lebsock's view, about eighteenth-century American women in comparison to nineteenth-century American women
Lines to look for - women gained autonomy in some areas, especially in the private sphere, they lost it in many aspects of the economic sphere. More importantly, she shows that the debate itself depends on frame of reference: in many respects, women lost power in relation to men, for example, as certain jobs (delivering babies, supervising schools) were taken over by men. Yet women also gained power in comparison with their previous status, owning a higher proportion of real estate, for example
(A) in many respects less powerful in relation to men
(B) more likely to own real estate
(C) generally more economically independent - they lost it in many aspects of the economic sphere in nineteenth-century - this means that they were more economically independent in eighteenth-century.
(D) more independent in conducting their private lives
(E) less likely to work as school superintendents
--------------------------------

81. The passage suggests that Buel and Buel’s biography of Mary Fish provides evidence for which of the following views of women’s history?
lines to look for - provides ample raw material for questioning the myth, fostered by some historians, of a colonial golden age in the eighteenth century
(C) The colonial era was not as favorable for women as some historians have believed.

akshaykotha

First of all, don't (actually never) loose your heart if you get some questions wrong. it happens with everyone. What you need to do is learn from it. Let me help you with that. So when ever you make a mistake with RC-Inference, Do following

1. Have you read the passage and made Para wise mapping? You need to complete this part in 2-3 min for short passage and 3-4 min for long passage.
2. usually inference questions take time dont take anything more then 2 min. if you are doing that you have to adjust it at some point.
3. If you made map correctly you know where to look for any information. if dont you have to search.
4. Do not jump on POE. first pre-think the answer from your map. then do POE and try to eliminate 2-3 choices. for rest look for either one right answer or wrong one.
5. RC demands practive more then other sections do. So keep your spirits up.

Hope following link/notes can help you in your preparation.
https://gmatclub.com/forum/my-notes-rea ... 75525.html

76. D
discuss two authors’ works in relationship to a historiographical debate.
Buel and Buel Vs. Lebsock

77. E
More importantly, she [Lebsock]shows that the debate itself depends on frame of reference: in many respects, women lost power in relation to men, for example, as certain jobs (delivering babies, supervising schools) were taken over by men.

78. B
she [Lebsock] shows that the debate itself depends on frame of reference: in many respects, women lost power in relation to men, for example, as certain jobs (delivering babies, supervising schools) were taken over by men

79. D
Lebsock, meanwhile, attempts not only to write the history of women in one southern community, but also to redirect two decades of historiographical debate...

80. C
Lebsock concludes that while women gained autonomy in some areas, especially in the private sphere, they lost it in many aspects of the economic sphere...

81. C
Buel and Buel’s biography provides ample raw material for questioning the myth, fostered by some historians, of a colonial golden age in the eighteenth century but does not give the reader much guidance in analyzing the controversy over women’s status.

This is a very difficult RC passage! Got only 3/6. Although some of the members clearly explained why each answer is correct, the reasoning behind each question is very subtle and given the average of 2 minutes per question + reading the passage, the time pressure gets the best of us and hampers our ability to logically comprehend.

79. According to the passage, Lebsock’s work differs from Buel and Buel’s work in that Lebsock’s work
(A) uses a large number of primary sources
(B) ignores issues of women’s legal status
(C) refuses to take a position on women’s status in the eighteenth century
(D) addresses larger historiographical issues
(E) fails to provide suffi cient material to support its claims

Please help me with q79. Why is (E) incorrect?

question 3 is hard. this is tone question. we have read a long text to find out just ONE word, which tell the tone of the passage. "importantly" is word which tell us the tone of the passage.

for many hard problem, only ONE WORD in the long text can give us the answer.

mikemcgarry

Hi,

I got confused about the century which Lesbock was describing.How do we know which century's women is she describing.
This is in reference to question 80.

Thanks
Sreeraj Janardhanan

I took 13 minutes' time including(reading the passage) and got all answers correct. Is it good ??

76. The primary purpose of the passage is to
[b]
(A) examine two sides of a historiographical debate
[/b]It’s not necessarily “two sides” of a debate; B and B is not necessarily on a “side.” When you say “two sides,” at least from my perspective, you have two distinct positions divided between each other. Within the passage, the author flat out says “Although both books offer the reader the opportunity to assess this controversy regarding women’s status, only Lebsock’s deals with it directly.” So that means Lebsock is the only one that’s on “a side,” and B and B is (by default) not on a side.
(B) call into question an author’s approach to a historiographical debate
Far left field. The author isn’t calling anything into question. He presents “two works…[that] demonstrate contrasting approaches to writing the history of U.S. women.”
(C) examine one author’s approach to a historiographical debate
Half wrong/half right. Not one but TWO. presents “two works…[that] demonstrate contrasting approaches to writing the history of U.S. women.”
(D) discuss two authors’ works in relationship to a historiographical debate
Best answer. I vacillated between this answer choice and A, and I ultimately chose A. Bad judgment call. This is correct because the author is definitely “discuss(ing)”; the passage is not argumentative, not conclusive, etc. The GMAT just says “she examines…,” “she concludes…,”. Just overall, descriptive statements about the works/authors. Moreover, there are definitely two works; the first sentence says it verbatim – “two works published…”. They are related because they both “offer the reader the opportunity to assessthis controversy” but “only Lebsock’s deals with it directly.” Put differently, they are similar but one is more direct than the other.
(E) explain the prevalent perspective on a historiographical debate
Story trap. Prevalence isn’t described within this passage. Although Lebsock is described in detail, you can’t conclude that it’s a more “prevalent perspective” compared to that of B and B.

77. The author of the passage mentions the supervision of schools primarily in order to
“she shows that the debate itself depends on frame of reference: in many respects, women lost power in relation to men, for example, as certain jobs (delivering babies, supervising schools) were taken over by men”

[b](A) remind readers of the role education played in the cultural changes of the nineteenth century in the United States
[/b]Story trap/far left field. There were no cultural changes, per the passage. That’s too strong a statement. This could maybe be true in the real world, but not within the confines of this passage.
(B) suggest an area in which nineteenth-century American women were relatively free to exercise power
Opposite, if anything. As the sentence above states, women lost power in relation to men. If they lost power, I would think that they were NOT relatively free to exercise power.
(C) provide an example of an occupation for which accurate data about women’s participation are difficult to obtain
Out of scope. Accuracy of data is not alluded or stated outright. There’s an assumption that the data are right within the passage.
(D) speculate about which occupations were considered suitable for United States women of the nineteenth century
Flipped trap. The glaring problem is the “considered suitable for United States women” piece. Lesbock said “women lost power in relation to men and then gave examples to substantiate this claim (one them is “supervising schools”) and may be speculating which occupations were considered suitable (or not)in the 19th century, not the overall author of the passage.
(E) illustrate how the answers to questions about women’s status depend on particular contexts
Almost a one-to-one match with the passage. Illustrate = describe/show; “how the answers to questions” = the debate itself [and corresponding points]; about women’s status = women…power in relation to men; “depends on particular contexts” = depends on frame of reference

78. With which of the following characterizations of Lebsock’s contribution to the controversy concerning women’s status in the nineteenth-century United States would the author of the passage be most likely to agree?
[b]
(A) Lebsock has studied women from a formerly neglected region and time period.
[/b]Out of scope – Nothing is mentioned about neglection.
(B) Lebsock has demonstrated the importance of frame of reference in answering questions about women’s status.
Sounds like a stretch. Come back.
(C) Lebsock has addressed the controversy by using women’s current status as a frame of reference.
Too specific trap/story trap – We don’t know if it’s a current status or not; also, if anything, this could opposite as well – “Buel and Buel’s…makes little effort to place her sotyr in the context of RECENT historiography on women.”
(D) Lebsock has analyzed statistics about occupations and property that were previously ignored.
Out of scope/story trap – We don’t if things were previously ignored.
(E) Lebsock has applied recent historiographical methods to the biography of a nineteenthcentury woman.
Too specific trap – we don’t know if it’s a about a specific; presumably it would be about women in general.

79. According to the passage, Lebsock’s work differs from Buel and Buel’s work in that Lebsock’s work
[b]
(A) uses a large number of primary sources
[/b]Opposite, if anything – this seems to be speaking to B and B’s work – “Buel and Buel’s biography provides ample raw material for questioning the myth, fostered by some historians…”
(B) ignores issues of women’s legal status
Out of scope trap – nothing about “legal status” is mentioned throughout the passage; but if anything, although a huge leap, this could be the opposite as well. “…only Lebsock’s deals with directly…she examines several different aspects of women’s status…”
(C) refuses to take a position on women’s status in the eighteenth century
Opposite – She seems to be taking a stronger stance than that of Buel and Buel’s. “Lebsock, meanwhile, attempts…only Lebsock’s deals with it directly.”
(D) addresses larger historiographical issues
Buel and Buel makes “little effort to place her story in the context of recent historiography on women.” But Lebsock…attempts NOT ONLY to write the history of women…BUT ALSO to redirect two decades of historiographical debate…”
(E) fails to provide sufficient material to support its claims
There isn’t a failure to provide sufficient material, but rather the materials don’t seem to be presented. Just because “Buel and Buel’s biography provides ample raw material for questions…” doesn’t mean that Lebsock didn’t do the same or even more. Moreover, Buel and Buel’s biography provides ample raw material doesn’t necessarily mean that was even “sufficient”; “sufficient” is a strong word.

80. The passage suggests that Lebsock believes that compared to nineteenth-century American women, eighteenth-century American women were
For the 19th century women, they gained autonomy in some areas (private sphere), and they lost it in many aspects of the economic sphere. Women lost power to men (for some jobs) but gained power when compared to 18th century.
(A) in many respects less powerful in relation to men
Opposite – If 19th century women LOST power in relation to men, that means 18th century had more power (relative to their 19th century counterparts)
(B) more likely to own real estate
Opposite – women “gained power in comparison with their previous status, owning a higher proportion of real estate” in the 19th century. So it’s the 19th century women that seem to be more likely to own real estate.”
(C) generally more economically independent
So 19th century women “lost it (i.e., autonomy) in many aspects of the economic sphere” so 18th century women had more [autonomy] within the economic sphere, relative to their 19th century counterparts. Good.
(D) more independent in conducting their private lives
Opposite – 19th century women “…gained autonomy in some areas, especially in the private sphere” so 18th century women had less autonomy (i.e., independence) in their private spheres
(E) less likely to work as school superintendents
Opposite, if anything. 19th century women “lost power in relation to men…as certain jobs (supervising schools) were taken over by men” So 18th century would’ve had more power and not have been less like to have these positions (and work as them) than the 19th century counterparts.

81. The passage suggests that Buel and Buel’s biography of Mary Fish provides evidence for which of the following views of women’s history?
“In contrast, Buel and Buel’s biography provides ample raw material for questioning the myth, fostered by some historians, of a colonial golden age in the eighteenth century but does not give the reader much guidance in analyzing the controversy over women’s status.”
(A) Women have lost power in relation to men since the colonial era.
Opposite, if anything. B and B seems to allude to the colonial golden age as a myth, so if anything it would probably be the opposite. The women gain power since the colonial era [wasn’t the “golden” age].
(B) Women of the colonial era were not as likely to be concerned with their status as were women in the nineteenth century.
Out of scope – B and B doesn’t talk about status. The passage flat out says the following: “B and B’s biography….does not give the read much guidance in analyzing the controversy over women’s status.”
(C) The colonial era was not as favorable for women as some historians have believed.
This seems almost directly aligned with the passage: “Buel and Buel’s biography…questioning the myth, fostered by some historians, of a colonial golden age in the eighteenth century”
(D) Women had more economic autonomy in the colonial era than in the nineteenth century.
Opposite, if anything. B and B seems to allude to the colonial golden age as a myth, so if anything it would probably be the opposite. The women gain power since the colonial era [wasn’t the “golden” age].
(E) Women’s occupations were generally more respected in the colonial era than in the nineteenth century.
Opposite, if anything. B and B seems to allude to the colonial golden age as a myth, so if anything it would probably be the opposite. The women gain power since the colonial era [wasn’t the “golden” age].

Got all right except first question. can someone please explain the The primary purpose of the passage

Hi gagansh1840,

76. The primary purpose of the passage is to
(A) examine two sides of a historiographical debate
(B) call into question an author’s approach to a historiographical debate
(C) examine one author’s approach to a historiographical debate
(D) discuss two authors’ works in relationship to a historiographical debate
(E) explain the prevalent perspective on a historiographical debate

Explanation:
can be inferred from the lines at the start of the passage: "Buel and Buel’s biography of Mary Fish (1736–1818) makes little effort to place her story in the context of recent historiography on women. Lebsock, meanwhile, attempts not only to write the history of women in one southern community, but also to redirect two decades of historiographical debate as to whether women gained or lost status in the nineteenth century as compared with the eighteenth century.".

Other options are incorrect as author is neither comparing the the two sides of a historiographical debate nor calling an author's approach into question, nor examining an author's approach. He simply discusses the view points presented by both the authors. He is not explaining the prevalent perspective but the perspective presented by the author's through their respective books.

Hope This Helps.
Thanks.

Total time: 05 Minutes
Got all answers correct.

Hi Experts,
In question 4 how can we eliminate the choice C, which also talks about "frame of reference....to address a controversy"

78. With which of the following characterizations of Lebsock???s contribution to the controversy concerning women???s status in the nineteenth-century United States would the author of the passage be most likely to agree?
(A) Lebsock has studied women from a formerly neglected region and time period.
(B) Lebsock has demonstrated the importance of frame of reference in answering questions about women???s status.
(C) Lebsock has addressed the controversy by using women???s current status as a frame of reference.
(D) Lebsock has analyzed statistics about occupations and property that were previously ignored.
(E) Lebsock has applied recent historiographical methods to the biography of a nineteenthcentury woman.

Thanks.