Which of the following, if true, would most strengthen the author's argument about the experience of women in Britain during and after the First World War?
Author's Position: "Above all, postwar Britain encouraged women to surrender their factory jobs to returning veterans. By 1921 a smaller percentage of women had paid employment than in 1911."
A. During the First World War, the government actively recruited women to enter the paid labor force. Answer Choice is opposite to the point you need to strengthen.
B. After the First World War, media images of women portrayed women as being vital both in their domestic role and in their new role as paid workers. Does not explain, or strengthen the fact that Britain encouraged women to surrender their jobs.
C. After the First World War, many women were excluded from union membership, and such membership was a prerequisite for continued employment in factories. This action created a situation where women were not allowed to get jobs in a manner. Seems more correct than others.
D. Although prior to the First World War women were paid lower wages than men in the same occupations, after the war men and women in certain industries received equal pay. Again, this statement is not relevant to the context of women losing their jobs.
E. Many women who were in the paid labour force during the First World War worked at home by taking in laundry, sewing, or lodgers. This statement covers relationships prior to WWI and during and after as the question asks.
The author of the passage would be most likely to agree with which of the following statements about the government rhetoric mentioned in the first paragraph? Government rhetoric at the time posited that women had "earned" new civil rights, and many later historians, swayed by this sentiment, concluded that during and after the war, women seized a range of new work opportunities, won political and legal rights, and laid to rest certain prejudices against their gender.
This view obscures the truth about women's experience before, during, and after the war.
A. It contributed to women's attainment of new political and legal rights in Britain after the First World War. The statement leads to the idea that it swayed opinions, the line of reasoning does not lead to the rights that women achieved. It indicates that those rights are a misdirection.
B. It had an influential if misleading effect on historians' interpretations of women's experience in Britain during the First World War. This is captures the sentiment through the lines mentioned.
C. It encouraged women's continued participation in the paid labor force in Britain after the First World War. Same, the statement leads to the idea that it swayed opinions, the line of reasoning does not lead to the rights that women achieved. It indicates that those rights are a misdirection.
D. It accurately described women's contributions to the paid workforce in Britain prior to and during the First World War. Does not follow the line of reasoning of the answers.
E. Its effect on women's perception of their new social roles in Britain has been misinterpreted by current historians. Women's perception is not discussed in the essay.
The primary purpose of the passage is to: Passage discusses how the opinions held by others were incorrect and ignorant to the situation of the women.
A. acknowledge that suffrage for women in Britain was partly a result of their participation in the paid workforce during the First World War
B. delineate the types of paid work that women in Britain participated in before, during, and after the First World War
C. explain why women were needed in the British workforce during the First World War but were not needed after the war
D. take issue with the view that the First World War was a watershed for women's rights in Britain Accurate, indicates that the views held were premature and inadequate.
E. offer reasons for why women achieved political and legal rights in Britain between 1911 and 1921