Colonial historian David Allen's intensive study of five communities i

Question

Colonial historian David Allen's intensive study of five communities in seventeenth-century Massachusetts is a model of meticulous scholarship on the detailed microcosmic level, and is convincing up to a point. Allen suggests that much more coherence and direct continuity existed between English and colonial agricultural practices and administrative organization than other historians have suggested. However, he overstates his case with the declaration that he has proved "the remarkable extent to which diversity in New England local institutions was directly imitative of regional differences in the mother country.

Such an assertion ignores critical differences between seventeenth—century England and New England. First, England was overcrowded and land-hungry; New England was sparsely populated and labor-hungry. Second, England suffered the normal European rate of mortality; New England, especially in the first generation of English colonists, was virtually free from infectious diseases. Third, England had an all-embracing state church; in New England membership in a church was restricted to the elect. Fourth, a high proportion of English villagers lived under paternalistic resident squires; no such class existed in New England. By narrowing his focus to village institutions and ignoring these critical differences, which studies by Greven, Demos, and Lockridge have shown to be so important, Allen has created a somewhat distorted picture of reality.

Allen's work is a rather extreme example of the "country community" school of seventeenth-century English history whose intemperate excesses in removing all national issues from the history of that period have been exposed by Professor Clive Holmes. What conclusion can be drawn, for example, from Allen's discovery that Puritan clergy who had come to the colonies from East Anglia were one-third to one-half as likely to return to England by 1660 as were Puritan ministers from western and northern England? We are not told in what way, if at all,  this discovery  illuminates historical understanding. Studies of local history have enormously expanded our horizons, but it is a mistake for their authors to conclude that village institutions are all that mattered, simply because their functions are all that the records of village institutions reveal.   1 
 A 
 1. The passage suggests that Professor Clive Holmes would most likely agree with which of the following statements?

(A) An understanding of seventeenth-century English local institutions requires a consideration of national issues.
(B) The "country community" school of seventeenth- century English history distorts historical evidence in order to establish continuity between old and new institutions.
(C) Most historians distort reality by focusing on national concerns to the exclusion of local concerns.
(D) National issues are best understood from the perspective of those at the local level.
(E) Local histories of seventeenth-century English villages have contributed little to the understanding of village life.

2 
 D 
 2. It can be inferred from the passage that the author of the passage considers Allen's " discovery " (see highlighted text) to be

(A) already known to earlier historians
(B) based on a logical fallacy
(C) improbable but nevertheless convincing
(D) an unexplained, isolated fact
(E) a new, insightful observation

3 
 C 
 3. It can be inferred that the author of the passage considers Allen's research on seventeenth-century Massachusetts colonies to be

(A) inconsequential but interesting
(B) largely derivative
(C) detailed but problematic
(D) highly commendable
(E) overly theoretical

4 
 A 
 4. According to the passage, which of the following was true of most villages in seventeenth-century England?

(A) The resident squire had significant authority.
(B) Church members were selected on the basis of their social status within the community.
(C) Low population density restricted agricultural and economic growth.
(D) There was little diversity in local institutions from one region to another.
(E) National events had little impact on local customs and administrative organization.

5 
 E 
 5. The author of the passage is primarily concerned with

(A) substantiating a claim about a historical event
(B) reconciling two opposing ideas about a historical era
(C) disputing evidence a scholar uses to substantiate a claim about a historical event
(D) analyzing two approaches to scholarly research and evaluating their methodologies
(E) criticizing a particular study and the approach to historical scholarship it represents

Source : GMATPrep Default Exam Pack

Passage-02 GMATPrep RCs-Collection (Main article)

pqhai · Accepted Answer

Time taken: 10:18 (Feel bad)

1. The passage suggests that Professor Clive Holmes would most likely agree with which of the following statements?
A. An understanding of seventeenth-century English local institutions requires a consideration of national issues. --> CORRECT. First sentence of the third passage states that.
B. The "country community" school of seventeenth- century English history distorts historical evidence in order to establish continuity between old and new institutions.
C. Most historians distort reality by focusing on national concerns to the exclusion of local concerns.
D. National issues are best understood from the perspective of those at the local level.
E. Local histories of seventeenth-century English villages have contributed little to the understanding of village life.

2. It can be inferred from the passage that the author of the passage considers Allen's "discovery" (see highlighted text) to be
A. already known to earlier historians
B. based on a logical fallacy
C. improbable but nevertheless convincing
D. an unexplained, isolated fact --> CORRECT. The third passage says "We are not told in what way, .....it is a mistake for their authors to conclude that...". <-- means mistake if we just base solely on unexplained facts.
E. a new, insightful observation

3. It can be inferred that the author of the passage considers Allen's research on seventeenth-century Massachusetts colonies to be
A. inconsequential but interesting
B. largely derivative
C. detailed but problematic --> CORRECT. The first passage says ".....a model of meticulous scholarship on the detailed microcosmic level, and is convincing........However, he overstates his case ".
D. highly commendable
E. overly theoretical

4. According to the passage, which of the following was true of most villages in seventeenth-century England?
A. The resident squire had significant authority. --> CORRECT. The second passage says "Fourth, a high proportion of English villagers lived under paternalistic resident squires;
B. Church members were selected on the basis of their social status within the community.
C. Low population density restricted agricultural and economic growth.
D. There was little diversity in local institutions from one region to another.
E. National events had little impact on local customs and administrative organization.

5. The author of the passage is primarily concerned with
A. substantiating a claim about a historical event
B. reconciling two opposing ideas about a historical era
C. disputing evidence a scholar uses to substantiate a claim about a historical event
D. analyzing two approaches to scholarly research and evaluating their methodologies
E. criticizing a particular study and the approach to historical scholarship it represents --> CORRECT.
The first passage mentions "......However, he overstates.....". Moreover, the second passage says " Allen has created a somewhat distorted picture of reality. <-- It's a criticizing mood.

egmat · Answer

Hi there, Thanks for posting your question here. :-)

Since, Q#4 is an open ended question, we need to rely on the PoE to get to the correct answer. Choice A - This one is the correct answer as the passage clearly mentions that " a high proportion of English villagers lived under paternalistic resident squires;". Choice B - This cannot be the correct answer because the passage only says that the Church was open for the elects. It does not mention on what criteria was one elected. Choice C - This information is not present in the passage. Choice D - This is not the correct answer. Pay attention to this part in the passage - "However, he overstates his case with the declaration that he has proved "the remarkable extent to which diversity in New England local institutions was directly imitative of regional differences in the mother country." This part suggests that there was enough diversity in the local institutions from one region to another in English villages too and that's why Allen made this point in this studies. However, he over stated this similarity in comparing the New England villages with the England villages. Choice E - There is no mention of national events in the passage. Hope this helps. :-)

Thanks. SJ

JarvisR · Answer

Time taken 14 mins.
1. The passage suggests that Professor Clive Holmes would most likely agree with which of the following statements?
A. An understanding of seventeenth-century English local institutions requires a consideration of national issues.
"...the "country community" school of seventeenth-century English history whose intemperate excesses in removing all national issues from the history of that period have been exposed by Professor Clive Holmes"

2. It can be inferred from the passage that the author of the passage considers Allen's "discovery" (see highlighted text) to be
D. an unexplained, isolated fact
"We are not told in what way, if at all, this discovery illuminates historical understanding."

3. It can be inferred that the author of the passage considers Allen's research on seventeenth-century Massachusetts colonies to be
C. detailed but problematic
"Colonial historian David Allen's intensive study of five communities in seventeenth-century Massachusetts is a model of meticulous scholarship on the detailed microcosmic level, and is convincing up to a point.
blah blah
However, he overstates his case with the declaration....
"

5. The author of the passage is primarily concerned with
E. criticizing a particular study and the approach to historical scholarship it represents

4. According to the passage, which of the following was true of most villages in seventeenth-century England?
A. The resident squire had significant authority.
B. Church members were selected on the basis of their social status within the community.
C. Low population density restricted agricultural and economic growth.
D. There was little diversity in local institutions from one region to another.
E. National events had little impact on local customs and administrative organization.
 >> Need help with this one. 
By POE I can reach to A but don't know how to infer that from para. I was stumped by option D in starting bec of following line:
"Allen suggests that much more coherence and direct continuity existed   between English and colonial   agricultural practices and administrative organization than other historians have suggested. ".But after rereading i found the difference.

vvd · Answer

5. The author of the passage is primarily concerned with
A. substantiating a claim about a historical event
B. reconciling two opposing ideas about a historical era
C. disputing evidence a scholar uses to substantiate a claim about a historical event
D. analyzing two approaches to scholarly research and evaluating their methodologies
E. criticizing a particular study and the approach to historical scholarship it represents

While solving this question , I am able to eliminate 
B. reconciling two opposing ideas about a historical era (no two ideas are explain)
D. analyzing two approaches to scholarly research and evaluating their methodologies (no methodology is discussed)
A. substantiating a claim about a historical event(no historical even is discussed)

so I remains with C and E and I choose C ... 
E. criticizing a particular study and the approach to historical scholarship it represents 
 I think criticizing is strong word for passage tone 
C. disputing evidence a scholar uses to substantiate a claim about a historical event
 second paragraph talk about evidence also third paragraph also say about evidence.
Please explain.

eddyki · Answer

im not a native speaker, it took me way to long -> 16 minutes
I got 4/5 right.

vvd  : I also struggled between these 2 answer. I took E because C claims someone wants to "substantiate a claim about a historical event". I could not see the claim about the historical event.

all : I want to be faster, any ideas how the last and the first passage could be summarized?

sytabish · Answer

Hi eddyki , There are various strategies available for RC. Check out the below link for example. ultimate-reading-comprehension-encyclopedia-150022.html#p1205080 I'm also still trying to perfect it. What I found so far is that you will have to devise your own strategy because what works for one may not work for other person. It depends a lot on your vocabulary skills also. Keep practising RC on daily basis and you will be able to figure out what works best for you. Best of Luck

StoicBread · Answer

1) A
2) D
3) C
4) A
5) E

Question 2 seems to be the one most people struggled with, so I will address it in more detail.

2. It can be inferred from the passage that the author of the passage considers Allen's "discovery" (see highlighted text) to be
A. already known to earlier historians  No. It can be inferred that Allen discovered the detail. 
B. based on a logical fallacy  This is unsubstantiated 
C. improbable but nevertheless convincing  Author seems adamant that Allen is wrong, so no. 
D. an unexplained, isolated fact  Yes. The gist of the paragraph is that Allen's work does little to advance "the big picture" and that his work cannot be used to explain "macro" trends.  
E. a new, insightful observation  Like C, the author seems to be against Allen's POV.

dave13 · Answer

Hey NandishSS check below 1. The passage suggests that Professor Clive Holmes would most likely agree with which of the following statements? (A) An understanding of seventeenth-century English local institutions requires a consideration of national issues. (B) The "country community" school of seventeenth- century English history distorts historical evidence in order to establish continuity between old and new institutions. (C) Most historians distort reality by focusing on national concerns to the exclusion of local concerns. (D) National issues are best understood from the perspective of those at the local level. (E) Local histories of seventeenth-century English villages have contributed little to the understanding of village life. ANSWER below in BOLD

By narrowing his focus to village institutions and ignoring these critical differences, which studies by Greven, Demos, and Lockridge have shown to be so important, Allen has created a somewhat distorted picture of reality Studies of local history have enormously expanded our horizons, but it is a mistake for their authors to conclude that village institutions are all that mattered, simply because their functions are all that the records of village institutions reveal. Allen's work is a rather extreme example of the "country community" school of seventeenth-century English history whose intemperate excesses in removing all national issues 2. It can be inferred from the passage that the author of the passage considers Allen's "discovery" (see highlighted text) to be (A) already known to earlier historians (B) based on a logical fallacy (C) improbable but nevertheless convincing (D) an unexplained, isolated fact (E) a new, insightful observation ANSWER BELOW: ( Isolated fact ) Allen's work is a rather extreme example of the "country community" school of seventeenth-century English history whose intemperate excesses in removing all national issues from the ( unexplained fact ) What conclusion can be drawn, for example, from Allen's discovery that Puritan clergy who had come to the colonies from East Anglia were one-third to one-half as likely to return to England by 1660 as were Puritan ministers from western and northern England? We are not told in what way, if at all, this discovery illuminates historical understanding. 3. It can be inferred that the author of the passage considers Allen's research on seventeenth-century Massachusetts colonies to be (A) inconsequential but interesting (B) largely derivative (C) detailed but problematic (D) highly commendable (E) overly theoretical ANSWER BELOW: ( DETAILED )Colonial historian David Allen's intensive study of five communities in seventeenth-century Massachusetts is a model of meticulous scholarship on the detailed microcosmic level , and is convincing up to a point. ( PROBLEMATIC ) However, he overstates his case with the declaration that he has proved let me know if it helped

TarunTilokani · Answer

Hey can someone help me this question ?  GMATNinja   egmat   VeritasKarishma

I still can't wrap my head around 
how can we infer answer choice A from  Fourth, a high proportion of English villagers lived under paternalistic resident squires; no such class existed in New England. 
This doesn't tell us that resident squire had significant authority

4. According to the passage, which of the following was true of most villages in seventeenth-century England?

(A) The resident squire had significant authority.
(B) Church members were selected on the basis of their social status within the community.
(C) Low population density restricted agricultural and economic growth.
(D) There was little diversity in local institutions from one region to another.
(E) National events had little impact on local customs and administrative organization.

KarishmaB · Answer

English villagers lived UNDER resident squires means resident squires had significant authority. 
Note that the other options are clearly incorrect.

(B) Church members were selected on the basis of their social status within the community.
Incorrect. Passage mentions: "Third, England had an all-embracing state church".

(C) Low population density restricted agricultural and economic growth.
Incorrect. Passage mentions: England was overcrowded and land-hungry;

(D) There was little diversity in local institutions from one region to another.
Incorrect. Passage mentions: the remarkable extent to which diversity in New England local institutions was directly imitative of regional differences in the mother country.
This implies that there was diversity in England too.

(E) National events had little impact on local customs and administrative organization.
Incorrect. Passage mentions: it is a mistake for their authors to conclude that village institutions are all that mattered, simply because their functions are all that the records of village institutions reveal.
It implies that only village institutions are not all that mattered so perhaps regional and national events had impact. We don't know for sure but certainly (E) is not correct.

ssshyam1995 · Answer

For question no.5 how do we choose between option C and option E??

GMATNinja · Answer

To answer broad RC questions, the best place to start is with an understanding of the purpose of each paragraph. Here is a breakdown of this passage:

Paragraph 1: the author introduces and then criticizes a historical study, saying that the researcher (Allen) "overstates his case." 
 Paragraph 2: the author fleshes out his/her criticism by listing factors that Allen ignored, concluding that Allen "created a somewhat distorted picture of reality." 
 Paragraph 3: the author then connects Allen's work to a broader school of historical research, expanding his/her criticism to that school as a whole

With this in mind, take a look at (E):
 
Bingo! The author criticizes Allen's study, then expands this criticism to the "'country community' school of seventeenth-century English history." (E) fits perfectly with our analysis of the passage, and is the correct answer.

Contrast that with (C):
 
There are a couple of issues with this answer choice. First, the author doesn't discuss a claim about a particular "historical  event " -- instead, he/she criticizes Allen's study about a historical   time and place   (colonial New England). Because the passage doesn't really discuss an event, (C) is already looking a bit off.

In addition, the author doesn't "dispute evidence" in the passage. In the second paragraph, he/she lists factors that Allen  ignored  -- which is not the same as disputing the evidence that he actually   did   use. In the third paragraph, the author brings up a particular piece of Allen's evidence and questions what can be  concluded  from that evidence, but he/she never disputes the truthfulness of the evidence itself.

For these reasons, (C) is not a good match for the primary concern of the passage.

I hope that helps!

PhantomAY · Answer

Process map:

Paragraph 1 - DA conduct  detailed  study to suggest  continuity  between English and colonial in 2 different aspects (agr and admin org). But his argument is  over stated  (author's opinion).

Paragraph 2 - this is due to ignoring  differences , in  4 different aspects  (details - skim and refer back later when being asked). Just focus on village insti is too  narrow , and DA's view is  distorted  (author's opinion)

Paragraph 3 - DA's view ignore national issues (CH debunk it), no conclusion can be drawn from 1 e.g. (details). Again, just focus on village is not enough.

1. The passage suggests that Professor Clive Holmes would most likely agree with which of the following statements? 
 refer to "Allen's work is a rather extreme example of the “country community” school of seventeenth-century English history whose intemperate excesses in removing all national issues from the history of that period have been exposed by Professor Clive Holmes" 
(A) An understanding of seventeenth-century English local institutions requires a consideration of national issues.  this coincides with the detail above  
(B) The "country community" school of seventeenth- century English history distorts historical evidence in order to establish continuity between old and new institutions.  this is author's opinions not HC's 
(C) Most historians distort reality by focusing on national concerns to the exclusion of local concerns.  this is author's opinions not HC's 
(D) National issues are best understood from the perspective of those at the local level.  focusing on local level is not narrow as indicated in the passage 
(E) Local histories of seventeenth-century English villages have contributed little to the understanding of village life.  it contributes, but not enough, "little" is too extreme

2. It can be inferred from the passage that the author of the passage considers Allen's "discovery" (see highlighted text) to be
 refer to "What conclusion can be drawn, for example, from Allen's discovery that Puritan clergy who had come to the colonies from East Anglia were one-third to one-half as likely to return to England by 1660 as were Puritan ministers from western and northern England? We are not told in what way, if at all, this discovery illuminates historical understanding." 
(A) already known to earlier historians  this might be true, but not author's main intention  
(B) based on a logical fallacy  attractive answer, but no logic error because on conclusion is given 
(C) improbable but nevertheless convincing  author find it not convincing  
(D) an unexplained, isolated fact  correct answer, isolated facts didn't give us any conclusion  
(E) a new, insightful observation  author's tone is mostly negative, so incorrect answer

3. It can be inferred that the author of the passage considers Allen's research on seventeenth-century Massachusetts colonies to be

(A) inconsequential but interesting  "interesting" is not mentioned 
(B) largely derivative  "largely" is too extreme and not mentioned 
(C) detailed but problematic  correct answer, refer to "meticulous scholarship on the detailed microcosmic level" for "detailed", and author's tone for "problematic"  
(D) highly commendable  contradicts author's tone 
(E) overly theoretical  this is not mentioned

4. According to the passage, which of the following was true of most villages in seventeenth-century England?
 First, England was overcrowded and land-hungry; New England was sparsely populated and labor-hungry. Second, England suffered the normal European rate of mortality; New England, especially in the first generation of English colonists, was virtually free from infectious diseases. Third, England had an all-embracing state church; in New England membership in a church was restricted to the elect. Fourth, a high proportion of English villagers lived under paternalistic resident squires; no such class existed in New England.  
(A) The resident squire had significant authority. correct answer, refers to "a high proportion of English villagers lived under paternalistic resident squires; no such class existed in New England", "paternalistic" translate to "authority"  
(B) Church members were selected on the basis of their social status within the community.  this is not mentioned 
(C) Low population density restricted agricultural and economic growth.   contradicts "England was overcrowded and land-hungry" 
(D) There was little diversity in local institutions from one region to another.  not mentioned  
(E) National events had little impact on local customs and administrative organization.   this is not mentioned

5. The author of the passage is primarily concerned with

(A) substantiating a claim about a historical event  this is not about a historical event, but about evaluating Allen's work 
(B) reconciling two opposing ideas about a historical era  didn't reconcile 2 opposing idea 
(C) disputing evidence a scholar uses to substantiate a claim about a historical event  it didn't dispute the evidence but the approach Allen took 
(D) analyzing two approaches to scholarly research and evaluating their methodologies  it only analyzed Allens' work 
(E) criticizing a particular study and the approach to historical scholarship it represents  correct answer

tyildirim92 · Answer

Can an expert explicate the meaning of the last sentence? why does the author say

AndrewN · Answer

Hello,  tyildirim92 . A paraphrase of the last sentence, of the view expressed, is that it is a mistake to  assume  that just because the available records of villages relate to matters, the goings on, of those villages, the villagers themselves were neither concerned with nor influenced by matters outside of their own villages. The author calls for a broader contextual interpretation, a view championed by Professor Clive Holmes that takes into account  national issues... of that period .

I hope that helps. If you have further questions, feel free to ask.

- Andrew

arya251294 · Answer

For question 2 - the passage says "this discovery  illuminates  historical understanding. Doesn't this mean that the discovery was actually shedding some new light?

GMATNinja · Answer

Question 2 
 
The author of the passage first asks what conclusion can be drawn from Allen’s discovery. He/she then says that “ we are not told in what way, if at all,  this discovery illuminates historical understanding.” So, the author of the passage does not necessarily believe that the discovery illuminates historical understanding. In fact, the author seems to question whether the discovery is of any significance at all because it leads to no consequential conclusion.

I hope that helps!

gmatBoy123456 · Answer

Can somebody please explain why Q2. gives option C. I answered :improbable but nevertheless convincing, as first para says its generally convincing but the author states it to be not reflecting reality

bM22 · Answer

Hi  rohanrony ,

The answer to Question 2 is D as it can be directly inferred that the author does not considers Allen's "discovery" convincing, as can also be inferred from the lines: "What conclusion can be drawn, for example, from Allen's discovery that Puritan clergy who had come to the colonies from East Anglia were one-third to one-half as likely to return to England by 1660 as were Puritan ministers from western and northern England? We are not told in what way, if at all, this discovery illuminates historical understanding."

Hope this Helps.
Thanks.

Colonial historian David Allen's intensive study of five communities i

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Colonial historian David Allen's intensive study of five communities i

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