Three historiographical considerations played an important role in my

Question

Three historiographical considerations played an important role in my decision to write a history of Black women in the United States. First, I was persuaded that Black people and White people in the United States clearly represent two different cultures, with different traditions and oftentimes diametrically opposed past experiences. The same may hold true for the two sexes, whose roles, history, and contributions seem on close examination to be almost different enough to constitute different cultures. Of course, all groups share in the common history. I do not believe that recognizing the existence of large cultural subdivisions means succumbing to separatism, cultural nationalism, and a narrow particularistic vision. Our historical perceptions can only be enriched by accepting the fact that, since sex and race are frequently used (however unfairly) to assign certain roles and statuses to people, these people have had different historical experiences from those of the dominant group.

Second, I became convinced that standard histories of the United States have tended to overlook the contributions and viewpoints of Black Americans and women. I hope and expect that the present generation of United States historians will rectify this mistake, recognizing that women and Blacks were there and that their special contributions to the building and shaping of American society were different from those of White men. In the meantime, a Separate history of Black women is needed.

Finally, I had to consider the role that a White historian can legitimately play in the writing of Black history. Certainly, historians who are members of the culture about which they write will bring a special quality to their material. Their understandings are apt to be different from those of an outsider. But scholars from outside a culture have frequently had a view that contrasts with the view of those closely involved in and bound by their own culture. These angles of vision are complementary in arriving at an accurate picture of the past. The interpretation of the Black past made by Blacks will probably be somewhat different from that made by Whites. This does not mean that Black history can or should be interpreted only by Blacks. It should be interpreted by both groups, So that, in the juxtaposition of different interpretations, in debate, and in the clash of opinions, a richer and fuller, and more solidly based history will emerge.    1 
 1. A primary purpose of the passage is to

(A) resolve a historiographical dispute
(B) discuss a controversial historiographical perspective
(C) compare and contrast three alternative historiographical approaches
(D) set forth the author’s positions on three historiographical issues
(E) question the validity of three historiographical methods used by other historians

2 
 2 The passage most likely appeared as

(A) part of the preface to a scholarly book
(B) a rebuttal to a previously published scholarly article
(C) part of a book review in a scholarly journal
(D) a condensed version of an article in a scholarly journal
(E) a complete entry in an encyclopedia of the social sciences.

3 
 3. The author implies that which of the following, if they existed, would be most likely to make a separate history of Black women in the United States unnecessary?

(A) Standard histories of the United States that include information about American women in their appendices
(B) Comprehensive histories of the United States that include the contributions and viewpoints of women and Blacks
(C) Universalistic histories of the United States that emphasize the common experiences of men and women, Whites and minorities
(D) Collections of articles written by Blacks and Whites that contain similar interpretations of Black history in the United States
(E) Collections of articles written by Black women that present their interpretations of their own history in the United States

4 
 4. The author’s recommendation for achieving the best possible interpretation of the Black past indicates that, if the staff of a government commission were collecting information about a controversial issue, the author would be most likely to approve of which of the following procedures?

(A) The staff does historical research on the issue and presents the results to the commission.
(B) The staff interviews people on both sides of the issue and presents their differing views to the commission.
(C) The staff interviews people on both sides of the issue, finds points of agreement in their views and presents these points to the commission.
(D) The staff interviews people on both sides of the issue, decides which viewpoint is more widespread, and presents that viewpoint to the commission.
(E) The staff interviews only people who are known not to have strong opinions about the issue and presents their viewpoints to the commission.

5 
 5. In discussing the likelihood that “the present generation of United States historians will rectify this mistake”, the author’s tone is

(A) arrogant
(B) sentimental
(C) optimistic
(D) ironic
(E) apologetic

6 
 6. Which of the following descriptions of the author and her interests can best be inferred from the passage?

(A) The author is a Black historian primarily interested in the history of Black women in the United States.
(B) The author is a White historian primarily interested in the history of Black women in the United States.
(C) The author is a White historian primarily interested in the history of male and female members of minority groups in the United States.
(D) The author is a Black historian primarily interested in the history of female members of minority groups in the United States.
(E) The author is a White historian primarily interested in the history of female members of minority groups in the United States.

zhanbo · Accepted Answer

After reading the article, my impression is:
(1) This is likely from a preface of a book on the history of Black women in the United States.
(2) The author is a White historian. We do not know the gender of the author.

Question 1 : My answer is  (D) .
I expect to see "the primary purpose of the passage is to present three historiographical considerations that prompted the author to write this book". 
No perfect match. (D) is the only choice that is supported by the article.

Question 2 : My answer is  (A) .
Matches my impression. It has every indication that it is part of the preface to the author's book. It may not be purely scholarly though. 
Note: (A) should read "part of ..." instead of "past of ..."

Question 3 : My answer is  (B) .
The answer is in this sentence: "I became convinced that standard histories of the United States have tended to overlook the contributions and viewpoints of Black Americans and women. "

Question 4:  My answer is  (B) .
In the last paragraph, the author emphasizes that "these (different) angles of vision are complementary in arriving at an accurate picture of the past." The author concludes that "in the juxtaposition of different interpretations, in debate, and in the clash of opinions, a richer and fuller, and more solidly based history will emerge."
(B) follows such reasoning.

Question 5 : My answer is  (C) . 
The optimism is shown in the sentence "I  hope and expect  that the present generation of United States historians will rectify this mistake." Well, after all, the book is supposed to rectify it. 
BTW, (E) apologetic can have two different meanings: "Expressing remorse / regret" or "Serving as a justification or defense". Either makes sense here.

Question 6 : My answer is  (C) . This is the most time-consuming question of this set.
There is no indication of the gender of the author, but the question asks  her  interests. So the test maker must know something about her that we do not know, does that include her interests?

She is White because she takes pains, in the last paragraph, to argue that her views, likely different from those of Black scholars, are just as invaluable. Eliminate (A) and (D).

Now, the fun part is, what are her scholarly interests?
(B) the history of Black women in the United States
(C) the history of male and female members of minority groups in the United States.
(E) the history of female members of minority groups in the United States.

The differences are actually not that striking despite the different wordings. If one is interest in the history of Black women, can this person ignore Black men?

Of course, this is a book about "a history of Black women in the United States". But this is just one book written by the author. For a GMAT-level question, if the answer were (B), it would be too obvious to appear in the actual test.

So, for this question only, I decided to re-read the whole passage even more carefully to find snippets that might reveal the primary interest of the author, and found these:
" Black people  and White people in the United States clearly represent two different cultures"
"standard histories of the United States have tended to overlook the contributions and viewpoints of  Black Americans and women "
"recognizing that  women and Blacks  were there"

Those phrases indicates that the author is knowledgeable about Black history, man and women included. Why does she acquire such profound knowledge? Because she is interested in the topic.

The only answer with "male" included is (C), which is my answer. If the official answer is not (C), well, it must be (A).

If we ask the actual author what her interests are, she may choose (C), but adds there are many more: "Just read all the books I have published."

ElninoEffect · Answer

1. A primary purpose of the passage is to

(A) resolve a historiographical dispute
The author is not trying to resolve any kind of dispute on the other hand he is merely presenting his viewpoints.
(B) discuss a controversial historiographical perspective
Anything is controversial when there are opposing viewpoints on something here there is a lack of viewpoint from the one side. I am not sure that accounts for controversy.
Secondly a controversial issue.? there are three issues that have been discussed. 
(C) compare and contrast three alternative historiographical approaches
There is no comparison done for different approaches.
(D)  set forth the author’s positions on three historiographical issues 
These three issues are the points that led the author to study and write about blacks and women who are blacks.
(E) question the validity of three historiographical methods used by other historians
No methods used by other historians have been discussed.

2 The passage most likely appeared as

(A)  past of the prefare to a scholarly book 
I really didn't understand this option. Prefare.?(spelling error).? If this turns out to be true not the candidate's fault. A bonus point should be given for this.
But i am not finding any other option which fits the bill.
(B) a rebuttal to a previously published scholarly article
We are not presenting facts or evidence against any previously published article.
(C) part of a book review in a scholarly journal
It's certainly not a book review.
(D) a condensed version of an article in a scholarly journal.
Condensed version.?
(E) a complete entry in an encyclopedia of the social sciences.
Too Vague.

3. The author implies that which of the following, if they existed, would be most likely to make a separate history of Black women in the United States unnecessary?

(A) Standard histories of the United States that include information about American women in their
Incomplete option again.! This is getting worse and worse.
Anyhow this option is not correct because we required specific history for black women.
(B)  Comprehensive histories of the United States that include the contributions and viewpoints of women and Blacks 
Better.
(C) Universalistic histories of the United States that emphasize the common experiences of men and women, Whites and minorities
Same as A
(D) Collections of articles written by Blacks and Whites that contain similar interpretations of Black history in the United States
Same as A
(E) Collections of articles written by Black women that present their interpretations of their own history in the United States
Not necessarily written by Black women and contributions of women as a whole would have been better.

4. The author’s recommendation for achieving the best possible interpretation of the Black past indicates that,
if the staff of a government commission were collecting information about a controversial issue,
the author would be most likely to approve of which of the following procedures?

We need different viewpoints from different people of the society and not the author's viewpoint also we need the information to be presented the way it is. The whole point of the passage the author is trying to convey.
Only option B fits the bill.

(A) The staff does historical research on the issue and presents the results to the commission.
(B)  The staff interviews people on both sides of the issue and presents their differing views to the commission. 
(C) The staff interviews people on both sides of the issue, finds points of agreement in their views and presents these points to the commission.
(D) The staff interviews people on both sides of the issue, decides which viewpoint is more widespread, and presents that viewpoint to the commission.
(E) The staff interviews only people who are known not to have strong opinions about the issue and presents their viewpoints to the commission.

5. In discussing the likelihood that “the present generation of United States historians will rectify this mistake”, the author’s tone is

I hope   and expect that the present generation of United States historians will rectify this mistake, recognizing that women and Blacks were there and that their special contributions to the building and shaping of American society were different from those of White men.

(A) arrogant
(B) sentimental
(C)  optimistic 
(D) ironic
(E) apologetic

6. Which of the following descriptions of the author and her interests can best be inferred from the passage?

Finally, I had to consider the role that a White historian can legitimately play in the writing of Black history.

Author is definetly white.
Option A and D are out.
Only one minority group has been talked about blacks.
Option C and E are out.

(A) The author is a Black historian primarily interested in the history of Black women in the United States.
(B)  The author is a White historian primarily interested in the history of Black women in the United States. 
(C) The author is a White historian primarily interested in the history of male and female members of minority groups in the United States.
(D) The author is a Black historian primarily interested in the history of female members of minority groups in the United States.
(E) The author is a White historian primarily interested in the history of female members of minority groups in the United States.

100mitra · Answer

Words:   390
  Read Time:   4 mins 30 sec
  Paragraph Structure:   Author views to write a book on black women of the US.
  Paraphrasing:   
 Para 1:  Author’s three historiographical considerations played an important role in my decision to write a history of Black women in the United States
 First consideration:  Historical cultural and traditional difference among the black people and the white people in the United States cannot be succumb, or dominate each other group

Para 2:   Second consideration:  Overlook the past contributions and viewpoints of Black Americans and women.

Para 3:   Third consideration:  The role that a White historian can legitimately play in the writing of Black history, so that, in the juxtaposition of different interpretations, in debate, and in the clash of opinions, a richer and fuller, and more solidly based history will emerge.

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1. A primary purpose of the passage is to  
As mentioned in the passage, 1st line – “ Three historiographical considerations played an important role in my decision to write a history of Black women in the United States ”
  Correct Option - (D) set forth the author’s positions on three historiographical issues.

(A)  resolve a ] historiographical  dispute ]   - Wrong  
(B)  discuss a controversial ] historiographical perspective   - Wrong  
(C)  compare and contrast ] three alternative historiographical approaches   - Wrong  
(E)  question the validity ] of three historiographical methods used by other historians   - Wrong

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

2 The passage most likely appeared as  
  (A) past of the prefare to a scholarly book 
- Correct, Author is answering a question, which motivated him to write book based on 3 consideration factors about black women

(B)  a rebuttal  to a previously published scholarly  article  
  - Wrong  , Author does not claim, repel, or prove that (evidence or an accusation) is false 
(C)  part of a book  review in a scholarly  journal  
  - Wrong   Passage does not highlight journal feedback or suggestion of any scholarly article
(D) a  condensed version  of an article in a scholarly  journal  
  - Wrong   passage is not a shorter version of article 
(E) a complete entry in an  encyclopaedia  of the social sciences 
  - Wrong   does not refer to encyclopedias

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

3. The author implies that which of the following, 
if they existed, 
would be most likely to make a separate history of Black women in the United States unnecessary?

As mentioned in the passage, para 2,  second consideration point of author,  
In past, it was ignored “ standard histories of the United States have tended to overlook the contributions and viewpoints of Black Americans and women ” 
It was present, exact contribution by Blacks and women would have been know.
“ I hope and expect that the present generation of United States historians will rectify this mistake, recognizing that women and Blacks were there and that their special contributions to the building and shaping of American society ”

Correct option: (B) Comprehensive histories of the United States that include the  contributions and viewpoints  of  women and Blacks

(A)  Standard histories  of the United States that include information about  American women  
  - Wrong   asks about American women, not about Blacks and women.

(C) Universalistic histories of the United States 
that emphasize the  common experiences  of men and women, whites, and minorities 
  - Wrong   asks about experiences

(D) Collections of articles written by Blacks and Whites that contain similar interpretations of Black history in the United States 
  - Wrong   this is third consideration factor of Author to write his book.

(E) Collections of articles written by Black women that present their interpretations of their own history in the United States 
  - Wrong   Trap! But it deals only with Black women book writer, anyways this is related to third consideration of Author to write his book.

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

4. The author’s recommendation for achieving the best possible interpretation of the Black past indicates that, 
if the staff of a government commission were collecting information about a controversial issue, 
the author would be most likely to approve of which of the following procedures?

as mentioned in the passage, “ It should be interpreted by both groups, so that, in the juxtaposition of different interpretations, in debate, and in the clash of opinions, a richer and fuller, and more solidly based history will emerge. ”
 Intended meaning:  both group – Black and White, openly raise their different views about past to staff, so that, there should not have any dispute or clash of opinions, which will result in good based information about history. Hence, staff need to speak with both group, collect their views, and present to commission, for mutual agreement.

Correct option: (B) The staff interviews people on both sides of the issue and presents their differing views to the commission.

(A) The staff does historical research on the issue and presents the results to the commission 
  - Wrong  as Author suggest, history data is limited and disputed, doing research will led to limited result, as mentioned in the passage, “ Second, I became convinced that standard histories of the United States have tended to overlook the contributions and viewpoints of Black Americans and women ”

(C) The staff interviews people on both sides of the issue, finds points of agreement in their views and presents these points to the commission
  - Wrong   Point of agreement will not help, because both the group has acceptance towards each other, major is disputed view, that needs to be address

(D) The staff interviews people on both sides of the issue, decides which viewpoint is more widespread, and presents that viewpoint to the commission.
  - Wrong  Trap! It’s the group, whose different views need to be collaborated to agreement, staff collection of viewpoints might again create dispute or non-agreement between both groups, which again led to controversial argument, this is not solve the purpose.
 
(E) The staff interviews only people who are known not to have strong opinions about the issue and presents their viewpoints to the commission
  - Wrong   limits itself to only strong opinions

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

5. In discussing the likelihood that 
“the present generation of United States historians will rectify this mistake”, 
the author’s tone is

(A) arrogant  - Wrong  
(B) sentimental  - Wrong  
  (C) optimistic – Correct – Author hopes and expects from the present generation   
(D) ironic  - Wrong  
(E) apologetic   - Wrong

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6. Which of the following descriptions of the author and her interests can best be inferred from the passage?

Three historiographical considerations played an important role in my decision to write a history of Black women in the United States   – interested in the history of black women

These people have had different historical experiences from those of the dominant group  – l ast line of para 1, author indicates between minority and dominant group, which also can be infer that author might belong to large culture / dominate group, i.e whites

Certainly, historians who are members of the culture about which they write will bring a special quality to their material   – appealing to members of same culture, i.e Black historian

Finally, I had to consider the role that a White historian can legitimately play in the writing of Black history   – Author categories himself / herself as a white historian

Correct option: (B) 
The author is a White historian  (Correct) 
primarily interested in the history of Black women in the United States  (Correct)

(A) The author is a Black historian   - Wrong  
primarily interested in the history of Black women in the United States   (correct)   
(C) The author is a White historian   (Correct)  
primarily interested in the history of male and female members of minority groups in the United States.   - Wrong  
(D) The author is a Black historian   - Wrong  
primarily interested in the history of female members of minority groups in the United States   - Wrong  
(E) The author is a White historian   - Wrong  
primarily interested in the history of female members of minority groups in the United States   - Wrong

KarishmaB · Answer

Here is the main content of the passage:

Three historiographical considerations played an important role in my decision to write a history of Black women in the United States. 
First, I was persuaded that Black people and White people in the United States clearly represent two different cultures, ...
Second, I became convinced that standard histories of the United States have tended to overlook the contributions and viewpoints of Black Americans and women...
Finally, I had to consider the role that a White historian can legitimately play in the writing of Black history....

The author writes this passage to tell us his/her position on 3 historiographical considerations that played an important role in his/her decision to write a history of Black women.

1. A primary purpose of the passage is to

(A) resolve a historiographical dispute
(B) discuss a controversial historiographical perspective
(C) compare and contrast three alternative historiographical approaches
(D) set forth the author’s positions on three historiographical issues
(E) question the validity of three historiographical methods used by other historians

Hence (D) makes perfect sense.

nayas96

KarishmaB · Answer

6. Which of the following descriptions of the author and her interests can best be inferred from the passage?

(A) The author is a Black historian primarily interested in the history of Black women in the United States.
(B) The author is a White historian primarily interested in the history of Black women in the United States.
(C) The author is a White historian primarily interested in the history of male and female members of minority groups in the United States.
(D) The author is a Black historian primarily interested in the history of female members of minority groups in the United States.
(E) The author is a White historian primarily interested in the history of female members of minority groups in the United States.

Consider the first sentence again:
Three historiographical considerations played an important role in my decision to write a history of Black women in the United States.

The author is White who writes about Black women. So he/she is primarily interested in history of black women. Throughout the text, the author tells us why he/she focussed on Blacks and women and finally decided to write on black women. (not men and women, just women).
So option (B) is good as it is.

krittapat · Answer

KarishmaB   egmat   GMATNinja   MartyTargetTestPrep   mikemcgarry 
Could you please help elaborate on the question 3?
I don't know why (E) is incorrect.
Is it because (E) doesn't state anything about contributions and viewpoints?

Pankaj0901 · Answer

Can someone please explain  Question 2 , why  option A  is correct and why not  option D  as all other options could be easily eliminated? (I have read several explanations above, but, unfortunately, those aren't making sense to me.) 
 (A) part of the prefare to a scholarly book
(D) a condensed version of an article in a scholarly journal

2 The passage most likely appeared as

(A) part of the prefare to a scholarly book
(B) a rebuttal to a previously published scholarly article
(C) part of a book review in a scholarly journal
(D) a condensed version of an article in a scholarly journal
(E) a complete entry in an encyclopedia of the social sciences.

AndrewN · Answer

Hello,  Pankaj0901 . How about we look at what answer choice (D) is saying rather than seek to justify (A)?

The latter part of the answer choice looks fine. Despite containing the French word for  day ,  jour , a  journal  does not have to be published on a daily basis, just regularly. To be honest, any of  book ,  article , or  journal  could work. Where answer choice (D) gets into trouble is in the beginning. A  condensed version  of a written work is meant to serve as a shorter version of that work, not to comment on  why  that work may have been written. The first line of the passage goes against the idea that the information that will follow is a truncated version of a lengthier work:

Unless this were first-person fiction, and a character were writing such a history, it is hard to see how the three paragraphs of the passage can be anything other than prefatory material. Look at the last two words of the passage:   will  emerge . In other words, there is a look ahead. If someone goes on to read the full text, he or she should emerge with  a richer and fuller, and more solidly based  understanding of the topic.

Perhaps the question makes more sense now. Thank you for thinking to ask.

- Andrew

GMATNinja · Answer

Question 3 
 
In this passage, the author's purpose is to present the three reasons she/he decided to write a history of Black women in the United States. These reasons are as follows:

Black and White people represent different cultures, and the same is true of men and women.   Standard histories of the United States have overlooked the contributions of Black Americans and women.   Black history should be interpreted by both Blacks and Whites, since "complementary" angles will help create an "accurate picture of the past."

Let's now examine (E) from question 3:

According to the author, a history of Black women should be written because "standard histories of the United States have tended to overlook the contributions and viewpoints of Black Americans and women." Additionally, the author believes Black history should be written by both Blacks and Whites to create a more "accurate picture." Would (E) achieve these goals?

Probably not. First, because the articles would be written only by Black women, they wouldn't include the viewpoints of Whites. And second, the author wants to rectify the mistakes made by "standard histories of the United States," and a collection of articles may not cover the full span of U.S. history. For both of those reasons, (E) is incorrect.

I hope that helps!

KarishmaB · Answer

The last paragraph indicates that the author is white.

"Finally, I had to consider the role that a White historian can legitimately play in the writing of Black history... It should be interpreted by both groups, So that, in the juxtaposition of different interpretations, in debate, and in the clash of opinions, a richer and fuller, and more solidly based history will emerge. "

He gives his last reason for writing about Black history. Both groups - whites as well as blacks should write so that different interpretations lead to a solid history.

Oppenheimer1945 · Answer

GMATNinja   KarishmaB

Q2 has really ambiguous option choices . How can this not be C? Both C and A are equally well fit for the passage.

KarishmaB · Answer

Not really. The answer is unequivocally (A).

Three historiographical considerations played an important  role in my decision to write a history of Black women  in the United States. First, I was persuaded ...
Second, I became convinced that standard histories of the United States have tended to...
Finally, I had to consider the role that a White historian can legitimately...

The author is telling us what prompted him to write the book. Hence it makes sense that it appears as a preface to a book.

(C) part of a book review in a scholarly journal

A book review would be something like "In the book, the author describes ... discusses ... she has some good points... this subject could have been handled from that perspective too...
It wouldn't say "why I wrote a history of Black women..."

Answer (A)

Oppenheimer1945 · Answer

It's really hard to accept that the answer is not C. I am not saying that A is not correct, but if ( Refer attachment ) can be book review, how can option C be totally wrong?

gmatophobia · Answer

Sharing my two cents on this ..

Is the book review (from Goodreads) written by the author himself? Clearly not.

What Karishma meant - If George Orwell were to review his own book, he wouldn't write "  ..I got the chills so many times at the end of this book ...  " (unless he was running high on fever).

Because this review is written by a reader (not the author) the review is written in first person. That's an acceptable usage.

The passage of this reading comprehension however isn't a review. The line   "Three historiographical considerations played an important role in  my decision to write a history of Black women  in the United States."   indicates that the author has written this text and not a reader.

Now, consider the contrary if a reader was to review this text will they write  "Three historiographical considerations played an important role in  my  decision to write a history of Black women in the United States.". . Not really!

VerbalBot · Answer

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Three historiographical considerations played an important role in my

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