ssshyam1995 wrote:
For question no.5 how do we choose between option C and option E??
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):
Quote:
(E) criticizing a particular study and the approach to historical scholarship it represents
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):
Quote:
(C) disputing evidence a scholar uses to substantiate a claim about a historical event
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!