In a 1984 book, Claire C, Robertson argued that, before colonialism : Reading Comprehension (RC)

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Re: In a 1984 book, Claire C, Robertson argued that, before colonialism [#permalink]

22 Feb 2021, 18:58

Quote:

2. The passage indicates that Robertson’s research in Kenya caused her to change her mind regarding which of the following?

What did she change:
Subsequent research in Kenya convinced Robertson that she had overgeneralized about Africa.
What was overgeneralization?
Before colonialism, gender was more salient in central Kenya than it was in Ghana, although age was still crucial in determining authority.
Robertson revised her hypothesis somewhat, arguing that in determining authority in precolonial Africa age was a primary principle that superseded gender to varying degrees depending on the situation.

In summary, she updated that :
Before given: Age + gender was important factor in Kenya
She assumed: Only gender important than age after colonialism
Actually : Age is also important ;

In summary, Gender is not as important as she imagined

A, B and E are easy to eliminate

(A) Whether age was the prevailing principle of social organization in Kenya before colonialism
She updated her hypothesis after colonialism

(B) Whether gender was the primary determinant of social authority in Africa generally before colonialism
Whether gender was the primary determinant of social authority in KENYA generally AFTER colonialism

(E) Whether British colonialism imposed European-style male-dominant notions upon local situations in Ghana
She has no doubt that British colonialism imposed European-style male-dominant notions upon local situations in Ghana

Confused between C and D. I choose D but not C.
Please help to clarify the doubt
(C) Whether it was only after colonialism that gender became a significant determinant of authority in Kenyan society
Before colonialism, gender was more salient in central Kenya than it was in Ghana, although age was still crucial in determining authority.
She thought gender has become dominant but actually gender was important in Kenya even before colonialism.
I think , some point is missed . please help GMATNinja AndrewN VeritasKarishma

(D) Whether age was a crucial factor determining authority in Africa after colonialism
Whether age was crucial even after colonialism. That’s what she updated. yes age is still important after colonialism .
I think , D should be answer.

I know I am wrong . please help to identify where did i falter.

thanks in advance!

B

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Re: In a 1984 book, Claire C, Robertson argued that, before colonialism [#permalink]

23 Feb 2021, 01:06

JarvisR wrote:

In a 1984 book, Claire C. Robertson argued that, before colonialism, age was a more important indicator of status and authority than gender in Ghana and in Africa generally. British colonialism imposed European-style male dominant notions upon more egalitarian local situations to the detriment of women generally, and gender became a defining characteristic that weakened women’s power and authority.

Subsequent research in Kenya convinced Robertson that she had overgeneralized about Africa. Before colonialism, gender was more salient in central Kenya than it was in Ghana, although age was still crucial in determining authority. In contrast with Ghana, where women had traded for hundreds of years and achieved legal majority (not unrelated phenomena), the evidence regarding central Kenya indicated that women were legal minors and were sometimes treated as male property, as were European women at that time. Factors like strong patrilinearity and patrilocality, as well as women’s inferior land rights and lesser involvement in trade, made women more dependent on men than was generally the case in Ghana. However, since age apparently remained the overriding principle of social organization in central Kenya, some senior women had much authority. Thus, Robertson revised her hypothesis somewhat, arguing that in determining authority in precolonial Africa age was a primary principle that superseded gender to varying degrees depending on the situation.

Show Spoiler

B

1. The primary purpose of the passage is to

(A) present evidence undermining a certain hypothesis
(B) describe a particular position and its subsequent modification
(C) discuss two contrasting viewpoints regarding a particular issue
(D) describe how a social phenomenon varied by region
(E) evaluate an assumption widely held by scholars

Show Spoiler

C

2. The passage indicates that Robertson’s research in Kenya caused her to change her mind regarding which of the following?

(A) Whether age was the prevailing principle of social organization in Kenya before colonialism
(B) Whether gender was the primary determinant of social authority in Africa generally before colonialism
(C) Whether it was only after colonialism that gender became a significant determinant of authority in Kenyan society
(D) Whether age was a crucial factor determining authority in Africa after colonialism
(E) Whether British colonialism imposed European-style male-dominant notions upon local situations in Ghana

Show Spoiler

B

3. The passage suggests that after conducting the research mentioned in highlighted text, but not before, Robertson would have agreed with which of the following about women’s status and authority in Ghana?

(A) Greater land rights and greater involvement in trade made women in precolonial Ghana less dependent on men than were European women at that time.
(B) Colonialism had a greater impact on the status and authority of Ghanaian women than on Kenyan women.
(C) Colonialism had less of an impact on the status and authority of Ghanaian women that it had on the status and authority of other African women.
(D) The relative independence of Ghanaian women prior to colonialism was unique in Africa.
(E) Before colonialism, the status and authority of Ghanaian women was similar to that of Kenyan women.

Show Spoiler

E

4. The author of the passage mentions the status of age as a principle of social organization in precolonial central Kenya in highlighted text most likely in order to

(A) indicate that women’s dependence on men in precolonial Kenya was not absolute
(B) contrast the situation of senior women to that of less senior women in precolonial Kenyan society
(C) differentiate between the status and authority of precolonial Kenyan women and that of precolonial Ghanaian women
(D) explain why age superseded gender to a greater extent in precolonial Kenya than it did elsewhere in Africa
(E) identify a factor that led Robertson to revise her hypothesis about precolonial Africa

GMATNinja IanStewart GMATGuruNY In Q2 I am really having a hard time eliminating Answer choice A, I can't find anything that contradicts it. Can you please help me? This is a really tough RC

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Re: In a 1984 book, Claire C, Robertson argued that, before colonialism [#permalink]

23 Feb 2021, 05:09

Expert Reply

mSKR wrote:

Quote:

2. The passage indicates that Robertson’s research in Kenya caused her to change her mind regarding which of the following?

What did she change:
Subsequent research in Kenya convinced Robertson that she had overgeneralized about Africa.
What was overgeneralization?
Before colonialism, gender was more salient in central Kenya than it was in Ghana, although age was still crucial in determining authority.
Robertson revised her hypothesis somewhat, arguing that in determining authority in precolonial Africa age was a primary principle that superseded gender to varying degrees depending on the situation.

In summary, she updated that :
Before given: Age + gender was important factor in Kenya
She assumed: Only gender important than age after colonialism
Actually : Age is also important ;

In summary, Gender is not as important as she imagined

A, B and E are easy to eliminate

(A) Whether age was the prevailing principle of social organization in Kenya before colonialism
She updated her hypothesis after colonialism

(B) Whether gender was the primary determinant of social authority in Africa generally before colonialism
Whether gender was the primary determinant of social authority in KENYA generally AFTER colonialism

(E) Whether British colonialism imposed European-style male-dominant notions upon local situations in Ghana
She has no doubt that British colonialism imposed European-style male-dominant notions upon local situations in Ghana

Confused between C and D. I choose D but not C.
Please help to clarify the doubt
(C) Whether it was only after colonialism that gender became a significant determinant of authority in Kenyan society
Before colonialism, gender was more salient in central Kenya than it was in Ghana, although age was still crucial in determining authority.
She thought gender has become dominant but actually gender was important in Kenya even before colonialism.
I think , some point is missed . please help GMATNinja AndrewN VeritasKarishma

(D) Whether age was a crucial factor determining authority in Africa after colonialism
Whether age was crucial even after colonialism. That’s what she updated. yes age is still important after colonialism .
I think , D should be answer.

I know I am wrong . please help to identify where did i falter.

thanks in advance!

Age was not just a crucial factor, mSKR, but THE most crucial factor, according to Robertson, in determining authority in Africa either before or after colonialism. I think you could look at the same two lines from the passage that GMATGuruNY has quoted just above in response to (A) to see that (D) fails for the same reason.

- Andrew

B

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Re: In a 1984 book, Claire C, Robertson argued that, before colonialism [#permalink]

03 Aug 2021, 16:06

vanam52923 wrote:

JarvisR wrote:

In a 1984 book, Claire C. Robertson argued that, before colonialism, age was a more important indicator of status and authority than gender in Ghana and in Africa generally. British colonialism imposed European-style male dominant notions upon more egalitarian local situations to the detriment of women generally, and gender became a defining characteristic that weakened women’s power and authority.

Subsequent research in Kenya convinced Robertson that she had overgeneralized about Africa. Before colonialism, gender was more salient in central Kenya than it was in Ghana, although age was still crucial in determining authority. In contrast with Ghana, where women had traded for hundreds of years and achieved legal majority (not unrelated phenomena), the evidence regarding central Kenya indicated that women were legal minors and were sometimes treated as male property, as were European women at that time. Factors like strong patrilinearity and patrilocality, as well as women’s inferior land rights and lesser involvement in trade, made women more dependent on men than was generally the case in Ghana. However, since age apparently remained the overriding principle of social organization in central Kenya, some senior women had much authority. Thus, Robertson revised her hypothesis somewhat, arguing that in determining authority in precolonial Africa age was a primary principle that superseded gender to varying degrees depending on the situation.

Show Spoiler

B

1. The primary purpose of the passage is to

(A) present evidence undermining a certain hypothesis
(B) describe a particular position and its subsequent modification
(C) discuss two contrasting viewpoints regarding a particular issue
(D) describe how a social phenomenon varied by region
(E) evaluate an assumption widely held by scholars

Show Spoiler

C

2. The passage indicates that Robertson’s research in Kenya caused her to change her mind regarding which of the following?

(A) Whether age was the prevailing principle of social organization in Kenya before colonialism
(B) Whether gender was the primary determinant of social authority in Africa generally before colonialism
(C) Whether it was only after colonialism that gender became a significant determinant of authority in Kenyan society
(D) Whether age was a crucial factor determining authority in Africa after colonialism
(E) Whether British colonialism imposed European-style male-dominant notions upon local situations in Ghana

Show Spoiler

B

3. The passage suggests that after conducting the research mentioned in highlighted text, but not before, Robertson would have agreed with which of the following about women’s status and authority in Ghana?

(A) Greater land rights and greater involvement in trade made women in precolonial Ghana less dependent on men than were European women at that time.
(B) Colonialism had a greater impact on the status and authority of Ghanaian women than on Kenyan women.
(C) Colonialism had less of an impact on the status and authority of Ghanaian women that it had on the status and authority of other African women.
(D) The relative independence of Ghanaian women prior to colonialism was unique in Africa.
(E) Before colonialism, the status and authority of Ghanaian women was similar to that of Kenyan women.

Show Spoiler

E

4. The author of the passage mentions the status of age as a principle of social organization in precolonial central Kenya in highlighted text most likely in order to

(A) indicate that women’s dependence on men in precolonial Kenya was not absolute
(B) contrast the situation of senior women to that of less senior women in precolonial Kenyan society
(C) differentiate between the status and authority of precolonial Kenyan women and that of precolonial Ghanaian women
(D) explain why age superseded gender to a greater extent in precolonial Kenya than it did elsewhere in Africa
(E) identify a factor that led Robertson to revise her hypothesis about precolonial Africa

Can anyone explain why is B wrong in question 2?

I didn't choose B because Robertson never considered gender to be a primary determinant before or after the research. Her conclusion before and after had age as a primary determinant (though to a lesser degree after the research).

P

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Re: In a 1984 book, Claire C, Robertson argued that, before colonialism [#permalink]

25 Sep 2021, 05:52

GMATNinja wrote:

Sumi1010 wrote:

Read your wonderful explanations on Qn 4- the passage mentions the status of age most likely to??
I am sorry but I still am not convinced how E is better than A.

(E) identify a factor that led Robertson to revise her hypothesis about precolonial Africa
You wrote - According to this choice, the status of age was most likely mentioned in order to identify a factor that led Robertson to revise the hypothesis.

(A) indicate that women’s dependence on men in precolonial Kenya was not absolute
You wrote - The author never stated that women's dependence on men in precolonial Kenya was absolute in the first place. So why would the author need to indicate that women's dependence was not absolute?

The passage says :
Subsequent research in Kenya...Before colonialism, gender was more salient in central Kenya..although age was still crucial....Factors like...However, since age apparently remained the overriding principle of social organization in central Kenya, some senior women had much authority. Thus, Robertson revised her hypothesis.

My understandings :
1.
The age was a crucial factor in Kenya before colonialism ( but not as much as gender was). Why someone will talk about less crucial factor here? - Just to showcase some reservation on general scenario. Reference of age does the same. It shows that the gender was not absolute determiner and women got some power because of age.
In the last sentence " Thus ....revised her hypothesis" of passage, " Thus" responds to what has been noticed ( from research) in the 2nd paragraph and not just to the sentence prior to it.

2.
One more note : If I erase the "However, since age apparently remained the overriding principle of social organization in central Kenya, some senior women had much authority" . Does it change anything in final conclusion?
Before colonialism, gender was more salient in central Kenya --> Thus, Robertson revised her hypothesis.

I don't see any difference. Request you to help.

In your point #1, you ask, "Why someone will talk about less crucial factor here?"

We were not asked to consider why "someone" would raise the issue of age. We were asked why the author raised the issue of age in the context of this passage. We have the choose the answer that's most reflected by the passage, NOT the answer that we think would generally make the most sense.

So let's step back and refresh on the passage itself. The purpose of the second paragraph is to explain how and why Robertson revised her hypothesis. Subsequent research about precolonial Ghana and Kenya convinced Robertson that she had overgeneralized, and the role of age in central Kenya is raised as one of the factors that led to Robertson's revision.

Choice (E) fits perfectly into the structure and purpose of the paragraph.

Now, in your interpretation of choice (A), you write, "It shows that the gender was not absolute determiner and women got some power because of age." But this is not what choice (A) says:

Quote:

(A) indicate that women’s dependence on men in precolonial Kenya was not absolute

Choice (A) states that the author is trying to indicate that women's dependence on men was not absolute. This is NOT the same as trying to indicate that gender wasn't the absolute determinant of women's greater power in Kenya.

And getting back to the question we're trying to answer... how would choice (A) fit into the passage itself?

Well, it doesn't. As I pointed out earlier, the author never states that women's dependence on men was absolute. In fact, the author explicitly states that women were "more dependent on men than generally was the case in Ghana." The issue of dependence is raised to contrast the treatment of women in two countries and ultimately to help explain why Robertson revised her hypothesis about precolonial Africa — NOT to support a conclusion about whether or not women absolutely depended on men in precolonial Kenya.

Choice (A) sounds sensible, but it doesn't fit the purpose of the paragraph or reflect the goal of the author in writing this passage.

(E) remains a much better answer to the question we were asked, and that's why we keep (E) and eliminate (A).

I hope this helps!

GMATNinja @workout

Request further clarification. The factor "age" continues to dominate in Clair's research even after her research modification, hence, IMHO the highlighted "age" is not the factor that led Robertson to revise her hypothesis about precolonial Africa. For me it would be "gender" because she generalized that earlier.

I would rather go with B which clearly states that "contrast the situation of senior women to that of less senior women in precolonial Kenyan society"

This is substantiated in passage section in the same line - "However, since age apparently remained the overriding principle of social organization in central Kenya, some senior women had much authority."

B

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Re: In a 1984 book, Claire C, Robertson argued that, before colonialism [#permalink]

09 Jun 2022, 21:05

GMATNinja

Hey Charles! Thanks for the awesome explanation. I just wanted to clarify a couple of things. I was choosing between (B) and (E) and chose (B) because the passage says "senior women had much authority." This phrase made me think "much authority vs. whom"? And then I went back back just a sentence: the author talks about how women (implied less senior) were inferior to men. This sequencing made me lean towards (B). And now on to my thought process of eliminating (E) -

For (E), the word, "led" made me walk away from this choice. I viewed "age" as one of the factors that involve the revision, but thought that "gender" is the main factor that actually "led" Robertson to revise her hypothesis. Her revised hypothesis still holds that age is the primary factor so no change there, right?

Reading your explanation, I now understand why (E) is correct - but unsure if I can pick this answer on the actual test day - do you have any advice after reading my thought process when I first solved this problem? Thanks!

GMATNinja wrote:

Skywalker18 wrote:

4. The author of the passage mentions the status of age as a principle of social organization in precolonial central Kenya in highlighted text most likely in order to

(A) indicate that women’s dependence on men in precolonial Kenya was not absolute
(B) contrast the situation of senior women to that of less senior women in precolonial Kenyan society
(C) differentiate between the status and authority of precolonial Kenyan women and that of precolonial Ghanaian women
(D) explain why age superseded gender to a greater extent in precolonial Kenya than it did elsewhere in Africa
(E) identify a factor that led Robertson to revise her hypothesis about precolonial Africa

1. In a 1984 book, Claire C. Robertson argued that, before colonialism, age was a more important indicator of status and authority than gender in Ghana and in Africa generally.

2. Subsequent research in Kenya convinced Robertson that she had overgeneralized about Africa.

3. Since age apparently remained the overriding principle of social organization in central Kenya, some senior women had much authority. Thus, Robertson revised her hypothesis somewhat, arguing that in determining authority in precolonial Africa age was a primary principle that superseded gender to varying degrees depending on the situation.

Isn't Robertson's position after the revision - "in determining authority in precolonial Africa age was a primary principle that superseded gender to varying degrees depending on the situation" - still the same as her initial position 1 (in 1984 book) or does this revision refer to change with respect to point 2 ?

Thanks for all of the thoughtful detail here, Skywalker18! Always good to see your thought process.

To answer your question, no. Robertson's position after the revision states that age superseded gender to varying degrees depending on the situation. In other words, Robertson made her argument more nuanced than it was before. This isn't a dramatic revision to Robertson's previous argument, but it is still an explicit change.

vishusahni9 wrote:

even after looking at all the comments in this post, I am still skeptical about E as an OA for #4.

For me Gender was the main factor for R. to revise the content. Age is a secondary factor which just helps in comparing the situation of elder women and as per passage might go, it would be a factor in Ghana also like was is precolonial age.

Because of Gender author had to come back.

Recall what choice (E) says:

Quote:

(E) identify a factor that led Robertson to revise her hypothesis about precolonial Africa

According to this choice, the status of age was most likely mentioned in order to identify a factor that led Robertson to revise the hypothesis. Even if age is a secondary factor, it's still a factor that led to the revision.

The second paragraph is structured to show Robertson re-considering her prior argument in more than one way, and her revision was influenced by more than one factor. And let's not forget to evaluate all of our other choices:

Quote:

(A) indicate that women’s dependence on men in precolonial Kenya was not absolute

The author never stated that women's dependence on men in precolonial Kenya was absolute in the first place. So why would the author need to indicate that women's dependence was not absolute? Choice (A) veers away from what the author is actually writing and what Robertson was actually thinking about. (A) isn't as strong as (E), so we'll eliminate it.

Quote:

(B) contrast the situation of senior women to that of less senior women in precolonial Kenyan society

This group-to-group comparison is nowhere in the portion of the passage being highlighted. Eliminate (B).

Quote:

(C) differentiate between the status and authority of precolonial Kenyan women and that of precolonial Ghanaian women

This is another comparison that the highlighted text doesn't point to at all. Eliminate (C).

Quote:

(D) explain why age superseded gender to a greater extent in precolonial Kenya than it did elsewhere in Africa

The explanation for this difference is nowhere to be found in the passage. Eliminate (D).

(E) remains the best answer choice, with (A) a distant but reject-able second.

I hope this helps!

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Re: In a 1984 book, Claire C, Robertson argued that, before colonialism [#permalink]

23 Jun 2022, 12:57

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Question 4

gmatimothy wrote:

GMATNinja

Hey Charles! Thanks for the awesome explanation. I just wanted to clarify a couple of things. I was choosing between (B) and (E) and chose (B) because the passage says "senior women had much authority." This phrase made me think "much authority vs. whom"? And then I went back back just a sentence: the author talks about how women (implied less senior) were inferior to men. This sequencing made me lean towards (B). And now on to my thought process of eliminating (E) -

For (E), the word, "led" made me walk away from this choice. I viewed "age" as one of the factors that involve the revision, but thought that "gender" is the main factor that actually "led" Robertson to revise her hypothesis. Her revised hypothesis still holds that age is the primary factor so no change there, right?

Reading your explanation, I now understand why (E) is correct - but unsure if I can pick this answer on the actual test day - do you have any advice after reading my thought process when I first solved this problem? Thanks!

Let's start by considering the purpose of each paragraph:

Purpose of Paragraph 1: To present Robertson's argument that "age was a more important indicator of status and authority than gender in Ghana and in Africa generally."
Purpose of Paragraph 2: To show how "subsequent research" led Robertson to revise her hypothesis about authority and gender in Africa.

Let's now consider (B):

Quote:

4. The author of the passage mentions the status of age as a principle of social organization in precolonial central Kenya in highlighted text most likely in order to

(B) contrast the situation of senior women to that of less senior women in precolonial Kenyan society

Essentially, this question is asking us to identify the author's purpose in mentioning "the status of age as a principle of social organization" in Kenya. In other words, why did the author mention this detail? How does it function in relation to the author's overall purpose?

As you suggest, the author definitely contrasts the "situation of senior women to that of less senior women." But the author doesn't mention age simply to draw this contrast. Rather, age is mentioned in order to flesh out Robertson's reasons for revising her hypothesis.

Initially, she'd believed that "age was a more important indicator of status and authority than gender" in Africa generally. However, the fact that non-senior women in Kenya were worse off than women in Ghana led her to change her thinking. At the same time, senior women in Kenya still had "much authority." So ultimately, she only revised her hypothesis "somewhat," since senior Kenyan women still had "much authority."

Overall, age isn't mentioned simply to make a point about Kenyan society, but to develop the author's discussion of why Robertson revised her hypothesis. For that reason, (B) is incorrect.

Let's now consider (E):

Quote:

(E) identify a factor that led Robertson to revise her hypothesis about precolonial Africa

You're correct that age is only one of the factors that led Robertson to revise her hypothesis, but that's good enough for this answer choice. Notice that (E) doesn't describe age as the "main factor" or the "only factor," but simply "a factor."

Since the "status of age as a principle of social organization in precolonial central Kenya" is one of the factors that led Robertson to revise her hypothesis, (E) is correct.

I hope that helps!

G

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In a 1984 book, Claire C, Robertson argued that, before colonialism [#permalink]

30 Oct 2022, 04:01

Can you please help me understand where I am going wrong

A. indicate that women???s dependence on men in precolonial Kenya was not absolute

>Exactly ??? the portion is said with relevance to the situation in Kenya ??? after mentioning how women were already gender wise discriminated against at certain instances, the author mentions the highlighted portion to show indicate that age still had enough influence to get some elder women independent and with much authority ??? CORRECT

B. contrast the situation of senior women to that of less senior women in precolonial
Kenyan society

>Age being the overriding principle does little to contrast the situation of the two groups mentioned in the answer option

C. differentiate between the status and authority of precolonial Kenyan women and that
of precolonial Ghanaian women

>whatever the highlighted portion says is true for both Ghanaian and Kenyan women ??? thus there is no differentiation as such

D. explain why age superseded gender to a greater extent in precolonial Kenya than it did elsewhere in Africa

>Kenya is never compared with places elsewhere in Africa

E. identify a factor that led Robertson to revise her hypothesis about precolonial Africa

>age was never a factor that led her to revise her stance, it was relative influence of
Gender in Ghana and Kenya

B

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Re: In a 1984 book, Claire C, Robertson argued that, before colonialism [#permalink]

30 Oct 2022, 16:27

Expert Reply

Rickooreo wrote:

Can you please help me understand where I am going wrong

First, a quick rundown of this problem.

According to the passage, Ms. Robertson's INITIAL hypothesis had two parts:
• Before British colonization, African social structures were more heavily influenced by age distinctions than by the sex distinction.
• After British colonization, it was the other way around.

The blurb about age in the second paragraph, though, says...
age apparently remained the overriding principle of social organization in central Kenya
In other words, age was more influential than sex in Kenyan social structure, even after the British made Kenya a colony.
This directly contravenes Ms. Robertson's original hypothesis, so, it must have been a reason to revise that hypothesis to allow for the opposite in some instances.

B

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In a 1984 book, Claire C, Robertson argued that, before colonialism [#permalink]

30 Oct 2022, 16:35

Expert Reply

Now, to address your questions

Quote:

A. indicate that women???s dependence on men in precolonial Kenya was not absolute

>Exactly ??? the portion is said with relevance to the situation in Kenya ??? after mentioning how women were already gender wise discriminated against at certain instances, the author mentions the highlighted portion to show indicate that age still had enough influence to get some elder women independent and with much authority ??? CORRECT

Remember—Questions about the function of some element (sentence, word/phrase/concept, etc) are about HOW THAT ELEMENT FITS INTO THE PASSAGE AS A WHOLE.

I briefly summarized this passage in the post above. Please note that the entire passage fundamentally ••IS•• about Ms. Robertson's old hypothesis (and how she altered it in response to new evidence)—but NOT AT ALL about women's dependence on men (an idea that is not mentioned anywhere in the passage at all).

For choice A to be correct, the author would actually need to have a reason to point out explicitly that "women's dependence on men in Kenya was not absolute"!
The only possible context in which that would make sense would have some earlier statement(s) that might make the reader think women WERE absolutely dependent on men, thus necessitating a counterpoint like what choice A describes.
In this context, though, that's just irrelevant nonsense.

There's also the problem of the word "absolute", which makes this choice even further removed from anything that happens in the passage. The only quantification of women's dependence on men in this passage is the relative comparison in the immediately preceding sentence—MORE dependent vs. LESS dependent. There's nothing about absolute dependence. (This observation alone would be grounds for elimination, even without the more general insight about function problems above.)

B

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Re: In a 1984 book, Claire C, Robertson argued that, before colonialism [#permalink]

30 Oct 2022, 16:41

Expert Reply

Rickooreo wrote:

E. identify a factor that led Robertson to revise her hypothesis about precolonial Africa

>age was never a factor that led her to revise her stance, it was relative influence of
Gender in Ghana and Kenya

...but, relative to WHAT? (Relative to age, as it turns out. The theme of the passage is the relative importance of AGE vs. SEX in structuring African societies.

The point of this observation (the one called out for problem 4) is that "senior women" DID have some significant power of their own—meaning that "senior" (which corresponds to HAVING power, in an age-based social structure) was more important than "woman" (which would correspond to NOT having power, in a sex-based social structure).
In other words, this finding served as evidence that age >>> sex in post-colonial Kenya, an observation that forced Ms. Robertson to revise her original hypothesis (which had predicted that the opposite would obtain).

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louisinau

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Re: In a 1984 book, Claire C, Robertson argued that, before colonialism [#permalink]

25 Nov 2022, 05:11

RonTargetTestPrep wrote:

Rickooreo wrote:

Can you please help me understand where I am going wrong

First, a quick rundown of this problem.

According to the passage, Ms. Robertson's INITIAL hypothesis had two parts:
• Before British colonization, African social structures were more heavily influenced by age distinctions than by the sex distinction.
• After British colonization, it was the other way around.

The blurb about age in the second paragraph, though, says...
age apparently remained the overriding principle of social organization in central Kenya
In other words, age was more influential than sex in Kenyan social structure, even after the British made Kenya a colony.
This directly contravenes Ms. Robertson's original hypothesis, so, it must have been a reason to revise that hypothesis to allow for the opposite in some instances.

I have to say Ron is the only tutor who convinced me on this question. Although he might cannot read this message. Respect

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Re: In a 1984 book, Claire C, Robertson argued that, before colonialism [#permalink]

03 Apr 2023, 17:42

I just wanted to say this out loud, this passage is a B**** I HATE IT, I HATE IT, I HATE IT .... After doing 500 or so LSAT Passage, here I am staring at this crap ...

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In a 1984 book, Claire C, Robertson argued that, before colonialism [#permalink]

05 Nov 2023, 15:59

In question 4 - look at this piece of the argument: "made women more dependent on men than was generally the case in Ghana. However, since age apparently remained the overriding principle of social organization in central Kenya, some senior women had much authority. " The comparison is made between Keneyan and Ghana woman. Say if Ghana women were 20% dependent on men. MORE may mean 25%. It doesn't mean 100% in the first place.

"However," states the contrast, saying women in Kenya are more dependent on men than in Ghana, and age remained the overriding principle.
Option E indicates that women’s dependence on men in precolonial Kenya was not absolute. First, it was not absolute in the first place, and second, mentioning age shows it was an overriding factor.

Had the "age" not been mentioned in Kenya, the CCR might not be right in saying that "age was a primary principle that superseded gender." This hypothesis is only possible if, despite Kenya being more influenced by gender, as was the case in Europe, age was still an overriding factor.

gmatclubot

In a 1984 book, Claire C, Robertson argued that, before colonialism [#permalink]

05 Nov 2023, 15:59

GMAT Reading Comprehension (RC) Questions

In a 1984 book, Claire C, Robertson argued that, before colonialism