Thanks Poorvasha for the explanation!
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hello GMATNinja
can please tell me what does q1 choice D mean?
i was confused between choiceD and E

3/4 in 6 mins. Very good passage. Quite challenging as it had a lot of intricacies.

Hi jennpt,

Can you please explain the main problem with choice D and what "general scholarly trend" in E the question is referring to?

1. The primary purpose of the passage is to

(A) present recently discovered evidence that supports a conventional interpretation of a historical period
(B) describe how reinterpretations of available evidence have reinvigorated a once-discredited scholarly position
(C) explain why some historians have tended to emphasize change rather than continuity in discussing a particular period
(D) explore how changes in a particular occupation serve to counter the prevailing view of a historical period
(E) examine a particular area of historical research in order to exemplify a general scholarly trend

Thank you!

There are some explanations on this but I still don't see it.
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"Prevailing" means "dominant" or "most apparent at the time."

We know that Pinchbeck's work is part of the prevailing view because the author structures the citation of Pinchbeck's work to illustrate the current approach to historical research. We can see this in the opening of the passage:

In current historiography, the picture of a consistent, unequivocal decline in women's status...is giving way to an analysis that not only emphasizes both change...and continuity but also accounts for geographical and occupational variation. The history of women's work in English farmhouse cheese making between 1800 and 1930 is a case in point. In her influential Women Workers and the Industrial Revolution (1930), Pinchbeck argued that...

In these first few sentences, we learn that:

• Current historiography is giving way to a new analysis.
• This case of women's work in English farmhouse cheese is an example of the current historiography.
• Pinchbeck's work is an example of this case.

In other words, if we ask, "Why does the author bring up PInchbeck's work?" then the answer is, "To illustrates the case of women's work in English farmhouse cheese, which itself shows how historical scholarship is changing more broadly."

But be careful about getting too hung up on the use of "prevailing" in Choice (D). Remember the full text of this choice:


We've established that we should eliminate (D) because the author's main purpose is not to explore changes in cheese making. That's too narrow of a focus to capture what the author's doing with the passage as a whole.

In any case, I hope that this clarifies how authors use the structure of their writing to link specific examples to more abstract statements. An extremely explicit statement isn't always necessary for us to connect these dots.

I hope this helps!
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Official Answers and Explanations

1. The primary purpose of the passage is to
A. present recently discovered evidence that supports a conventional interpretation of a historical period
B. describe how reinterpretations of available evidence have reinvigorated a once-discredited scholarly position
C. explain why some historians have tended to emphasize change rather than continuity in discussing a particular period
D. explore how changes in a particular occupation serve to counter the prevailing view of a historical period
E. examine a particular area of historical research in order to exemplify a general scholarly trend
Main idea
This question asks about the passage’s main purpose. The first paragraph initially describes a way in which historiography is changing: the idea of a consistent, monolithic decline in women’s status is being complicated by recent research. The rest of the passage uses the example of Pinchbeck’s interpretation of women’s work in English cheesemaking to show the limits of earlier ideas about women’s status: Pinchbeck’s work illustrates the idea of consistent decline, but recent scholarship has called that work into question.
A. The first paragraph suggests that Pinchbeck’s work represents the conventional position that women’s status declined consistently with the advent of capitalism; according to the passage, recent evidence undermines, rather than supports, that position.
B. According to the passage, reinterpretations of evidence have inspired new interpretations; they have not reinvigorated a discredited position.
C. The passage is concerned with noting both change and continuity, as stated in the first sentence.
D. In the passage, continuity, not change, in a particular occupation—English farmhouse cheesemaking—helps to counter the prevailing view.
E. Correct. The passage’s main purpose is to examine women’s work in English farmhouse cheesemaking so as to illustrate a trend in historiography of women’s status under capitalism and industrializatioThe correct answer is E.

2. Regarding English local markets and fairs, which of the following can be inferred from the passage?
A. Both before and after the agricultural revolution, the sellers of agricultural products at these venues were men.
B. Knowing who the active sellers were at these venues may not give a reliable indication of who controlled the revenue from the sales.
C. There were no parallel institutions at which American cheese makers could sell their own products.
D. Prior to the agricultural revolution, the sellers of agricultural products at these venues were generally the producers themselves.
E. Prior to the agricultural revolution, women sold not only cheese but also
products of arable agriculture at these venues.
Inference
The passage discusses English local markets and fairs in the first and second paragraphs: the first paragraph states that before the agricultural revolution, women had sold cheese in such venues but that after that, factors, who were men, sold the cheese. The second paragraph argues that even though English women in precapitalist, preindustrial times may have at one point sold cheese at fairs,
evidence indicates that in at least one case, a man appropriated most of the
money his wife made from her sales.
A. The first paragraph states that prior to the agricultural revolution, women sold cheese at local markets and fairs.
B. Correct. As the second paragraph indicates, women may have sold the cheese, but there is evidence to suggest that they did not necessarily control the revenue from its sale.
C. The passage does not provide evidence regarding any institutions at which American cheese makers sold their products.
D. While the passage indicates that the producers of English farmhouse cheese may have been the ones who sold that cheese at local markets and fairs, there is no evidence to suggest that this was necessarily the case for other agricultural products.
E. The passage provides no information regarding whether women sold products of arable agriculture in any venue.
The correct answer is B.

3. The passage describes the work of Pinchbeck primarily in order toA. demonstrate that some of the conclusions reached by recent historians were anticipated in earlier scholarship
B. provide an instance of the viewpoint that, according to the passage’s author, is being superseded
C. illustrate the ways in which recent historians have built on the work of their predecessors
D. provide a point of reference for subsequent scholarship on women’s work during the agricultural revolution
E. show the effect that the specialization introduced in the agricultural and industrial revolutions had on women’s work
Evaluation
This question focuses on the function of Pinchbeck’s work in the passage. Pinchbeck’s study of women’s work in cheese production is, according to the passage, an illustration of the view that women’s status declined consistently with the advent of industrialization. That view, the author claims, is being challenged by current historiography.
A. The passage indicates that the conclusions of Pinchbeck, who represents earlier scholarship, did not anticipate recent work, but rather that recent work argues against those conclusions.
B. Correct. Pinchbeck’s work illustrates earlier trends in historiography, trends that the author suggests are now giving way to newer ideas.
C. The passage does not focus on any ways in which recent historians have built on Pinchbeck’s work; instead, it discusses how they have argued against its conclusions.
D. Pinchbeck’s work provides a point of reference only insofar as subsequent scholarship is arguing against it.
E. Pinchbeck makes the argument that specialization caused women’s status to decline, but the passage is concerned with undermining this argument.
The correct answer is B.

4. It can be inferred from the passage that women did work in
A. American cheesemaking at some point prior to industrialization
B. arable agriculture in northern England both before and after the agricultural revolution
C. arable agriculture in southeast England after the agricultural revolution, in those locales in which cultural values supported their participation
D. the sale of cheese at local markets in England even after the agriculturalrevolution
E. some areas of American cheese dairying after industrialization
Inference
This question focuses mainly on the final paragraph of the passage, in which women’s continued work in English cheese dairying is contrasted with what the passage calls their disappearance from arable agriculture in southeast England and from American cheese dairying, presumably during the period of industrialization. The correct answer will be a conclusion that can be drawn from
this information.
A. Correct. That women “disappeared” from American cheese dairying during industrialization provides grounds for inferring that they did such dairying work at some point prior to industrialization.
B. The passage says that women disappeared from arable agriculture in southeast England, but it gives no information about their participation in arable agriculture in northern England.
C. The passage makes a blanket statement about women’s disappearance from arable agriculture in southeast England, so there is no reason to infer that any locales supported women’s participation in agriculture.
D. The first paragraph states that factors, who were men, sold cheese after the agricultural revolution.
E. The final paragraph explicitly states that women disappeared from American cheese dairying; thus, there is no basis for inferring that women worked in any areas of that field after industrialization.
The correct answer is A.
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