dear GMATNinjawould you please clarify further this?
Finally, the author describes the flaws in this example, demonstrating how the new analysis, unlike the old picture, "emphasizes change (improvement or decline) and continuity and also accounts for geographical and occupational variations."

I cannot get the change, and geographical and occupational variations from the last paragraph.

I'm happy to help, JAIN09. Let's zero in on the two choices you'd like to clear up:


Recall from my previous post that overall, the author examines a particular area of historical research (the history of women’s work in English farmhouse cheese making between 1800 and 1930) to illustrate how the old analysis of women's status (which portrayed a consistent, unequivocal decline) is giving way to a new analysis (one that acknowledges the presence of positive change, negative change, and continuity).


(D) is a tempting choice because it sounds good. The author certainly talks about cheese making a lot, and does seem to counter a prevailing view of cheese making. However, our job as GMAT experts isn't to pick what sounds good. We need to answer the precise question being asked. This question is asking us for the primary purpose of the passage, so that's what we need to find in our answer choices.

If we choose (D), we say that the overall purpose of this passage is to explore how changes in a particular occupation (various types of operations in cheese making) serve to counter the prevailing view of a historical period (the history of women's work in English farmhouse cheese between 1800 and 1930).

But is the author trying to show us how CHANGES in cheese making served to counter the prevailing view? The prevailing view is that women's status declined consistently and unequivocally (without any doubt) with the advent of capitalism and industrialization. Pinchbeck's book fits with the prevailing view because it focuses on the decline (i.e. negative changes) in women's status. But Pinchbeck's book (the prevailing view) MISSES a "substantial element of continuity in women’s participation: throughout the period women did the central work of actually making cheese."

The prevailing view is focused on the changes in cheese making (i.e. the decline in women's status). But the new analysis focuses on improvement, decline, AND continuity. So it's the continuity in English farmhouse cheesemaking--not the changes--that serves to counter the prevailing view.


If we choose (E), we say that the overall purpose of this passage is to examine a particular area of historical research (the history of women's work in English farmhouse cheese between 1800 and 1930) in order to exemplify a general scholarly trend (the transition to the current style of historical analysis).

(E) is a much better fit for our understanding of the author's overall purpose. If there's any doubt left, double check the passage to confirm when and why the author brings up women's cheese making in the first place:


This passage sets out to tell us about a change in the historical analysis of women's status during industrialization. The history of women's work in English cheese is one example of this greater trend in historiography. Therefore, (E) is the correct answer to question #1.

I hope this explanation wasn’t too cheesy! (OK, fine. That was pretty awful. Cut me some slack: I'm a new dad, and working on my dad jokes....)

Hi GMATNinja,

First congrats on being a new dad. My husband loves his dad jokes, daughter too young to understand, and I tolerate them. Keep you dad jokes going!
Second, I do have problems with this passage since the two views are not so clear. I understand what the old picture says - pretty clear: women's status is consistently declining with the advent of industrialization and capitalism. It has a stance, and it's saying something: it's making a statement and it has an opinion.

However, the "new way" in this passage is so subtle. The author doesn't explicitly states what that new way is, it says what the new way is focusing on. At the end of the passage, the stance is not clear to me - what are you trying to say? what is your opinion/ judgement on this? It's like this new guy is too afraid of being criticized that he's beating around the bush. Or it can also be that it's clear and I can't see it. Would you please help me? So I know what it emphasizes on (an analysis that not only emphasizes both change (whether improvement or decline) and continuity but also accounts for geographical and occupational variation.), but what does it actually say? Also what exactly that change (whether improvement or decline) of this new analysis mentioned in the passage? and the geographical and occupational variation - where is it mentioned?

Thank you very much!

1. The primary purpose of the passage is to:

(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

Hi, could anyone shed some light on what the author means with the following sentence 'Comparing these three divergent developments yields some reasons for the differences among them'? What 3 three divergent developments is the author referring to?

Thank you!

English cheese-making women worked in a setting in which cultural values, agricultural conditions, and the nature of their work combined to support their continued participation. In the other cases, one or more of these elements was lacking.

The "three divergent developments" are mentioned by the author in the previous sentence. They are the persistence of women in English cheese dairying, the early disappearance of women from arable agriculture in southeast England, and the early disappearance of women from American cheese dairying.

The author indicates that when we compare these developments, we begin to understand why there were differences. Then, the last two sentences of the passage serve to explain what made the English cheese-dairying developments unique:


In other words, the cultural values, agricultural conditions, and nature of English cheese-making accounted for the persistence of women in English cheese dairying.

I hope that helps!

HKD1710, pikolo2510

The author first tells us that the picture of women's status with the advent of capitalism and industrialization is changing. The old picture (a consistent, unequivocal decline in women’s status with the advent of capitalism and industrialization) is giving way to a new analysis. The author then describes the book by Pinchbeck as an example of the old picture. Finally, the author describes the flaws in this example, demonstrating how the new analysis, unlike the old picture, "emphasizes change (improvement or decline) and continuity and also accounts for geographical and occupational variations."

The author of the passage thus examines a particular area of historical research ("the history of women’s work in English farmhouse cheese making between 1800 and 1930") as an example of how the old picture of women's status is giving way to a new analysis. Choice (E) describes this overall purpose.


In the first paragraph, we are told that before the agricultural revolution, women sold cheese at local markets and fairs. In the second paragraph, we are told that "women’s control seldom extended to the disposal of the proceeds of their work" and that "selling the cheese did not necessarily imply access to the money." In other words, just because the women sold the cheese does not mean they controlled the money from those sales. Thus, choice (B) is the best answer.


As described in the explanation of the first question, the Pinchbeck book is described as an example of the old picture. The old picture is giving way (i.e. "being superseded) by a new analysis. Thus the passage describes the work of Pinchbeck primarily in order to (B) provide an instance of the viewpoint that, according to the passage’s author, is being superseded.


The key to this question lies in the following portion: "[Women's] persistence in English cheese dairying contrasts with women’s early disappearance from arable agriculture in southeast England and from American cheese dairying." If women disappeared from American cheese dairying with the advent of industrialization, then women must have worked in American cheese dairying prior to industrialization. Choice (A) is the best answer.

VeritasKarishma GMATNinja
Hi Experts,
Why Q3 - D is incorrect?

3. The passage describes the work of Pinchbeck primarily in order to
(D) provide a point of reference for subsequent scholarship on women’s work during the agricultural revolution
The work of Pinchbeck provides a point of reference in 2nd and 3rd para. The work by recent scholars was in response to Pinchbeck's work. So why can't we say work of PinchBeck provides a reference to introduce a new point of view.

(2nd Para - Though Pinchbeck portrayed precapitalist, preindustrial conditions as superior to what followed, recent scholarship has seriously questioned the notion of a golden age for women in precapitalist society AND By focusing on somewhat peripheral operations, moreover, Pinchbeck missed a substantial)

Thank you!

GMATNinja
thanks again for the detail writeup. However, could you help solidify my understanding on the following sentences
"decline in women’s status with the advent
...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"
Is the boldface hist of women's work in eng farmhouse cheese.. providing a case of the change, i.e., on the same side as the author mentioning of decline in women status giving way to new analysis? or is the *case* in point here referring to pinchbeck's work? Or, it's just prefacing the discussion between what the author sees and what pinchbeck saw in her book? the face that *case in point* sentence followed so closely to the "giving way to new analysis" and pinchbeck's example followed back to back confused me into thinking that pinchbeck is THE example for the new analysis.

Lastly, the third para's tone in "disappearance from the arable agriculture in different geographical region almost sounded like it agree with pinchbeck's take on women losing business ability at the end of the first para... though, the author say the intention was to compare three elements: women in English cheese making, women in southeast cheese, and American cheese. I understand all these contrasting cues/words the author threw out in the second of third para to show how the author disagrees with pinchbeck. I just failed to see the logical chain that these three diff geographical incidence support her main spiel..?
this whole passage made me feel illiterate.
Thanks in advance.