In recent years, teachers of introductory courses in Asian American

Question

In recent years, teachers of introductory courses in Asian American studies have been facing a dilemma nonexistent a few decades ago, when hardly any texts in that field were available. Today, excellent anthologies and other introductory texts exist, and books on individual Asian American nationality groups and on general issues important for Asian Americans are published almost weekly. Even professors who are experts in the field find it difficult to decide which of these to assign to students; nonexperts who teach in related areas and are looking for writings for and by Asian American to include in survey courses are in an even worse position.

A complicating factor has been the continuing lack of specialized one-volume reference works on Asian Americans, such as biographical dictionaries or desktop encyclopedias. Such works would enable students taking Asian American studies courses (and professors in related fields) to look up basic information on Asian American individuals, institutions, history, and culture without having to wade through mountains of primary source material. In addition, given such works, Asian American studies professors might feel more free to include more challenging Asian American material in their introductory reading lists, since good reference works allow students to acquire on their own the background information necessary to interpret difficult or unfamiliar material.   1 
 1. The author of the passage is primarily concerned with doing which of the following?

(A) Recommending a methodology
(B) Describing a course of study
(C) Discussing a problem
(D) Evaluating a past course of action
(E) Responding to a criticism

2 
 2. The “dilemma” mentioned in line 2 can best be characterized as being caused by the necessity to make a choice when faced with a

(A) lack of acceptable alternatives
(B) lack of strict standards for evaluating alternatives
(C) preponderance of bad alternatives as compared to good
(D) multitude of different alternatives
(E) large number of alternatives that are nearly identical in content

3 
 3. The passage suggests that the factor mentioned in lines 14-17 (highlighted portion at the passage) complicates professors’ attempts to construct introductory reading lists for courses in Asian American studies in which of the following ways?

(A) By making it difficult for professors to identify primary source material and to obtain standard information on Asian American history and culture
(B) By preventing professors from identifying excellent anthologies and introductory texts in the field that are both recent and understandable to students
(C) By preventing professors from adequately evaluating the quality of the numerous texts currently being published in the field
(D) By making it more necessary for professors to select readings for their courses that are not too challenging for students unfamiliar with Asian American history and culture
(E) By making it more likely that the readings professors assign to students in their courses will be drawn solely from primary sources

4 
 4. The passage implies that which of the following was true of introductory courses in Asian American studies a few decades ago?

(A) The range of different textbooks that could be assigned for such courses was extremely limited.
(B) The texts assigned as readings in such courses were often not very challenging for students.
(C) Students often complained about the texts assigned to them in such courses.
(D) Such courses were offered only at schools whose libraries were rich in primary sources.
(E) Such courses were the only means then available by which people in the United States could acquire knowledge of the field.

5 
 5. According to the passage, the existence of good one-volume reference works about Asian Americans could result in

(A) increased agreement among professors of Asian American studies regarding the quality of the sources available in their field
(B) an increase in the number of students signing up for introductory courses in Asian American studies
(C) increased accuracy in writings that concern Asian American history and culture
(D) the use of introductory texts about Asian American history and culture in courses outside the field of Asian American studies
(E) the inclusion of a wider range of Asian American material in introductory reading lists in Asian American studies

raiprem123 · Accepted Answer

1. The author of the passage is primarily concerned with doing which of the following?
 Ans : (C)  Discussing a problem
By reading the passage it is clear that the author is discussing about the problem faced by students and professors in selecting the source material for study regarding Asian American studies.

2. The “dilemma” mentioned in line 2 can best be characterized as being caused by the necessity to make a choice when faced with a
 Ans : (D)  multitude of different alternatives
By reading the portion "Today, excellent anthologies and other introductory texts exist, and books on individual Asian American nationality groups and on general issues important for Asian Americans are published almost weekly. Even professors who are experts in the field find it difficult to decide which of these to assign to students" e can easily infer that there are several reading materials available and the professors are in dilemma that which reference material to select.

3. The passage suggests that the factor mentioned in lines 14-17 complicates professors’ attempts to construct introductory reading lists for courses in Asian American studies in which of the following ways?
 Ans: (D)  By making it more necessary for professors to select readings for their courses that are not too challenging for students unfamiliar with Asian American history and culture
The author mentions that if one-volume reference works on Asian Americans, such as biographical dictionaries or desktop encyclopedias are available then it would be easy for professors to include more challenging Asian American material in their introductory reading lists, since good reference works allow students to acquire on their own the background information necessary to interpret difficult or unfamiliar material. Thus if such helpful materials, if not available, would force professors to use contents for their courses that are not too challenging for students unfamiliar with Asian American history and culture.'

4. The passage implies that which of the following was true of introductory courses in Asian American studies a few decades ago?
 Ans : (A)  The range of different textbooks that could be assigned for such courses was extremely limited.
In recent years, teachers of introductory courses in Asian American studies have been facing a  dilemma nonexistent a few decades ago, when hardly any texts in that field were available.  From the boldfaced piece of last sentence it is clear that a few decades ago only limited sources of information were available about Asian American studies.

5. According to the passage, the existence of good one-volume reference works about Asian Americans could result in
 Ans : (E)  the inclusion of a wider range of Asian American material in introductory reading lists in Asian American studies
This question can be answered with the explanation given in question 3.

warrior1991 · Answer

Question#3 was very tricky. I got it wrong but now I can give a try and explain my analysis.

3. The passage suggests that the factor mentioned in lines 14-17 complicates professors’ attempts to construct introductory reading lists for courses in Asian American studies in which of the following ways?
(A) By making it difficult for professors to identify primary source material and to obtain standard information on Asian American history and culture
(B) By preventing professors from identifying excellent anthologies and introductory texts in the field that are both recent and understandable to students
(C) By preventing professors from adequately evaluating the quality of the numerous texts currently being published in the field
(D) By making it more necessary for professors to select readings for their courses that are not too challenging for students unfamiliar with Asian American history and culture
(E) By making it more likely that the readings professors assign to students in their courses will be drawn solely from primary sources

The question is basically asking what would complicates professors’ attempts to construct introductory reading lists??

Read last few lines of last paragraph

"In addition, give such works, Asian American studies professors might feel more free to include more challenging Asian American material in their introductory reading lists, since good reference works allow students to acquire on their own the background information necessary to interpret difficult or unfamiliar material."

If specialized works such as biographical dictionaries or desktop encyclopedias are present , professors might feel more free to include more challenging Asian American material in their introductory reading lists.

Now if these works are absent, professors will have to be extra cautious in choosing material so that the students can understand the content when they are not familiar with the content.

Option D exactly says this.

Option A :- This one is not in our line of pre-thinking. 
Option B :-  both recent ... NO where mentioned in passage that works should be recent. Incorrect
Option C :- Professors are not evaluating the quality. Incorrect
Option E :-  Solely from primary sources  . Extreme. Incorrect.

Pranalirewdekar · Answer

can someone help me to understand what they have asked in question no 2:

The “dilemma” mentioned in line 2 can best be characterized as being caused by the necessity to make a choice when faced with a
(A) lack of acceptable alternatives
(B) lack of strict standards for evaluating alternatives
(C) preponderance of bad alternatives as compared to good
(D) multitude of different alternatives
(E) large number of alternatives that are nearly identical in content

I am not able to understand question stem.

Nikhil · Answer

"The “dilemma” mentioned in line 2" - The dilemma
"can best be characterized as being caused by" - is caused when
"the necessity to make a choice" - one must choose
"when faced with a" - which situation

So it boils down to "The dilemma is caused when one must choose in which of following situation "

Hope it helps.

KB04 · Answer

First paragraph talks about a dilemma of having reference books of introductory courses in Asian American studies in abundance, which was obscure in the past. Second para continues describing the problem of lack of specialized one-volume reference works on Asian Americans and how availability of specialized one reference book can help students and professors.

1.The author of the passage is primarily concerned with doing which of the following?
(A) Recommending a methodology
(B) Describing a course of study
(C) Discussing a problem
(D) Evaluating a past course of action
(E) Responding to a criticism

The author is primarily concerned with discussing a problem.

The “dilemma” mentioned in line 2 can best be characterized as being caused by the necessity to make a choice when faced with a
(A) lack of acceptable alternatives
(B) lack of strict standards for evaluating alternatives
(C) preponderance of bad alternatives as compared to good
(D) multitude of different alternatives
(E) large number of alternatives that are nearly  identical in content

D and E a kind of close but D wins as the author has not mentioned that there are alternatives with identical content.

The passage suggests that the factor mentioned in lines 14-17 complicates professors’ attempts to construct introductory reading lists for courses in Asian American studies in which of the following ways?
(A) By making it difficult for professors to  identify primary source material  and to obtain standard information on Asian American history and culture
(B) By preventing professors from identifying excellent anthologies and introductory texts in the field that are both  recent  and understandable to students
(C) By preventing professors from adequately  evaluating the quality of the numerous texts  currently being published in the field
(D) By making it more necessary for professors to select readings for their courses that are not too challenging for students unfamiliar with Asian American history and culture
(E) By making it more  likely  that the readings professors assign to students in their courses will be  drawn solely from primary sources

The answer can be found by reading the second paragraph which requires a close read. The author says that if the specialized one-volume reference works on Asian Americans are available for students, they can go through these material without having to go through a lot of material laboriously. In fact, if this is the case the professors will feel more comfortable in adding more challenging material in their introductory reading lists.

That’s why the answer is D.

The passage implies that which of the following was true of introductory courses in Asian American studies a few decades ago?
(A) The range of different textbooks that could be assigned for such courses was extremely limited.
(B) The texts assigned as readings in such courses were often  not very challenging  for students.
(C)  Students often complained  about the texts assigned to them in such courses.
(D) Such courses were offered  only at schools  whose libraries were rich in primary sources.
(E) Such courses were  the only means  then available by which people in the United States could acquire knowledge of the field.

A is the correct answer as the author talks about the abundance of material now which was unavailable in the past. Rest of the answer choices are incorrect as we have no information about the highlighted text.

According to the passage, the existence of good one-volume reference works about Asian Americans could result in
(A)  increased agreement among professors  of Asian American studies regarding the quality of the sources available in their field
(B) an  increase in the number of students signing up for introductory courses  in Asian American studies
(C)  increased accuracy  in writings that concern Asian American history and culture
(D) the use of introductory texts about Asian American history and culture in courses  outside  the field of Asian American studies
(E) the inclusion of a wider range of Asian American material in introductory reading lists in Asian American studies

E is the correct answer. We have no knowledge of the highlighted text.

jawele · Answer

Hello

Can somebody please comment in more detail as to why D in Q5 is incorrect? I suppose that many folks can agree that A, B, and C are easy to eliminate. Yet, answer D, at least to me, was not.

(D) the  use  of introductory texts about Asian American history and culture in courses  outside  the field of Asian American studies
(E) the inclusion of a  wider range  of Asian American material in introductory reading lists in Asian American studies

The problem with D is that it mentions "outside" and "use". But in the first paragraph we learn that "non-experts who teach in related areas and are looking for writings for and by Asian American to include in survey courses are in an even worse position". This only  suggest  that they may not be using such text although it's just a possibility, not an explicit idea. Well if that's reasonable to assume, then I guess this answer would be true.

As for E, "wider range" doesn't look well for me. To an American or British reader this may be perfectly fine. Yet, the reason why this answer choice doesn't look good to me is that "wider range" is too broad. Thus is doesn't help to decide with certainty. We learn in the second paragraph that professors' are discouraged to give more  challenging  reading, but "wider range" could mean a greater number of texts, wider range of topics, and perhaps range of difficulty.

Please share your thoughts on this. Thanks

GMATNinja   GMATNinja two  Skywalker18

GMATNinja · Answer

Question #5 asks what could result from "the existence of good one-volume reference works about Asian Americans." Let's first look at how the evidence in the passage stacks up against (D):
 
In the first paragraph, we learn that "excellent anthologies and other introductory texts exist." However, professors of Asian American studies " find it difficult to decide which of these to assign to students," and nonexperts in related fields are "in an even worse position." So, the problem is not that professors  cannot  assign introductory materials -- the problem is that there are so many choices of material that the professors can't decide  which ones  to assign.

Going back to answer choice (D): we know that professors in fields outside of Asian American studies can assign introductory texts even without good one-volume reference works. So, it is not logical that the creation of such a reference work would  result in  the use of introductory texts in these outside fields, because such texts are already being used. For this reason, (D) is out.

(Note: the word "outside" in this answer choice is not hugely important. "Outside" either refers to "related fields," in which case the reasoning above stands, or it refers to completely unrelated fields, in which case the passage provides no information or support for (D). In both cases, (D) can be eliminated).

Now look at (E):
 
The support for this answer choice is clear: "given such   works, Asian American studies professors might feel more free to include more challenging Asian American material in their introductory reading lists."

We don't need to know  exactly  what "wider" means in this context -- we just need to know that, in some way, professors could assign a broader range of materials if they had good reference works than they can assign without such reference works. Because the passage tells us that professors could assign "more challenging" material if they had good reference works, we can infer that the overall range of possible material to assign would be wider. (E) is the correct answer.

I hope that helps!

nurba92 · Answer

Don't wider range of materials mean more material and more challenging materials mean there could be same amount of more challenging materials, not necessary more materials themself?

GMATNinja · Answer

A "wider range of materials" doesn't necessarily mean "more" materials. The "range" of the materials can simply refer to the  scope  of those materials. If all of the materials are relatively simple, then those materials will have a relatively narrow scope or range. If the professors decide to include more challenging materials, then it's likely that the materials will cover a broader range of content/topics/etc.

In other words, including more challenging materials will likely increase the RANGE of the materials, regardless of what happens to the total  number  of materials.

More importantly, the question asks, "... the existence of good one-volume reference works about Asian Americans    could    result in..." So even if it's theoretically POSSIBLE to include more challenging materials WITHOUT including a wider  range  of materials, choice (E) still works. We are not looking for something that MUST be true.

I hope that helps!

Kimberly77 · Answer

Hi GMATNinja , could you help explain in Q.1 why A is wrong as para 2 seems to recommend a method? In Q3, I eliminate D and choose A due to word "necessary" as we are looking for something that complicate professor's attempt as "necessary" seems to contradict it. Could you help clarify? Thanks for your time in advaned.

GMATNinja · Answer

Question 1 
 
In the first paragraph, the author introduces a problem facing certain teachers. In the second paragraph, the author discusses a "complicating factor" of that problem: a certain type of book doesn't yet exist.

The author then talks about what would happen if that book  did  exist -- the problem would be somewhat resolved. So, in a way, you could say that the author indirectly proposes a partial solution to the problem.

The issue with (A) is that proposing a certain kind of book is not a "methodology." A methodology is actually broader and more comprehensive than a single method -- it's more like a  system  of methods used to solve an issue. Just saying "hey, this kind of book would be useful to resolve one piece of a problem" isn't a methodology.

Because the author doesn't recommend a comprehensive methodology, (A) is out for question 1.

Question 3 
 
Here's (D) as a whole:

According to (D), it is "more necessary" for professors to choose easy reading materials. That's right in line with what the passage says -- the author tells us that if there WERE nice reference books, then students could do their own background research and professors could assign challenging stuff. Since there AREN'T nice reference books, it's more necessary for professors to assign easier material.

In all, you can't just look at the word "necessary" and eliminate (D). (D) actually tells us that  a very specific thing  is "more necessary," and that thing is right in line with what the suggests.

(D) is the correct answer to question 3.

I hope that helps!

nikitathegreat · Answer

Can someone explain Q4 E option? Since it is written hardly any material was available, can we say that these course were the only option to study or is it too much a stretch?

Sajjad1994 · Answer

Answer option (E) is not explicitly mentioned in the passage, and it is too much of a stretch to assume that introductory courses in Asian American studies were the only means available to acquire knowledge of the field a few decades ago. The passage only discusses the dilemma faced by teachers in selecting appropriate texts for these courses due to the abundance of available materials. It does not provide information about alternative ways to study Asian American studies or the exclusivity of these courses. Therefore, option (E) cannot be inferred from the passage.

agrasan · Answer

Hi  KarishmaB   GMATNinja   DmitryFarber   GMATNinjaTwo

In  question-2 , could you please explain why option E is wrong?

(E) large number of alternatives that are nearly identical in content

"Today,    excellent anthologies and other introductory texts exist, and books on individual Asian American nationality groups and on general issues important for Asian Americans are published almost weekly.     Even professors who are experts in the field find it difficult to decide which of these to assign to students...."

When I looked at the above lines, it gives me an indication that there is a lot of content in the field of  "Asian Americans" , hence, teachers faced a dilemma due to so many options available.

In  question-5 , why option B is wrong?

(B) an increase in the number of students signing up for introductory courses in Asian American studies

"Such works  would enable students  taking Asian American studies courses (and professors in related fields) to look up  basic information  on Asian..."  
 My reasoning is  "would enable students"  and  "basic information"  suggests that such works would lead to an increase in the number of students taking introductory courses.

Please help me understand why these two are wrong.

GMATNinja · Answer

Question 2 
 
The texts share a common field, but that does not mean that the texts are identical in content. You can have a wide variety of content within a given field.

The dilemma stems from the variety of options. If those options were identical, there wouldn't really be a dilemma because the choice of text wouldn't matter!

Lastly, "books on   individual   Asian American nationality groups" implies different books on different nationality groups, so those books cannot have identical content.

So the answer should be (D), not (E).

GMATNinja · Answer

Question 5 
 
Such works would be helpful to students taking Asian American studies courses, but nothing in the passage suggests that this would cause an increase in enrollment.

Choice (E), on the other hand, is directly supported by the passage: "... given such works, Asian American studies professors might feel more free to include more challenging Asian American material in their introductory reading lists...". The professors would feel more comfortable assigning more challenging material. Including more challenging material would cause an increase in the range of materials assigned.

Elite097 · Answer

____________________
Why not Q3 part E

GMATNinja · Answer

In Q3, we're asked about how the absence of one-volume works complicates things for people teaching or studying Asian American studies. Take another look at (E): That "solely" is doing a lot of lifting here. While it's true that without some tidy one-volume books, students would more likely be assigned primary sources, there's nothing in the passage suggesting that this is the ONLY resource they'd be assigned. It could be a mix of primary and secondary sources and other material. So (E) is wrong because of that one word. The not-very-sexy takeaway: pay very close attention to subtleties in the language.

kartickdey · Answer

The question stem is asking about the cause of the dilemma regarding the selection of right choice.

In recent years, teachers of introductory courses in Asian American

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In recent years, teachers of introductory courses in Asian American

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