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555-605 Level|   Humanities|   Short Passage|                           
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Linda Kerber argued in the mid-1980s that after the American 02 Dec 2022, 23:16
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Hi GMATNinja, Experts,

IF the option D for the 3rd question mentioned the revolution instead of 18th century, it would have been correct, right ?
Quote:
3) The passage suggests that, with regard to the history of women’s education in the United States, Kerber’s work differs from Woody’s primarily concerning which of the following?

A. The extent to which women were interested in pursuing educational opportunities in the eighteenth century
B. The extent of the support for educational opportunities for girls prior to the American Revolution
C. The extent of public resistance to educational opportunities for women after the American Revolution
D. Whether attitudes toward women’s educational opportunities changed during the eighteenth century
E. Whether women needed to be educated in order to contribute to the success of a republican form of government
Kerber argued that the change occurred because of the Revolution. "Woody’s evidence challenges the notion that the Revolution changed attitudes regarding female education, although it may have accelerated earlier trends." Woody believed that the shift in attitudes occurred before the Revolution (in the 1750s). So, yes, choice (D) could potentially be edited into a correct answer by referring to the Revolution instead of the 18th century.
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But GMATNinja - The passage says "Linda Kerber argued in the mid-1980’s that after the American Revolution (1775-1783), an ideology of “republican motherhood” resulted in a surge of educational opportunities for women"
Notice the word "surge" here. Even Kerber is aligned with Woody (who says that revolution may just have accelerated trends). In light of this, how can we certainly say that they differed in the "extent of support both thought was available for women prior to American revolution" ?
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Linda Kerber argued in the mid-1980s that after the American 18 Dec 2022, 14:55
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kittle
But GMATNinja - The passage says "Linda Kerber argued in the mid-1980’s that after the American Revolution (1775-1783), an ideology of “republican motherhood” resulted in a surge of educational opportunities for women"
Notice the word "surge" here. Even Kerber is aligned with Woody (who says that revolution may just have accelerated trends). In light of this, how can we certainly say that they differed in the "extent of support both thought was available for women prior to American revolution" ?
Show more
You raise exactly the right question: are Kerber and Woody aligned? Or do they disagree? More specifically, how are their views on the effect of the Revolution on female education similar or different?

To get some clarity on this issue, let's consider the structure of the passage as a whole, starting with the purpose of each paragraph:

  • Paragraph 1: To present Linda Kerber's thesis that "an ideology of “republican motherhood” resulted in a surge of educational opportunities for women."
  • Paragraph 2: To present evidence that challenges Kerber's thesis that "the Revolution changed attitudes regarding female education."

How do we arrive at this purpose for paragraph 2?

Notice the second-to-last sentence of the second paragraph tells us that Woody's evidence "challenges the notion that the Revolution changed attitudes..." But why is the author mentioning this notion? Who felt that the Revolution "changed attitudes?" Well, the most logical interpretation, based on the structure of the passage, would be this is Kerber's notion.

To confirm this suspicion, notice the next sentence tells us that a "reliance" on Kerber's ideas may have obscured "these trends." Notice "these trends" is referring to Woody's idea that educational opportunities for females were already increasing in 1750. So Kerber's ideas "obscured" Woody's ideas.

Taken together, it's clear the author feels that Woody's ideas and Kerber's ideas are opposed. More specifically, Woody thought the trends began in 1750, before the Revolution. Kerber's work "obscures" this trend, because Kerber thought that "the Revolution changed attitudes."

From another angle: does a close reading of the word "surged" help in comparing Woody to Kerber? Not all that much. If opportunities surged after the Revolution, does that mean they were already high before hand? Not necessarily. You could surge from 50 to 100, or you could surge from 1 to 100. So unfortunately, the fact that Kerber thought educational opportunities "surged" doesn't necessarily mean she agrees with Woody, who thought opportunities had already increased around 1750.

Considering all of that, let's examine answer choice (B):

Quote:
3) The passage suggests that, with regard to the history of women’s education in the United States, Kerber’s work differs from Woody’s primarily concerning which of the following?

(B) The extent of the support for educational opportunities for girls prior to the American Revolution
Show more
Recall the main purpose of the last paragraph - to tell us that Woody's evidence calls Kerber's thesis into question. Kerber thought the Revolution changed attitudes towards women's education. Woody thought the trend already began in 1750.

So it makes sense to say they disagreed about the "extent of support for educational opportunities for girls prior to the American revolution." For that reason, (B) is correct.

I hope that helps!
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Linda Kerber argued in the mid-1980s that after the American 23 Mar 2023, 04:46
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Is 7.5 minutes good, for such an article? 4/5
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Linda Kerber argued in the mid-1980s that after the American 14 May 2023, 00:31
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Hi GMATNinja

In #3, it is clearly asking about how the attitude towards women's education has changed and not "the extent of support". I understand the entire 18th century is mentioned here and that may be reason for eliminating this option, but "the extent of support" creates an ambiguity for the correct option choice. What do you suggest here ?

Thanks
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Linda Kerber argued in the mid-1980s that after the American 16 May 2023, 19:40
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Question 3


anish777
Hi GMATNinja

In #3, it is clearly asking about how the attitude towards women's education has changed and not "the extent of support". I understand the entire 18th century is mentioned here and that may be reason for eliminating this option, but "the extent of support" creates an ambiguity for the correct option choice. What do you suggest here ?

Thanks
Show more
To see why (B) is correct, and how the phrase "the extent of support" contributes to the right answer, let's start by considering some key points in the passage.

  • Linda Kerber argues the American Revolution led to an ideology of "republican motherhood."
  • According to Kerber, this ideology held that women needed to be educated, so they could raise politically virtuous sons.
  • Kerber argues that this new ideology led to a surge of educational opportunities for women after the American Revolution.
  • In contrast to Kerber, Woody points out that "practical education for females had many advocates before the Revolution."
  • According to the author, Woody's evidence "challenges the notion that the Revolution changed attitudes regarding female education, although it may have accelerated earlier trends."

So basically, Kerber thinks support for women's education increased dramatically after the Revolution. Before the revolution, according to Kerber, women's education had little support. After the revolution, it had lots of support.

Woody calls all that into question. He thinks that support for women's education didn't "change" so much as "accelerate" after the revolution. He suggests that women's education had "many advocates" before the Revolution. Sure, there might have been more support after the Revolution, Woody thinks, but it wasn't a dramatic "change," as Kerber believes.

Here's choice (B) for question 3:

Quote:
3) The passage suggests that, with regard to the history of women’s education in the United States, Kerber’s work differs from Woody’s primarily concerning which of the following?

(B) The extent of the support for educational opportunities for girls prior to the American Revolution
Show more
Do Kerber and Woody differ on the "extent of support for educational opportunities for girls prior to the American Revolution?" According to our analysis, that makes sense.

Kerber thinks there was little support for women's education before the Revolution. Woody thinks there were "many advocates" for female education before the Revolution. So he disagrees with Kerber on this point.

Put another way, according to Kerber, "the extent of support" for women's education prior to the Revolution was really small. Woody thinks it was somewhat bigger.

So because they differ on the "extent of support," (B) is correct.

I hope that helps!
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Linda Kerber argued in the mid-1980s that after the American 01 Apr 2024, 06:50
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Hi Experts
I am still confused in q 5)
I am not able to eliminate option E)
I t mentions that the women's education views were still controversial in Woody's time. I thinks yes they were controversial as Linda and other Historians mentioned the role American revolution played in changing views around women education. Whereas Woody's said that it was not the American revolution that changed the views women education had many advocates prior to 1750s as well. We knew that Woody supported the Essay in various ways. So if the Essay pointed out the same views as Woody's wouldn't it be criticizing the same women's education views?
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Linda Kerber argued in the mid-1980s that after the American 11 Apr 2024, 12:45
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Question 5


MukuDawra
Hi Experts
I am still confused in q 5)
I am not able to eliminate option E)
I t mentions that the women's education views were still controversial in Woody's time. I thinks yes they were controversial as Linda and other Historians mentioned the role American revolution played in changing views around women education. Whereas Woody's said that it was not the American revolution that changed the views women education had many advocates prior to 1750s as well. We knew that Woody supported the Essay in various ways. So if the Essay pointed out the same views as Woody's wouldn't it be criticizing the same women's education views?
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­Great question! I feel your pain here. Woody's work certainly seems to be something of an exception in the historical record. But look at the wording of the question again:

Quote:
The passage suggests that Woody would have agreed with which of the following claims regarding “An Essay on Woman”?
Show more

We're trying to figure out if Woody himself would have agreed agreed with the assertion. So would Woody have agreed that the views presented in the essay were controversial in his time?

Well, we know those views were out of step with the mainstream in the 1980's when Kerber's book came out. But in the 20's, when Woody was active? We don't know. All we know is that he was the only one who seemed to be writing about the issue at all. Note the line, "Prior to Kerber’s work, educational historians barely mentioned women and girls."

Hard to see how a view can be controversial when it's the only one, right?

So that's why we can confidently eliminate (E).

I hope that helps!
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Linda Kerber argued in the mid-1980s that after the American 10 Oct 2024, 18:46
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I chose Option D for Q5, inferring that the "shift in view" = "one of the most original arguments". So after "An Essay on Women (1753)" there was a new view concerning women's education in US, a view which did not exist prior to the work was published, hence making it "one of the most original".

In my head, I'm still not able to eliminate D, although I can see why Option A works
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Linda Kerber argued in the mid-1980s that after the American 28 Oct 2024, 12:05
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I chose Option D for Q5, inferring that the "shift in view" = "one of the most original arguments". So after "An Essay on Women (1753)" there was a new view concerning women's education in US, a view which did not exist prior to the work was published, hence making it "one of the most original".

In my head, I'm still not able to eliminate D, although I can see why Option A works
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There are a couple of problems with (D):

First, if the essay did contain an argument that was original at the time, there's no way of knowing whether it was one of the MOST original arguments in favor of women's education in the United States in the eighteenth century. Maybe several arguments that were MORE original were published in the subsequent ~47 years.

More importantly, all we know about the essay is that it "reflected" a shift in view. For all we know, the essay simply reflected views that were already there. In other words, an essay can reflect a trend without actually making an argument in favor of that trend.

The passage doesn't give us enough information to know whether Woody would have agreed with (D), so (A) is a better choice, as explained here: https://gmatclub.com/forum/linda-kerber ... l#p2145562.

I hope that helps!
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Linda Kerber argued in the mid-1980s that after the American 28 Mar 2025, 14:00
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experts,


Regarding question 5)

A - Yes
B - We definitely cannot conclude that he persuaded them - no
C - Ideas aren't mentioned anywhere.. only attitudes on women's education are mentioned (ideas <> attitudes) - no
D - one of the most original? Where does it say that? - no
E - they were not controversial. No one even knew about them. - no

does this seem right, or am I too generic?
souvik101990
Linda Kerber argued in the mid-1980’s that after the American Revolution (1775-1783), an ideology of “republican motherhood” resulted in a surge of educational opportunities for women in the United States. Kerber maintained that the leaders of the new nation wanted women to be educated in order to raise politically virtuous sons. A virtuous citizenry was considered essential to the success of the country’s republican form of government; virtue was to be instilled not only by churches and schools, but by families, where the mother’s role was crucial. Thus, according to Kerber, motherhood became pivotal to the fate of the republic, providing justification for an unprecedented attention to female education.

Introduction of the republican motherhood thesis dramatically changed historiography. Prior to Kerber’s work, educational historians barely mentioned women and girls; Thomas Woody’s 1929 work is the notable exception. Examining newspaper advertisements for academies, Woody found that educational opportunities increased for both girls and boys around 1750. Pointing to “An Essay on Woman” (1753) as reflecting a shift in view, Woody also claimed that practical education for females had many advocates before the Revolution. Woody’s evidence challenges the notion that the Revolution changed attitudes regarding female education, although it may have accelerated earlier trends. Historians’ reliance on Kerber’s “republican motherhood” thesis may have obscured the presence of these trends, making it difficult to determine to what extent the Revolution really changed women’s lives.

Show Spoiler
E
1) According to the passage, within the field of educational history, Thomas Woody’s 1929 work was

(A) innovative because it relied on newspaper advertisements as evidence
(B) exceptional in that it concentrated on the period before the American Revolution
(C) unusual in that it focused on educational attitudes rather than on educational practices
(D) controversial in its claims regarding educational opportunities for boys
(E) atypical in that it examined the education of girls


Show Spoiler
C
2) According to the passage, Kerber argued that political leaders thought that the form of government adopted by the United States after the American Revolution depended on which of the following for its success?

(A) Women assuming the sole responsibility for instilling political virtue in children
(B) Girls becoming the primary focus of a reformed educational system that emphasized political virtue
(C) The family serving as one of the primary means by which children were imbued with political virtue
(D) The family assuming many of the functions previously performed by schools and churches
(E) Men and women assuming equal responsibility for the management of schools, churches, and the family


Show Spoiler
B
3) The passage suggests that, with regard to the history of women’s education in the United States, Kerber’s work differs from Woody’s primarily concerning which of the following?

(A) The extent to which women were interested in pursuing educational opportunities in the eighteenth century
(B) The extent of the support for educational opportunities for girls prior to the American Revolution
(C) The extent of public resistance to educational opportunities for women after the American Revolution
(D) Whether attitudes toward women’s educational opportunities changed during the eighteenth century
(E) Whether women needed to be educated in order to contribute to the success of a republican form of government


Show Spoiler
D
4) According to the passage, Kerber maintained that which of the following led to an increase in educational opportunities for women in the United States after the American Revolution?

(A) An unprecedented demand by women for greater educational opportunities in the decades following the Revolution
(B) A new political ideology calling for equality of opportunity between women and men in all aspects of life
(C) A belief that the American educational system could be reformed only if women participated more fully in that system
(D) A belief that women needed to be educated if they were to contribute to the success of the nation’s new form of government
(E) A recognition that women needed to be educated if they were to take an active role in the nation’s schools and churches


Show Spoiler
A
5) The passage suggests that Woody would have agreed with which of the following claims regarding “An Essay on Woman”?

(A) It expressed attitudes concerning women's education that were reflected in new educational opportunities for women after 1750.
(B) It persuaded educators to offer greater educational opportunities to women in the 1750s.
(C) It articulated ideas about women's education that would not be realized until after the American Revolution.
(D) It offered one of the most original arguments in favor of women's education in the United States in the eighteenth century.
(E) It presented views about women's education that were still controversial in Woody's own time.


Show Spoiler
New GMAT Prep RC Project: 1 RC Every day. Don't forget to time yourself with the stopwatch below to earn kudos.[/textarea]
[textarea] GMAT® Official Guide 2019

Practice Question
Question No.:
Online test bank question number : RC00349-02 ~RC00349-06


JOURNAL ARTICLE
Rethinking Republican Motherhood: Benjamin Rush and the Young Ladies' Academy of Philadelphia
Margaret A. Nash
Journal of the Early Republic
Vol. 17, No. 2 (Summer, 1997), pp. 171-191 (21 pages)
Published by: University of Pennsylvania Press on behalf of the Society for Historians of the Early American Republic
https://www.jstor.org/stable/3124445
­
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Linda Kerber argued in the mid-1980s that after the American 25 Sep 2025, 04:57
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Question 2:

This is actually a great example of how detail-oriented RC questions can be. Let me walk you through how to approach this systematically.

Understanding What's Being Asked
The question asks specifically what Kerber argued political leaders thought was necessary for the republic's success. Notice the layers here - we're not looking for what actually happened, but what Kerber argued that political leaders thought.

Let's Find the Key Information
Looking at the passage, here's what you need to focus on:

The passage tells us that according to Kerber, "A virtuous citizenry was considered essential to the success of the country's republican form of government." But here's the crucial part - notice how virtue was supposed to be created: "virtue was to be instilled not only by churches and schools, but by families, where the mother's role was crucial."

See that phrasing? "Not only...but" tells us that all three institutions - churches, schools, AND families - were working together. The family wasn't replacing the others; it was one of the primary means alongside them.

Why Choice C is Correct
When you look at choice C - "The family serving as one of the primary means by which children were imbued with political virtue" - it perfectly matches what the passage says. Families were one of the primary means, working together with churches and schools.

The Main Trap to Avoid
Choice A might look tempting because the passage emphasizes the mother's crucial role. But watch out for that word "sole" - it says women had sole responsibility. That directly contradicts the passage, which explicitly mentions churches and schools too. This is a classic GMAT RC trap: taking something that's partially true (mothers were crucial) and making it too extreme (they had sole responsibility).

You can check out the step-by-step solution on Neuron by e-GMAT to see the complete passage analysis framework that helps you track how the author builds their argument paragraph by paragraph - it's especially useful for complex historiography passages like this one. You can also explore other GMAT official questions with detailed solutions on Neuron for structured practice here.
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