Question 1
VIBHOJAIN wrote:
I want to understand the difference among the choices of Q1.
I request experts to help me with it please.
To answer general questions like this one, it’s good to first break down the structure of the passage as a whole:
Paragraph 1:
- The author describes the lack of consensus (“Historians remain divided”) regarding a certain topic (“the role of banks in facilitating economic growth in the United States in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries”).
- The author then presents the argument of scholars who believe that “banks played a minor role in the nation’s growing economy.”
Paragraph 2:
- The author presents the argument of different scholars who contend that banks played a large role--that “banks were crucial in transforming the early national economy.”
- The key phrase here is “in contrast”--we have two opposing arguments.
- By presenting these two opposing arguments, the author supports the statement that "historians remain divided."
Now let’s now go through each choice, keeping in mind that we are looking for the
primary purpose of the passage.
Quote:
A. compare the economic role played by southern banks with the economic role played by banks in the rest of the United States during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries
The southern banks are mentioned as an exception to the general opinion (held by some scholars) that banks played a
large role--so it's a detail about one of the two opposing views presented in the passage. But this detail is presented within a much broader context that revolves around the
division among historians.
While the passage does mention the role played by southern banks, the
primary purpose of the passage is about the
division between historians, not about comparing southern banks to other banks in the US.
Let's eliminate (A).
Quote:
B. reevaluate a conventional interpretation of the role played by banks in the American economy during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries
First, we know that the passage discusses two interpretations of the role played by banks, not just one. Second, the author does not
evaluate (or
reevaluate) either of those interpretations. Instead, the author simply provides a
summary of each.
We can get rid of (B).
Quote:
C. present different interpretations of the role played by banks in the American economy during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries
Here the key words are
present,
different, and
interpretations. In he first sentence of the passage, the author claims that "historians remain divided." Elaborating on this statement, the author shows us (or
presents) two fundamentally
different scholarly positions (
interpretations): 1) that banks played a minor role and 2) that banks played large role.
The overarching goal is to show the reader that there are
different interpretations when it comes to the role played by banks.
(C) seems pretty accurate, so let's keep it for now.
Quote:
D. analyze how the increasing number of banks in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries affected the American economy
The passage does mention the increasing number of banks in the late 18th and early 19th centuries (lines 19-22). And the passage does state that this increase affected the American economy. But does the passage analyze
how this increase affected the American economy? Not really.
The author simply presents two opposing views. The increasing number of banks in the late 18th and early 19th centuries is relevant to one of those views, but this detail does not represent the overall purpose of the passage.
(C) was a much better choice, so let's get rid of (D).
Quote:
E. examine how scholarly opinion regarding the role played by banks in the American economy during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries has changed over time
You might be tempted by this answer because the author discusses scholarly opinions and introduces the second opinion as being supported by a “
growing number of historians.” Sure, this suggests some change over time, but the author doesn't
examine or focus on that change.
Instead, the author focuses on the different opinions held by historians. We can eliminate (E).
By process of elimination, (C) is our answer.
I hope that helps!
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