The new school of political history that emerged in the 1960’s and

1. The primary purpose of the passage is to

(A) enumerate reason why both traditional scholarly methods and newer scholarly methods have limitations
True, but it goes beyond that...
(B) identify a shortcoming in a scholarly approach and describe an alternative approach
identifies shortcomings in the old and newer school of thoughts, and describes Baker's alternative approach. Correct
(C) provide empirical data to support a long-held scholarly assumption
No basis
(D) compare two sholarly publications on the basis of their authors’ backgrounds
No basis
(E) attempt to provide a partial answer to a lon-standing scholarly dilemna
No basis

2. The passage suggests which of the following concerning the techniques used by the new political historians described in the first paragraph of the passage?

(A) They involved the extensive use of the biographies of political party leaders and political theoreticians.
This is the old school
(B) They were conceived by political historians who were reacting against the political climates of the 1960s and 1970s
not so much as in reaction as a shift in idealogy
(C) They were of more use in analyzing the positions of United States political parties in the nineteenth century than in analyzing the positions of those in the twentieth century.
not relevant
(D) They were of more use in analyzing the political behavior of nineteenth-century voters than in analyzing the political activities of those who could not vote during that period.
Bingo! They studied voters, but they disregarded the political activities of others, especially women, who could not vote at the time.
(E) They were devised as a means of tracing the influence of nineteenth-century political trends on twentieth-century political trends.
not relevant

3. It ban be inferred that the author of the passage quotes Baker directly in the second paragraph primarily in order to
(A) clarify a position before providing an alternative ot that position
(B) differentiate between a novel definition and traditional definitions
IMO, B gives the more substantial argument for the author to quote Baker.
(C) provide an example of a point agreed on by different generations of scholars
(D) provide an example of the prose style of an important historian
(E) amplify a definition given in the first pargraph

4. According to the passage, Paula Baker and the new political historians of the 1960’s and 1970’s shared which of the following?
(A) A commitment to interest-group politics
(B) A disregard for political theory and ideology
(C) An interest in the ways in which nineteenth-century politics prefigured contemporary politics
(D) A reliance on such quatitiative techniques as the analysis of election returns
(E) An emphasis on the political involvement of ordinary citizens
Exactly. They shifted their focus from the leaders and their biographies to the masses.

5. Which of the following best describes the structure of the first paragraph of the passage?
(A) Two scholarly approaches are compared, and a shortcoming common to both is identified.
Both old and the newer schools of historians neglected the role of women in politics. Correct
(B) Two rival schools of thought are contrasted, and a third is alluded to.
(C) An outmoded scholarly approach is described, and a corrective approach is called for.
(D) An argument is outlined, and counter arguments are mentioned.
(E) A historical era is described in terms of its political trends.

6. The information in the passage suggests that a pre1960’s political historian would have been most likely to undertake which of the following studies?
C. All others pertain to the masses, the study of which was not in practice prior to the 1960s.

-Anand