Schools expect textbooks to be a valuable source of information for st

Question

The Official Guide for GMAT Review, 10th Edition, 2003

Practice Question  
Question No.: RC 154 ~ 159
Page: 370 
   Schools expect textbooks to be a valuable source of information for students. My research suggests, however, that textbooks that address the place of Native Americans within the history of the United States distort history to suit a particular cultural value system. In some textbooks, for example, settlers are pictured as more humane, complex, skillful, and wise than Native Americans. In essence, textbooks stereotype and deprecate the numerous Native American cultures while reinforcing the attitude that the European conquest of the New World denotes the superiority of European cultures. Although textbooks evaluate Native American architecture, political systems, and homemaking, I contend that they do it from an ethnocentric, European perspective without recognizing that other perspectives are possible. One argument against my contention asserts that, by nature, textbooks are culturally biased and that I am simply underestimating children’s ability to see through these biases. Some   researchers   even claim that by the time students are in high school, they know they cannot take textbooks literally. Yet substantial evidence exists to the contrary.  Two researchers , for example, have conducted studies that suggest that children’s attitudes about particular cultures are strongly influenced by the textbooks used in schools. Given this, an ongoing, careful review of how school textbooks depict Native Americans is certainly warranted.   1 
 A 
 1. Which of the following would most logically be the topic of the paragraph immediately following the passage?

(A) Specific ways to evaluate the biases of United States history textbooks
(B) The centrality of the teacher’s role in United States history courses
(C) Nontraditional methods of teaching United States history
(D) The contributions of European immigrants to the development of the United States
(E) Ways in which parents influence children’s political attitudes

2 
 D 
 2. The primary purpose of the passage is to

(A) describe in detail one research study regarding the impact of history textbooks on children’s attitudes and beliefs about certain cultures
(B) describe revisions that should be made to United States history textbooks
(C) discuss the difficulty of presenting an accurate history of the United States
(D) argue that textbooks used in schools stereotype Native Americans and influence children’s attitudes
(E) summarize ways in which some textbooks give distorted pictures of the political systems developed by various Native American groups

3 
 B 
 3. The author mentions  two researchers ’ studies (lines 22-25) most likely in order to

(A) suggest that children’s political attitudes are formed primarily through textbooks
(B) counter the claim that children are able to see through stereotypes in textbooks
(C) suggest that younger children tend to interpret the messages in textbooks more literally than do older children
(D) demonstrate that textbooks carry political messages meant to influence their readers
(E) prove that textbooks are not biased in terms of their political presentations

4 
 E 
 4. The author’s attitude toward the content of the history textbooks discussed in the passage is best described as one of

(A) indifference
(B) hesitance
(C) neutrality
(D) amusement
(E) disapproval

5 
 B 
 5. It can be inferred from the passage that the   researchers   mentioned in line 19 would be most likely to agree with which of the following statements?

(A) Students form attitudes about cultures other than their own primarily inside the school environment.
(B) For the most part, seniors in high school know that textbooks can be biased.
(C) Textbooks play a crucial role in shaping the attitudes and beliefs of students.
(D) Elementary school students are as likely to recognize biases in textbooks as are high school students.
(E) Students are less likely to give credence to history textbooks than to mathematics textbooks.

6 
 C 
 6. The author implies that which of the following will occur if textbooks are not carefully reviewed?

(A) Children will remain ignorant of the European settlers’ conquest of the New World.
(B) Children will lose their ability to recognize biases in textbooks.
(C) Children will form negative stereotypes of Native Americans.
(D) Children will develop an understanding of ethnocentrism.
(E) Children will stop taking textbooks seriously.

1. Which of the following would most logically be the topic of the paragraph immediately following the passage?

(A) Specific ways to evaluate the biases of United States history textbooks
   It's best to stay near the scope of the passage - The Biases of the textbooks - CORRECT!  
(B) The centrality of the teacher’s role in United States history courses 
  Irrelevant Issue  
(C) Nontraditional methods of teaching United States history 
  Irrelevant Issue  
(D) The contributions of European immigrants to the development of the United States
   This is just the sample content in ttextbooks and not the main issue at hand  
(E) Ways in which parents influence children’s political attitudes 
  Irrelevant Issue

2. The primary purpose of the passage is to

(A) describe in detail one research study regarding the impact of history textbooks on children’s attitudes and beliefs about certain cultures
  the primary purpose is that textbooks are biased and why this is not a good thing... OUT!  
(B) describe revisions that should be made to United States history textbooks 
  the author hints towards removing biases but did not describe details of how... OUT!  
(C) discuss the difficulty of presenting an accurate history of the United States
  Difficulty to present accurate history is OUT of SCOPE  
(D) argue that textbooks used in schools stereotype Native Americans and influence children’s attitudes
  This is the main issue. The stereotype is the bias and the effect is on the attitudes of children.. CORRECT  
(E) summarize ways in which some textbooks give distorted pictures of the political systems developed by various Native American groups
  it contends that there are bias but the main purpose is to argue that there is such bias and why there is a need to make changes.. OUT!

3. The author mentions two researchers’ studies (lines 22-25) most likely in order to

(A) suggest that children’s political attitudes are formed primarily through textbooks
  primarily through textbooks - extreme and not the tone of the passage - OUT!  
(B) counter the claim that children are able to see through stereotypes in textbooks
  BINGO!  
(C) suggest that younger children tend to interpret the messages in textbooks more literally than do older children
  No such separation or contrast between younger and older children was made by the author... although the other researchers contend that high school can discern the bias.. but not of the author's point.. OUT!  
(D) demonstrate that textbooks carry political messages meant to influence their readers
  not the context or point of the lines 22-25.. OUT!  
(E) prove that textbooks are not biased in terms of their political presentations
  this is opposite of the author's argument... OUT!

4. The author’s attitude toward the content of the history textbooks discussed in the passage is best described as one of
 (A) indifference 
 (B) hesitance 
 (C) neutrality 
 (D) amusement 
(E) disapproval   CORRECT! - "In essence,
textbooks stereotype and deprecate the numerous Native
American cultures while reinforcing the attitude that the
(10) European conquest of the New World denotes the superi-
ority of European cultures" - The author's tone here is disapproval...

5. It can be inferred from the passage that the researchers mentioned in line 19 would be most likely to agree with which of the following statements?

(B) For the most part, seniors in high school know that textbooks can be biased.
  CORRECT - "One argument against my contention asserts that, by
nature, textbooks are culturally biased and that I am simply
underestimating children’s ability to see through these
biases. Some researchers even claim that by the time
(20) students are in high school, they know they cannot take
textbooks literally. "

6. The author implies that which of the following will occur if textbooks are not carefully reviewed?
  "In essence,
textbooks stereotype and deprecate the numerous Native
American cultures while reinforcing the attitude that the
(10) European conquest of the New World denotes the superi-
ority of European cultures. Although textbooks evaluate
Native American architecture, political systems, and home-
making, I contend that they do it from an ethnocentric,
European perspective without recognizing that other
(15) perspectives are possible." - Only C shows this tone and point of the author....

(A) Children will remain ignorant of the European settlers’ conquest of the New World.
  Children will not be ignorant of it if this is discussed in textbooks... biased it maybe but not ignorant...  
(B) Children will lose their ability to recognize biases in textbooks.
  ability to recognize was not supported by the author at all...  
(C) Children will from negative stereotypes of Native Americans.
(D) Children will develop an understanding of ethnocentrism.
  this is wacked! heck no!  
(E) Children will stop taking textbooks seriously.
  not the issue

dcummins · Accepted Answer

Passage map:
Author argues for a revision of the depiction of native americans in history textbooks by stating his argument, providing counter claims, and supporting both with evidence.

Question 1
A is correct because it accurately encapsulates the main idea of the passage without being too broad or too specific
B is incorrect because nothing is mentioned about teachers; the argument deals with textbooks
C is also incorrect for similar reasons
D is incorrect because it warps the information given by stating the opposite of what the author intended
E is incorrect because nothing is mentioned of parent's influence

Question 2
A is incorrect because "one research study" is not discussed
B is a contender answer - it's broad enough to trick people to go for it, but not specific enough to be correct. Really, only one revision is discussed - the revision of the representation of native americans in history. Also, more importantly, the passage isn't a description. It's a clear argument - the argument is contained in the last sentence.
C is incorrect because the argument is premised on the notion that history textbooks aren't accurate and that changes can be made to them
D is correct because the passage is an argument and its intention is exactly to argue that history textbooks misrepresent the history of Native Americans (see second sentence of the passage) and that the impact of this is that children walk away with a distorted perception of reality
E is incorrect because the intention isn't to Summarise. Secondly, no where is it mentioned that the Native Americans Developed political systems

Question 3
Before looking at the answers, it's important to be cognizant of any OPINIONS given in the passage. Quite clearly, the "two researchers" studies' are provided as evidence as a counter to the claim of "some researchers". They claim that students, by the time the get to high-school, know they can't take textbooks seriously. The transition word "YET" is a clear indication that a contrast is about to happen.

A is incorrect because the researchers don't suggest anything, their research is cited as evidence; second, the researchers studies' suggest the exact opposite of what A states
B is spot on with what we interpreted.
C is incorrect as it is the opposite
D is incorrect as it is not founded on any evidence
E is incorrect as it is completely unfounded

Question 4
Overall, before i look at the answers I'm clear on the tone and note it down. Initially the author is quite transparent about how he feels - he takes this stuff quite seriously and there is clear passion in his argument. In fact, it warrants me to question whether the author is native american.
The passage is an argument and carries tones that the author is UNIMPRESSED to say the least about the representation of NA's in history textbooks.

A is incorrect because this is a clear argument where an opinion is given - thus, indifference is false
B is incorrect because the author is direct and to the point about his argument - he isn't hesitant at all
C is incorrect for similar reasons
D is incorrect because its quite apparent the author takes this stuff seriously and is not amused
E is the clear answer as it encapsulates the general vibe of the author and direction his or her argument takes

Question 5
Before looking at the answers, again, be clear on the opinions used in the text - what are the authors opinions and what are the opinions of others? This is easier to do in a short passage, harder to do in a longer passage where multiple opinions may be given.
More broadly, the "researchers" generally believe that by the time students hit high-school they don't take textbooks as fact and actually form their own opinion

A is unfounded and thus wrong
B is correct because it highlights the opinion of the researchers via illustration
C is false as it contradicts the "researchers" views
D is completely unfounded as the researchers only argue that high-school students are conscious, not elementary - as implied by "by the time..."
E is completely too narrow in scope and logically irrelevant from what is stated by the researchers

Question 6 
In the last two sentences the author argues that an on-going careful review of how textbooks depict Native Americans is needed because children's attitudes are strongly influenced by textbooks used in schools (as suggested by the "two researchers")

A is a lure answer. It's too specific and refers to the previous part of the passage. However, A isn't the outcome, it's the current situation - that Europeans' conquest is misrepresented in history textbooks is a fact, not a byproduct. The byproduct is that children will look at this misrepresentation and be influenced by it. Extra details on A as I stupidly got this wrong.
B is incorrect because the argument is that children are influenced by the biases and that they aren't exactly consciously aware of these biases
C is correct (it should be "form", not "from") as it provides the byproduct - that children will form negative stereotypes based on misrepresentations
D is incorrect as they don't develop an understanding, they base their interpretation from ethnocentricism
E is incorrect because it is completely unfounded

GMATNinja · Answer

The author discusses the review of textbooks in the last two sentences of the passage:

"Two researchers, for example, have conducted studies that suggest that children’s attitudes about particular cultures are strongly influenced by the textbooks used in schools. Given this, an ongoing, careful review of how school textbooks depict Native Americans is certainly warranted."

So, the author believes that a careful review of textbooks is necessary because "children’s attitudes about particular cultures are strongly influenced by the textbooks used in schools." In particular, the author is concerned about how children perceive Native American cultures based on those textbooks.

Question #6 asks what the author believes will happen if textbooks are NOT carefully reviewed.

First take a look at (D):
 
The author contends that textbooks evaluate Native American culture from an ethnocentric, European perspective. One argument against this contention is that children are able to "see through these biases". But, according to the author, "substantial evidence exists to the contrary".

So, in the absence of a careful review of the textbooks, we have the following (according to the author): 1) textbooks evaluate Native American culture from an ethnocentric, European perspective and 2) children are NOT able to see through these biases.

If the children are not able to SEE THROUGH biases such as ethnocentrism, then there's no reason to believe that will develop an UNDERSTANDING of ethnocentrism. So there is no evidence to support choice (D).

Here's (C):
 
This is right in line with our analysis form the passage -- the author argues that textbooks SHOULD be reviewed because children's attitudes toward cultures are influenced by those textbooks. The author also explains that textbooks "stereotype and deprecate the numerous Native American cultures" and that, in some textbooks, Native Americans are pictured as less "humane, complex, skillful, and wise" than European settlers. So, if the textbooks are NOT reviewed, biases are likely to creep in and children will form negative impressions of Native Americans.

(C) is the correct answer.

I hope that helps!

yurkennis · Answer

Can anyone explain why (A) rather than (C) is correct answer for question 1?

With this piece, the author clearly proved that bias in textbooks both exist and that it affects children's attitudes:
  Two researchers, for example, have conducted studies that suggest that children’s attitudes about particular cultures are strongly influenced by the textbooks used in schools.

Given the conclusion "review of how textbooks depict", it's clearly time to proceed to what should be done to resolve the problem -- rather than going back to what biases exist and how to evaluate them.

And the closest thing to "resolving" the problem is to turn to alternative textbooks (and therefore methods countering traditional approach). Existence of such textbooks follows from "In some textbooks are depicted as more .... than Natives" -- if some have biases, some others likely don't have them.

vishwaprakash · Answer

Hi  yurkennis ,

Question 1. Which of the following would most logically be the topic of the paragraph immediately following the passage?

Overview of passage :
Author is worried about the way textbook stereotype the native american. In the middle of the passage author Presents argument to prove that students may not be able to identify the bias data in text book. In the end, author calls for the improvement.

(A) Specific ways to evaluate the biases of United States history textbooks
In the end (Given this, an ongoing, careful review of how school textbooks depict Native Americans is certainly warranted.) , author raises the open ended discussion which calls for more research to find the ways how textbook impact understanding of native america.

This can be most logical topic after the passage. - Correct.

(B) The centrality of the teacher’s role in United States history courses
Out of scope - Nowhere in passage We got to know the teacher's role. So this cannot be most logical topic, immediately following the passage

(C) Nontraditional methods of teaching United States history
Hmm confusing, but wait a second. Where in passage did author talked about traditional and non traditional ways of teaching. So this cannot be most logical topic, immediately following the passage

(D) The contributions of European immigrants to the development of the United States.
Author right from start, talked somewhat against the European immigrant. It is least likely that author will change the tone and talked about their contribution. So this cannot be most logical topic, immediately following the passage

(E) Ways in which parents influence children’s political attitudes
Out of scope - Nowhere in passage We got to know the Parent's role. So this cannot be most logical topic, immediately following the passage

jasonfodor · Answer

1. Which of the following would most logically be the topic of the paragraph immediately following the passage?

(A) Specific ways to evaluate the biases of United States history textbooks
"Given this, an ongoing, careful review of how school textbooks depict Native Americans is certainly warranted."
(B) The centrality of the teacher’s role in United States history courses
teacher's roles are not discussed
(C) Nontraditional methods of teaching United States history
Other methods are not discussed
(D) The contributions of European immigrants to the development of the United States
European immigrants are briefly discussed in the first paragraph to show examples of how they are biased in textbooks. certainly not a topic for the 3rd paragraph
(E) Ways in which parents influence children’s political attitudes
parent's are not discussed.

2. The primary purpose of the passage is to

(A) describe in detail one research study regarding the impact of history textbooks on children’s attitudes and beliefs about certain cultures
close, leave for now.
(B) describe revisions that should be made to United States history textbooks
revisions are never discussed, just problems. and an action to consider a change. no details on changes/revisions.
(C) discuss the difficulty of presenting an accurate history of the United States
the difficulty of presenting accurate history is never discussed
(D) argue that textbooks used in schools stereotype Native Americans and influence children’s attitudes
leave for now
(E) summarize ways in which some textbooks give distorted pictures of the political systems developed by various Native American groups
only described in the first paragraph, second paragraph is an action to consider a change. this choice leaves out 1/2 the passage.

A vs. D. 
A: there are multiple researchers discussed (one is the author's research in the first paragraph, and the author mentions two different "studies" in the second paragraph). Also closer look at A....the passage says based on the books it children "could" have a negative image of native americas based on the way they are wrote about in history books, the impace the books have on children's attitudes and beliefs are not directly discussed, nor about certain cultureS (pluarl) only native american's are discussed.
D: argue textbooks used in schools stereotype native americas (summery of paragraph 1) and influence chilren's attitudes (summery of paragraph 2) 
D it is

3. The author mentions two researchers’ studies (lines 22-25) most likely in order to

(A) suggest that children’s political attitudes are formed primarily through textbooks
(B) counter the claim that children are able to see through stereotypes in textbooks
(C) suggest that younger children tend to interpret the messages in textbooks more literally than do older children
(D) demonstrate that textbooks carry political messages meant to influence their readers
(E) prove that textbooks are not biased in terms of their political presentations

One argument against my contention asserts that.....Yet substantial evidence exists to the contrary. Two researchers, for example.
The argument against him says children can find stereotypes in textbooks, yet the author is citing two researchers to go against that argument.

4. The author’s attitude toward the content of the history textbooks discussed in the passage is best described as one of

(A) indifference
(B) hesitance
(C) neutrality
(D) amusement
(E) disapproval

This is little tricky, normally author's tones are neutral but none of the other choices apply he isn't indifferent (he fights that textbooks are not accurate), nor is does he show hesitance since he suggests action (careful review of how school textbooks depict Native Americans is certainly warranted). (c) he's not neutral, he argues that books are biased and suggests a review. (d) he's not amused. i guess on initial research he was amused with how biased the books were, but that's not his attitude towards the passage he wrote. I went with E

5. It can be inferred from the passage that the researchers mentioned in line 19 would be most likely to agree with which of the following statements?

(A) Students from attitudes about cultures other than their own primarily inside the school environment.
(B) For the most part, seniors in high school know that textbooks can be biased.
some researchers even claim that by the time students are in high school, they know they cannot take textbooks literally.
(C) Textbooks play a crucial role in shaping the attitudes and beliefs of students.
(D) Elementary school students are as likely to recognize biases in textbooks as are high school students.
(E) Students are less likely to give credence to history textbooks than to mathematics textbooks.

6. The author implies that which of the following will occur if textbooks are not carefully reviewed?

(A) Children will remain ignorant of the European settlers’ conquest of the New World.
opposite. books deficit Europeans as heros.
(B) Children will lose their ability to recognize biases in textbooks.
depicting real vs fake text book data is not suggested. 
(C) Children will from negative stereotypes of Native Americans.
passage only mentions native america bias
(D) Children will develop an understanding of ethnocentrism.
(E) Children will stop taking textbooks seriously.
too far stretch

Shreshtha55 · Answer

can someone explain why in q6 ans is C and not D?  GMATNinja

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Schools expect textbooks to be a valuable source of information for st

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