akshaykotha wrote:
Why is the answer B for Q3?
I eliminated B because there was no differentiation between definitions. What is the traditional definition and what is the novel definition here? Or is there, am I missing something?
Selected A without proper justification as I was able to eliminate C, D, E along with B.
zac123 wrote:
GMATNinja : Can you please explain 3rd question. How can I eliminate choices and come to correct choice.
There's been some good discussion of certain pieces of Q3, but there still seems to be confusion around the question as a whole, so let's take a thorough look at it.
Quote:
3. It can be inferred that the author of the passage quotes Baker directly in the second paragraph primarily in order to
Well, why did the author write the second paragraph in the first place? To explain how Baker's redefinition of "political activity" provides a greater understanding of women's political activity in American history.
Now, how do the direct quotes from Baker fit into this purpose?
Quote:
By redefining “political activity,” historian Paula Baker has developed a political history that includes women. She concludes that among ordinary citizens, political activism by women in the nineteenth century prefigured trends in twentieth-century politics. Defining “politics” as “any action taken to affect the course of behavior of government or of the community,” Baker concludes that, while voting and holding office were restricted to men, women in the nineteenth century organized themselves into societies committed to social issues such as temperance and poverty. In other words, Baker contends, women activists were early practitioners of nonpartisan, issue-oriented politics...
The structure of this P2 shows us a few things:
- Baker redefined "political activity." This means "political activity" had a previous meaning, and Baker gave it a new meaning.
- She defined that new meaning as “any action taken to affect the course of behavior of government or of the community" (as opposed to only voting and holding office).
- Once the author makes this distinction clear, then the author can more fully examine how women fit into American political history (from which they've been previously excluded).
So, getting back to our question: Why does the author bring up these quotes from Baker?
To give new meaning to the phrase "political activity." This redefinition then enables the author to spend the rest of P2 explaining presenting a fresh interpretation of women's political activity in the U.S. They were issue-oriented activists before they were voters, and this type of political activity foreshadowed a similar behavior among men the U.S. in the 20th century.
Now let's eliminate any answer choice that doesn't match our understanding of the quotations and how they fit into the paragraph.
Quote:
(A) clarify a position before providing an alternative to that position
Carolyn has already explained why we reject this answer choice. In agreement with her explanation, I'd ask the following:
- Is the author quoting Baker in order to clarify a position?
- Is the author quoting Baker in order to clarify a position?
- Is the author quoting Baker to then provide an alternative to the position that the author just clarified?
We can only pick (A) if the answer to every question above is "yes." And this simply isn't the case. The author quotes Baker to give new meaning to a phrase. Then, the author explains the significance of this new meaning. "Clarify" is a stretch, "position" is a stretch, and "provide an alternative to the position" is totally off-track. So we'll eliminate (A).
Quote:
(B) differentiate between a novel definition and traditional definitions
This matches our reading precisely. Baker's quote is literally provided to explain her
redefinition of "political activity." The second paragraph was written to show us how Baker's new definition changes the way that women's political activity can be examined and understood. Let's keep (B) around and continue working through the other choices.
Quote:
(C) provide an example of a point agreed on by different generations of scholars
This quote, paragraph, and passage, have nothing to do with different generations of scholars agreeing on any kind of point. If anything, the quote is used to illustrate where and how Baker and the author
disagree with other scholars. Eliminate (C).
Quote:
(D) provide an example of the prose style of an important historian
Nope. Nope, nope, nope. The author is definitely not writing the second paragraph to tell us about Bakers' "prose style." Get outta here, answer choice (D)!
Quote:
(E) amplify a definition given in the first paragraph
As I mentioned earlier, we're told that Paula Baker redefined “political activity.” Baker's definition of politics was different from the previously accepted definition (voting and holding office). So even if the first paragraph presented a definition, Baker's definition certainly did not AMPLIFY the traditional definition. It was, in fact, a
redefinition. Eliminate (E).
I hope this helps!
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