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

Hi NandishSS!

Happy to help

This question is asking about political historians before the 1960s. The key to this question lies in the very first sentence of the passage:



This is saying that before the 1960s, political historians focused on leaders and government institutions, rather than ordinary citizens. So we want to look for an answer choice that talks about a political leader or government institution. Choice (C) fits this: A biography of an influential nineteenth-century minister of foreign affairs. Since this is about a political leader, it would be a typical study for a pre-1960s historian.

Does that make sense?

-Carolyn
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Guys, just out of curiosity, have you been timing your passages?

Actually do you keep track of the time when solving these practice problems. My approach is to practice a ton of passages and get myself really familiar with the questions and reasoning logic required to answer each of them effectively. I plan to start practicing under a under timed environment pretty soon. However, the issue I come across while practicing under time is that I tend to focus more on the time rather than the passage. Its like someone shouting in my ears -- hurry UPPP, you are running out of time. You know what I mean?

How do you guys go about practicing RC's. I'd appreciate it if you could share your approach/strategy. Later!

record your time, but don't limit your time. Always record your time, then you'll get use to it, and won't feel the stress of having to finish within x amount of time.

Once you have a good baseline of how long you're taking for the passages, then start limiting your time to add the time pressure. You'll get use to it.

What does the last sentence mean in the 1st para "were useless in analyzing the political activities of women, who were denied the vote until1920."

They were denied to vote OR they were denied vote (as in they were in the election campaign and no one voted for women politicians)

Hi,

Regarding below question:
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.

The passage says "Like the old approach, however, this new approach excluded women".
What I inferred from this like is "New approach neglected women and old approach included women".
Since word however is used to show contrast.
But, my inference is wrong as per OE.
Please experts someone help me.

Thanks & regards,
Sunil01

Hi JarvisR,

Regarding below question:
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.

The passage says "Like the old approach, however, this new approach excluded women".
What I inferred from this like is "New approach neglected women and old approach included women".
Since word however is used to show contrast.
But, my inference is wrong as per OE.
Please help me.

Thanks & regards,
Sunil01

Sunil01:
Apologises for late response. Leme know if this answers ur query.

The new school of political history that emerged in the 1960’s and 1970’s sought to go beyond the traditional focus blah blah...
Like the old approach, however, this new approach excluded women.

>> A new school of PH emerged... However, like old approach, new approach suffered same flaw. How?

The very techniques these historians used to uncover mass political behavior in the nineteenth-century United State – quantitative analyses of election returns, for example –were useless in analyzing the political activities of women, who were denied the vote until 1920.

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 emplasis on the political involvement of ordinary citizens

New political historians : by examining directly the political practices of ordinary citizens (to go beyond the traditional focus of political historians on leaders and government institutions) excluding women

By redefining “political activity,” historian Paula Baker has developed a political history that includes women. so included women. so both - An emplasis on the political involvement of ordinary citizens


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?
(A) An analysis of voting trends among women voters of the 1920’s
(B) A study of male voters’ gradual ideological shift from party politics to issue-oriented politics
(C) A biography of an influential nineteenth-century minister of foreign affairs
(D) An analysis of narratives written by previously unrecognized women activitists
(E) A study of voting trends among naturalized immigrant laborers in a nineteenth-century logging camp

New political historians : by examining directly the political practices of ordinary citizens (to go beyond the traditional focus of political historians on leaders and government institutions) excluding women
=> that indicates that a pre1960’s political historian was interested more in "leaders" and "government institute" so C.

can an expert please explain how, for Q1, "B" is a better answer than "A"?

the reason i'm not completely sold on "B" is b/c it mentions A SCHOLARLY APPROACH, when paragraph 1 clearly notes TWO approaches -- a "new school" (in the 1960s & 1970s) AND a "traditional/old approach" (predates this). the difference between the two is clearly delineated: the "new" approach examines the political practices of ordinary citizens.

so, i can understand how the second part of "B" is correct -- it correctly mentions there's an alternative approach (Baker), BUT i don't like how it seems to consolidate the two views (elaborated above) into one.

the only reason i get rid of "A" is b/c there are no limitations associated with Baker. but both A/C seem odd...

Yes, the passage mentions two scholarly approaches (one new and one old). But the author tells us that even the new scholarly approach has a shortcoming (the same shortcoming that the old one had).

The author basically says, "So, a new school emerged in the 60's and 70's. But even though it was DIFFERENT from the old approach, it still had the same shortcoming as the old approach." The author wants us to know that the new approach didn't address that shortcoming.

So the author's main purpose is to tell us that the second approach, though new and different, still had the same shortcoming. Although two approaches are mentioned, the author is primarily concerned with identifying the shortcoming of the second approach.

In general, when thinking about the purpose of each paragraph or of the passage, think about "why?", not "what?". Yes, the passage mentions two approaches, but is the shortcoming of the old approach central to the author's main purpose? For more help with RC problems, check out the Ultimate RC Guide for Beginners.

I hope that helps!
_________________

HI mikemcgarry, GMATNinja, MagooshExpert (Carolyn )

Can you please explain this que?

6. The information in the passage suggests that a pre-1960’s political historian would have been most likely to undertake which of the following studies?

(A) An analysis of voting trends among women voters of the 1920’s
(B) A study of male voters’ gradual ideological shift from party politics to issue-oriented politics
(C) A biography of an influential nineteenth-century minister of foreign affairs
(D) An analysis of narratives written by previously unrecognized women activists
(E) A study of voting trends among naturalized immigrant laborers in a nineteenth-century logging camp
_________________

3. It can 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 to that position
(B) differentiate between a novel definition and traditional definitions
(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 paragraph Made a mistake here. Correct me if I'm wrong, but it's wrong because there is no actual definition given in the first paragraph.

This was very nicely explained by MagooshExpert (hi Carolyn!) in the previous post: https://gmatclub.com/forum/the-new-scho ... l#p2066547.


... also, we are told that Paula Baker redefined “political activity.” Her definition of politics would be different that the traditional definition. So even if the first paragraph had a definition, Paula's definition would not AMPLIFY the definition in the first paragraph.
_________________

Can someone explain how the answer is B

The information in the passage suggests that a pre1960’s political historian would have been most likely to undertake which of the following studies?

An analysis of voting trends among women voters of the 1920’s
A study of male voters’ gradual ideological shift from party politics to issue-oriented politics
A biography of an influential nineteenth century minister of foreign affairs
An analysis of narratives written by previously unrecognized women activities
A study of voting trends among naturalized immigrant laborers in a nineteenth-century logging camp

Although, I got this wrong (my option was 'E' but learnt how from explanation above by GMATninja), I figured out how 'B' is the answer.
I will try my bit to explain, what I understood:

This is an inference question - meaning it has to be true (in all conditions and not on some 'if's) though not defined directly.
As elaborated b GMATNinja, second paragraph in the passage begins with, " By redefining “political activity,” historian Paula Baker has developed.....". This clearly indicates that she has surpassed/distinguished herself from the previous two streams of thoughts.

Hope this helps.

Thanks
The Graceful
_________________

Okay let me try to explain.
Let's rephrase the question.
The question is asking what would be an historian's act/approach that would have been normal in the era before 1960.

The very first statement of first paragraph - especially second line - talks about this.
The new school of political history that emerged in the 1960’s and 1970’s sought to go beyond the traditional focus of political historians on leaders and government institutions

Option that would have anything of these two would serve as answer, here the option 'B' has both the things political leader and govt. institution.

Hope this helps.

Thanks
Vaibhav Mahabole
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HI hongg7!

Let's take a look at this part of the passage:



The "traditional" definition of politics, then, would be "voting and holding office". Baker's "novel" definition of politics is “any action taken to affect the course of behavior of government or of the community", for example organizing into committees for social issues.

Does that make sense?

-Carolyn
_________________

Hi, I need a clarification for Q3: Why isn't he answer "A".
3. It can 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 to that position -
The position is that women were denied to vote and alternative can be that even men started working towards issue-oriented politics.
(B) differentiate between a novel definition and traditional definitions
No differentiation provided as such
(C) provide an example of a point agreed on by different generations of scholars
Baker didn't give any such example
(D) provide an example of the prose style of an important historian
Not sure about this one
(E) amplify a definition given in the first paragraph
Irrelevant