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

Question

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 by examining directly the political practices of ordinary citizens. Like the old approach, however, this new approach excluded women. The very techniques these historians used to uncover mass political behavior in the nineteenth-century United States—quantitative analyses of election returns, for example—were useless in analyzing the political activities of women, who were denied the vote until 1920.

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 and thus were more interested in enlisting lawmakers, regardless of their party affiliation, on behalf of certain issues than in ensuring that one party or another won an election. In the twentieth century, more men drew closer to women’s ideas about politics and took up modes of issue-oriented politics that Baker sees women as having pioneered.   1 
 1. The primary purpose of the passage is to

(A) enumerate reason why both traditional scholarly methods and newer scholarly methods have limitations
(B) identify a shortcoming in a scholarly approach and describe an alternative approach
(C) provide empirical data to support a long-held scholarly assumption
(D) compare two scholarly publications on the basis of their authors’ backgrounds
(E) attempt to provide a partial answer to a long-standing scholarly dilemma

2 
 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. 
(B) They were conceived by political historians who were reacting against the political climates of the 1960's and 1970's
(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.
(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.
(E) They were devised as a means of tracing the influence of nineteenth-century political trends on twentieth-century political trends.

3 
 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 pargraph

4 
 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 quantitative techniques as the analysis of election returns
(E) An emphasis on the political involvement of ordinary citizens

5 
 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.
(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 
 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

anandsebastin · Accepted Answer

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

MagooshExpert · Answer

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

vksunder · Answer

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!

jasonc · Answer

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.

abrakadabra21 · Answer

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
=> that indicates that a pre1960’s political historian was interested more in "leaders" and "government institute" so C.

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.

LakerFan24 · Answer

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...

GMATNinja · Answer

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!

NandishSS · Answer

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

jawele · Answer

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.

GMATNinja · Answer

... 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.

Ilishar · Answer

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

MagooshExpert · Answer

Hi Ilishar ! Remember that the question is specifically asking why the passage quotes Baker. So it is asking only about this line: This could possibly be interpreted as "clarifying" Baker's position, but it is not followed by any alternative to that position -- the remainder of the passage focuses on explaining her position. The fact that women were not allowed to vote is not a position, it's just a fact, and isn't conveyed by Baker's quote. Hope that helps

-Carolyn

aragonn · Answer

P1- focus on ordinary citizens; women are denied; why ? two sides.
P2- study by PB - women involvement at diff level; 
Main point - historians are avoiding dtudies on women but PB broke the jinx with her study.

1. The primary purpose of the passage is to

(A) enumerate reason why both traditional scholarly methods and newer scholarly methods have limitations - no 
(B) identify a shortcoming in a scholarly approach and describe an alternative approach - closest in the lot.
(C) provide empirical data to support a long-held scholarly assumption - no 
(D) compare two scholarly publications on the basis of their authors’ backgrounds - no
(E) attempt to provide a partial answer to a long-standing scholarly dilemma - no
-----------------------------------------

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

(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. -

------------------------------------------
3. It can be inferred that the author of the passage quotes Baker directly in the second paragraph primarily in order to
anchor - PB 
PT - she did something that previously mentioned historian avoided completly.

(B) differentiate between a novel definition and traditional definitions - i chose this one cause of the vocab used in it. moreover, it is showing contrast with the traditional theory.
------------------------------------------

4. According to the passage, Paula Baker and the new political historians of the 1960’s and 1970’s shared which of the following?
PT - shared should be common. must be in P2. - need to look for the points for which PB and new political historian agreed. one thing is that both are concerned with ordinary citizens. 1st sentence of P1 + 1st sentence of p2

(E) An emphasis on the political involvement of ordinary citizens
------------------------------------------ 
5. Which of the following best describes the structure of the first paragraph of the passage?
Mainly this one is concerned about old vs new approach, however not focused on women's status.
(A) Two scholarly approaches are compared, and a shortcoming common to both is identified. - closest.

-------------------------------------------
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?
something that exists in this era. focus of political historians on leaders and government institutions
(C) A biography of an influential nineteenth-century minister of foreign affairs - focus on some leader.

akshaykotha · Answer

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.

nitesh50 · Answer

In other words, Baker contends, women activists were early practitioners of nonpartisan, issue-oriented politics and thus were more interested in  enlisting lawmakers,  regardless of their party affiliation, on behalf of certain issues than in ensuring that one party or another won an election.

Can someone please explain what this sentence exactly means.
I cannot understand the use of enlisting in this sentence.
The women enlisted lawmakers on behalf of certain issues.
What does this mean?
DO the lawmakers represent the different issues OR
enlisting is used in a different sense over here.

Thank you for your reply in advance.

GMATNinja 
 daagh 
 workout 
 DmitryFarber

daagh · Answer

Nitesh
Enlisting here means securing; what are they trying to secure? The support of those lawmakers who would champion the women's causes, regardless of whether they were Republicans or Democrats or Conservatives or Labour. In essence, according to the Baker, women were very focused on their vision and mission.

GMATNinja · Answer

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?

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.

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).

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.

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).

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)!

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!

Ambika02 · Answer

Hi
Can you please explain why B is the answer of the 3rd question?

GMATNinja · Answer

The paragraph starts by telling us that Baker redefined "political activity", indicating that Baker defined things differently than her predecessors/peers. We then get a specific example when the passage cites Baker's new (novel) definition of "politics": “any action taken to affect the course of behavior of government or of the community.” Baker is quoted to communicate  her  precise definition of politics and to emphasize that her definition differed from previous definitions.

This fits with (B): "It can be inferred that the author of the passage quotes Baker directly in the second paragraph primarily in order to  differentiate between a novel definition and traditional definitions ".

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

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GMAT Reading Comprehension (RC) Questions

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

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