Two recent publications offer different assessments of the career of the famous British nurse Florence Nightingale. A book by Anne Summers seeks to debunk the idealizations and present a reality at odds with Nightingale's heroic reputation. According to Summers Nightingale's importance during the Crimean War has been exaggerated: not until near the war's end did she become supervisor of the female nurses. Additionally, Summers writes that the contribution of the nurses to the relief of the wounded was at best marginal. The prevailing problems of military medicine were caused by army organizational practices, and the addition of a few nurses to the medical staff could be no more than symbolic. Nightingale's place in the national pantheon, Summers asserts, is largely due to the propagandistic efforts of contemporary newspaper reporters. By contrast, the editors of a new volume of Nightingale's letters view Nightingale as a person who significantly influenced not only her own age but also subsequent generations. They highlight her ongoing efforts to reform sanitary conditions after the war. For example, when she learned that peacetime living conditions in British barracks were so horrible that the death rate of enlisted men far exceeded that of neighboring civilian populations, she succeeded in persuading the government to establish a Royal Commission on the Health of the Army. She used sums raised through public contributions to found a nurses' training hospital in London. Even in administrative matters, the editors assert her practical intelligence was formidable: as recently as 1947 the British Army's medical services were still using the cost-accounting system she had devised in the 1860's. I believe that the evidence of her letters supports continued respect for Nightingale's brilliance and creativity. When counseling a village schoolmaster to encourage children to use their faculties of observation she sounds like a modern educator. Her insistence on classifying the problems of the needy in order to devise appropriate treatments is similar to the approach of modern social workers. In sum, although Nightingale may not have achieved all other goals during the Crimean War, her breadth of vision and ability to realize ambitious projects have earned her an eminent place among the ranks of social pioneers. 1 1. The passage is primarily concerned with evaluating (A) the importance of Florence Nightingale's innovations in the field of nursing (B) contrasting approaches to the writing of historical biography (C) contradictory accounts of Florence Nightingale's historical significance (D) the quality of health care in nineteenth-century England (E) the effect of the Crimean War on developments in the field of health care 2 2. According to the passage, the editors of Nightingale's letters credit her with contributing to which of the following? (A) Improvement of the survival rate for soldiers in British Army hospitals during the Crimean War (B) The development of a nurses' training curriculum that was far in advance of its day (C) The increase in the number of women doctors practicing in British Army hospitals (D) Establishment of the first facility for training nurses at a major British university (E) The creation of an organization for monitoring the peacetime living conditions of British soldiers 3 3. The passage suggests which of the following about Nightingale's relationship with the British public of her day? (A) She was highly respected, her projects receiving popular and governmental support. (B) She encountered resistance both from the army establishment and the general public. (C) She was supported by the working classes and opposed by the wealthier classes. (D) She was supported by the military establishment but had to fight the governmental bureaucracy. (E) After initially being received with enthusiasm, she was quickly forgotten. 4 4. The passage suggests which of the following about sanitary conditions in Britain after the Crimean War? (A) While not ideal, they were superior to those in other parts of the world. (B) Compared with conditions before the war, they had deteriorated. (C) They were more advanced in rural areas than in the urban centers. (D) They were worse in military camps than in the neighboring civilian populations. (E) They were uniformly crude and unsatisfactory throughout England. 5 5. With which of the following statements regarding the differing interpretations of Nightingale's importance would the author most likely agree? (A) Summers misunderstood both the importance of Nightingale's achievements during the Crimean War and her subsequent influence on British policy. (B) The editors of Nightingale's letters made some valid points about her practical achievements but they still exaggerated her influence on subsequent generations. (C) Although Summers' account of Nightingale's role in the Crimean War may be accurate, she ignored evidence of Nightingale's subsequent achievement that suggests that her reputation as an eminent social reformer is well deserved. (D) The editors of Nightingale's letters mistakenly propagated the outdated idealization of Nightingale that only impedes attempts to arrive at a balanced assessment of her true role. (E) The evidence of Nightingale's letters supports Summers' conclusions both about Nightingale's activities and about her influence. 6 6. Which of the following is an assumption underlying the author's assessment of Nightingale's creativity? (A) Educational philosophy in Nightingale's day did not normally emphasize developing children's ability to observe. (B) Nightingale was the first to notice the poor living conditions in British military barracks in peacetime. (C) No educator before Nightingale had thought to enlist the help of village schoolmasters in introducing new teaching techniques. (D) Until Nightingale began her work, there was no concept of organized help for the needy in nineteenth-century Britain. (E) The British army's medical services had no cost-accounting system until Nightingale devised one in the 1860's. 7 7. In the last paragraph, the author is primarily concerned with (A) summarizing the arguments about Nightingale presented in the first two paragraphs (B) refuting the view of Nightingale's career presented in the preceding paragraph (C) analyzing the weaknesses of the evidence presented elsewhere in the passage (D) citing evidence to support a view of Nightingale's career (E) correcting a factual error occurring in one of the works under review This passage is discussed in detail at the below mentioned link https://gmatclub.com/forum/two-recent-p ... 46026.html Two recent publications offer different assessment of the career of the famous British nurse Florence Nightingale. A book by Anne Summers seeks to debunk the idealizations and present a reality at odds with Nightingale’s heroic reputation. According to Summers, Nightingale’s importance during the Crimean War has been exaggerated: not until near the war’s end did she become supervisor of the female nurses. Additionally, Summers writes that the contribution of the nurses to the relief of the wounded was at best marginal. The prevailing problems of military medicine were caused by army organizational practices, and the addition of a few nurses to the medical staff could be no more than symbolic. Nightingale’s place in the national pantheon, Summers asserts, is largely due to the propagandistic efforts of contemporary newspaper reporters. By contrast, the editors of a new volume of Nightingale’s letters view Nightingale as a person who significantly influenced not only her own age but also subsequent generations. They highlight her ongoing efforts to reform sanitary conditions after the war. For example, when she learned that peacetime living conditions in British barracks were so horrible that the death rate of enlisted men far exceeded that of neighboring civilian populations, she succeeded in persuading the government to establish a Royal Commission on the Health of the Army. She used sums raised through public contributions to found a nurses’ training hospital in London. Even in administrative matters, the editors assert, her practical intelligence was formidable: as recently as 1947 the British Army’s medical services were still using the cost-accounting system she had devised in the 1860’s. I believe that the evidence of her letters supports continued respect for Nightingale’s brilliance and creativity. When counseling a village schoolmaster to encourage children to use their faculties of observation, she sounds like a modern educator. Her insistence on classifying the problems of the needy in order to devise appropriate treatments is similar to the approach of modern social workers. In sum, although Nightingale may not have achieved all of her goals during the Crimean War, her breadth of vision and ability to realize ambitious projects have earned her an eminent place among the ranks of social pioneers. Q1. Which of the following is an assumption underlying the author’s assessment of Nightingale’s creativity? (A) Educational philosophy in Nightingale’s day did not normally emphasize developing children’s ability to observe. (B) Nightingale was the first to notice the poor living conditions in British military barracks in peacetime. (C) No educator before Nightingale had thought to enlist the help of village schoolmasters in introducing new teaching techniques. (D) Until Nightingale began her work, there was no concept of organized help for the needy in nineteenth-century Britain. (E) The British Army’s medical services had no cost-accounting system until Nightingale devised one in the 1860’s. Q2. The passage is primarily concerned with the evaluating- (A) the importance of Florence Nightingale's innovations in the field of nursing (B) contrasting approaches to the writing of historical biography (C) contradictory accounts of Florence Nightingale's historical significance (D) the quality of health care in nineteenth-century England (E) the effect of Crimean War on developments in the field of health care Q3. In the last paragraph, the author is primarily concerned with (A) summarizing the arguments about Nightingale presented in the first two paragraphs (B) refuting the view of Nightingale's career presented in the preceding paragraph (C) analyzing the weaknesses of the evidence presented elsewhere in the passage (D) citing evidence to support a view of Nightingale's career (E) correcting a factual error occurring in one of the works under review. Come on come on ---- come fast as can PS - how can I put the official answers for all these questions unrevealed? It allows me only 1 (The official answers are marked in white to obscure the direct view) Q1 - A Q2 - C Q3 - D

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AndrewN

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Namangupta1997

Hi AndrewN

I only got question 6 wrong in this passage. I have a very specific doubt. The passage in its last paragraph says "I believe that the evidence of her letters supports continued respect for Nightingale's brilliance and creativity". Then the passage cites a piece of example/evidence of how she encouraged "children to use their faculties ".

Is the author's conclusion of Nightingale's creativity extracted from the all the relevant achievements that are already mentioned in the passage (such as her establishing Royal commission, founding training centers etc.) OR from the fact that she encouraged the children to use their faculties? Doesn't the latter portrays her more of a "modern educator" than a "creative thinker"? With that in mind I rejected A and chose D as option D is gives more of a big picture idea. Something as abstract as creativity should be symbolic of a series of impossible projects driven to success. Option A seems to have touched upon only one.

What did I miss?

You seem to have made too many assumptions yourself, Namangupta1997, and restricted your scope too much. Notice that in the topic sentence of the third paragraph that you quoted, it mentions her letters. Where else do we see such a reference? In the topic sentence of the second paragraph:

Quote:

[T]he editors of a new volume of Nightingale's letters view Nightingale as a person who significantly influenced not only her own age but also subsequent generations.

We can reasonably infer that the author of the passage may be referring to anything in the second paragraph as well as the third, and the second, of course, is full of praise for Nightingale.

Also, the passage does not go to the extreme that (D) hinges upon. Nightingale is described as a reformer, so no concept of organized help for the needy in nineteenth-century Britain seems like a premature judgment. She could have looked to improve an existing system, however inadequate that system may have been.

Perhaps the answer choices, in light of the evidence in the passage and the question stem itself, make more sense now. Thank you for thinking to ask.

- Andrew

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In Q2, eliminating options A, B, C & D makes sense

But option E seems equally wrong. I request someone to explain this

Agreed that the Royal commission was established to improve the living conditions in the British barracks. But 'in what way?' is not mentioned anywhere
How did y'all figure out that the royal commission was tasked with "monitoring" the peacetime living conditions of British soldiers?

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Question 2

NVR

One thing to keep in mind is that we're looking for the "least wrong answer." You may not love (E), but it's definitely "less wrong" than the others. It's also important not to shut your "human brain" off on something like this. "To monitor" something basically means "to keep track of" it. The Royal Commission is tasked with improving the peacetime living conditions of British soldiers, but how is it going to do that if it can't keep track of those conditions?

Naturally, it'd be pretty hard to improve something that you can't even keep track of, so it's fair to conclude that the Commission monitored living conditions.

I hope that helps!

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Can someone please explain the difference b/w option A (correct) and D (incorrect) in question 6?

Option A states: "Educational philosophy in Nightingale's day did not normally emphasize developing children's ability to observe."

The author states: When counseling a village schoolmaster to encourage children to use their faculties of observation she sounds like a modern educator.

The title of modern educator given to Nightingale by the author implies that her tactics were new/creative for her era.

Option D states: "Until Nightingale began her work, there was no concept of organized help for the needy in nineteenth-century Britain."

The author states: Her insistence on classifying the problems of the needy in order to devise appropriate treatments is similar to the approach of modern social workers.

It says that the approach she used is similar to the approach being used by modern social workers, implying this approach was new for her era.

Using negation doesn't really help, as I have A & D as the correct answer options using negation. So what is the difference b/w the two and why is D incorrect? IMO both these options suggest the same thing.

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Question 6

Barfi

There are some subtle differences in language between (A) and (D).

(A) says that "educational philosophy in Nightingale's day did not normally emphasize developing children's ability to observe." This implies that Nightingale is certainly creative about her approach, but doesn't require that she's the first person who suggested this improvement.

(D), by comparison, says that "until Nightingale began her work, there was no concept of organized help for the needy in nineteenth-century Britain." This goes much farther than (A), stating that Nightingale IS the first person to ever attempt to provide organized help for the needy.

To argue that Nightingale is creative, the author DOES need to assume that she went outside of the "normal" course of things. However, he/she DOESN'T need to assume that Nightingale is the first or only person to encourage certain changes. That's why (D) is out, and (A) is the correct answer to question 6.

I hope that helps!

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Hi experts KarishmaB GMATNinja MartyMurray RonPurewal DmitryFarber GMATNinjaTwo

I have following questions for question-6.

6. Which of the following is an assumption underlying the author's assessment of Nightingale's creativity?

1. In the third para, the author talks about her “brilliance and creativity” and then gives examples and an immediate one is "When counseling a village schoolmaster to encourage children to use their faculties of observation she sounds like a modern educator.”. Does this give us a hint that the required assumption can be something in this example?

2. "When counseling a village schoolmaster to encourage children to use their faculties of observation she sounds like a modern educator.” If Nightingale sounds like a modern educator then how it can be creative? “Creativity” means doing something out of the box but she already sounded like a modern educator which is more like a repetitive work.

If I am wrong then do you think it is because I misunderstood "creativity" as "discovery"?

3. Can you please explain why option E is wrong? My reasoning is if there was no cost-accounting system before then what Nightingale came up with on cost-accounting system must be a creative idea.

4. If we have to reject E then can we say that it can’t be due to creativity as "as recently as 1947 the British Army's medical services were still using the cost-accounting system she had devised in the 1860’s.” comes after colon ( : ) after “intelligence”.

Please help me with these questions.

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The importance of the word "modern" is that the author is comparing the work and ideas of Nightingale (a 19th-century figure) to what we do today (in modern times). "Modern" is not the same as "contemporary." It doesn't refer to people from that person's time; it just refers to people from our present period. So they are saying that her ideas in the 19th century were similar to what we do today. However, this is only evidence of creativity if she thought of them herself. The author is assuming that these weren't ideas that were already in practice in Nightingale's time.

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Can someone shed some light on Q7 Option C?

The official answer says "The last paragraph does analyze weak evidence, but its purpose is to state a position." --> How does the author analyse weak evidence? I only see the last paragraph as providing evidence to support its own position (hence agree D is correct), but don't understand why there is an analysis of weak evidence.

Maybe it would help if can someone share what the term analyzing means in RC?

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Question 7

soniasw16

Don't worry too much about understanding the official explanations, which are not written by the question-writers and which can be questionable at times. If you understand why (D) is correct, then you've done your job here.

The final paragraph does cite evidence (evidence which apparently comes from Nightingale's letters). And you could argue that this is weak evidence, since it's just Nightingale's own perspective. But even if we concede that the evidence is weak, it would certainly be a stretch to say that the author analyzes evidence (the letters and anecdotes) in the final paragraph.

Maybe the book writers just got a little lazy here.