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Sub 505 Level|   Short Passage|   Social Science|                                    
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Two works published in 1984 demonstrate contrasting approaches to 21 Jul 2017, 19:07
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adkikani
Hi Gmatninja, Gmatninja2.
I believe majority of passage covers Lebsock's work in detail
however I was not able to understand whether the middle portion of
passage refers to 18th or 19th century? Furthermore, how can delivering babies
be a job which can be taken up by men.
Show more
Regarding the second question, "delivering" a baby is not the same as "giving birth" to a baby. For example, if a doctor (often an OB-GYN, or "obstetrician-gynecologist", in the US) is present to assist with the birth, that doctor is said to "deliver" the baby, while the mother, of course, is the one who "gives birth" to the child.

The middle portion deals with the "historiographical debate as to whether women gained or lost status in the nineteenth century as compared with the eighteenth century." Because this portion is comparing women's status in the nineteenth century to their status in the eighteenth century, this section actually deals with BOTH centuries.

For example, consider the following excerpt: "while women gained autonomy in some areas, especially in the private sphere, they lost it in many aspects of the economic sphere." This means that during the eighteenth century women had MORE autonomy in many aspects of the economic sphere than they would later have in the nineteenth century. Similarly, women owned a higher proportion of real estate in the nineteenth century than they did in the eighteenth century.

I hope that helps!
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Two works published in 1984 demonstrate contrasting approaches to 23 Sep 2017, 10:46
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mikemcgarry

81. The passage suggests that Buel and Buel’s biography of Mary Fish provides evidence for which of the following views of women’s history?
(A) Women have lost power in relation to men since the colonial era.
(B) Women of the colonial era were not as likely to be concerned with their status as were women in the nineteenth century.
(C) The colonial era was not as favorable for women as some historians have believed.
(D) Women had more economic autonomy in the colonial era than in the nineteenth century.
(E) Women’s occupations were generally more respected in the colonial era than in the nineteenth century.
Show more

Hello dear mike

In all the passage nowhere mentioned that colonial age ( or golden age) was not favorable for women! it is not discussed, we just see Buel's wrote is guideless and ambiguous .... could you explain, please?­
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Two works published in 1984 demonstrate contrasting approaches to 24 Sep 2017, 17:25
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soodia

mikemcgarry

81. The passage suggests that Buel and Buel’s biography of Mary Fish provides evidence for which of the following views of women’s history?
(A) Women have lost power in relation to men since the colonial era.
(B) Women of the colonial era were not as likely to be concerned with their status as were women in the nineteenth century.
(C) The colonial era was not as favorable for women as some historians have believed.
(D) Women had more economic autonomy in the colonial era than in the nineteenth century.
(E) Women’s occupations were generally more respected in the colonial era than in the nineteenth century.
Hello dear mike

In all the passage nowhere mentioned that colonial age ( or golden age) was not favorable for women! it is not discussed, we just see Buel's wrote is guideless and ambiguous .... could you explain, please?
Show more
Dear soodia,

I'm happy to respond. :-)

The middle of the passage talk about Lesbock's book, noting a few different ways in which this shows the empowerment of women during the colonial period. Then we get the crucial pivotal point, at the beginning of the last sentence, "In contrast . . ." That's huge. That tells us that the material in this sentence is intended to present some alternative to what has been discussed in Lesbock's book. Here's that whole last sentence:
In contrast, Buel and Buel’s biography provides ample raw material for questioning the myth, fostered by some historians, of a colonial golden age in the eighteenth century but does not give the reader much guidance in analyzing the controversy over women’s status.
Thus, Buel and Buel give "ample raw material," i.e. evidence, "for questioning the myth . . . of a colonial golden age." Now, admittedly, if we are looking at this sentence in isolation, we would not be able to interpret the content of that ambiguous phrase "colonial golden age." Because that sentence begins with "in contrast," we know that we have to interpret everything in the sentence in terms of what came before. Lesbock provided some examples of positive empowerment for women in the 18th century, although Lesbock's nuanced analysis also pointed out ways that women didn't have power, so Lesbock herself is not indicating a "golden age." We could imagine that a less nuanced historian might simply grab on to those positive examples and portray this time as a "golden age" of women's rights. Buel and Buel provide ample evidence against that view.

Does all this make sense?
Mike :-)­
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Two works published in 1984 demonstrate contrasting approaches to 05 Dec 2017, 19:37
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HI mikemcgarry, GMATNinja

According to the passage, Lebsock’s work differs from Buel and Buel’s work in that Lebsock’s work
(A) uses a large number of primary sources
(B) ignores issues of women’s legal status
(C) refuses to take a position on women’s status in the eighteenth century
(D) addresses larger historiographical issues
(E) fails to provide sufficient material to support its claims

OA is D why not E?
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Two works published in 1984 demonstrate contrasting approaches to 06 Dec 2017, 17:48
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NandishSS
HI mikemcgarry, GMATNinja

According to the passage, Lebsock’s work differs from Buel and Buel’s work in that Lebsock’s work
(A) uses a large number of primary sources
(B) ignores issues of women’s legal status
(C) refuses to take a position on women’s status in the eighteenth century
(D) addresses larger historiographical issues
(E) fails to provide sufficient material to support its claims

OA is D why not E?
Show more
Dear NandishSS,

I'm happy to respond. :-)

The passage clearly says: "Buel and Buel’s biography of Mary Fish (1736–1818) makes little effort to place her story in the context of recent historiography on women. Lebsock, meanwhile, attempts not only to write the history of women in one southern community, but also to redirect two decades of historiographical debate . . . " Thus, Lebsock is dealing with the modern historiographical debate, whereas Buel and Buel seemed to avoid that entirely. This is a big difference, and (D) summarizes this.

The passage also says, "Buel and Buel’s biography provides ample raw material for questioning the myth, fostered by some historians, of a colonial golden age in the eighteenth century" --therefore, Buel and Buel provided at least some material to support their claim. Was it "sufficient" material to support their claim? That's unclear, but certainly the author makes no claim one way or the other on this point. (E) is not supported.

Always remember that a person was writing this passage, and this person had opinions. The GMAT is always interested in those opinions. Right at the beginning, the author sets up this strong P vs. Q contrast between the two works. Furthermore, the language "makes little effort" is about as strong and emphatic as academic writing gets! The author is clearly showing an opinion here, and that's what the question is getting at.

Does all this make sense?
Mike :-)
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Two works published in 1984 demonstrate contrasting approaches to 11 Aug 2020, 19:02
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76. The primary purpose of the passage is to
[b]
(A) examine two sides of a historiographical debate
[/b]It’s not necessarily “two sides” of a debate; B and B is not necessarily on a “side.” When you say “two sides,” at least from my perspective, you have two distinct positions divided between each other. Within the passage, the author flat out says “Although both books offer the reader the opportunity to assess this controversy regarding women’s status, only Lebsock’s deals with it directly.” So that means Lebsock is the only one that’s on “a side,” and B and B is (by default) not on a side.
(B) call into question an author’s approach to a historiographical debate
Far left field. The author isn’t calling anything into question. He presents “two works…[that] demonstrate contrasting approaches to writing the history of U.S. women.”
(C) examine one author’s approach to a historiographical debate
Half wrong/half right. Not one but TWO. presents “two works…[that] demonstrate contrasting approaches to writing the history of U.S. women.”
(D) discuss two authors’ works in relationship to a historiographical debate
Best answer. I vacillated between this answer choice and A, and I ultimately chose A. Bad judgment call. This is correct because the author is definitely “discuss(ing)”; the passage is not argumentative, not conclusive, etc. The GMAT just says “she examines…,” “she concludes…,”. Just overall, descriptive statements about the works/authors. Moreover, there are definitely two works; the first sentence says it verbatim – “two works published…”. They are related because they both “offer the reader the opportunity to assessthis controversy” but “only Lebsock’s deals with it directly.” Put differently, they are similar but one is more direct than the other.
(E) explain the prevalent perspective on a historiographical debate
Story trap. Prevalence isn’t described within this passage. Although Lebsock is described in detail, you can’t conclude that it’s a more “prevalent perspective” compared to that of B and B.

77. The author of the passage mentions the supervision of schools primarily in order to
“she shows that the debate itself depends on frame of reference: in many respects, women lost power in relation to men, for example, as certain jobs (delivering babies, supervising schools) were taken over by men”

[b](A) remind readers of the role education played in the cultural changes of the nineteenth century in the United States
[/b]Story trap/far left field. There were no cultural changes, per the passage. That’s too strong a statement. This could maybe be true in the real world, but not within the confines of this passage.
(B) suggest an area in which nineteenth-century American women were relatively free to exercise power
Opposite, if anything. As the sentence above states, women lost power in relation to men. If they lost power, I would think that they were NOT relatively free to exercise power.
(C) provide an example of an occupation for which accurate data about women’s participation are difficult to obtain
Out of scope. Accuracy of data is not alluded or stated outright. There’s an assumption that the data are right within the passage.
(D) speculate about which occupations were considered suitable for United States women of the nineteenth century
Flipped trap. The glaring problem is the “considered suitable for United States women” piece. Lesbock said “women lost power in relation to men and then gave examples to substantiate this claim (one them is “supervising schools”) and may be speculating which occupations were considered suitable (or not)in the 19th century, not the overall author of the passage.
(E) illustrate how the answers to questions about women’s status depend on particular contexts
Almost a one-to-one match with the passage. Illustrate = describe/show; “how the answers to questions” = the debate itself [and corresponding points]; about women’s status = women…power in relation to men; “depends on particular contexts” = depends on frame of reference

78. With which of the following characterizations of Lebsock’s contribution to the controversy concerning women’s status in the nineteenth-century United States would the author of the passage be most likely to agree?
[b]
(A) Lebsock has studied women from a formerly neglected region and time period.
[/b]Out of scope – Nothing is mentioned about neglection.
(B) Lebsock has demonstrated the importance of frame of reference in answering questions about women’s status.
Sounds like a stretch. Come back.
(C) Lebsock has addressed the controversy by using women’s current status as a frame of reference.
Too specific trap/story trap – We don’t know if it’s a current status or not; also, if anything, this could opposite as well – “Buel and Buel’s…makes little effort to place her sotyr in the context of RECENT historiography on women.”
(D) Lebsock has analyzed statistics about occupations and property that were previously ignored.
Out of scope/story trap – We don’t if things were previously ignored.
(E) Lebsock has applied recent historiographical methods to the biography of a nineteenthcentury woman.
Too specific trap – we don’t know if it’s a about a specific; presumably it would be about women in general.

79. According to the passage, Lebsock’s work differs from Buel and Buel’s work in that Lebsock’s work
[b]
(A) uses a large number of primary sources
[/b]Opposite, if anything – this seems to be speaking to B and B’s work – “Buel and Buel’s biography provides ample raw material for questioning the myth, fostered by some historians…”
(B) ignores issues of women’s legal status
Out of scope trap – nothing about “legal status” is mentioned throughout the passage; but if anything, although a huge leap, this could be the opposite as well. “…only Lebsock’s deals with directly…she examines several different aspects of women’s status…”
(C) refuses to take a position on women’s status in the eighteenth century
Opposite – She seems to be taking a stronger stance than that of Buel and Buel’s. “Lebsock, meanwhile, attempts…only Lebsock’s deals with it directly.”
(D) addresses larger historiographical issues
Buel and Buel makes “little effort to place her story in the context of recent historiography on women.” But Lebsock…attempts NOT ONLY to write the history of women…BUT ALSO to redirect two decades of historiographical debate…”
(E) fails to provide sufficient material to support its claims
There isn’t a failure to provide sufficient material, but rather the materials don’t seem to be presented. Just because “Buel and Buel’s biography provides ample raw material for questions…” doesn’t mean that Lebsock didn’t do the same or even more. Moreover, Buel and Buel’s biography provides ample raw material doesn’t necessarily mean that was even “sufficient”; “sufficient” is a strong word.

80. The passage suggests that Lebsock believes that compared to nineteenth-century American women, eighteenth-century American women were
For the 19th century women, they gained autonomy in some areas (private sphere), and they lost it in many aspects of the economic sphere. Women lost power to men (for some jobs) but gained power when compared to 18th century.
(A) in many respects less powerful in relation to men
Opposite – If 19th century women LOST power in relation to men, that means 18th century had more power (relative to their 19th century counterparts)
(B) more likely to own real estate
Opposite – women “gained power in comparison with their previous status, owning a higher proportion of real estate” in the 19th century. So it’s the 19th century women that seem to be more likely to own real estate.”
(C) generally more economically independent
So 19th century women “lost it (i.e., autonomy) in many aspects of the economic sphere” so 18th century women had more [autonomy] within the economic sphere, relative to their 19th century counterparts. Good.
(D) more independent in conducting their private lives
Opposite – 19th century women “…gained autonomy in some areas, especially in the private sphere” so 18th century women had less autonomy (i.e., independence) in their private spheres
(E) less likely to work as school superintendents
Opposite, if anything. 19th century women “lost power in relation to men…as certain jobs (supervising schools) were taken over by men” So 18th century would’ve had more power and not have been less like to have these positions (and work as them) than the 19th century counterparts.

81. The passage suggests that Buel and Buel’s biography of Mary Fish provides evidence for which of the following views of women’s history?
“In contrast, Buel and Buel’s biography provides ample raw material for questioning the myth, fostered by some historians, of a colonial golden age in the eighteenth century but does not give the reader much guidance in analyzing the controversy over women’s status.”
(A) Women have lost power in relation to men since the colonial era.
Opposite, if anything. B and B seems to allude to the colonial golden age as a myth, so if anything it would probably be the opposite. The women gain power since the colonial era [wasn’t the “golden” age].
(B) Women of the colonial era were not as likely to be concerned with their status as were women in the nineteenth century.
Out of scope – B and B doesn’t talk about status. The passage flat out says the following: “B and B’s biography….does not give the read much guidance in analyzing the controversy over women’s status.”
(C) The colonial era was not as favorable for women as some historians have believed.
This seems almost directly aligned with the passage: “Buel and Buel’s biography…questioning the myth, fostered by some historians, of a colonial golden age in the eighteenth century”
(D) Women had more economic autonomy in the colonial era than in the nineteenth century.
Opposite, if anything. B and B seems to allude to the colonial golden age as a myth, so if anything it would probably be the opposite. The women gain power since the colonial era [wasn’t the “golden” age].
(E) Women’s occupations were generally more respected in the colonial era than in the nineteenth century.
Opposite, if anything. B and B seems to allude to the colonial golden age as a myth, so if anything it would probably be the opposite. The women gain power since the colonial era [wasn’t the “golden” age].
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rocky620
Hi Experts,
In question 4 how can we eliminate the choice C, which also talks about "frame of reference....to address a controversy"

78. With which of the following characterizations of Lebsock???s contribution to the controversy concerning women???s status in the nineteenth-century United States would the author of the passage be most likely to agree?
(A) Lebsock has studied women from a formerly neglected region and time period.
(B) Lebsock has demonstrated the importance of frame of reference in answering questions about women???s status.
(C) Lebsock has addressed the controversy by using women???s current status as a frame of reference.
(D) Lebsock has analyzed statistics about occupations and property that were previously ignored.
(E) Lebsock has applied recent historiographical methods to the biography of a nineteenthcentury woman.

Thanks.
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Hi

The passage states: "Lebsock, meanwhile, attempts ... to redirect two decades of historiographical debate as to whether women gained or lost status in the nineteenth century as compared with the eighteenth century. Although both books offer the reader the opportunity to assess this controversy regarding women’s status, only Lebsock’s deals with it directly."

The underlined portions clearly indicate that Lebsock did address the point of women's status in the 18th century. Option (C) states that Lebsock refused to take a position on this issue, which is refuted by the above statements. Hence we can rule out option (C).

Hope this clarifies.
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Two works published in 1984 demonstrate contrasting approaches to 10 Feb 2021, 07:36
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I've created a video analysis of this passage. Might help!

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Hi All,
Mentioning answers for all the questions. Happy to answers follow up questions, if any. Kudos (+1) if it helps !

76. The primary purpose of the passage is to

Pre-think - There's a view on women's history and that is being discussed by using 2 author's

(A) examine two sides of a historiographical debate - The author isn't examining 2 sides of hist. debate. The author is discussing 2 diff works which are related to hist debate i.e. controversary of women's status
(B) call into question an author’s approach to a historiographical debate - Authors approach isn't being question. Descriptive passage
(C) examine one author’s approach to a historiographical debate - 2 authors are discussed
(D) discuss two authors’ works in relationship to a historiographical debate - Correct
(E) explain the prevalent perspective on a historiographical debate - Widely accepted view isn't discussed


77. The author of the passage mentions the supervision of schools primarily in order to

Pre-think - Supervision of school is mentioned to show the example of the frame of reference

(A) remind readers of the role education played in the cultural changes of the nineteenth century in the United States - Irrelevant.
(B) suggest an area in which nineteenth-century American women were relatively free to exercise power - Lebsock is discussing about comparison between 18th and 19th century. The supervision of school is discussed as the role of women getting decreased in 19th century, not the other way around as per this answer choice tells you
(C) provide an example of an occupation for which accurate data about women’s participation are difficult to obtain - Accurate data? Irrelevant
(D) speculate about which occupations were considered suitable for United States women of the nineteenth century -Which occupation is suitable isn't the role. Suitable isn't even the factor i.e. discussed here
(E) illustrate how the answers to questions about women’s status depend on particular contexts - Correct; This is a logic question since it has "in order to" at the last. The author is discussing about the frame of ref. on which womens status depends on i.e. she could be considered rich now bcos more real estate and not before. Supervision of schools is given as an example for this one.

78. With which of the following characterizations of Lebsock’s contribution to the controversy concerning women’s status in the nineteenth-century United States would the author of the passage be most likely to agree?

Pre-think - Inference question. L's contribution for controversy of women's status is that he defines the frame of reference from which the womens status can be viewed

(A) Lebsock has studied women from a formerly neglected region and time period. - No mention about studying women from a formerly neglected region. The author just mentions that its study was comprehensive
(B) Lebsock has demonstrated the importance of frame of reference in answering questions about women’s status. - Correct; L actually demonstrated the imp of framework by taking several examples; The author is discussing about the frame of ref. on which womens status depends on i.e. she could be considered rich now bcos more real estate and not before. Supervision of schools is given as an example for this one.
(C) Lebsock has addressed the controversy by using women’s current status as a frame of reference.- There is still no mentioned that L addressed the controversary. It is mentioned that he assessed.
(D) Lebsock has analyzed statistics about occupations and property that were previously ignored. - Irrelevant
(E) Lebsock has applied recent historiographical methods to the biography of a nineteenth century woman. -
She examines several different aspects of women’s status, helping to refine and resolve the issues. No mention of recent methods.


79. According to the passage, Lebsock’s work differs from Buel and Buel’s work in that Lebsock’s work

Pre-think - It’s a detail question. And the answer is mentioned in the below lines from the passage
Lebsock, meanwhile, attempts not only to write the history of women in one southern community, but also to redirect two decades of historiographical debate as to whether women gained or lost status in the nineteenth century as compared with the eighteenth century. Although both books offer the reader the opportunity to assess this controversy regarding women’s status, only Lebsock’s deals with it directly.

(A) uses a large number of primary sources - No mention of large no. of primary resources
(B) ignores issues of women’s legal status - Ignorance isn't talked about
(C) refuses to take a position on women’s status in the eighteenth century - Both are taking position on womens status. No one refused.
(D) addresses larger historiographical issues - L redirect 2 decades of debate. Also, L deals with the controversy of womens status directly which shows that L addresses larger hist. issues than BB
(E) fails to provide sufficient material to support its claims - Lack of material isn’t the difference


80. The passage suggests that Lebsock believes that compared to nineteenth-century American women, eighteenth-century American women were

There are many instances of comparison in the passage. Lets jump right on to the choices.
"She concludes that while women gained autonomy in some areas, especially in the private sphere, they lost it in many aspects of the economic sphere. More importantly, she shows that the debate itself depends on frame of reference: in many respects, women lost power in relation to men, for example, as certain jobs (delivering babies, supervising schools) were taken over by men. Yet women also gained power in comparison with their previous status, owning a higher proportion of real estate, for example."

(A) in many respects less powerful in relation to men - Powerful relation isn't compared
(B) more likely to own real estate - 18th cent. Women were less likely not more
(C) generally more economically independent
"She concludes that while women gained autonomy in some areas, especially in the private sphere, they lost it in many aspects of the economic sphere." This implies that women were more economically independent
(D) more independent in conducting their private lives - 18th cent. Women were less likely not more
(E) less likely to work as school superintendents - 18th cent. Women were more likely not less


81. The passage suggests that Buel and Buel’s biography of Mary Fish provides evidence for which of the following views of women’s history?

Pre-think - Inference question. Points to the last part of the para where colonial era is mentioned.
"Buel and Buel’s biography provides ample raw material for questioning the myth, fostered by some historians, of a colonial golden age in the eighteenth century but does not give the reader much guidance in analyzing the controversy over women’s status."

(A) Women have lost power in relation to men since the colonial era. - Irrelevant
(B) Women of the colonial era were not as likely to be concerned with their status as were women in the nineteenth century.- Irrelevant
(C) The colonial era was not as favorable for women as some historians have believed. - BB provides evidence to raise questions on golden colonial era (golden = irony); Historians support the era (as quotes in the subordinate clause)
(D) Women had more economic autonomy in the colonial era than in the nineteenth century. - Irrelevant
(E) Women’s occupations were generally more respected in the colonial era than in the nineteenth century. - Respect isn’t mentioned
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Two works published in 1984 demonstrate contrasting approaches to 04 Apr 2022, 12:04
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mikemcgarry MartyTargetTestPrep @veritaskrishna egmat KarishmaB pls clarify what is wrong about E in Q 3? I really don't get it.
The passage mentions that L applies the controversy in the context of recent historiographical methods.

78. With which of the following characterizations of Lebsock’s contribution to the controversy concerning women’s status in the nineteenth-century United States would the author of the passage be most likely to agree?
(A) Lebsock has studied women from a formerly neglected region and time period.
(B) Lebsock has demonstrated the importance of frame of reference in answering questions about women’s status.
(C) Lebsock has addressed the controversy by using women’s current status as a frame of reference.
(D) Lebsock has analyzed statistics about occupations and property that were previously ignored.
(E) Lebsock has applied recent historiographical methods to the biography of a nineteenthcentury woman.
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Two works published in 1984 demonstrate contrasting approaches to 04 Apr 2022, 23:24
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ag153
pls clarify what is wrong about E in Q 3? I really don't get it.
The passage mentions that L applies the controversy in the context of recent historiographical methods.

78. With which of the following characterizations of Lebsock’s contribution to the controversy concerning women’s status in the nineteenth-century United States would the author of the passage be most likely to agree?
(A) Lebsock has studied women from a formerly neglected region and time period.
(B) Lebsock has demonstrated the importance of frame of reference in answering questions about women’s status.
(C) Lebsock has addressed the controversy by using women’s current status as a frame of reference.
(D) Lebsock has analyzed statistics about occupations and property that were previously ignored.
(E) Lebsock has applied recent historiographical methods to the biography of a nineteenthcentury woman.
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Hi ag153.

Notice that the passage indicates that Buel and Buel wrote a "biography" but does not say that Lebsock wrote a "biography of a nineteenth century woman," as choice (E) suggests. Rather, the passage says that Lebsock "attempts not only to write the history of women in one southern community, but also to redirect two decades of historiographical debate."
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Two works published in 1984 demonstrate contrasting approaches to 06 Apr 2022, 22:22
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MartyTargetTestPrep So you mean it is wrong because it is specifying "19th century women" and as per passage Lebsock's writing concerns women of both 18th and 19th. Am I right?

Also is there something wrong the use of 'recent' historigraphical methods in this sentence? Pls explain if yes or no. I saw Chiranjeev's's explanation and he says something is wrong with it though I do not get what is.


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ag153
pls clarify what is wrong about E in Q 3? I really don't get it.
The passage mentions that L applies the controversy in the context of recent historiographical methods.

78. With which of the following characterizations of Lebsock’s contribution to the controversy concerning women’s status in the nineteenth-century United States would the author of the passage be most likely to agree?
(A) Lebsock has studied women from a formerly neglected region and time period.
(B) Lebsock has demonstrated the importance of frame of reference in answering questions about women’s status.
(C) Lebsock has addressed the controversy by using women’s current status as a frame of reference.
(D) Lebsock has analyzed statistics about occupations and property that were previously ignored.
(E) Lebsock has applied recent historiographical methods to the biography of a nineteenthcentury woman.
Hi ag153.

Notice that the passage indicates that Buel and Buel wrote a "biography" but does not say that Lebsock wrote a "biography of a nineteenth century woman," as choice (E) suggests. Rather, the passage says that Lebsock "attempts not only to write the history of women in one southern community, but also to redirect two decades of historiographical debate."
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Two works published in 1984 demonstrate contrasting approaches to 14 Apr 2022, 04:25
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ag153
MartyTargetTestPrep So you mean it is wrong because it is specifying "19th century women" and as per passage Lebsock's writing concerns women of both 18th and 19th. Am I right?
Show more
Answer choice (E) says that Lebsock wrote a BIOGRAPHY of A nineteenth century WOMAN.

The passage does not say that Lebsock wrote a biography at all, and it does not say that she wrote about one woman. Rather, it says that she "attempts not only to write the history of WOMEN in one southern community, but also to redirect two decades of historiographical debate."

Quote:
Also is there something wrong the use of 'recent' historigraphical methods in this sentence? Pls explain if yes or no. I saw Chiranjeev's's explanation and he says something is wrong with it though I do not get what is.
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Notice that the passage does not say that Lebsock used recent historiographical methods. Rather, it says that she "attempts ... to redirect two decades of HISTORIOGRAPHICAL DEBATE."

We have to pay careful attention to details to get RC questions correct.
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Two works published in 1984 demonstrate contrasting approaches to 15 Apr 2022, 11:46
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GMATNinja KarishmaB egmat mikemcgarry
Could you please help clarify the question 3?
I chose A because of the following piece from the passage.
"Lebsock, meanwhile, attempts not only to write the history of women in one southern community, but also to redirect two decades of historiographical debate as to whether women gained or lost status in the nineteenth century as compared with the eighteenth century."
I thought that this piece "not only to write the history of women in one southern community" is trying to imply that she also studied women from a formerly neglected region and time period.
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Two works published in 1984 demonstrate contrasting approaches to 20 Apr 2022, 12:14
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Question 3


krittapat
GMATNinja KarishmaB egmat mikemcgarry
Could you please help clarify the question 3?
I chose A because of the following piece from the passage.
"Lebsock, meanwhile, attempts not only to write the history of women in one southern community, but also to redirect two decades of historiographical debate as to whether women gained or lost status in the nineteenth century as compared with the eighteenth century."
I thought that this piece "not only to write the history of women in one southern community" is trying to imply that she also studied women from a formerly neglected region and time period.
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The author does specify that Lebsock writes about "women in one southern community," but never implies that the study of this region/time period was "formerly neglected." In fact, by saying that Lebsock was able to "redirect two decades of historiographical debate" concerning the women of the time period, the author implies that this was NOT a neglected area of study.

Because we don't know whether the author would agree that the region and time period in Lebsock's work was formerly neglected, we can eliminate (A) for question 3.

I hope that helps!
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Two works published in 1984 demonstrate contrasting approaches to 21 Jul 2022, 10:29
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nitya34
Two works published in 1984 demonstrate contrasting approaches to writing the history of United States women. Buel and Buel’s biography of Mary Fish (1736–1818) makes little effort to place her story in the context of recent historiography on women. Lebsock, meanwhile, attempts not only to write the history of women in one southern community, but also to redirect two decades of historiographical debate as to whether women gained or lost status in the nineteenth century as compared with the eighteenth century. Although both books offer the reader the opportunity to assess this controversy regarding women’s status, only Lebsock’s deals with it directly. She examines several different aspects of women’s status, helping to refine and resolve the issues. She concludes that while women gained autonomy in some areas, especially in the private sphere, they lost it in many aspects of the economic sphere. More importantly, she shows that the debate itself depends on frame of reference: in many respects, women lost power in relation to men, for example, as certain jobs (delivering babies, supervising schools) were taken over by men. Yet women also gained power in comparison with their previous status, owning a higher proportion of real estate, for example. In contrast, Buel and Buel’s biography provides ample raw material for questioning the myth, fostered by some historians, of a colonial golden age in the eighteenth century but does not give the reader much guidance in analyzing the controversy over women’s status.

Show Spoiler
D
76. The primary purpose of the passage is to
(A) examine two sides of a historiographical debate
(B) call into question an author’s approach to a historiographical debate
(C) examine one author’s approach to a historiographical debate
(D) discuss two authors’ works in relationship to a historiographical debate
(E) explain the prevalent perspective on a historiographical debate


Show Spoiler
E
77. The author of the passage mentions the supervision of schools primarily in order to
(A) remind readers of the role education played in the cultural changes of the nineteenth century in the United States
(B) suggest an area in which nineteenth-century American women were relatively free to exercise power
(C) provide an example of an occupation for which accurate data about women’s participation are difficult to obtain
(D) speculate about which occupations were considered suitable for United States women of the nineteenth century
(E) illustrate how the answers to questions about women’s status depend on particular contexts


Show Spoiler
B
78. With which of the following characterizations of Lebsock’s contribution to the controversy concerning women’s status in the nineteenth-century United States would the author of the passage be most likely to agree?
(A) Lebsock has studied women from a formerly neglected region and time period.
(B) Lebsock has demonstrated the importance of frame of reference in answering questions about women’s status.
(C) Lebsock has addressed the controversy by using women’s current status as a frame of reference.
(D) Lebsock has analyzed statistics about occupations and property that were previously ignored.
(E) Lebsock has applied recent historiographical methods to the biography of a nineteenthcentury woman.


Show Spoiler
D
79. According to the passage, Lebsock’s work differs from Buel and Buel’s work in that Lebsock’s work
(A) uses a large number of primary sources
(B) ignores issues of women’s legal status
(C) refuses to take a position on women’s status in the eighteenth century
(D) addresses larger historiographical issues
(E) fails to provide suffi cient material to support its claims


Show Spoiler
C
80. The passage suggests that Lebsock believes that compared to nineteenth-century American women, eighteenth-century American women were
(A) in many respects less powerful in relation to men
(B) more likely to own real estate
(C) generally more economically independent
(D) more independent in conducting their private lives
(E) less likely to work as school superintendents


Show Spoiler
C
81. The passage suggests that Buel and Buel’s biography of Mary Fish provides evidence for which of the following views of women’s history?
(A) Women have lost power in relation to men since the colonial era.
(B) Women of the colonial era were not as likely to be concerned with their status as were women in the nineteenth century.
(C) The colonial era was not as favorable for women as some historians have believed.
(D) Women had more economic autonomy in the colonial era than in the nineteenth century.
(E) Women’s occupations were generally more respected in the colonial era than in the nineteenth century.



RC00109-01
RC00109-02
RC00109-03
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RC00109-05
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Isn't the phrase "Buel & Buel’s biography of Mary Fish" in line 3 requires "make" instead of "makes"?
Please correct my mistake.
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PranjalJ
Isn't the phrase "Buel & Buel’s biography of Mary Fish" in line 3 requires "make" instead of "makes"?
Please correct my mistake.
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The subject of the clause is the singular "Buel and Buel’s biography of Mary Fish," not "Buel and Buel."

So, the sentence says, essentially, "biography makes," which we can see is correct.
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Two works published in 1984 demonstrate contrasting approaches to 24 Jul 2022, 20:53
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PranjalJ
Isn't the phrase "Buel & Buel’s biography of Mary Fish" in line 3 requires "make" instead of "makes"?
Please correct my mistake.
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Here's a similar example:

    "Ted and Reed's relationship is tenuous."

There's only one relationship here, so we need a singular verb ("is"). That singular subject is modified by a plural possessive ("Ted and Reed's"), indicating whose relationship we're talking about. But that plural possessive doesn't change the fact that "relationship" is singular.

Back to line 3. As Marty mentioned, the simple subject is "biography" -- a singular noun that gets a singular verb ("makes"). "Buel & Buel's" and "of Mary Fish" are just modifiers that have no impact on the number (singular vs. plural) of the subject.

It's also worth noting that RC passages sometimes include sentences that probably wouldn't fly as correct answers on SC. RC is hard enough on its own, so unless it somehow affects the meaning, you probably don't want to worry about grammar too much while reading the passages. :)

I hope that helps!
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Two works published in 1984 demonstrate contrasting approaches to 02 Aug 2022, 12:01
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HI mikemcgarry, GMATNinja

According to the passage, Lebsock’s work differs from Buel and Buel’s work in that Lebsock’s work
(A) uses a large number of primary sources
(B) ignores issues of women’s legal status
(C) refuses to take a position on women’s status in the eighteenth century
(D) addresses larger historiographical issues
(E) fails to provide sufficient material to support its claims

OA is D why not E?
Dear NandishSS,

I'm happy to respond. :-)

The passage clearly says: "Buel and Buel’s biography of Mary Fish (1736–1818) makes little effort to place her story in the context of recent historiography on women. Lebsock, meanwhile, attempts not only to write the history of women in one southern community, but also to redirect two decades of historiographical debate . . . " Thus, Lebsock is dealing with the modern historiographical debate, whereas Buel and Buel seemed to avoid that entirely. This is a big difference, and (D) summarizes this.

The passage also says, "Buel and Buel’s biography provides ample raw material for questioning the myth, fostered by some historians, of a colonial golden age in the eighteenth century" --therefore, Buel and Buel provided at least some material to support their claim. Was it "sufficient" material to support their claim? That's unclear, but certainly the author makes no claim one way or the other on this point. (E) is not supported.

Always remember that a person was writing this passage, and this person had opinions. The GMAT is always interested in those opinions. Right at the beginning, the author sets up this strong P vs. Q contrast between the two works. Furthermore, the language "makes little effort" is about as strong and emphatic as academic writing gets! The author is clearly showing an opinion here, and that's what the question is getting at.

Does all this make sense?
Mike :-)
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Hi mikemcgarry,

I understood the context of the passage that B & B's has not discussed as many issues as discussed by Lebsock's.

D options says "Lebsock's addresses larger historiographical issues". I believe it should be "Lebsock's addresses more historiographical issues"
Reasoning for the same: Nowhere in the passage the intensity of issues has been discussed i.e. which one is larger or smaller, only it has been discussed that Lebsock's covered more issues as compared to B&B's.

My doubt may sound silly but Please I really need your help in order to correct my flawed understanding.

Thank you.

If any other expert wants to share his/her views over the same then please please go ahead GMATNinja
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Two works published in 1984 demonstrate contrasting approaches to 15 Sep 2022, 12:21
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a123bansal

mikemcgarry
HI mikemcgarry, GMATNinja

According to the passage, Lebsock’s work differs from Buel and Buel’s work in that Lebsock’s work
(A) uses a large number of primary sources
(B) ignores issues of women’s legal status
(C) refuses to take a position on women’s status in the eighteenth century
(D) addresses larger historiographical issues
(E) fails to provide sufficient material to support its claims

OA is D why not E?
Dear NandishSS,

I'm happy to respond. :-)

The passage clearly says: "Buel and Buel’s biography of Mary Fish (1736–1818) makes little effort to place her story in the context of recent historiography on women. Lebsock, meanwhile, attempts not only to write the history of women in one southern community, but also to redirect two decades of historiographical debate . . . " Thus, Lebsock is dealing with the modern historiographical debate, whereas Buel and Buel seemed to avoid that entirely. This is a big difference, and (D) summarizes this.

The passage also says, "Buel and Buel’s biography provides ample raw material for questioning the myth, fostered by some historians, of a colonial golden age in the eighteenth century" --therefore, Buel and Buel provided at least some material to support their claim. Was it "sufficient" material to support their claim? That's unclear, but certainly the author makes no claim one way or the other on this point. (E) is not supported.

Always remember that a person was writing this passage, and this person had opinions. The GMAT is always interested in those opinions. Right at the beginning, the author sets up this strong P vs. Q contrast between the two works. Furthermore, the language "makes little effort" is about as strong and emphatic as academic writing gets! The author is clearly showing an opinion here, and that's what the question is getting at.

Does all this make sense?
Mike :-)

Hi mikemcgarry,

I understood the context of the passage that B & B's has not discussed as many issues as discussed by Lebsock's.

D options says "Lebsock's addresses larger historiographical issues". I believe it should be "Lebsock's addresses more historiographical issues"
Reasoning for the same: Nowhere in the passage the intensity of issues has been discussed i.e. which one is larger or smaller, only it has been discussed that Lebsock's covered more issues as compared to B&B's.

My doubt may sound silly but Please I really need your help in order to correct my flawed understanding.

Thank you.

If any other expert wants to share his/her views over the same then please please go ahead GMATNinja
Show more

One thing to keep in mind with a question like this is that we're looking for the "least-wrong answer." You may not love (D), and certainly, it could be more strongly supported. But it's definitely less wrong than (E).

That being said, the third sentence of the passage states that "Lebsock, meanwhile, attempts... to redirect two decades of historiographical debate." If Lesbock was looking to redirect historiographical debate, it's certainly fair to conclude that she addressed larger (i.e. wide-ranging) historiographical issues (e.g. whether women gained or lost status in the nineteenth century). For that reason, (D) is correct -- or the least-wrong answer choice. :)

I hope that helps!­
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