The settlement of the United States has occupied traditional historian

Question

The settlement of the United States has occupied traditional historians since 1893 when Frederick Jackson Turner developed his Frontier Thesis, a thesis that explained American development in terms of westward expansion. From the perspective of women’s history, Turner’s exclusively masculine assumptions constitute a major drawback: his defenders and critics alike have reconstructed men’s, not women’s, lives on the frontier. However, precisely because of this masculine orientation, revising the Frontier Thesis by focusing on women’s experience introduces new themes into women’s history—woman as lawmaker and entrepreneur—and, consequently, new interpretations of women’s relationship to capital, labor, and statute.

Turner claimed that the frontier produced the individualism that is the hallmark of American culture, and that this individualism in turn promoted democratic institutions and economic equality. He argued for the frontier as an agent of social change. Most novelists and historians writing in the early to midtwentieth century who considered women in the West, when they considered women at all, fell under Turner’s spell. In their works these authors tended to glorify women’s contributions to frontier life. Western women, in Turnerian tradition, were a fiercely independent, capable, and durable lot, free from the constraints binding their eastern sisters. This interpretation implied that the West provided a congenial environment where women could aspire to their own goals, free from constrictive stereotypes and sexist attitudes. In Turnerian terminology, the frontier had furnished “a gate of escape from the bondage of the past.”

By the middle of the twentieth century, the Frontier Thesis fell into disfavor among historians. Later, Reactionist writers took the view that frontier women were lonely, displaced persons in a hostile milieu that intensified the worst aspects of gender relations. The renaissance of the feminist movement during the 1970’s led to the Stasist school, which sidestepped the good bad dichotomy and argued that frontier women lived lives similar to the live of women in the East. In one now-standard text, Faragher demonstrated the persistence of the “cult of true womanhood” and the illusionary quality of change on the westward journey. Recently the Stasist position has been revised but not entirely discounted by new research.   1 
 1. The primary purpose of the passage is to

(A) provide a framework within which the history of women in nineteenth-century America can be organized
(B) discuss divergent interpretations of women’s experience on the western frontier
(C) introduce a new hypothesis about women’s experience in nineteenth-century America
(D) advocate an empirical approach to women’s experience on the western frontier
(E) resolve ambiguities in several theories about women’s experience on the western frontier

2 
 2. Which of the following can be inferred about the novelists and historians mentioned in lines 19-20?

(A) They misunderstood the powerful influence of constrictive stereotypes on women in the East.
(B) They assumed that the frontier had offered more opportunities to women than had the East.
(C) They included accurate information about women’s experiences on the frontier.
(D) They underestimated the endurance and fortitude of frontier women.
(E) They agreed with some of Turner’s assumptions about frontier women, but disagreed with other assumptions that he made.

3 
 3. Which of the following, if true, would provide additional evidence for the Stasists’ argument as it is described in the passage?

(A) Frontier women relied on smaller support groups of relatives and friends in the West than they had in the East.
(B) The urban frontier in the West offered more occupational opportunity than the agricultural frontier offered.
(C) Women participated more fully in the economic decisions of the family group in the West than they had in the East.
(D) Western women received financial compensation for labor that was comparable to what women received in the East.
(E) Western women did not have an effect on divorce laws, but lawmakers in the West were more responsive to women’s concerns than lawmakers in the East were.

4 
 4. According to the passage, Turner makes which of the following connections in his Frontier Thesis?

I. A connection between American individualism and economic equality
II. A connection between geographical expansion and social change
III. A connection between social change and financial prosperity

(A) I only
(B) II only
(C) III only
(D) I and II only
(E) I, II and III

5 
 5. It can be inferred that which of the following statements is consistent with the Reactionist position as it is described in the passage?

(A) Continuity, not change, marked women’s lives as they moved from East to West.
(B) Women’s experience on the North American frontier has not received enough attention from modern historians.
(C) Despite its rigors, the frontier offered women opportunities that had not been available in the East.
(D) Gender relations were more difficult for women in the West than they were in the East.
(E) Women on the North American frontier adopted new roles while at the same time reaffirming traditional roles.

6 
 6. Which of the following best describes the organization of the passage?

(A) A current interpretation of a phenomenon is described and then ways in which it was developed are discussed.
(B) Three theories are presented and then a new hypothesis that discounts those theories is described.
(C) An important theory and its effects are discussed and then ways in which it has been revised are described.
(D) A controversial theory is discussed and then viewpoints both for and against it are described.
(E) A phenomenon is described and then theories concerning its correctness are discussed.

7 
 7. Which of the following is true of the Stasist School as it is described in the passage?

(A) It provides new interpretations of women’s relationship to work and the law.
(B) It resolves some of the ambiguities inherent in Turnerian and Reactionist thought.
(C) It has recently been discounted by new research gathered on women’s experience.
(D) It avoids extreme positions taken by other writers on women’s history.
(E) It was the first school of thought to suggest substantial revisions to the Frontier Thesis.

tapasgupta · Answer

1.The primary purpose of the passage is to

(A) provide a framework within which the history of women in nineteenth-century America can be organized  - out of scope
 (B) discuss divergent interpretations of women’s experience on the western frontier  - the 2nd para goes with the thesis and the 3rd para goes against it
(C) introduce a  new hypothesis  about women’s experience in nineteenth-century America - Inconsistent
(D)  advocate  an empirical approach to women’s experience on the western frontier - Inconsistent
(E)  resolve ambiguities in several theories about women’s experience on the western frontier   - out of scope

2.Which of the following can be inferred about the novelists and historians mentioned in lines 19-20?

(A) They  misunderstood  the powerful influence of constrictive stereotypes on women in the East. - Inconsistent
 (B) They assumed that the frontier had offered more opportunities to women than had the East.  - This is stated in the 2nd para
 (C) They included accurate information about women’s experiences on the frontier.  - out of scope
 (D) They underestimated the endurance and fortitude of frontier women.  - out of scope
(E) They agreed with some of Turner’s assumptions about frontier women,  but disagreed with other assumptions that he made.  - Inconsistent

3.Which of the following, if true, would provide additional evidence for the Stasists’ argument as it is described in the passage? - the condition of women in West was similar to the condition in East.

(A) Frontier women relied on smaller support groups of relatives and friends in the West than they had in the East.  - out of scope
(B) The urban frontier in the West offered  more  occupational opportunity than the agricultural frontier offered. -Inconsistent
(C) Women participated  more  fully in the economic decisions of the family group in the West than they had in the East. -Inconsistent
(D) Western women received financial compensation for labor that was  comparable  to what women received in the East.
 (E) Western women did not have an effect on divorce laws, but lawmakers in the West were more responsive to women’s concerns than lawmakers in the East were.  - out of scope

4.According to the passage, Turner makes which of the following connections in his Frontier Thesis? 
These lines explain it. "Turner developed his Frontier Thesis, a thesis that explained American development in terms of westward expansion."
"Turner claimed that the frontier produced the individualism that is the hallmark of American culture, and that this individualism in turn promoted democratic institutions and economic equality. He argued for the frontier as an agent of social change."

I. A connection between American individualism and economic equality
II. A connection between geographical expansion and social change
III. A connection between social change and financial prosperity

(A) I only 
 (B) II only 
 (C) III only 
( D) I and II only 
 (E) I, II and III

5.It can be inferred that which of the following statements is consistent with the Reactionist position as it is described in the passage?
"Reactionist writers took the view that frontier women were lonely, displaced persons in a hostile milieu that intensified the worst aspects of gender relations."
 (A) Continuity, not change, marked women’s lives as they moved from East to West.  - out of scope
 (B) Women’s experience on the North American frontier has not received enough attention from modern historians.  - out of scope
 (C) Despite its rigors, the frontier offered women opportunities that had not been available in the East.  - opposite
 (D) Gender relations were more difficult for women in the West than they were in the East.  - as explained in the 3rd para
 (E) Women on the North American frontier adopted new roles while at the same time reaffirming traditional roles.  - out of scope

6.Which of the following best describes the organization of the passage?

(A) A  current interpretation  of a phenomenon is described and then ways in which it was developed are discussed. - Inconsistent
(B)  Three theories  are presented and then a new hypothesis that discounts those theories is described. - Inconsistent
 (C) An important theory and its effects are discussed and then ways in which it has been revised are described.  - In 1st para, the theory is discussed. In 2nd para the effects are shown. In 3rd para, its revision is done.
(D) A controversial theory is discussed and then viewpoints  both for  and against it are described. - Inconsistent
(E) A  phenomenon  is described and then theories concerning its correctness are discussed. - Inconsistent

7.Which of the following is true of the Stasist School as it is described in the passage?

(A) It  provides new interpretations  of women’s relationship to work and the law. - Incosistent
(B) It  resolves  some of the ambiguities inherent in Turnerian and Reactionist thought. - Inconsistent
 (C) It has recently been discounted by new research gathered on women’s experience.  - opposite
 (D) It avoids extreme positions taken by other writers on women’s history.  - By POE
(E) It was the  first  school of thought to suggest substantial revisions to the Frontier Thesis. - Inconsistent

arora1 · Answer

curious about the source. 
 GMATCoachBen , is this amongst the official questions you saw in the GMAT question bank?
Is it correctly tagged as 600-700? It took me more than 14 mins to get all correct..

GMATCoachBen · Answer

arora1  Yes, this is in Official Practice Questions 2.

I'd consider this a hard passage, nice work getting them all correct! I generally look at the GMAT Club timer data to determine the difficulty. The average % correct for these questions is 59%, and 3 are particularly hard (38%, 41%, 46%).

To put this in context, here's the accuracy data for OG 2020:

Overall % correct: 67%
Easy: 76%
Medium: 68%
Hard 61%

For timing, it can be helpful to review and reflect on what slowed you down and caused hesitation. If there are wrong answer choices you were deliberating about, identify exactly WHY they are wrong (and specifically note any common wrong answer patterns, such as "Opposite" or "Extreme" or "Half-right"), with the goal of deciding more efficiently in the future. You can also try waiting a few weeks and re-doing these and see how your speed improves.

arora1 · Answer

Damn, your data mining skills are top notch!
Thanks for the advice, ill definately follow it. But for 7 questions and a dense RC, is 14 mins really bad?

As a side note, it would be great if you can add, on gmatclub, the other RC/SC/CR questions that you saw in Question Pack... its very helpful for people like me

Posted from my mobile device

GMATCoachBen · Answer

arora1 , the average time for correct answers for these 7 questions is 10.7 minutes, so 14 is a bit high, but you succeeded in being much more accurate. It's much better to take a little more time and be accurate, and your speed will continue to improve with practice and confidence. I recently noticed a great post by GMATNinja about the downsides of rushing on verbal: https://gmatclub.com/forum/og-print-vs- ... l#p1183852 The broader question is how much time pressure you feel on full practice tests, and how much it affects your accuracy. If you average 1:30 on SC and 2:00 on RC and CR, you will finish exactly on time; however, I recommend building so much mastery and confidence to rapidly eliminate answer choices on SC that you have extra time to ensure precise reading on RC and CR.

Omer24 · Answer

Official Explanation

Question 6

Evaluation

What is the overall structure of the passage? Each answer choice describes a sequence of passage elements in abstract terms (interpretation of a phenomenon, theories, new hypothesis, etc.) so recognizing the correct answer requires correctly identifying the categories in which the elements of the passage fall. The passage first introduces Turner’s Frontier Thesis (an important theory) and then discusses some ways in which it influenced other writers (its effects). The final paragraph discusses subsequent theories that differ from the original version of the Frontier Thesis without rejecting its basic framework (ways in which it has been revised).

A The passage suggests that at the time when it was written, some version of the Stasist interpretation of frontier life was current. However, the mention of that interpretation occurs at the end of the passage, and there is no subsequent discussion of ways in which it was developed.

B The passage discusses three theoretical viewpoints—that of Turner and his followers, and those of the reactionists, and Stasists. However, it does not describe a new hypothesis that discounts those viewpoints.

C Correct.  The first two paragraphs discuss Turner’s Frontier Thesis and the effects that it had on other writers. The final paragraph describes some later theories that differed from Turner’s viewpoint. Although the passage does not explicitly say that these were revisions of the thesis rather than outright rejections of that approach to frontier history, the first paragraph mentions the benefits of revising the Frontier Thesis by focusing on women's experience. This context suggests that Stasism and reactionism are being presented as revisions of Turner's thesis.

D The passage does discuss a controversial theory—Turner’s Frontier Thesis—and discusses the viewpoints of novelists and historians who favored it but does not characterize those viewpoints as supporting the theory or arguing for it. The final paragraph also mentions that Turner’s theory fell into disfavor, but it does not clearly describe the viewpoints of those who disfavored it. As explained above, the Stasist and reactionist positions are presented as revisions of Turner's thesis rather than rejections of it.

E The passage does not directly discuss theories regarding the correctness of any phenomenon. It begins with a mention of a phenomenon, the settlement of the United States, but it does not discuss any theory regarding the correctness of the settlement. One might plausibly describe Turner’s theory, with which much of the passage is concerned, as a phenomenon. While the passage discusses some reactions to that theory and some alternative theories, it does not directly discuss theories about its correctness.

The correct answer is C.

yipmewmew · Answer

Hi  GMATCoachBen

Can I ask what do these percentages in your reply quoted above mean?
 To put this in context, here's the accuracy data for OG 2020:

Overall % correct: 67%
Easy: 76%
Medium: 68%
Hard 61%

yipmewmew · Answer

Hi in question 6 regarding the structure of the passage, I understand how the first part of C is correct, but how can we infer that the theories after Frontier Theory are revising it and not rejecting it? Because of the second part of option C,I rejected it and picked D which still looks right to me. 
Can an expert please weigh in on this?

GMATCoachBen · Answer

sv2023  I put the accuracy data (% correct) from GMAT Club for each question into a spreadsheet, and then calculated the averages shown above.

The "easy", "medium" and "hard" refer to the difficulty ratings assigned in the OG at efficentlearning.com, but the actually difficulty of each question can vary significantly.

Note that sometimes the % correct shown on GMAT Club can change over time.

Another calculation I did was for the average % correct for RC questions from 3 different CAT exams from official practice tests 1 and 2, all scoring V40+, and the average % correct was 67%. This is interesting, because it suggests that even when you are scoring high, you will still get questions that average around medium difficulty. Of course, the ESRs on high-scoring actual exams show an average difficulty that is above medium, but you still get quite a range of difficulty, and not very many "very hard" questions. I've noticed that on some 3rd party exams, such as MGMAT, you will get a lot more very hard questions when scoring high; this can be good practice for being decisive under time pressure but can feel different from the actual exam.

GMATNinja · Answer

Question 6 
 
Let's start by nailing down the purpose of each paragraph:

Paragraph 1:  To point out a drawback of Turner's thesis: it makes "exclusively masculine assumptions." Also, to argue that " revising " Turner's thesis by "focusing on women's experience" introduces "new themes into women's history."    Paragraph 2:  To argue that Turner's theory strongly influenced the ideas about frontier women held by "novelists and historians writing in the early-to-mid-twentieth century."    Paragraph 3:  To describe the different views on frontier women put forth by historians in the later twentieth century, when Turner's thesis had fallen "into disfavor."

Let's now consider the question:

After picking apart (D), let's see how we like each piece:

" A controversial theory is discussed ..." Referring to Turner's theory as "controversial" seems fair, and it is definitely discussed. This part is fine.    "...viewpoints for and against it are described."   Turner's theory is about westward expansion in general. Are viewpoints for this general theory described? Not really. Rather, the second paragraph argues that Turner's theory  influenced  novelists' and historians' ideas about frontier women. That's different than describing a viewpoint  for  the theory. The last paragraph tell us that when Turner's theory went out of favor, people came up with new ideas about frontier women. Again, that's not a viewpoint against the  theory in general  so much as a new take on one aspect of the theory (i.e. its view of frontier women).

So the second part of (D) isn't great. Let's take a look at (C):

" An important theory and its effects are discussed... " Yup. Notice the second paragraph is specifically about the effects of the theory (it influenced novelists and historians). So extra points for (C) there.   " ...and then ways in which it has been revised are described. " Recall that the first paragraph argues that " revising " Turner's by "focusing on women's experience" can introduce "new themes into women's history." And that's exactly what paragraph 3 does. Historians focus on frontier women's experience, and present interpretations at odds with Turner's ideas, thus altering women's history (i.e. in this sense, they "revise" Turner's theory).

So by comparing (C) and (D) piece by piece, and keeping the purpose of each paragraph in mind, we find that (C) is a better answer.

Keep (C), eliminate (D).

I hope that helps!

kartickdey · Answer

GMATNinja  Regarding Q7, option A and D both appeared true to me. Please explain how to eliminate A?

guddo · Answer

7. Which of the following is true of the Stasist School as it is described in the passage?

The passage says the Stasist school emerged in the 1970s and  avoided the “good vs bad” split  by arguing that frontier women’s lives were broadly similar to women’s lives in the East.

(A) It provides new interpretations of women’s relationship to work and the law.

Those “new themes” (woman as lawmaker and entrepreneur) are described as what happens when revising Turner by focusing on women generally, not as what the Stasist school specifically did.

(B) It resolves some of the ambiguities inherent in Turnerian and Reactionist thought.

The passage says Stasists sidestepped the dichotomy; it does not say they resolved ambiguities.

(C) It has recently been discounted by new research gathered on women’s experience.

The passage says it has been revised but “not entirely discounted,” so this is too strong.

(D) It avoids extreme positions taken by other writers on women’s history.

Yes. Turnerian writers glorify frontier women; Reactionists portray a hostile, lonely experience. The Stasists explicitly avoid that good–bad framing and take a middle position.  This matches the description.

(E) It was the first school of thought to suggest substantial revisions to the Frontier Thesis.

Not true: Reactionists already offered a revision, and the passage also discusses earlier critiques of Turner’s masculine assumptions.

Answer: (D)

The settlement of the United States has occupied traditional historian

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The settlement of the United States has occupied traditional historian

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