Notwithstanding the early twentieth-century writings of Calvin Dill Wi

Question

Notwithstanding the early twentieth-century writings of Calvin Dill Wilson and John Russell, for years historians paid scant attention to affluent Black Americans in the nineteenth-century South. The "scientific historians" of the William A. Dunning school-Walter Lynwood Fleming, Mildred Thompson, James W. Garner, among others-virtually ignored Black landholders and prosperous Black business people, but this neglect was also true, in part, of a later group of revisionist historians-Carter G. Woodson, Abram Harris, Merah Stuart, and others-who attacked the Dunning school's assumptions. Even during the 1960's and 1970's, when historians' interest in research on the Black experience in the United States was at a peak, historians of the post-Civil War years of the nineteenth century focused on issues of racial exploitation, Black culture and consciousness, and Black political activities, rather than on the financial achievements of affluent Black Americans. In 1977, though, the writings of David Rankin and Gary Mills ignited new interest in this subject, and subsequent studies began asking how Black Americans had acquired substantial amounts of wealth, given the slavery, racism, and political oppression of the nineteenth century. Yet we still have only a vague understanding of Black Americans who managed to become affluent, how much property they accumulated, and how their wealth changed over generations; we know even less about their demographic characteristics in different parts of the nineteenth-century South.    1 
 1. The passage suggests which of the following about the writings of Calvin Dill Wilson and John Russell?

(A) They virtually ignored the history of affluent Black Americans in the nineteenth-century South.
(B) They were rejected by the revisionist school that included Carter G. Woodson, Abram Harris, and Merah Stuart.
(C) They were critical of the assumptions made by the "scientific historians" of the Dunning school.
(D) They laid the foundation for the revival of interest in the 1960's and 1970's in the political activities of Black Americans in the years following the Civil War.
(E) They were atypical of most historical writings before 1977 in that they addressed the history of affluent Black Americans in the nineteenth-century South.

2 
 2. The primary purpose of the passage is to:

(A) correct a historical misinterpretation
(B) reconcile the views of several groups of historians
(C) chronicle the evolution of a revisionist school of thought
(D) analyze the contributions of certain early twentieth-century scholars
(E) trace the involvement of various scholars in a particular line of historical inquiry

3 
 3. Which of the following best describes the organization of the passage?

(A) A situation is described, its history is related, and its current status is characterized.
(B) A problem is identified, its causes are explored, and a solution for it is suggested.
(C) A hypothesis is introduced, its premises are tested, and the hypothesis is modified.
(D) Two opposing theories are described, evidence supporting each is discussed, and the theories are reconciled.
(E) Several conflicting approaches are introduced, their arguments are analyzed, and the weaknesses of each approach are pointed out.

SatvikVedala · Answer

1. The passage suggests which of the following about the writings of Calvin Dill Wilson and John Russell?

(A) They virtually ignored the history of affluent Black Americans in the nineteenth-century South.
-  No , passage says  Notwithstanding the early twentieth-century writings of Calvin Dill Wilson and John Russell, for years historians.... so the option says the opposite.
(B) They were rejected by the revisionist school that included Carter G. Woodson, Abram Harris, and Merah Stuart.
-  No , passage says The "scientific historians" of the William A. Dunning school- WLF, MT, J W.G were attacked by later revisionist historians . This has nothing to do with CDW & JR.
(C) They were critical of the assumptions made by the "scientific historians" of the Dunning school.
-  No , we can inder from passage that  Carter G. Woodson, Abram Harris, and Merah Stuart  were critical of the assumptions made by "scientific historians"
(D) They laid the foundation for the revival of interest in the 1960's and 1970's in the political activities of Black Americans in the years following the Civil War.
-  No , these authors belong to the early 20th century as per the passage," Notwithstanding the  early twentieth-century writings  of Calvin Dill Wilson and John Russell".
(E) They were atypical of most historical writings before 1977 in that they addressed the history of affluent Black Americans in the nineteenth-century South.
- Yes , passage suggests that these authors we atypical (not representative) of their time, " Notwithstanding the early twentieth-century writings of Calvin Dill Wilson and John Russell, for years....  . "

2. The primary purpose of the passage is to:

(A) correct a historical misinterpretation -  No , the passage deals with an unexplored part of nineteenth-century South in writings of different authors
(B) reconcile the views of several groups of historians -  No ,  reconciling (restoration) 
(C) chronicle the evolution of a revisionist school of thought -  No , nothing regarding  evolution of a revisionist school of thought  is discussed.
(D) analyze the contributions of certain early twentieth-century scholars -  No , the passage deals with an unexplored part of nineteenth-century South in writings of different authors
(E) trace the involvement of various scholars in a particular line of historical inquiry -  Yes

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

(A) A situation is described, its history is related, and its current status is characterized. -  Yes 
(B) A problem is identified,  its causes are explored , and  a solution for it is suggested .
(C)  A hypothesis is introduced ,  its premises are tested , and  the hypothesis is modified .
(D) Two  opposing theories  are described,  evidence  supporting each is discussed, and the theories are  reconciled. 
(E) Several conflicting approaches are introduced, their  arguments are analyzed , and the weaknesses of each approach are pointed out.

TANMOYYY · Answer

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

(A) A situation is described, its history is related, and its current status is characterized.
(B) A problem is identified, its causes are explored, and a solution for it is suggested.
(C) A hypothesis is introduced, its premises are tested, and the hypothesis is modified.
(D) Two opposing theories are described, evidence supporting each is discussed, and the theories are reconciled.
(E) Several conflicting approaches are introduced, their arguments are analyzed, and the weaknesses of each approach are pointed out.
why not E? as there are various different approach analyzed and weakness pointed at last.

sayandebhowmick · Answer

This is a gmat prep focus question. Add that tag also.

Bunuel · Answer

_____________________
Added the tag. Thank you!

SwethaReddyL · Answer

KarishmaB  /  GMATNinja  - got the first question wrong because i didn't know the meaning of the word scant; i tried to connect it with the following statements and when the next stmt points out that Walter, Mildred, James virtually ignored Black landholders i connect it with it; perhaps i should've used the logic and connect if these people have ignored maybe Wilson and John didn't?; when in actual tests, how can one not fall in this pit if we didn't understand a particular word or a line?

Also, could you please explain why the option E for Q3 is not correct 
 3. Which of the following best describes the organization of the passage?

(A) A situation is described, its history is related, and its current status is characterized.
(B) A problem is identified, its causes are explored, and a solution for it is suggested.
(C) A hypothesis is introduced, its premises are tested, and the hypothesis is modified.
(D) Two opposing theories are described, evidence supporting each is discussed, and the theories are reconciled.
 (E) Several conflicting approaches are introduced, their arguments are analyzed, and the weaknesses of each approach are pointed out.

Thanks in advance,
Swetha

guddo · Answer

1. The passage suggests which of the following about the writings of Calvin Dill Wilson and John Russell?

The passage says historians paid little attention to affluent Black Americans in the nineteenth-century South, “notwithstanding” the early writings of Calvin Dill Wilson and John Russell. That means Wilson and Russell were exceptions: they had written about this subject, but most later historians still ignored it.  So their writings were unusual for their time  because they addressed a topic that most historians neglected until after 1977.

(A) They virtually ignored the history of affluent Black Americans in the nineteenth-century South.

This is the opposite of what the passage suggests. The word “notwithstanding” indicates that Wilson and Russell did address this topic.

(B) They were rejected by the revisionist school that included Carter G. Woodson, Abram Harris, and Merah Stuart.

This is unsupported. The passage says revisionist historians also partly neglected the topic, but it does not say they rejected Wilson and Russell’s writings.

(C) They were critical of the assumptions made by the "scientific historians" of the Dunning school.

This is unsupported. The passage does not describe Wilson and Russell’s attitude toward the Dunning school.

(D) They laid the foundation for the revival of interest in the 1960's and 1970's in the political activities of Black Americans in the years following the Civil War.

This is incorrect. The 1960s and 1970s interest was in Black experience generally, including political activities, not specifically in Wilson and Russell’s work.

(E) They were atypical of most historical writings before 1977 in that they addressed the history of affluent Black Americans in the nineteenth-century South.

This is correct.  Most historians before 1977 paid scant attention to affluent Black Americans in the nineteenth-century South, but Wilson and Russell’s early writings are mentioned as exceptions to that pattern.

Answer: (E)

guddo · Answer

2. The primary purpose of the passage is to:

The passage traces how historians treated the subject of affluent Black Americans in the nineteenth-century South. It says early writers addressed the topic, later historians mostly neglected it, and then Rankin, Mills, and later scholars revived interest in it.  So the passage mainly traces scholarly involvement in one historical topic .

(A) correct a historical misinterpretation

This is not the main purpose. The passage is not mainly correcting one false interpretation; it is describing how historians have treated a neglected subject.

(B) reconcile the views of several groups of historians

This is incorrect. The passage compares groups of historians, but it does not try to reconcile their views.

(C) chronicle the evolution of a revisionist school of thought

This is too narrow. Revisionist historians are mentioned, but the passage is not mainly about the development of that school.

(D) analyze the contributions of certain early twentieth-century scholars

This is also too narrow. Wilson and Russell are mentioned briefly, but the passage is not mainly analyzing their contributions.

(E) trace the involvement of various scholars in a particular line of historical inquiry

This is correct.  The passage follows different historians and schools as they ignored, revived, or studied the history of affluent Black Americans in the nineteenth-century South.

Answer: (E)

guddo · Answer

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

The passage first describes a situation: historians long paid little attention to affluent Black Americans in the nineteenth-century South. It then gives the history of that neglect and later renewed interest. Finally, it states the current status: scholars still have only a vague understanding of the subject.  So the structure is: situation, history, current status .

(A) A situation is described, its history is related, and its current status is characterized.

This is correct.  The passage describes the neglected subject, traces how different historians treated it over time, and ends by saying what is still not well understood.

(B) A problem is identified, its causes are explored, and a solution for it is suggested.

This is incorrect. The passage identifies a gap in scholarship, but it does not explore causes in detail or suggest a solution.

(C) A hypothesis is introduced, its premises are tested, and the hypothesis is modified.

This is not the structure. No hypothesis is tested or revised.

(D) Two opposing theories are described, evidence supporting each is discussed, and the theories are reconciled.

This is incorrect. The passage discusses groups of historians, not two opposing theories that are reconciled.

(E) Several conflicting approaches are introduced, their arguments are analyzed, and the weaknesses of each approach are pointed out.

This is too strong. The passage mentions different historians and schools, but it does not analyze their arguments or point out detailed  weaknesses  in each approach.

Answer: (A)

SwethaReddyL · Answer

but option E says weakness, right? how can we interpret about DETAILED? i couldn't eliminate option E, can you help please

guddo · Answer

E is wrong because the passage does not present several conflicting approaches and then analyze their arguments.

Yes, the passage mentions a weakness: many historians neglected affluent Black Americans in the nineteenth-century South. But that is not the same as saying the passage points out  the weaknesses of each approach .

The passage mainly gives a timeline: early writings, later neglect, renewed interest after 1977, and the current lack of full understanding. That matches A, not E.

So E goes beyond the passage’s actual  organization .

egmat · Answer

Hi SwethaReddyL,

Great questions. Let me take them one at a time.

Q1 - the word you needed wasn't actually "scant"

You're right that you misread the first sentence, but here's the good news: you didn't need to know  "scant"  at all. The word doing the real work is  "Notwithstanding"  - it means  despite  /  in spite of . That single word sets up a  contrast :

"Notwithstanding the early writings of Wilson and Russell, for years historians paid scant attention to affluent Black Americans..."

The structure is:  Despite  , historians  .  So Wilson and Russell stand  apart  from the general neglect - they are the exception, not part of it. That's why connecting them to Fleming, Thompson, and Garner (who "virtually ignored" the topic) was the wrong link: those historians illustrate the neglect, while Wilson and Russell are contrasted  against  it. That contrast is exactly what (E) captures - they were  atypical  because they  did  address the subject.

On your real worry - "what if I don't know a word on test day?"  Lean on the connector words around it, because they tell you the logic even when a content word is fuzzy. "Notwithstanding," "despite," "however," "yet," "although" all signal a flip in direction.

Try this simple stand-in line:

"Notwithstanding Maria's warnings, everyone went swimming."

Even if "notwithstanding" were new to you, the sentence forces one reading: Maria is on the  opposite  side of the swimmers. Same move in the passage - Wilson and Russell are on the opposite side of the neglect.

Q3 - why (E) is wrong

(E) says:  several conflicting approaches are introduced, their arguments are analyzed, and the weaknesses of each are pointed out.  Two parts fail:

- The groups of historians aren't really  conflicting approaches  on this topic - they mostly  share  the same trait: they all neglected affluent Black Americans. They're stages in a story, not rival camps being debated.
- The author never  analyzes their arguments  or  lists weaknesses  of each one. There's only one observation -  they overlooked this subject  - followed by what changed in  1977  and what we still don't know.

That's why (A) fits: a  situation  is described (the neglect), its  history  is traced (Dunning school - revisionists - 1960s-70s - Rankin & Mills,  1977 ), and its  current status  is given ("Yet we still have only a vague understanding...").

Answer: Q1 - E; Q3 - A

Notwithstanding the early twentieth-century writings of Calvin Dill Wi

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GMAT Reading Comprehension (RC) Questions

Notwithstanding the early twentieth-century writings of Calvin Dill Wi

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