Traditionally, it was thought that women's literature was inferior

Question

Traditionally, it was thought that women's literature was inferior to men's literature. However, recent surveys show that women's literature is actually a far more popular topic of study among university professors than among primary and secondary schoolteachers. This goes to show that the traditional view was wrong; women's literature is superior.

The argument above is based on which of the following assumptions?

A. University professors' pursuits can be superior to primary and secondary schoolteachers'.
B. Many of the great works of women's literature are incomprehensible to all but the most highly trained.
C. Men's literature contains misogynistic fables.
D. Women's Studies have influenced university professors.
E. Men's literature is more relevant to primary and secondary students.

a+gmat · Answer

Hi Experts,
Can you someone please tell me why is it A and not B?

Thanks

kotharen · Answer

A and not B. In option B it is mentioned that women's literature is incomprehensible to all but... So if it's incomprehensible then it won't be considered inferior traditionally.
The survey compares the study choices of school teachers n University professors and assumes what is given in option A to conclude....

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pk123 · Answer

Comprehensibility is the trademark of good literature and hence May be many find it incomprehensible and hence people rate male literature higher than female's. But since university professors like female literature and conclusion is that female literature is superior. So this assumes whatever professors read/comprehend is considered superior and hence   looks better. No where pursuit comparison is sought for. Only shortcoming with b which i can see is that it talks about trained so needs more assumption that professors are trained hence B could be not that much appropriate. But even if that is there, still B is a good choice

gmatexam439 · Answer

Traditionally, it was thought that women's literature was inferior to men's literature. However, recent surveys show that women's literature is actually a far more popular topic of study among university professors than among primary and secondary schoolteachers. This goes to show that the traditional view was wrong; women's literature is superior.

The argument above is based on which of the following assumptions?

A. University professors' pursuits can be superior to primary and secondary schoolteachers'. - Correct. If the professors pursue better material then the thought will strengthen the argument above. 
B. Many of the great works of women's literature are incomprehensible to all but the most highly trained. - If the works are not incomprehensible to all, then how can one talk about the greatness of a subject matter. (Weakener)  
C. Men's literature contains misogynistic fables. - Out of scope 
D. Women's Studies have influenced university professors. - This provides an alternate reasoning for the popularity of women's studies among professors, weakening the argument. 
E. Men's literature is more relevant to primary and secondary students. - Okay. This doesn't suggest whether the work is great or not.

ehsan090 · Answer

It is A--- reasons: women literature is superior--A is accepting this---second: offcourse university teacher stance will be considered more as compared to school teacher

VerbalBot · Answer

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Traditionally, it was thought that women's literature was inferior

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Traditionally, it was thought that women's literature was inferior

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