During the nineteenth century, occupational information

Question

During the nineteenth century, occupational
information about women that was provided by the
United States censusâ€”a population count conducted
Line each decadeâ€” became more detailed and precise in
(5) response to social changes. Through 1840, simple
enumeration by household mirrored a home-based
agricultural economy and hierarchical social order: the
head of the household (presumed male or absent) was
specified by name, whereas other household members
(10) were only indicated by the total number of persons
counted in various categories, including occupational
categories. Like farms, most enterprises were family-
run, so that the census measured economic activity as
an attribute of the entire household, rather than of
(15) individuals.
The 1850 census, partly responding to antislavery
and womenâ€™s rights movements, initiated the collection
of specific information about each individual in a house-
hold. Not until 1870 was occupational information
(20) analyzed by gender: the census superintendent reported
1.8 million women employed outside the home in
â€œgainful and reputable occupations.â€

venmic · Answer

I just need to understand why is A not the correct answer here . It discusses methods ?

During the nineteenth century, occupational
information about women that was provided by the
United States census—a population count conducted
each decade—became more detailed and precise in
response to social changes. Through 1840, simple
enumeration by household mirrored a home-based
agricultural economy and hierarchical social order: the
head of the household (presumed male or absent) was
specified by name, whereas other household members
were only indicated by the total number of persons
counted in various categories, including occupational
categories. Like farms, most enterprises were familyrun,
so that the census measured economic activity as
an attribute of the entire household, rather than of
individuals.
The 1850 census, partly responding to antislavery and
women's rights movements, initiated the collection of
specific information about each individual in a
household. Not until 1870 was occupational
information analyzed by gender: the census
superintendent reported 1.8 million women employed
outside the home in "gainful and reputable
occupations." In addition, he arbitrarily attributed to
each family one woman "keeping house." Overlap
between the two groups was not calculated until 1890,
when the rapid entry of women into the paid labor
force and social issues arising from industrialization
were causing women's advocates and women
statisticians to press for more thorough and accurate
accounting of women's occupations and wages.

The primary purpose of the passage is to
(A) explain and critique the methods used by early
statisticians
(B) compare and contrast a historical situation with a
current-day one
(C) describe and explain a historical change
(D) discuss historical opposition to an established
institution
(E) trace the origin of a contemporary controversy

vishu1414 · Answer

Well ,Author is explaining different methods used for "Population Count" ,But no way critiquing one approach over other.

on Similar line C says - Explaining and Describing !

KyleWiddison · Answer

That previous post is right on. With these general questions (ones that don't require you to reread a portion of the passage) you have to be super picky about every word. There was no critique in the passage, therefore A cannot be correct.

Added tip, often your correct answer on these general questions will be very generic, very bland. The correct answer isn't making a very bold assertion, but it's absolutely correct.

KW

Posted from my mobile device

TGC · Answer

Para 1: Talks about census and how it was conducted in starting of 19th century.

Para 2: Talks about historical change that has taken place over the years on how the census is taken.

So no author criticizes anything. It is a descriptive passage.

Hence (C)

suhasancd · Answer

The passage suggests which of the following about the “women’s advocates and women statisticians” mentioned in lines 27-28?
(A) They wanted to call attention to the lack of pay for women who worked in the home.
(B) They believed that previous census information was inadequate and did not reflect certain economic changes in the United States.
(C) They had begun to press for changes in census-taking methods as part of their participation in the antislavery movement.
(D) They thought that census statistics about women would be more accurate if more women were employed as census officials.
(E) They had conducted independent studies that disputed the official statistics provided by previous United States censuses.

Can anyone explain how option  (B)  is the answer..

During the nineteenth century, occupational information

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