Timelines are one of the most commonplace classroom tools used to teac

Question

Timelines are one of the most commonplace classroom tools used to teach history. They present a concise chronology with dates and events listed in a linear narrative, forming a skeletal story of history. Despite their usefulness in allowing students to gain a cursory knowledge of many key moments in the past, their bare-bones, fact-centered structure is symptomatic of the  myopic  character of curricula that emphasize the What, When, and Who and eclipse the significance of Why and How.

In the United States, by far the most common brand and format of timeline is the World Almanac for Kids US History Timeline—a banner set of 8 horizontal panelsneach with 8 events, beginning with Columbus’s voyage in 1492 and ending with Clinton’s election in 1993. This timeline has photos accompanying it—about 5–6 per panel—next to most of the dates, and below each date is a 1–2 line description of an event that took place in that year. What immediately commands one’s attention when looking at this timeline are the dates themselves. Bolder and more prominently placed than anything else, they seem to be the most important feature of the timeline—even more so than the events’ descriptions. The way the dates line up in perfect order presents the viewer with a rigid historical narrative, complete with a beginning and end.

To analyze any particular timeline, it is important to recognize what the timeline expresses implicitly. The first implicit message transmitted by the World Almanac for Kids U.S. History Timeline is that each event listed on the timeline’s face must hold some kind of particular historical significance to qualify as one of only 64 pieces of American history presented, though no event’s entry gives even a vague explanation as to why it merits this. The second message the timeline conveys, simply by hanging in the classroom, is that this version of history is an “official” one. Third, that each of these events happened totally independently of one another. Fourth, that, at most, only one significant event occurred in any given year. And finally, that American history is entirely made up of wars and minor battles, punctuated by the occasional presidential election and technological innovation. Now, certainly, one can easily surmise that the timeline authors are not consciously promoting these implications, and instead assume that the viewer will automatically acknowledge that it is not a comprehensive history but rather a simple summary of selected events through time. The danger of using the timeline as tool, of course, lies squarely in that assumption. a teaching.    1 
 1. The author implies which of the following?

(A) Dates are not important in history.
(B) Historical events are not interconnected.
(C) Implicit messages can be as important as explicit ones.
(D) A study of American history that does not include women and minorities is incomplete.
(E) American history is best thought of as a linear continuum of events.

2  
 2. The author’s attitude toward timelines can best be described as

(A) condescending and impertinent
(B) tolerant and bemused
(C) suspicious and resigned
(D) wary and critical
(E) negative and complacent

3  
 3. The author would most likely agree with all of the following EXCEPT:

(A) There are more than 64 important events in American history.
(B) Some students ascribe importance to prominent graphic position.
(C) Timelines have some positive uses.
(D) Timelines have no subliminal effects.
(E) Demonstrating how events interconnect has merit.

4  
 4. According to the passage, a problem with timelines is

(A) their prominent placement in classrooms
(B) their lack of context
(C) their infinite nature
(D) their factual inaccuracy
(E) their inclusion of photos

5  
 5. Which of the following could be substituted for the word “myopic” ( Highlighted ) without changing the meaning of the passage?

(A) ignorant
(B) bigoted
(C) purblind
(D) astigmatic
(E) mordant

Sajjad1994 · Answer

OE

1. The author implies which of the following?

The last paragraph devotes itself to highlighting the problematic implicit messages of timelines. Choice (A) is a distortion; the author does not claim dates are unimportant but that historical study should go beyond mere dates. Choices (B) and (E) are backwards, as these are two of the implicit messages that the author rejects. Choice (D), while quite likely in the real world, does not have to follow from the passage—the author implies that there is more to history than “wars and minor battles, punctuated by the occasional presidential election and technological innovation” but does not specify what that is. 
  
  Answer: C

Sajjad1994 · Answer

OE

2. The author’s attitude toward timelines can best be described as

The author argues that timelines are simplistic and misleading; the author is  “wary and critical”  of the devices,  choice (D) . The words  “condescending and impatient”  in answer  choice (A)  would never describe a GRE author. Regarding  choice (B) , the author is not  “bemused,”  or amused, at all. Nor is the author  “negative or complacent,”  as stated in  choice (E).

Answer: D

Sajjad1994 · Answer

OE

3. The author would most likely agree with all of the following EXCEPT:

The last paragraph discusses the negative implicit—or subliminal—issues with timelines, so (D) is the correct answer to this Except question. Since the author indicates that an implicit flaw is showing  “only”  64 events, it must follow that there are more, so (A) is incorrect. In the second paragraph, the author worries that the prominence of the dates will draw too much attention, so eliminate (B). In the first paragraph, the author says, “ espite their usefulness in allowing students to gain a cursory knowledge ... ” In other words, timelines have some positive uses; cross off (C). As for (E), the third criticism is that the events appear to have occurred completely independently of one another; the author believes, then, that showing how some events affected or influenced others would be beneficial.

Answer: D

Sajjad1994 · Answer

OE

4. According to the passage, a problem with timelines is

In the last paragraph, a listed implicit flaw is that the events are presented as independent—without context, which matches choice (B). The passage mentions the prominent placement of timelines, choice (A), and use of photos, choice (E), but does not suggest that these are problems. Choice (C) is false, as the passage states that these timelines had beginnings and ends. Regarding (D), the author does not challenge the factual accuracy of timelines.

Answer: B

Sajjad1994 · Answer

OE

5. Which of the following could be substituted for the word “myopic” (     Highlighted     ) without changing the meaning of the passage?

“Myopic” means nearsighted, and the author employs it to describe the inability of some curricula to show the big picture. Similarly, “purblind,” choice (C), means “partially blind or deficient in understanding.” Choices (A), (B), and (D) are not justified by evidence from the passage. Ignorance and bigotry are not mentioned as problems. “Astigmatic” indicates visual distortion, but the passage spoke of missing elements. “Mordant,” meaning caustic or corrosive, has no connection to the passage. 
 
  Answer: C

Timelines are one of the most commonplace classroom tools used to teac

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