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goalsnr
oAs -ADE

Can anyone explain why the OA is D for Q25.

Q 25:
Which of the following studies would proceed in a
way most similar to the way in which, according to
the passage. Scharf’s book interprets Eleanor
Roosevelt’s career?

I think the keys points are :
1. Biography
2. family background

- Scharf’s book on Eleanor is a biography
-Privileged women, born in the late
Nineteenth century and maturing
(50) in the twentieth, who made the
transition from old patterns of
female association to new ones.
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OA is ABDE, but I strongly doubt OA for the question 25.

I picked E, but I am not sure about my answer.

Lois
Scharf’s Eleanor Roosevelt, written
In 1987, depicts a generation of
Privileged women
, born in the late
Nineteenth century and maturing
(50) in the twentieth, who made the
transition from old patterns of
female association to new ones.

Their views and their lives were full
Of contradictions. They maintained
(55) female social networks but began
to integrate women into mainstream
politics; they demanded equal
treatment but also argued that
women’s maternal responsibilities
(60) made them both wards and representatives
of the public interest.


I think that to solve Q25, we should focus on this part above.
I picked E because of the bold parts above.
Schart talked about a generation of privileged women who made the transition from old patters of female association to new ones. E also mentions a group of people who led the movement to end slavery.

Feel free to point out any flaws in my reasoning.
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Hi roopika,

I agree, not easy. My hypothesis for why D is the OA is this:

The key word in answer D is 'context'. I.e. the Athelete's success is explained because of the context in which they grew up.

In the passage Scarfe attributes Roosevelt's success to the context in which she was brought up - i.e. that group of priviliged women.

My question with E would be that it's subject is 'a group of women' whearas in the question we're just talking about one woman.

What do you think?

James
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Took 9 mins and 10 seconds , including 3 mins to read . Question 3 is difficult :|
-The passage is concerned with explaining how Eleanor Roosevelt’s life was understood in a certain way by historians
- The passage is then concerned with explaining how her life is now understood

1.
Option (A) is a clear word justification of the key takeaways and is hence correct

2.
Every option choice is mentioned in the passage except option (B). Hence correct.

3.
"Thanks to Scharf and others, Roosevelt’s activities—for example, her support both for labor laws protecting women and for appointments of women to high public office—have become intelligible in terms of this social context rather than as the idiosyncratic career of a famous man’s wife"

The author is concerned with studying the life of Eleanor Roosevelt with regard to her own ideals rather than her influence as a famous man’s wife.
Answer D

4.
"Despite the evidence that she had been important in social reform circles before her husband was elected President and that she continued to advocate different causes than he did"
Option (E) is a clear word justification of the above and is hence correct.
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Took 9 mins. Got three correct and 1 incorrect(Ques No. 3)

Can someone please throw some light on ques 3? I am not clear with the explanation given above.
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roopika2990
Can anyone explain the second question?
For ques 2, read the last sentence of the paragraph. It clearly states that their policies didn't identify them as idiosyncratic. Hence, B is the answer.
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abhimahna
Took 9 mins. Got three correct and 1 incorrect(Ques No. 3)

Can someone please throw some light on ques 3? I am not clear with the explanation given above.


Scharf’s book ‘Eleanor Roosevelt’ focuses on the lives and views of a generation of women – it brings Eleanor’s life into a richly detailed context; It also focuses of Eleanor’s life in this context, rather than treat her simply as a famous public figure.
The best way to approach this is PoE:
A: Ideals of Eleanor not mentioned in Scharf’s book.
B: Conflicting aims of leaders and the effect on their activities – no parallel to Scharf’s book on Eleanor
C: This is tempting because Scharf’s book talks about a generation of women – but there is no collective national movement in Eleanor’s time.
D: Probable. I see some parallels – the life of a famous figure (athlete, Eleanor) viewed not from the usual point of view (sports, First Lady) but from a different perspective (family upbringing, life & views).
E: Exceptional individuals and their successful reform against slavery – no parallel to Scharf’s book on Eleanor.
On the whole, I would go with D.
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plumber250
Hi roopika,

I agree, not easy. My hypothesis for why D is the OA is this:

The key word in answer D is 'context'. I.e. the Athelete's success is explained because of the context in which they grew up.

In the passage Scarfe attributes Roosevelt's success to the context in which she was brought up - i.e. that group of priviliged women.

My question with E would be that it's subject is 'a group of women' whearas in the question we're just talking about one woman.

What do you think?

James

Hi plumber250,
Can you please shed some light on how I can eliminate Answer choice A?
Which of the following studies would proceed in a way most similar to the way in which, according to the passage. Scharf’s book interprets Eleanor Roosevelt’s career?

A. An exploration of the activities of a wealthy social reformer in terms of the ideals held by the reformer

The passage states this about Scharf's book: "Scharf’s Eleanor Roosevelt, written In 1987, depicts a generation of privileged women...Their views and their lives were full of contradictions", and "they demanded equal treatment" among other things.

Doesn't this match the answer choice A, which talks about a wealthy social reformer (a contradiction in itself), his ideals (views)?
How should I go about reasoning to eliminate this answer?
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The answers according to me -

1. A

2. B

3. A

A. An exploration of the activities of a wealthy social reformer in terms of the ideals held by the
reformer - "Roosevelt was privileged (though not necessarily wealthy) but what she did was according to her ideology" - Correct Answer
B. A history of the leaders of a political party which explained how the conflicting aims of its
individual leaders thwarted and diverted the activities of each leader - Irrelevant to context
C. An account of the legislative career of a conservative senator which showed his goals to have been
derived from a national conservative movement of which the senator was a part - "Roosevelt's goals were not derived from any movement but from her social ideology"
D. A biography of a famous athlete which explained her high level of motivation in terms of the kind
of family in which she grew up - "She is concerned about labor laws etc. , not because of her family"
E. A history of the individuals who led the movement to end slavery in the United States which
attributed the movement’s success to the efforts of those exceptional individuals - "Roosevelt's efforts were not necessarily successful, passage doesn't confirm" "Also, Scharf mentions her social ideology, not her success"

4. E

Please share the OA if possible.
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iyera211


Hi plumber250,
Can you please shed some light on how I can eliminate Answer choice A?
Which of the following studies would proceed in a way most similar to the way in which, according to the passage. Scharf’s book interprets Eleanor Roosevelt’s career?

A. An exploration of the activities of a wealthy social reformer in terms of the ideals held by the reformer

The passage states this about Scharf's book: "Scharf’s Eleanor Roosevelt, written In 1987, depicts a generation of privileged women...Their views and their lives were full of contradictions", and "they demanded equal treatment" among other things.

Doesn't this match the answer choice A, which talks about a wealthy social reformer (a contradiction in itself), his ideals (views)?
How should I go about reasoning to eliminate this answer?

GMATNinja, I have the same query as posted above. Please help.

Hi Even i have the same query but I came up with some reasoning and wanted to discuss. Here is the second rewritten

Which of the following studies would proceed in a way most similar to the way in which, according to the passage. Scharf’s book interprets Eleanor Roosevelt’s career?

(A) An exploration of the activities of a wealthy social reformer in terms of the ideals held by the reformer
(B) A history of the leaders of a political party which explained how the conflicting aims of its individual leaders thwarted and diverted the activities of each leader
(C) An account of the legislative career of a conservative senator which showed his goals to have been derived from a national conservative movement of which the senator was a part
(D) A biography of a famous athlete which explained her high level of motivation in terms of the kind of family in which she grew up
(E) A history of the individuals who led the movement to end slavery in the United States which attributed the movement's success to the efforts of those exceptional individuals

Lois Scharf’s Eleanor Roosevelt, written in 1987, depicts a generation of privileged women, born in the late nineteenth century and maturing in the twentieth, who made the transition from old patterns of female association to new ones. Their views and their lives were full of contradictions. They maintained female social networks but began to integrate women into mainstream politics; they demanded equal treatment but also argued that women’s maternal responsibilities made them both wards and representatives of the public interest.

If we read the except of the passage we can see that the author wants to highlight the contradiction mentioned in the passage.

Option D tells about the biography of the famous athlete and his motivation to be a result of the family in which grew but it did not explain how the athlete acquired motivation.
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GMATNinja VeritasKarishma GMATNinjaTwo VeritasPrepBrian egmat

The answer to the below question is incorrectly given as D.

However in the GMAT EP2 exam 5 the answer is C.

Please help.

Quote:
2. Which of the following studies would proceed in a way most similar to the way in which, according to the passage. Scharf's book interprets Eleanor Roosevelt's career?

(A) An exploration of the activities of a wealthy social reformer in terms of the ideals held by the reformer
(B) A history of the leaders of a political party which explained how the conflicting aims of its individual leaders thwarted and diverted the activities of each leader
(C) An account of the legislative career of a conservative senator which showed his goals to have been derived from a national conservative movement of which the senator was a part
(D) A biography of a famous athlete which explained her high level of motivation in terms of the kind of family in which she grew up
(E) A history of the individuals who led the movement to end slavery in the United States which attributed the movement's success to the efforts of those exceptional individuals

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AdityaHongunti
please explain Q3 ...i still think it is A

AdityaHongunti

below is an extract from the first para.

"Despite the evidence that she had been important in social reform circles before her husband was elected President and that she continued to advocate different causes than he did, she held a place in the public imagination largely because she was the wife of a particularly influential President."

So, it is clearly mentioned that her activism in social reforms predated her husband`s activity. "predate" means occur or exist earlier.

So E is correct i answer.

3. The author cites which of the following as evidence against the public view of Eleanor Roosevelt held in the 1970’s?

(A) She had been born into a wealthy family.
(B) Her political career predated the adoption of women’s suffrage.
(C) She continued her career in politics even after her husband’s death.
(D) She was one of a few female historical figures who were well known to historians by the 1970’s.
(E) Her activism predated her husband’s presidency and her projects differed from his.


shubham2312 hope this helps you too
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shubham2312
someone kindly provide OE/explanation of this question

3.The author cites which of the following as evidence against the public view of Eleanor Roosevelt held in the 1970’s?
AdityaHongunti
please explain Q3 ...i still think it is A
The question itself has a couple twists and turns, so let's straighten it out fully:

  • The public held a certain view of ER in the 1970s.
  • The author makes a case against that view.
  • In doing so, the author cites a piece of evidence. What was that evidence?

To really stay on track, let's be clear about each part:

  • The public held a certain view of ER in the 1970s. As dave13 has pointed out, ER "held a place in the public imagination largely because she was the wife of a particularly influential President. Her own activities were seen as preparing the way for her husband’s election or as a complement to his programs." If we were only to read the texts of the 1970s, we would learn about "the idiosyncratic career of a famous man’s wife."
  • The author makes a case against that view. Right up front, the author states that ER "had been important in social reform circles before her husband was elected President and that she continued to advocate different causes than he did." Then, in the second paragraph, the author cites the work of Scharf to continue presenting this alternative view: That ER represented a generation of privileged women "who made the transition from old patterns of female association to new ones." The author suggests that this context of generational change helps us understand ER more than the previous public view.
  • In doing so, the author cites a piece of evidence. What was that evidence? There's plenty of evidence in the passage to support the author's case, and only 5 answer choices. So let's go ahead and work through the answer choices.

We're going to eliminate anything that was not used by the author to go against the 1970's public view of Eleanor Roosevelt. We'll probably have to eliminate choices that sound right, because we need to check many more boxes than "Is this true, according to the passage?"

Quote:
(A) She had been born into a wealthy family.
This is true, but does the author cite this fact in order to make a case against the 1970's view?

Not really. ER's wealth, on its own, plays a minor part in both the 1970s view and the author's view. The fact that ER was wealthy doesn't explain the context of change, contradiction, and political awakening that ER's generation lived through. That's why we eliminate (A).

Quote:
(B) Her political career predated the adoption of women’s suffrage.
The author never brings this up to go against the 1970's public view of ER. In fact, the only time the author mentions suffrage is to tell us that Scharf studied ER in the years after (not before) women in the U.S. achieved suffrage. Eliminate (B).

Quote:
(C) She continued her career in politics even after her husband’s death.
As with (B), the author doesn't discuss ER's career in the time period after her husband's death. Eliminate (C) as well.

Quote:
(D) She was one of a few female historical figures who were well known to historians by the 1970’s.
This is true, but what does it have to do with the author's case? As with (A), this is more of a basic fact that could be incorporated into any view of ER. It's not evidence that the author uses to make a case against the 1970's public view of ER. Eliminate (D).

Quote:
(E) Her activism predated her husband’s presidency and her projects differed from his.
Aha! This is the first choice that actually cites a fact about ER in order to go against the 1970s view.

The 1970s view understood these activities as "preparing the way for her husband's election or as a complement to his programs." But choice (E) shows that ER was not simply the idiosyncratic wife of a famous man. She participated in the integration of women into mainstream politics, and had priorities that were separate from her husband's. This was part of the social change that she and her generation experienced.

(E) is the only choice that does what the question asked, so we'll stick with it.

I hope this helps!
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shubham2312
someone kindly provide OE/explanation of this question

3.The author cites which of the following as evidence against the public view of Eleanor Roosevelt held in the 1970’s?
AdityaHongunti
please explain Q3 ...i still think it is A
The question itself has a couple twists and turns, so let's straighten it out fully:

  • The public held a certain view of ER in the 1970s.
  • The author makes a case against that view.
  • In doing so, the author cites a piece of evidence. What was that evidence?

To really stay on track, let's be clear about each part:

  • The public held a certain view of ER in the 1970s. As dave13 has pointed out, ER "held a place in the public imagination largely because she was the wife of a particularly influential President. Her own activities were seen as preparing the way for her husband’s election or as a complement to his programs." If we were only to read the texts of the 1970s, we would learn about "the idiosyncratic career of a famous man’s wife."
  • The author makes a case against that view. Right up front, the author states that ER "had been important in social reform circles before her husband was elected President and that she continued to advocate different causes than he did." Then, in the second paragraph, the author cites the work of Scharf to continue presenting this alternative view: That ER represented a generation of privileged women "who made the transition from old patterns of female association to new ones." The author suggests that this context of generational change helps us understand ER more than the previous public view.
  • In doing so, the author cites a piece of evidence. What was that evidence? There's plenty of evidence in the passage to support the author's case, and only 5 answer choices. So let's go ahead and work through the answer choices.

We're going to eliminate anything that was not used by the author to go against the 1970's public view of Eleanor Roosevelt. We'll probably have to eliminate choices that sound right, because we need to check many more boxes than "Is this true, according to the passage?"

Quote:
(A) She had been born into a wealthy family.
This is true, but does the author cite this fact in order to make a case against the 1970's view?

Not really. ER's wealth, on its own, plays a minor part in both the 1970s view and the author's view. The fact that ER was wealthy doesn't explain the context of change, contradiction, and political awakening that ER's generation lived through. That's why we eliminate (A).

Quote:
(B) Her political career predated the adoption of women’s suffrage.
The author never brings this up to go against the 1970's public view of ER. In fact, the only time the author mentions suffrage is to tell us that Scharf studied ER in the years after (not before) women in the U.S. achieved suffrage. Eliminate (B).

Quote:
(C) She continued her career in politics even after her husband’s death.
As with (B), the author doesn't discuss ER's career in the time period after her husband's death. Eliminate (C) as well.

Quote:
(D) She was one of a few female historical figures who were well known to historians by the 1970’s.
This is true, but what does it have to do with the author's case? As with (A), this is more of a basic fact that could be incorporated into any view of ER. It's not evidence that the author uses to make a case against the 1970's public view of ER. Eliminate (D).

Quote:
(E) Her activism predated her husband’s presidency and her projects differed from his.
Aha! This is the first choice that actually cites a fact about ER in order to go against the 1970s view.

The 1970s view understood these activities as "preparing the way for her husband's election or as a complement to his programs." But choice (E) shows that ER was not simply the idiosyncratic wife of a famous man. She participated in the integration of women into mainstream politics, and had priorities that were separate from her husband's. This was part of the social change that she and her generation experienced.

(E) is the only choice that does what the question asked, so we'll stick with it.

I hope this helps!

Hi Bunuel,

I guess the OA needs to be corrected for Q3. All the experts have agreed its "E".

AD
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HI GMATNinja, mikemcgarry, DmitryFarber, MagooshExpert (Carolyn), ccooley, GMATGuruNY, AjiteshArun EMPOWERgmatVerbal, EducationAisle

Can you help me with the below question. Eliminated Option A, & D

2)The author credits which of the following for making possible the current understanding of Eleanor Roosevelt's career?

A)The work of historians in the 1970s
B)Accounts written by feminists in the 1920s
C)Recent studies of feminists of her generation
D)Official records of her husband's presidency
E)The discovery of the writings of her associates
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HI GMATNinja, mikemcgarry, DmitryFarber, MagooshExpert (Carolyn), ccooley, GMATGuruNY, AjiteshArun EMPOWERgmatVerbal, EducationAisle

Can you help me with the below question. Eliminated Option A, & D

2)The author credits which of the following for making possible the current understanding of Eleanor Roosevelt's career?

A)The work of historians in the 1970s
B)Accounts written by feminists in the 1920s
C)Recent studies of feminists of her generation
D)Official records of her husband's presidency
E)The discovery of the writings of her associates
Hi NandishSS,

Glad to help! :) Here's the relevant part of the passage:

Quote:
But more recent work on the feminism of the post-suffrage years (following 1920) allows us to see Roosevelt in a different light and to bring her life into a more richly detailed context. Lois Scharf’s Eleanor Roosevelt, written in 1987, depicts a generation of privileged women, born in the late nineteenth century and maturing in the twentieth, who made the transition from old patterns of female association to new ones.
Quote:
Thanks to Scharf and others, Roosevelt’s activities—for example, her support both for labor laws protecting women and for appointments of women to high public office—have become intelligible in terms of this social context rather than as the idiosyncratic career of a famous man’s wife.

This part of the passage tells us that feminist writers, like Scharf, helped develop the current understanding of Eleanor Roosevelt's career. This points us to B) and C). B is tempting, but note that Scharf's book, which was specifically used as an example of one of the accounts that helped further the understanding of Roosevelt's career, was written in 1987, not the 1920s. So C is a better choice, since Scharf's book would be considered a "recent study of feminism". Don't be thrown off by the fact that 1920 is mentioned in the text! :)

Choice E mentions "her associates", which implies "people who worked with her". However, we don't have any reason to believe that Scharf ever worked with Eleanor Roosevelt, and so she wouldn't be considered an "associate". Also, Sharf's book wasn't "discovered", it was published in 1987. So E doesn't quite fit -- we can eliminate E.

I hope that helps! :)
-Carolyn
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GMATNinja
shubham2312
someone kindly provide OE/explanation of this question

3.The author cites which of the following as evidence against the public view of Eleanor Roosevelt held in the 1970’s?
AdityaHongunti
please explain Q3 ...i still think it is A
The question itself has a couple twists and turns, so let's straighten it out fully:

  • The public held a certain view of ER in the 1970s.
  • The author makes a case against that view.
  • In doing so, the author cites a piece of evidence. What was that evidence?

To really stay on track, let's be clear about each part:

  • The public held a certain view of ER in the 1970s. As dave13 has pointed out, ER "held a place in the public imagination largely because she was the wife of a particularly influential President. Her own activities were seen as preparing the way for her husband’s election or as a complement to his programs." If we were only to read the texts of the 1970s, we would learn about "the idiosyncratic career of a famous man’s wife."
  • The author makes a case against that view. Right up front, the author states that ER "had been important in social reform circles before her husband was elected President and that she continued to advocate different causes than he did." Then, in the second paragraph, the author cites the work of Scharf to continue presenting this alternative view: That ER represented a generation of privileged women "who made the transition from old patterns of female association to new ones." The author suggests that this context of generational change helps us understand ER more than the previous public view.
  • In doing so, the author cites a piece of evidence. What was that evidence? There's plenty of evidence in the passage to support the author's case, and only 5 answer choices. So let's go ahead and work through the answer choices.

We're going to eliminate anything that was not used by the author to go against the 1970's public view of Eleanor Roosevelt. We'll probably have to eliminate choices that sound right, because we need to check many more boxes than "Is this true, according to the passage?"

Quote:
(A) She had been born into a wealthy family.
This is true, but does the author cite this fact in order to make a case against the 1970's view?

Not really. ER's wealth, on its own, plays a minor part in both the 1970s view and the author's view. The fact that ER was wealthy doesn't explain the context of change, contradiction, and political awakening that ER's generation lived through. That's why we eliminate (A).

Quote:
(B) Her political career predated the adoption of women’s suffrage.
The author never brings this up to go against the 1970's public view of ER. In fact, the only time the author mentions suffrage is to tell us that Scharf studied ER in the years after (not before) women in the U.S. achieved suffrage. Eliminate (B).

Quote:
(C) She continued her career in politics even after her husband’s death.
As with (B), the author doesn't discuss ER's career in the time period after her husband's death. Eliminate (C) as well.

Quote:
(D) She was one of a few female historical figures who were well known to historians by the 1970’s.
This is true, but what does it have to do with the author's case? As with (A), this is more of a basic fact that could be incorporated into any view of ER. It's not evidence that the author uses to make a case against the 1970's public view of ER. Eliminate (D).

Quote:
(E) Her activism predated her husband’s presidency and her projects differed from his.
Aha! This is the first choice that actually cites a fact about ER in order to go against the 1970s view.

The 1970s view understood these activities as "preparing the way for her husband's election or as a complement to his programs." But choice (E) shows that ER was not simply the idiosyncratic wife of a famous man. She participated in the integration of women into mainstream politics, and had priorities that were separate from her husband's. This was part of the social change that she and her generation experienced.

(E) is the only choice that does what the question asked, so we'll stick with it.

I hope this helps!

Hi GMAT Ninja,

Can you please explain why in Q2 option D is correct. I am still not able to understand the reasoning behind the same.

Thanks.
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