The Professionalization of The Study ... GMAT Prep.

[orlando.agostinho]

Hi, Guys

Well i have some luck to answer right, but still i am confused.

By the way, the phrase:
Quote:
The disappearance of women as objects of historical studies during this period has elements of irony to it.
Here: It refers what part of the paragraph? The disappearance or historical studies. I GUESS THAT the professionalization of the study of history...!

Cheers!

Print Screen: http://gmatclub.com/forum/download/file.php?id=9560

[RonPurewal]

Hi, Guys

Well i have some luck to answer right, but still i am confused.

By the way, the phrase:
Quote:
The disappearance of women as objects of historical studies during this period has elements of irony to it.
Here: It refers what part of the paragraph? The disappearance or historical studies. I GUESS THAT the professionalization of the study of history...!

Cheers!

Print Screen: http://gmatclub.com/forum/download/file.php?id=9560

hi - "it" refers to "disappearance", the only singular noun in that sentence.
it can't be "historical studies", since that is plural.

[singh.ambesh]

Weird . My GMAT prep software says "D" is the OA for this very question.
How can there be two answers for one question ? Is there a glitch in the software ?

PS : I would have attached a screenshot but I am not able to paste it in the editor.

Can anyone explain this please. Thank you.

[singh.ambesh]

Corroborative evidence. Please shed some light.

http://postimage.org/image/zjm348hw/

http://postimage.org/image/zjm348hw/

[RonPurewal]

Corroborative evidence. Please shed some light.

http://postimage.org/image/zjm348hw/

http://postimage.org/image/zjm348hw/

i would imagine that the screenshot with the incorrect answer was taken from a different situation (i.e., NOT from the "show answer" function during review).

specifically, there are other situations in which a box encloses the selection buttons; for instance, if one goes down the answer choices by tabbing rather than by using the mouse, then a box will enclose whatever answer choice has currently been tabbed.

[singh.ambesh]

Nopes Ron, I did use the "show answer" function and not "tab".
I rechecked it multiple times before posting.Left me flummoxed.
I don't know how do I prove it to you,you would need to take my word for it.

Any way. Which of the answer choices is correct ?

"E" I suppose as "D" is not referencing directly to the word quoted in the question.
"D" in fact is mentioned elsewhere in the passage so it is just a decoy.

Please confirm whether my reasoning is correct.
Thank You.

[RonPurewal]

Nopes Ron, I did use the "show answer" function and not "tab".
I rechecked it multiple times before posting.Left me flummoxed.
I don't know how do I prove it to you,you would need to take my word for it.

no, i meant the gmatclub screenshot that is posted earlier in the thread -- the one that indicates the incorrect answer (e).
that is most probably a picture of the selection screen (i.e., the appearance you get when you are in the middle of choosing an answer), not the "show answer" screen. note that the box around the answer choice is black; the "show answer" box is always blue. (and it's not a black-and-white screenshot, since the border is blue.)

Any way. Which of the answer choices is correct ?

should be (D)

"E" I suppose as "D" is not referencing directly to the word quoted in the question.

i don't understand what you're saying here -- could you rephrase and/or explain more particularly?

"D" in fact is mentioned elsewhere in the passage so it is just a decoy.

no! that's the whole reason why (d) is correct!

in general, when a reading comprehension question asks about information that is in the passage, you will be looking for information that is in the passage itself (or that can be easily and trivially proved from that information)!

... so (d) is the correct answer because it's basically a restatement of the following information from the passage:
"the development of archival research and the critical editing of collections of documents began to reveal significant new historical evidence concerning women, yet this evidence was perceived as substantially irrelevant"
... in other words, the new methods of study began to reveal more information about women, but that information was basically ignored.

--

by the way, (e) is definitely the wrong answer, because it directly contradicts what is written in the passage.
i.e., the passage refers explicitly to the "disappearance of women as objects of historical studies" as the thing that has ironic elements. therefore, any choice that says that women were enhanced as historical subjects -- as (e) does -- is definitely not correct.

so, once more just to make sure it's extra clear:
the correct answer to this question should be (d).
the given screenshot -- the one with the box around choice (e) -- must have been taken from the selection screen, not from the "show answer" screen.

[evelynho]

Hello instructors,
Sorry to reopen this old threads, but I was really confused choice B & C with OA for this RC question.
Please explain how could we eliminate Choice B and C from OA-D.

To my understanding, two elements of irony existed as per the passage in the first thread.
Choice B phrased like the mixture of two aspects of irony elements, but it makes certain sense as per the info in the passage.Choice C is the further explanation on the second aspect of irony elements regarding the irrelevant part, that statement is reasonable also.

Please help to clarify. Thanks a lot.

[RonPurewal]

before we can discuss this problem any further, we need the FULL TEXT of the passage and question(s), IN A POST in this thread, as required by the forum rules.
••• NO PICTURES / GRAPHIC FILES •••

please kindly post the FULL TEXT of the passage -- along with the COMPLETE question(s) you are asking about, including ALL answer choices. (if you don't feel like typing out the text, i'm sure you can find it somewhere on the internet, and just copy and paste it.)

thanks.

[evelynho]

Sorry for violating the forum rules, here comes the full passage and question with all choices.
Apologize if any trouble caused.

Passage:
The professionalization of the study of history in the second half of the nineteenth century, including history's transformation from a literary genre to a scientific discipline, had important consequences not only for historians' perceptions of women but also for women as historians. The disappearance of women as objects of historical studies during this period has elements of irony to it. On the one hand, in writing about women, earlier historians had relied not on firsthand sources but rather on secondary sources; the shift to more rigorous research methods required that secondary sources be disregarded. On the other hand, the development of archival research and the critical editing of collections of documents began to reveal significant new historical evidence concerning women, yet this evidence was perceived as substantially irrelevant: historians saw political history as the general framework for historical writing. Because women were seen as belonging to the private rather than to the public sphere, the discovery of documents about them, or by them, did not, by itself, produce history acknowledging the contributions of women. In addition, genres such as biography and memoir, those forms of "particular history" that women had traditionally authored, fell into disrepute. The dividing line between "particular history" and general history was redefined in stronger terms, widening the gulf between amateur and professional practices of historical research.


As mentioned, I was stuck among Choice B, C, and D. [OA - D]

Which of the following best describes one of the "elements of irony" referred to in the highlighted text?
(A) Although the more scientific-minded historians of the second half of the nineteenth century considered women appropriate subjects for historical writing, earlier historians did not.
(B) Although archival research uncovered documentary evidence of women's role in history, historians continued to rely on secondary sources for information about women.
(C) Although historians were primarily concerned with writing about the public sphere, they generally relegated women to the private sphere.
(D) The scientific approach to history revealed more information about women, but that information was ignored.
(E) The professionalization of history, while marginalizing much of women's writing about history, enhanced the importance of women as historical subjects.

Thank you always.
EH

[RonPurewal]

the passage states that historians moved AWAY FROM secondary sources at this time. choice B says exactly the opposite of this, so, choice B is as wrong as you can get.

there is nothing "ironic" about choice C.
choice C says, basically, "Historians had a certain emphasis, and that emphasis excluded certain people." ...nothing ironic about that.

choice D is supported by the passage:
the development of archival research and the critical editing of collections of documents began to reveal significant new historical evidence concerning women, yet this evidence was perceived as substantially irrelevant
also, you can see how this is ironic: a whole bunch of new stuff was found... but it was ignored.

__

[RonPurewal]

also, if you were stuck between C and D, you could simply have noticed that D is justified in the discussion immediately following the boldface text, while the words justifying C don't come until much later.
so, even if you didn't quite understand the "ironic" part, you could have made the decision on those grounds, too ("the answer will be close to the thing we're talking about").

[evelynho]

also, if you were stuck between C and D, you could simply have noticed that D is justified in the discussion immediately following the boldface text, while the words justifying C don't come until much later.
so, even if you didn't quite understand the "ironic" part, you could have made the decision on those grounds, too ("the answer will be close to the thing we're talking about").

It's very clear now, thank you always.
Have a nice day.
EH

[RonPurewal]

you're welcome.

[AbhishekD643]

Hi Ron,

Can you help me understand why E is not right answer for the primary purpose question below.

My thinking : The author clearly has a subtle disappointing tone. I thought A was plausible too but the author would want to do "more" than just plain "describe" stuff. I deliberated between A and E for over 2 mins and decided to pick one and move on.

As a general principle, if we come across the word "criticize", do we need to look for stronger data points than the ones in the passage?

Passage:
The professionalization of the study of history in the second half of the nineteenth century, including history's transformation from a literary genre to a scientific discipline, had important consequences not only for historians' perceptions of women but also for women as historians. The disappearance of women as objects of historical studies during this period has elements of irony to it. On the one hand, in writing about women, earlier historians had relied not on firsthand sources but rather on secondary sources; the shift to more rigorous research methods required that secondary sources be disregarded. On the other hand, the development of archival research and the critical editing of collections of documents began to reveal significant new historical evidence concerning women, yet this evidence was perceived as substantially irrelevant: historians saw political history as the general framework for historical writing. Because women were seen as belonging to the private rather than to the public sphere, the discovery of documents about them, or by them, did not, by itself, produce history acknowledging the contributions of women. In addition, genres such as biography and memoir, those forms of "particular history" that women had traditionally authored, fell into disrepute. The dividing line between "particular history" and general history was redefined in stronger terms, widening the gulf between amateur and professional practices of historical research.

Question:
The passage is primarily concerned with
(A) describing some effects of the professionalization of the study of history on the writing of women's history [Correct answer]
(B) explaining some reasons for the professionalization of the writing of history
(C) discussing the kinds of historical writing traditionally practiced by women
(D) contrasting the approach to the writing of history taken by women with the approach taken by men
(E) criticizing certain changes that occurred in the writing of history during the second half of the nineteenth century