strengthen historian's contention

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strengthen historian's contention

by hitmis » Fri Oct 01, 2010 3:45 am
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Historian: The vast majority of scholars studying the American Civil war regard confederate generals as superior to their Union counterparts. They also acknowledge that the Confederate soldier was, on average, more committed to the cause and, therefore, willing to fight harder than the Union soldier. However, most of these same scholars agree with my contention that when Civil war began in 1861, it was already true that the Confederacy could not prevail without the intervention of a major foreign power such as Great Britain or France.

Which of the following, if true, most strengthens the historian's contention?

A) Both the confederate and Union troops started the war using similar single-shot muzzle-loading guns to which bayonets could be attached.

B) The confederacy had a greater proportion of officers who attended the United States Military Academy at West point and have served with distinction in the Mexican war.

C) The Union had four times the total population of the Confederacy and most of the industrial manufacturing in North America.

D) The Confederacy won several important victories early in the war and earned the respect of foreign leaders.

E) By the end of the war in 1865, many Union soldiers were armed with the new spencer repeating rifles that fired seven shots before reloading; the Confederate army continued to rely on slower, single-shot weapons for its soldiers.
Source: — Critical Reasoning |

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by shovan85 » Fri Oct 01, 2010 4:01 am
Is it D ?

Confused between C and D .

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by psychomath » Fri Oct 01, 2010 4:16 am
Confused between D and E...is it E

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by saurabhmahajan » Fri Oct 01, 2010 4:17 am
IMO: C
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by reply2spg » Fri Oct 01, 2010 8:01 am
IMO E

as per the passage 'confederate generals as superior to their Union counterparts. Confederate soldiers were harder than Union soldiers'. Next it says that Confederacy had victory because of forign power'

E says that 'Union soldiers were armed with the new spencer repeating rifles that fired seven shots before reloading but Confederate soldiers rely on slower, single-shot weapons' but then also they got victory. It means that Confederate soldiers were harder than Union soldiers.

hitmis wrote:Source : Veritas free CAT

Historian: The vast majority of scholars studying the American Civil war regard confederate generals as superior to their Union counterparts. They also acknowledge that the Confederate soldier was, on average, more committed to the cause and, therefore, willing to fight harder than the Union soldier. However, most of these same scholars agree with my contention that when Civil war began in 1861, it was already true that the Confederacy could not prevail without the intervention of a major foreign power such as Great Britain or France.

Which of the following, if true, most strengthens the historian's contention?

A) Both the confederate and Union troops started the war using similar single-shot muzzle-loading guns to which bayonets could be attached.

B) The confederacy had a greater proportion of officers who attended the United States Military Academy at West point and have served with distinction in the Mexican war.

C) The Union had four times the total population of the Confederacy and most of the industrial manufacturing in North America.

D) The Confederacy won several important victories early in the war and earned the respect of foreign leaders.

E) By the end of the war in 1865, many Union soldiers were armed with the new spencer repeating rifles that fired seven shots before reloading; the Confederate army continued to rely on slower, single-shot weapons for its soldiers.
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by diebeatsthegmat » Fri Oct 01, 2010 8:16 am
hitmis wrote:Source : Veritas free CAT

Historian: The vast majority of scholars studying the American Civil war regard confederate generals as superior to their Union counterparts. They also acknowledge that the Confederate soldier was, on average, more committed to the cause and, therefore, willing to fight harder than the Union soldier. However, most of these same scholars agree with my contention that when Civil war began in 1861, it was already true that the Confederacy could not prevail without the intervention of a major foreign power such as Great Britain or France.

Which of the following, if true, most strengthens the historian's contention?

A) Both the confederate and Union troops started the war using similar single-shot muzzle-loading guns to which bayonets could be attached.

B) The confederacy had a greater proportion of officers who attended the United States Military Academy at West point and have served with distinction in the Mexican war.

C) The Union had four times the total population of the Confederacy and most of the industrial manufacturing in North America.

D) The Confederacy won several important victories early in the war and earned the respect of foreign leaders.

E) By the end of the war in 1865, many Union soldiers were armed with the new spencer repeating rifles that fired seven shots before reloading; the Confederate army continued to rely on slower, single-shot weapons for its soldiers.
this CR is like LSAT type....
its tough... i chose D however i dont really understand the answer choices
its great if someone can tell me its premises and conclusion and explain the answer choice

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by samudranb » Fri Oct 01, 2010 8:41 am
IMO, the answer is E.

The author's conclusion is that "in-spite of being better / more motivated, they were NOT going to win the war." This is the argument that we have to strengthen.
hitmis wrote: A) Both the confederate and Union troops started the war using similar single-shot muzzle-loading guns to which bayonets could be attached.
This actually weakens the argument a little. If both of them had the similar guns, then the author's point that "even before the war began, they were destined to lose" does not hold true.
hitmis wrote: B) The confederacy had a greater proportion of officers who attended the United States Military Academy at West point and have served with distinction in the Mexican war.
Again, weakens somewhat the author's point of view.
hitmis wrote: C) The Union had four times the total population of the Confederacy and most of the industrial manufacturing in North America.
Population and industrial manufacturing in NA has no relevance to the topic at hand. IMO, a junk answer.
hitmis wrote: D) The Confederacy won several important victories early in the war and earned the respect of foreign leaders.
Again, weakens the author's POV. If they won, they MIGHT have been better positioned before the war began.
hitmis wrote: E) By the end of the war in 1865, many Union soldiers were armed with the new spencer repeating rifles that fired seven shots before reloading; the Confederate army continued to rely on slower, single-shot weapons for its soldiers.
If their weapons were unequal, then inspite of being more skilled and motivated, they would have been not-so-favored. Hence, my answer.
An analogy could be drawn between the settlement of the west, and the ensuing struggle between the Indians and the Army. The Indians, because they had less sophisticated weapons, would have been favourites to lose, even before the war started. (I am not from the US. So please pardon me if my analogy is not so good.)

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by goyalsau » Fri Oct 01, 2010 9:02 am
samudranb wrote:IMO, the answer is E.


E) By the end of the war in 1865, many Union soldiers were armed with the new spencer repeating rifles that fired seven shots before reloading; the Confederate army continued to rely on slower, single-shot weapons for its soldiers.
If their weapons were unequal, then inspite of being more skilled and motivated, they would have been not-so-favored. Hence, my answer.
An analogy could be drawn between the settlement of the west, and the ensuing struggle between the Indians and the Army. The Indians, because they had less sophisticated weapons, would have been favourites to lose, even before the war started. (I am not from the US. So please pardon me if my analogy is not so good.)


This options talk about the ending of the war. Argument talk the beginning and then it says they would not have won if foreign countries would not have mediated . So i just don't understand talking about the ending of war how could strengthen the argument in which we never know what happened at last.

Please correct me guys if my reasoning is wrong.
I would like to go with D.
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by shovan85 » Fri Oct 01, 2010 9:08 am
HITMIS..... Whats OA?

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by David@VeritasPrep » Fri Oct 01, 2010 4:58 pm
Actually - I wrote this one, so I guess I should weigh in..

OA is C.

(Don't get caught up in the terminology you do not need to know what the union and confederacy are...)

Explanation: This question asks for the answer choice that strengthens the contention that it was true at the start of the Civil War in 1861 - that the Confederacy could not have won without foreign intervention. This is despite the fact that the Confederacy had advantages in troops being more committed and in having better generals. What is needed is a very strong advantage for the union that will counter this and in fact help explain the union victory.

The correct answer is Choice C, because it provides two overwhelming Union advantages to counter the superior generals and more committed soldiers on the Confederate side. It is also a factor that was in place at the beginning of the war. This answer is saying that the Union had four times as many people and nearly all of the manufacturing.

Choice E also provides a significant advantage to the Union, but this advantage was not in place at the beginning of the war as required by the historian's contention.

Choice A provides a factor that provides a similarity between the Confederate and Union forces and so could not explain why the Confederates would need help in order to win.

Choice B gives a factor that might be considered another advantage for the Confederacy.

Choice D is irrelevant because it is not an advantage for either side but just a report of the results earlier in the war.
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by hitmis » Fri Oct 01, 2010 5:18 pm
David, This one's actually tough for internationals since it takes us a while to get the historical context.

Thanks for posting the explanation.

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by goyalsau » Fri Oct 01, 2010 8:03 pm
David@VeritasPrep wrote:Actually - I wrote this one, so I guess I should weigh in..

OA is C.

(Don't get caught up in the terminology you do not need to know what the union and confederacy are...)

Explanation: This question asks for the answer choice that strengthens the contention that it was true at the start of the Civil War in 1861 - that the Confederacy could not have won without foreign intervention. This is despite the fact that the Confederacy had advantages in troops being more committed and in having better generals. What is needed is a very strong advantage for the union that will counter this and in fact help explain the union victory.
Dear David,
I m not to figure out that where in the passage it is written that union had actually win the war.
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by diebeatsthegmat » Fri Oct 01, 2010 10:26 pm
David@VeritasPrep wrote:Actually - I wrote this one, so I guess I should weigh in..

OA is C.

(Don't get caught up in the terminology you do not need to know what the union and confederacy are...)

Explanation: This question asks for the answer choice that strengthens the contention that it was true at the start of the Civil War in 1861 - that the Confederacy could not have won without foreign intervention. This is despite the fact that the Confederacy had advantages in troops being more committed and in having better generals. What is needed is a very strong advantage for the union that will counter this and in fact help explain the union victory.

The correct answer is Choice C, because it provides two overwhelming Union advantages to counter the superior generals and more committed soldiers on the Confederate side. It is also a factor that was in place at the beginning of the war. This answer is saying that the Union had four times as many people and nearly all of the manufacturing.

Choice E also provides a significant advantage to the Union, but this advantage was not in place at the beginning of the war as required by the historian's contention.

Choice A provides a factor that provides a similarity between the Confederate and Union forces and so could not explain why the Confederates would need help in order to win.

Choice B gives a factor that might be considered another advantage for the Confederacy.

Choice D is irrelevant because it is not an advantage for either side but just a report of the results earlier in the war.
wow, in conclusion nobody answered correctly... thanks david

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by David@VeritasPrep » Sat Oct 02, 2010 7:56 am
Dear goyalsau -

You are correct, it only says that the confederacy could not win without foreign intervention. It would have been good to then state that this did not come and the union was victorious.

As always, thanks for these points. It especially helps me to remember to not take any knowledge for granted as the GMAT has really become a very international test.

Perhaps I will write a question that assumes some fact that nearly everyone in the world knows except for Americans! Something to do with the metric system or something!

Thanks!
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by abhi.genx7 » Sat Oct 02, 2010 11:04 pm
An absolute rip off question ,
glad that i got it right :)