Teaching History

Expert replies

deeyah: Junior | Next Rank: 30 Posts; Posts: 17; Joined: Sun Jul 11, 2010 4:12 pm; Thanked: 1 times

by deeyah » Fri Jul 16, 2010 4:47 pm

Most students are bored by history courses as they are usually taught, primarily because a large amount of time is spent teaching dates and statistic. The best way to teach history, therefore, is to spend most class time recounting the lives of historical figures and very little on dates and statistics.

Each of the following is an assumption on which the argument depends EXCEPT:

(A) One should avoid boring one's students when teaching a history course.

(B) It is not incompatible with the attainable goals of teaching history to spend very little class time on dates and statistics.

(C) It is possible to recount the lives of historical figures without referring to dates and statistics.

(D) It is compatible with the attainable goals of teaching history to spend most class time recounting the lives of historical figures.

(E) Students are more bored by history courses as they are usually taught than they would be by courses that spend most class time recounting the lives of historical figures.

Please explain..your answer.

Source: Beat The GMAT — Critical Reasoning | Fri Jul 16, 2010 4:47 pm

Patrick_GMATFix: GMAT Instructor; Posts: 1052; Joined: Fri May 21, 2010 1:30 amFollowed by: 98 members; Thanked: 335 times

by Patrick_GMATFix » Fri Jul 16, 2010 5:39 pm

Hi deeyah,

All answers are assumption except the right answer, C.

The argument poses a problem and offers a solution.

Problem: students bored by history courses because lots of time is spent on stats.

Solution: best way to teach history is to spend most time recounting lives and very little on stats.

(A) Since the author argues that minimizing boring stats will result in "the best way to teach history", he must assume that students should not be bored if we want to achieve the best results.

(B) Since the author argues that spending "very little time" on stats would result in "the best way to teach history", he must assume that very little time on stats does not preclude (is not incompatible with) good teaching of history.

(C) Correct.

(D) Since the author argues that spenidng "most class time recounting lives" will result in "the best way to teach history", he must assume that spending time in this way does not preclude (is compatible with) good teaching of history.

(E) Since the problem that the author is trying to resolve is that "most students are bored...because of time spent on stats" and the solution offered is to spend more time recounting lives, the author must assume that his method will not be as boring.

C is not an assumption because the argument does not depend on students remembering stats. If you felt that this was an assumption, it is probably because you made an assumption of your own. You likely assumed that learning dates and stats is a necessary part of the best way to learn history.

If you have trouble with difficult assumption questions, set topic='CR Assumptions' and difficulty='600-700 & 700+' in the Drill Generator.

Hope that helps,
-Patrick

Check out my site: GMATFix.com

To prep my students I use this tool >> (screenshots, video)

Ask me about tutoring.

deeyah: Junior | Next Rank: 30 Posts; Posts: 17; Joined: Sun Jul 11, 2010 4:12 pm; Thanked: 1 times

by deeyah » Fri Jul 16, 2010 6:14 pm

Thanks Patrick..
I get it now.You are right I mistook option C to be an assumption too.
Thanks again.

Regards
Deeyah

reply2spg: Legendary Member; Posts: 1261; Joined: Sun Sep 14, 2008 3:46 am; Thanked: 27 times; GMAT Score:570

by reply2spg » Sat Jul 17, 2010 2:18 pm

Hey deeyah, just correction, mistook X for Y is correct and not mistook X to Y.

deeyah wrote:Thanks Patrick..
I get it now.You are right I mistook option C to be an assumption too.
Thanks again.

Regards
Deeyah

Sudhanshu
(have lot of things to learn from all of you)

GMAT Course Reviews

563 reviews

1168 reviews

431 reviews

359 reviews

147 reviews

5/5

5 Star (563 Reviews)

"Target Test Prep is the closest to the official version of the GMAT exam, about 99% accuracy in terms of the quality and quantity of information. The course has excellently created singular sets of focused lessons and tests for every possible topic that one could come across in the official GMAT exam."

"The TTP course maximizes the efficiency of the time you spend studying. It will take time and effort but I could almost guarantee that if you complete the course exactly as it is laid out you will get an amazing score. They also have a very responsive team willing to help with any questions you might have."

"TTP has two things that I think no other test prep company offers: A teaching approach that reinforces understanding and an attitude that will give you the mental preparedness needed to succeed on the test. TTP gives you a deep understanding of the concept you need to know while teaching you how to think."

Write a Review