Reading Comprehension

In her account of unmarried
women's experiences in colonial
Philadelphia, Wulf argues that edu-
Line cated young women, particularly
(5) Quakers, engaged in resistance to
patriarchal marriage by exchanging
poetry critical of marriage, copying
verse into their commonplace
books. Wulf suggests that this
(10) critique circulated beyond the
daughters of the Quaker elite
and middle class, whose com-
monplace books she mines,
proposing that Quaker shools
(15) brought it to many poor female
students of diverse backgrounds.


Here Wulf probably overstates
Quaker schools' impact. At least
three years' study would be
(20) necessary to achieve the literacy
competence necessary to grapple
with the material she analyzes.
In 1765, the year Wulf uses to
demonstrate the diversity of
(25) Philadelphia's Quaker schools,
128 students enrolled in these
schools. Refining Wulf's numbers
by the information she provides
on religious affiliation, gender, and
(30) length of study, it appears that only
about 17 poor non-quaker girls
were educated in Philadelphia's
Quaker schools for three years or
longer. While Wulf is correct that
(35) a critique of patriarchal marriage
circulated broadly, Quaker schools
probably cannot be credited with
instilling these ideas in the lower
classes. Popular literary satires
(40) on marriage had already landed
on fertile ground in a multiethnic
population that embodied a wide
range of marital beliefs and
practices. These ethnic- and
(45) class-based traditions them-
selves challenged the legitimacy
of patriarchal marriage.

15. The primary purpose of the passage is to
A. argue against one aspect of Wulf's account of how ideas critical of marriage were disseminated among young women in colonial Philadelphia
B. discuss Wulf's interpretation of the significance for educated young women in colonial Philadelphia of the poetry they copied into their commonplace books
C. counter Wulf's assertions about the impact of the multiethnic character of colonial Philadelphia's population on the prevalent views about marriage
D. present data to undermine Wulf's assessment of the diversity of the student body in Quaker schools in colonial Philadelphia
E. challenge Wulf's conclusion that a critique of marriage was prevalent among young women of all social classes in colonial Philadelphia

16. According to the passage, which of the following was true of attitudes toward marriage in colonial Philadelphia?
A. Exemplars of a critique of marriage could be found in various literary forms, but they did not impact public attitudes except among educated young women.
B. The diversity of the student body in the Quaker schools meant that attitudes toward marriage were more disparate there than elsewhere in Philadelphia society.
C. Although critical attitudes toward marriage were widespread, Quaker schools' influence in disseminating these attitudes was limited.
D. Criticisms of marriage in colonial Philadelphia were directed at only certain limited aspects of patriarchal marriage.
E. The influence of the wide range of marital beliefs and practices present in Philadelphia's multiethnic population can be detected in the poetry that educated young women copied in their commonplace books.

17. The author of the passage implies which of the following about the poetry mentioned in the first paragraph?
A. Wulf exaggerates the degree to which young women from an elite background regarded the poetry as providing a critique of marriage.
B. The circulation of the poetry was confined to young Quaker women.
C. Young women copied the poetry into their commonplace books because they interpreted it as providing a desirable model of unmarried life.
D. The poetry's capacity to influence popular attitudes was restricted by the degree of literacy necessary to comprehend it.
E. The poetry celebrated marital beliefs and practices that were in opposition to patriarchal marriage.

18. Which of the following, if true, would most seriously undermine the author's basis for saying that Wulf overstates Quaker schools' impact (line 17-18) ?
A. The information that Wulf herself provided on religious affiliation and gender of students is in fact accurate.
B. Most poor, non-Quaker students enrolled in Quaker schools had completed one or two years' formal or informal schooling before enrolling.
C. Not all of the young women whose commonplace books contained copies of poetry critical of marriage were Quakers.
D. The poetry featured in young women's commonplace books frequently included allusions that were unlikely to be accessible to someone with only three years' study in school.
E. In 1765 an unusually large proportion of the Quaker schools' student body consisted of poor girls from non-Quaker backgrounds.

I have the following OA's but really doubt about their correctness
OA A C D B

I would request all those who are really good at RCs to solve this and also how did they approach to any answer

OA A C D B is correct.

Tell me your doubts and I will try to clarify them.

Could you explain in details as to what is being asked in Qn's 17 & 18 and also the answers for the same?

I seriously doubt 17)d and 18)B

why not 17)A and 18)A/E
Please help!

I agree with all OA's except for 18. OA should have been E

GmatKiss wrote:I seriously doubt 17)d and 18)B

why not 17)A and 18)A/E
Please help!

The key to 15 is the first sentence of the second paragraph: "Wulf overstates the Quaker school's impact" - this critique of Wulf focuses on schools - the vehicle of 'dissemination'. A is correct.

16: A, B, D, and E are not supported by the passage - only C is.
A - contradicts the argument in the second paragraph.
B - no information to support this idea - the attitudes may have been disparate within and without the schools
D - not supported by the passage.
E - the reverse of what is claimed in para 1, that ideas came from the elites to the population at large.

17 - A is not implied in the passage. B - contradicts what is explicitly stated in para 1. C - contradicts the passage. E - not supported in the passage. The poetry did not celebrate alternative beliefs, but rather simply criticized marriage. This leaves D - which corresponds to the author's critique of Wulf's theory, articulated in para 2.

18 - B is correct because the critique states the the poor women would have needed higher literacy, but if we establish that the poor women did indeed have a higher level, this would undermine the author's claim that Wulf had 'overstated' (=exaggerated) the influence of the Quaker schools.
A - is incorrect because the data on affiliation and gender has no bearing on the impact of schools, which is due to the accessibility of the poetry. The critique does not claim that these groups of women never met.
C is incorrect because it is sufficient for some of the women to have been Quakers for the ideas to be disseminated via schools.
D - this statement supports, rather than undermines the author's critique of Wulf (that the poetry would have been inaccessible)
E - This supports Wulf's theory, but does not undermine the critique. The critique could claim that regardless of how many women attended the schools - the poetry was inaccessible to them.

IMO
C,C,E,A

I got ADDB in loong 9 minutes!

Ilana@MasterGMAT wrote:The key to 15 is the first sentence of the second paragraph: "Wulf overstates the Quaker school's impact" - this critique of Wulf focuses on schools - the vehicle of 'dissemination'. A is correct.

16: A, B, D, and E are not supported by the passage - only C is.
A - contradicts the argument in the second paragraph.
B - no information to support this idea - the attitudes may have been disparate within and without the schools
D - not supported by the passage.
E - the reverse of what is claimed in para 1, that ideas came from the elites to the population at large.

17 - A is not implied in the passage. B - contradicts what is explicitly stated in para 1. C - contradicts the passage. E - not supported in the passage. The poetry did not celebrate alternative beliefs, but rather simply criticized marriage. This leaves D - which corresponds to the author's critique of Wulf's theory, articulated in para 2.

18 - B is correct because the critique states the the poor women would have needed higher literacy, but if we establish that the poor women did indeed have a higher level, this would undermine the author's claim that Wulf had 'overstated' (=exaggerated) the influence of the Quaker schools.
A - is incorrect because the data on affiliation and gender has no bearing on the impact of schools, which is due to the accessibility of the poetry. The critique does not claim that these groups of women never met.
C is incorrect because it is sufficient for some of the women to have been Quakers for the ideas to be disseminated via schools.
D - this statement supports, rather than undermines the author's critique of Wulf (that the poetry would have been inaccessible)
E - This supports Wulf's theory, but does not undermine the critique. The critique could claim that regardless of how many women attended the schools - the poetry was inaccessible to them.

What should've been the ideal time to do this?
I took 9 minutes?

What took you 9 minutes? The passage + questions? Or just one question?

The passage plus qsns took me 9 minutes.
And I got one wrong too!

For a passage followed by 4 questions, 9 mins. is exactly the recommended time - congratulation! Don't beat yourself up for getting one question wrong - you are in the processing of perfecting your skills. The better attitude is to ask yourself why you got one question wrong, and see if you can generalize a lesson for yourself.

Ilana@MasterGMAT wrote:For a passage followed by 4 questions, 9 mins. is exactly the recommended time - congratulation! Don't beat yourself up for getting one question wrong - you are in the processing of perfecting your skills. The better attitude is to ask yourself why you got one question wrong, and see if you can generalize a lesson for yourself.

Thanks Ilana!
I made a stupid mistake, got carried away by the answer choices!
But thanks for the encouragement!