Austin McCoy has argued that historians have tended to ________ rank-and-file workers in analyses of changes in organized labor in...
GMAT Craft and Structure : (Structure) Questions
Austin McCoy has argued that historians have tended to ________ rank-and-file workers in analyses of changes in organized labor in the United States in the decades following the Second World War, presenting political, business, and labor leaders as the major actors and ordinary workers as nearly devoid of agency.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?
epitomize
marginalize
extol
substantiate
Step 1: Decode and Map the Passage
Part A: Create Passage Analysis Table
| Text from Passage | Analysis |
|---|---|
| "Austin McCoy has argued that historians have tended to _______ rank-and-file workers in analyses of changes in organized labor in the United States in the decades following the Second World War," |
|
| "presenting political, business, and labor leaders as the major actors and ordinary workers as nearly devoid of agency." |
|
Part B: Provide Passage Architecture & Core Elements
Main Point: McCoy argues that historians have unfairly sidelined ordinary workers in their analyses of post-WWII labor changes.
Argument Flow: McCoy presents his critique of historical scholarship, then explains exactly how this problematic treatment manifests - historians elevate leaders while diminishing workers' importance and influence.
Step 2: Interpret the Question Precisely
This is a fill-in-the-blank question asking us to choose the best logical connector. The answer must create the right relationship between what comes before and after the blank.
Step 3: Prethink the Answer
- The missing word describes what historians have done to rank-and-file workers
- From our analysis, we know that historians focus heavily on leaders as "major actors" while treating ordinary workers as having "nearly devoid of agency"
- This suggests historians have pushed workers to the sidelines or treated them as unimportant
- The word we need should convey the idea of pushing something to the side, ignoring it, or treating it as less significant
epitomize
- "Epitomize" means to be a perfect example or embodiment of something
- This doesn't fit because McCoy isn't saying historians use workers as examples - he's saying they ignore or sideline them
marginalize
- "Marginalize" means to treat as unimportant or push to the edge/sidelines
- This perfectly matches our analysis - historians push workers aside while elevating leaders as the main focus
extol
- "Extol" means to praise enthusiastically or highly
- This contradicts the passage entirely - if historians praised workers, they wouldn't present them as "devoid of agency"
substantiate
- "Substantiate" means to provide evidence or support for something
- This doesn't make sense in context - the issue isn't about providing evidence for workers, but about how historians treat them in their analyses