While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:Primary source analysis involves examining original historical documents to underst...
GMAT Expression of Ideas : (Expression) Questions
While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:
- Primary source analysis involves examining original historical documents to understand past events and perspectives.
- Historians evaluate these sources for authenticity, context, and bias when conducting their research.
- The 'Freedmen's Bureau Records' are primary sources from the Reconstruction era.
- These documents include correspondence, reports, and legal proceedings from 1865-1872.
- They provide direct evidence of post-Civil War social and economic conditions.
- The 'Industrial Survey Reports' are primary sources from the Gilded Age period.
- These documents include factory inspection records, worker interviews, and safety reports from 1880-1900.
- They provide firsthand accounts of working conditions during rapid industrialization.
The student wants to compare how both sets of documents illustrate different aspects of primary source analysis. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?
Both document sets demonstrate primary source analysis, but historians must evaluate the 'Freedmen's Bureau Records' and 'Industrial Survey Reports' for authenticity, context, and bias when conducting research.
The 'Freedmen's Bureau Records' illustrate how primary sources provide direct evidence of social conditions, while the 'Industrial Survey Reports' demonstrate how primary sources capture firsthand accounts of economic conditions during industrialization.
Primary source analysis requires examining original documents from different eras, as shown by the 'Freedmen's Bureau Records' from 1865-1872 and the 'Industrial Survey Reports' from 1880-1900.
While the 'Freedmen's Bureau Records' include correspondence and legal proceedings that historians analyze for post-war evidence, the 'Industrial Survey Reports' contain factory inspections and safety reports from the same Reconstruction period.
Step 1: Decode and Map the Passage
Create Passage Analysis Table
| Text from Passage | Analysis |
|---|---|
| 'Primary source analysis involves examining original historical documents to understand past events and perspectives.' |
|
| 'Historians evaluate these sources for authenticity, context, and bias when conducting their research.' |
|
| 'The 'Freedmen's Bureau Records' are primary sources from the Reconstruction era.' |
|
| 'These documents include correspondence, reports, and legal proceedings from 1865-1872.' |
|
| 'They provide direct evidence of post-Civil War social and economic conditions.' |
|
| 'The 'Industrial Survey Reports' are primary sources from the Gilded Age period.' |
|
| 'These documents include factory inspection records, worker interviews, and safety reports from 1880-1900.' |
|
| 'They provide firsthand accounts of working conditions during rapid industrialization.' |
|
Main Point
The notes provide information about primary source analysis and present two distinct document sets from different historical periods that demonstrate various aspects of how primary sources function.
Step 2: Interpret the Question Precisely
What's being asked? The question asks to compare how both sets of documents illustrate different aspects of primary source analysis. This is asking us to identify what each document set specifically demonstrates about primary source analysis and show how they differ from each other.
What type of answer do we need? A comparison that identifies what each document set specifically demonstrates about primary source analysis and shows how they differ from each other.
Any limiting keywords? Compare, both sets of documents, different aspects, primary source analysis.
Step 3: Prethink the Answer
- From our analysis, each document set demonstrates different aspects of how primary sources work
- The Freedmen's Bureau Records show how primary sources provide direct evidence of social and economic conditions
- The Industrial Survey Reports demonstrate how primary sources capture firsthand accounts of working conditions
- The key difference is in the type of evidence each provides
Both document sets demonstrate primary source analysis, but historians must evaluate the 'Freedmen's Bureau Records' and 'Industrial Survey Reports' for authenticity, context, and bias when conducting research.
✗ Incorrect
- Mentions that historians must evaluate both sets for authenticity, context, and bias
- This doesn't compare how they illustrate different aspects
The 'Freedmen's Bureau Records' illustrate how primary sources provide direct evidence of social conditions, while the 'Industrial Survey Reports' demonstrate how primary sources capture firsthand accounts of economic conditions during industrialization.
✓ Correct
- Provides a perfect comparison showing different functions
- Direct evidence of social conditions versus firsthand accounts of economic conditions during industrialization
Primary source analysis requires examining original documents from different eras, as shown by the 'Freedmen's Bureau Records' from 1865-1872 and the 'Industrial Survey Reports' from 1880-1900.
✗ Incorrect
- Focuses only on different time periods rather than different aspects of primary source analysis
While the 'Freedmen's Bureau Records' include correspondence and legal proceedings that historians analyze for post-war evidence, the 'Industrial Survey Reports' contain factory inspections and safety reports from the same Reconstruction period.
✗ Incorrect
- Contains a factual error claiming both document sets are from the same Reconstruction period
- Industrial Survey Reports are from 1880-1900