A historian analyzing a 16th-century manuscript written in sophisticated Latin prose argues that the document originated in a university scriptorium,...
GMAT Information and Ideas : (Ideas) Questions
A historian analyzing a 16th-century manuscript written in sophisticated Latin prose argues that the document originated in a university scriptorium, pointing to its complex grammatical constructions and uniform calligraphy. She claims this exemplifies the advanced scholarly traditions maintained at medieval academic institutions during this period.
Which finding, if true, would most directly weaken the underlined claim?
Records show that wealthy merchant families routinely hired university-trained tutors to teach advanced Latin composition and penmanship to household members.
Chemical analysis confirms that the manuscript's ink and parchment materials were commonly available to institutional scriptoriums of the era.
Similar documents from the same period demonstrate comparable levels of linguistic sophistication and calligraphic consistency.
Archaeological evidence indicates that university scriptoriums typically produced multiple copies of important texts using standardized techniques.
Looking at this Command of Evidence question, I need to solve it systematically using the established process.
Step 1: Decode and Map the Passage
Passage Analysis Table
| Text from Passage | Analysis |
|---|---|
| "A historian analyzing a 16th-century manuscript written in sophisticated Latin prose" |
|
| "argues that the document originated in a university scriptorium," |
|
| "pointing to its complex grammatical constructions and uniform calligraphy." |
|
| "She claims this exemplifies the advanced scholarly traditions maintained at medieval academic institutions during this period." |
|
Passage Architecture & Core Elements
Main Point: A historian argues that a 16th-century manuscript's sophisticated features prove it came from a university scriptorium and demonstrates the advanced scholarly traditions of medieval academic institutions.
Argument Flow: The historian identifies sophisticated Latin and consistent calligraphy in a 16th-century document, uses these features as evidence that it originated in a university scriptorium, and concludes this exemplifies the high scholarly standards of medieval academic institutions.
Step 2: Interpret the Question Precisely
What's being asked? Which finding would most directly weaken the underlined claim.
What type of answer do we need? Evidence that would undermine the conclusion that the manuscript's features "exemplify the advanced scholarly traditions maintained at medieval academic institutions during this period."
Any limiting keywords? "most directly weaken" and "underlined claim" - we need to focus specifically on challenging the idea that these manuscript features demonstrate medieval academic institutional excellence.
Step 3: Prethink the Answer
- The underlined claim argues that the manuscript's sophisticated features (complex grammar and uniform calligraphy) exemplify advanced scholarly traditions of medieval academic institutions
- To weaken this claim, we need evidence that suggests these sophisticated features could come from sources other than university scriptoriums or medieval academic institutions
- The right answer should show that sophisticated Latin composition and uniform penmanship were available outside of university/academic settings, providing an alternative explanation for the manuscript's features
- The right answer should demonstrate that non-academic sources could also produce manuscripts with these supposedly distinctive academic characteristics
Records show that wealthy merchant families routinely hired university-trained tutors to teach advanced Latin composition and penmanship to household members.
✓ Correct
- Shows wealthy merchant families hired university-trained tutors to teach advanced Latin and penmanship to household members
- Provides a clear alternative source for sophisticated manuscripts - wealthy merchants could produce documents with the same features
- Directly undermines the claim that these features exemplify institutional scholarly traditions by showing they existed in private households
Chemical analysis confirms that the manuscript's ink and parchment materials were commonly available to institutional scriptoriums of the era.
✗ Incorrect
- Confirms the manuscript used materials commonly available to institutional scriptoriums
- Actually supports rather than weakens the possibility of university origin
- Doesn't address whether other sources could create similar sophisticated features
Similar documents from the same period demonstrate comparable levels of linguistic sophistication and calligraphic consistency.
✗ Incorrect
- Shows other documents had similar linguistic and calligraphic quality
- Simply demonstrates the features weren't unique to this one manuscript
- Doesn't tell us anything about the source of these features or challenge the academic institution theory
Archaeological evidence indicates that university scriptoriums typically produced multiple copies of important texts using standardized techniques.
✗ Incorrect
- Provides evidence that university scriptoriums used standardized production techniques
- Actually strengthens the connection between uniform features and academic institutions
- Supports rather than weakens the historian's argument about university origin