#21 - Specific Reference, Parallel

[Administrator]

Complete Question Explanation

The correct answer choice is (C).

Answer choice (A):

Answer choice (B):

Answer choice (C): This is the correct answer choice.

Answer choice (D):

Answer choice (E):

This explanation is still in progress. Please post any questions below!

[JotaDay]

Hi - Why can't the answer be A or E? There were two sets of historians who made arguements in that sentence and I'm struggling to understand why one should be treated diferently than the other?

JD

[Luke Haqq]

Hi JotaDay!

Although there are two groups of historians mentioned in that sentence, note that the question stem directs you specifically to line 4. Based off of that line reference, we're dealing with the "earlier historians." We're told that these earlier historians "argued that the ethnic identity of various immigrant groups to the United States blended to form an American national character" (lines 4-6).

That seems most analogous to (C), "a study showing how architectural styles brought from other countries have merged to form an American style." (A) and (E) might be more plausible if you deal with the historians mentioned later in the sentence, but those answer choices don't seem especially plausible if one is restricted to "historians mentioned in line 4," as required by the question stem.