When we concern ourselves with the study of history, we become storytellers. Because we can never know the past directly but must construct it by interpreting evidence, exploring history is more of a creative enterprise than it is an objective pursuit. Al

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When we concern ourselves with the study of history, we become storytellers. Because we can never know the past directly but must construct it by interpreting evidence, exploring history is more of a creative enterprise than it is an objective pursuit. All historians are storytellers. - GRE Issue 42

Are all historians essentially storytellers, for the reasons that the speaker cites? In asserting that we can never know the past directly, the speaker implies that we truly "know" only what we experience first-hand. Granting this premise, I agree that it is the proper and necessary role of historians to "construct" history by interpreting evidence. Nevertheless, the speaker's characterization of this role as "storytelling" carries certain unfair implications, which should be addressed.

One reason why I agree with the speaker's fundamental claim lies in the distinction between the role ...

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flaws:
Sentence-Text Coherence: 0.287 0.35

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Attribute Value Ideal
Score: 5.5 out of 6
Category: Excellent Excellent
No. of Grammatical Errors: 7 2
No. of Spelling Errors: 7 2
No. of Sentences: 25 15
No. of Words: 559 350
No. of Characters: 2909 1500
No. of Different Words: 253 200
Fourth Root of Number of Words: 4.862 4.7
Average Word Length: 5.204 4.6
Word Length SD: 3.044 2.4
No. of Words greater than 5 chars: 233 100
No. of Words greater than 6 chars: 184 80
No. of Words greater than 7 chars: 137 40
No. of Words greater than 8 chars: 93 20
Use of Passive Voice (%): 0 0
Avg. Sentence Length: 22.36 21.0
Sentence Length SD: 11.124 7.5
Use of Discourse Markers (%): 0.44 0.12
Sentence-Text Coherence: 0.287 0.35
Sentence-Para Coherence: 0.48 0.50
Sentence-Sentence Coherence: 0.102 0.07
Number of Paragraphs: 5 5