Question guilds

1.2 Command of Evidence - Quantitative evidence: reading tables and graphs
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Guilds in French Cities in the Late Eighteenth Century

CityDateInhabitantsNumber of guildsInhabitants per guild
Paris1766600,0001334,511
Bordeaux176280,000491,633
Rouen177574,000112661
Lyon1789143,000721,986

Guilds—local associations of artisans and merchants in the same industry—were widespread in France from the medieval period until the late eighteenth century. But guilds were much more numerous relative to the population in some cities than in others: for example, blank

Which choice most effectively uses data from the table to complete the statement?

A.

there were 49 guilds in Bordeaux but 72 guilds in Lyon despite the two cities having nearly equal numbers of inhabitants.

B.

Lyon had far fewer inhabitants than Paris did but had many more guilds. 

C.

there was one guild for every 661 inhabitants in Rouen but one guild for every 4,511 inhabitants in Paris. 

D.

Paris had 133 guilds and 600,000 inhabitants, or one guild for every 4,511 inhabitants. 

Guilds in French Cities in the Late Eighteenth Century City Date Inhabitants Number of guilds Inhabitants

Medium-difficulty · SAT Reading & Writing · Command of Evidence — Quantitative evidence: reading tables and graphs. Read the question above, select your answer, and check the full explanation below to understand exactly why the correct choice works.

Answer explanation

Choice C is the best answer. The claim we’re trying to prove is that guilds were much more numerous relative to population in some cities than others. This choice describes the guilds per number of inhabitants in two cities (Rouen and Paris), showing significant differences between guilds relative to population in these cities.

Choice A is incorrect. This choice misreads the table. Bordeaux had 80,000 inhabitants, according to the table, while Lyon had 143,000, so it isn’t correct to say that they had "nearly equal numbers of inhabitants." Lyon had almost twice as many inhabitants. Choice B is incorrect. This choice misreads the table. Although Lyon did have fewer inhabitants than Paris, it didn’t have more guilds—Paris had 133 guilds versus Lyon’s 72. Choice D is incorrect. This choice doesn’t support the claim. To show that guilds were more numerous relative to population in some cities than others, we would need to compare at least two cities, and this choice only mentions one.