A blend of gabardine and wool, the material for Elvis Presley's Gold Vine jumpsuit was flexible enough to allow the...
GMAT Expression of Ideas : (Expression) Questions
A blend of gabardine and wool, the material for Elvis Presley's Gold Vine jumpsuit was flexible enough to allow the singer to perform his signature dance moves. ________ the added weight of the suit's swirling vines made of gold rhinestones likely limited Elvis's mobility to some degree.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?
Step 1: Decode and Map the Passage
Create Passage Analysis Table
| Text from Passage | Analysis |
|---|---|
| "A blend of gabardine and wool, the material for Elvis Presley's Gold Vine jumpsuit was flexible enough to allow the singer to perform his signature dance moves." |
|
| [MISSING TRANSITION] |
|
| "the added weight of the suit's swirling vines made of gold rhinestones likely limited Elvis's mobility to some degree." |
|
Provide Passage Architecture & Core Elements
Visual Structure Map: Material Benefit (Flexibility) → [MISSING CONNECTOR] → Material Drawback (Weight limitation)
Main Point: Elvis's Gold Vine jumpsuit had material properties that both helped and hindered his performance.
Argument Flow: The passage establishes that the jumpsuit material was flexible enough for Elvis's dance moves, then presents a contrasting point about how the decorative elements likely created some mobility limitations.
Step 2: Interpret the Question Precisely
This is a fill-in-the-blank question asking us to choose the best logical connector. The answer must create the right relationship between what comes before and after the blank.
Step 3: Prethink the Answer
- We need a transition that shows the relationship between flexibility (allowing movement) and weight (limiting movement)
- These are opposing ideas - the material helps performance BUT the decorations hinder it
- The connector should signal contrast or opposition between these two points about the same jumpsuit
- The right answer should show contrast between the material's flexibility benefit and the weight's mobility cost
- Suggests cause-and-effect continuation
- Would incorrectly imply the weight limitation happens BECAUSE the material was flexible
- What trap this represents: Students might think this connects two related facts about the jumpsuit, missing that they're actually opposing effects
- Indicates the start of a sequence or list
- Doesn't work since we're not listing multiple items in order
- No logical connection between flexibility and weight limitation
- Signals contrast between two opposing ideas
- Perfectly connects the flexibility benefit with the weight drawback
- Shows that despite the material's flexibility, there was still a limitation
- Matches our prethinking about needing a contrast transition
- Suggests clarification or restatement of the same idea
- The weight limitation isn't restating the flexibility - it's presenting an opposite effect
- What trap this represents: Students might think both sentences are just describing the jumpsuit's properties without recognizing they're contrasting effects