A contemporary sculpture exhibit recently garnered notably more favorable reviews in specialized art publications than in mainstream daily papers. Con...
GMAT Craft and Structure : (Structure) Questions
A contemporary sculpture exhibit recently garnered notably more favorable reviews in specialized art publications than in mainstream daily papers. Considering the minimal _____ that exists among art critics about what defines excellence in contemporary sculptural work, this variation in critical reception should come as no surprise: critics often hold conflicting views about identical pieces.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?
consensus
knowledge
passion
examination
Step 1: Decode and Map the Passage
Part A: Create Passage Analysis Table
| Text from Passage | Analysis |
|---|---|
| 'A contemporary sculpture exhibit recently garnered notably more favorable reviews in specialized art publications than in mainstream daily papers.' |
|
| 'Considering the minimal ______ that exists among art critics about what defines excellence in contemporary sculptural work,' |
|
| 'this variation in critical reception should come as no surprise:' |
|
| 'critics often hold conflicting views about identical pieces.' |
|
Part B: Provide Passage Architecture & Core Elements
Main Point: The variation in how specialized versus mainstream publications reviewed a contemporary sculpture exhibit makes sense because art critics lack agreement on what constitutes excellence in contemporary sculptural work.
Argument Flow: The passage starts with an observation about different review patterns, then explains why this pattern is logical given the lack of shared standards among critics, and concludes with evidence that critics frequently disagree even when viewing identical artworks.
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
- The blank needs to explain why critics giving different reviews should come as no surprise
- If critics have minimal something about what makes good art, then of course they will give different reviews
- The word should represent some kind of agreement or shared standard that critics are missing
consensus
- Consensus means agreement among a group of people
- If there is minimal consensus among critics about excellence, then different reviews make perfect sense
- This directly explains why the variation should come as no surprise
knowledge
- The passage is not about critics lacking information but about them disagreeing despite having knowledge
passion
- The issue is not that critics lack enthusiasm for contemporary sculpture
- Critics can be passionate but still have different opinions
examination
- Critics clearly are examining the artwork
- The problem is not lack of examination but lack of agreement about what they find