At the turn of the twentieth century, Black residents of Richmond, Virginia, had few formal options for banking and other...
GMAT Craft and Structure : (Structure) Questions
At the turn of the twentieth century, Black residents of Richmond, Virginia, had few formal options for banking and other financial services. To _________ this situation, Maggie Lena Walker chartered the St. Luke Penny Savings Bank in 1903. The bank went on to provide home loans and savings opportunities to thousands of Black families over the following decades.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?
prolong
rectify
retain
highlight
Step 1: Decode and Map the Passage
Create Passage Analysis Table
| Text from Passage | Analysis |
|---|---|
| "At the turn of the twentieth century, Black residents of Richmond, Virginia, had few formal options for banking and other financial services." |
|
| "To _____ this situation," |
|
| "Maggie Lena Walker chartered the St. Luke Penny Savings Bank in 1903." |
|
| "The bank went on to provide home loans and savings opportunities to thousands of Black families over the following decades." |
|
Provide Passage Architecture & Core Elements
Main Point: Maggie Lena Walker addressed the lack of banking services for Black residents in Richmond by creating a bank that successfully served the community for decades.
Argument Flow: The passage presents a clear problem-solution structure. It first establishes that Black residents lacked banking options, then shows how Walker responded by founding a bank, and finally demonstrates the success of this solution through the bank's long-term service to thousands of families.
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 missing word needs to describe Walker's intention regarding the problematic situation of limited banking access
- Looking at our analysis, we see that Walker created a bank that successfully provided services to thousands of families over decades
- This suggests she was trying to fix or correct the problem, not make it worse or simply draw attention to it
- The logical relationship we need is one where Walker is taking action to improve or resolve the banking access problem that was just described
- So the right answer should indicate that Walker was trying to fix, correct, or address this problematic situation
prolong
- This means to extend or make something last longer
- Makes no logical sense - Walker wouldn't want to make the problem of limited banking access continue longer
- Contradicts the evidence that she created a successful solution
- ✗ Incorrect
rectify
- This means to correct, fix, or set right
- Perfect logical fit - Walker saw the problem of limited banking access and took action to fix it
- Matches our prethinking about addressing/correcting the problematic situation
- Supported by the evidence that her bank successfully served thousands of families
- ✓ Correct
retain
- This means to keep or maintain something
- Doesn't make sense - you wouldn't retain a problematic situation
- The passage shows Walker changed the situation, not kept it the same
- ✗ Incorrect
highlight
- This means to emphasize or draw attention to something
- While drawing attention might be part of activism, the passage focuses on Walker's concrete action of creating a bank
- Trap: Students might think highlighting problems is always the first step toward solving them, but the passage emphasizes action, not awareness-raising
- ✗ Incorrect