Text corpora such as the Bank of English are enormous collections of electronically stored texts that can be used for...
GMAT Craft and Structure : (Structure) Questions
Text corpora such as the Bank of English are enormous collections of electronically stored texts that can be used for empirical testing of hypotheses regarding the frequency of typical word usage. If one has a ________ that the word 'get' has a high incidence in English, for example, an analysis of a corpus can support that hypothesis by showing that 'get' is the fifth most commonly used verb.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?
recognition
scheme
supposition
synopsis
Step 1: Decode and Map the Passage
Part A: Create Passage Analysis Table
| Text from Passage | Analysis |
|---|---|
| 'Text corpora such as the Bank of English are enormous collections of electronically stored texts' |
|
| 'that can be used for empirical testing of hypotheses regarding the frequency of typical word usage.' |
|
| 'If one has a ______' |
|
| 'that the word 'get' has a high incidence in English, for example,' |
|
| 'an analysis of a corpus can support that hypothesis by showing that 'get' is the fifth most commonly used verb.' |
|
Part B: Provide Passage Architecture & Core Elements
Main Point: Text corpora are large digital text collections that can empirically test hypotheses about how frequently words are used.
Argument Flow: The passage first defines text corpora and their purpose for testing word frequency hypotheses. It then provides a concrete example showing how someone with an idea about the word 'get' being common can use corpus analysis to find supporting evidence.
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 comes right before 'that the word 'get' has a high incidence in English' and the sentence continues to show how corpus analysis can 'support that hypothesis.'
- This tells us we need a word that describes some kind of testable idea or belief - something that can become a hypothesis that corpus analysis can then support or refute.
recognition
- 'Recognition' means acknowledging something that's already established or known
- This doesn't fit because the passage describes testing an idea, not acknowledging something already confirmed
scheme
- 'Scheme' refers to a systematic plan or organized framework
- This doesn't make sense in context - you don't have a 'scheme that the word 'get' has high incidence'
supposition
- 'Supposition' means an assumption or hypothesis that can be tested
- This perfectly fits the context - someone has a supposition (testable assumption) about 'get' being common
- The passage then shows how corpus analysis can 'support that hypothesis,' confirming this refers to a testable idea
synopsis
- 'Synopsis' means a brief summary or overview
- This makes no grammatical or logical sense - you can't have a 'synopsis that the word 'get' has high incidence'