The question of where Vikings established their North American settlement of Vinland has generated considerable scholarly debate. While early historic...
GMAT Craft and Structure : (Structure) Questions
The question of where Vikings established their North American settlement of Vinland has generated considerable scholarly debate. While early historical accounts placed the settlement in present-day New England, recent archaeological investigations have identified Newfoundland as the more likely location. But most of the early historical research was based on limited manuscript sources. To address this methodological challenge, archaeologist Sarah Parcak and her team employed satellite imaging technology in 2019 to survey potential sites across a much wider geographic area. This comprehensive approach validated the northern location that archaeological evidence had previously suggested.
Which choice best describes the function of the underlined sentence in the overall structure of the text?
It describes a limitation of some studies about Viking settlements.
It summarizes the findings of archaeological investigations.
It explains how satellite technology improved historical research.
It contrasts different approaches to studying Viking history.
Step 1: Decode and Map the Passage
Part A: Passage Analysis Table
| Text from Passage | Analysis |
|---|---|
| 'The question of where Vikings established their North American settlement of Vinland has generated considerable scholarly debate.' |
|
| 'While early historical accounts placed the settlement in present-day New England, recent archaeological investigations have identified Newfoundland as the more likely location.' |
|
| 'But most of the early historical research was based on limited manuscript sources.' |
|
| 'To address this methodological challenge, archaeologist Sarah Parcak and her team employed satellite imaging technology in 2019 to survey potential sites across a much wider geographic area.' |
|
| 'This comprehensive approach validated the northern location that archaeological evidence had previously suggested.' |
|
Part B: Passage Architecture & Core Elements
Main Point: New satellite technology has validated archaeological evidence placing the Viking settlement of Vinland in Newfoundland rather than New England, addressing limitations in earlier manuscript-based research.
Argument Flow: The passage introduces a scholarly debate about Vikings' Vinland location, contrasts old historical accounts with recent archaeological findings, identifies a key limitation in early research methods, and then describes how new satellite technology addressed this limitation to validate the northern location.
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 underlined sentence comes right after we learn about the competing views
- It explains why the early historical accounts might not be reliable - they were based on limited sources
- This creates a methodological problem that needs to be solved
- The correct answer should identify that this sentence describes a limitation or weakness in the early historical research methods
It describes a limitation of some studies about Viking settlements.
Systematically
✓ Correct
- Correctly identifies the sentence as describing a limitation in studies about Viking settlements
- This matches our analysis that this sentence explains why early research was flawed
It summarizes the findings of archaeological investigations.
✗ Incorrect
- Claims the sentence summarizes archaeological findings
- But the sentence is actually about early historical research limitations, not archaeological results
It explains how satellite technology improved historical research.
✗ Incorrect
- Says the sentence explains how satellite technology improved research
- But the satellite technology explanation comes in the next sentence, not this one
It contrasts different approaches to studying Viking history.
✗ Incorrect
- Suggests the sentence contrasts different approaches
- But the sentence only discusses one approach and its limitation
- The contrast was established in the previous sentence