The following text is adapted from a 1995 academic memoir. Sarah, a graduate student in marine biology, is trying to...
GMAT Craft and Structure : (Structure) Questions
The following text is adapted from a 1995 academic memoir. Sarah, a graduate student in marine biology, is trying to convince her traditional advisor to support her unconventional research approach.
Dr. Martinez remained skeptical of fieldwork methods that diverged from laboratory protocols.
Sarah knew that her proposal to study whale communication in the wild would challenge established practices in their department.
Despite presenting compelling preliminary data, she struggled to bring her advisor around to her innovative methodology.
The professor's resistance stemmed from decades of laboratory-focused research traditions.
As used in the text, what does the phrase "bring her advisor around to" most nearly mean?
Get her advisor to rotate toward
Get her advisor to accept
Get her advisor to transport
Get her advisor to encircle
Step 1: Decode and Map the Passage
Part A: Passage Analysis Table
| Text from Passage | Analysis |
|---|---|
| "Dr. Martinez remained skeptical of fieldwork methods that diverged from laboratory protocols." |
|
| "Sarah knew that her proposal to study whale communication in the wild would challenge established practices in their department." |
|
| "Despite presenting compelling preliminary data, she struggled to bring her advisor around to her innovative methodology." |
|
| "The professor's resistance stemmed from decades of laboratory-focused research traditions." |
|
Part B: Passage Architecture & Core Elements
Main Point: Sarah faces difficulty convincing her traditional advisor to accept her innovative field-based research approach.
Argument Flow: The passage establishes the advisor's skeptical stance toward non-laboratory methods, then shows Sarah's awareness that her proposal challenges departmental norms, describes her struggle to persuade him despite having good preliminary data, and concludes by explaining that his resistance comes from decades of laboratory-focused tradition.
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
- Looking at our analysis, Sarah is trying to convince her skeptical advisor to accept her methodology
- The phrase "bring her advisor around to" appears in the context of her struggle to persuade him despite having good data
- The phrase should mean something like "persuade" or "convince to accept"
- The right answer should capture this idea of getting someone to change their position and accept something they were initially resistant to
Get her advisor to rotate toward
- Incorrect - This is a literal, physical interpretation of "bring around"
- The context is about persuasion/acceptance, not physical movement
Get her advisor to accept
- Correct - Matches the contextual meaning perfectly
- Sarah is trying to get her advisor to accept her methodology
- Fits with the struggle described
Get her advisor to transport
- Incorrect - Another literal interpretation that doesn't fit the context
- Makes no sense in the sentence
Get her advisor to encircle
- Incorrect - Yet another literal, physical interpretation
- Doesn't make grammatical or logical sense in context