Dr. Sarah Chen, a marine biologist studying coral reef ecosystems, faces a significant challenge in her research on reef biodiversity...
GMAT Craft and Structure : (Structure) Questions
Dr. Sarah Chen, a marine biologist studying coral reef ecosystems, faces a significant challenge in her research on reef biodiversity in the 1990s and early 2000s: traditional underwater survey methods, which rely on scuba diving and visual counts, consistently undercount nocturnal species and those living in deeper reef crevices. Chen has demonstrated that these conventional techniques capture only about \(60\%\) of actual species diversity. To address this limitation, Chen advocates for combining traditional surveys with environmental DNA sampling and automated underwater cameras, which can detect genetic traces of species and monitor reef activity during all hours.
Which choice best describes the overall structure of the text?
It describes a problem that arises in research on a particular topic, then outlines a scientist's method for addressing that problem.
It presents evidence for a particular research finding, then explains how that finding challenges accepted theories.
It identifies limitations of current research practices, then argues that those practices should be abandoned entirely.
It details the advantages of a specific research technique, then acknowledges a scientist's reservations about that technique.
Step 1: Decode and Map the Passage
Create Passage Analysis Table
| Text from Passage | Analysis |
|---|---|
| 'Dr. Sarah Chen, a marine biologist studying coral reef ecosystems, faces a significant challenge in her research on reef biodiversity in the 1990s and early 2000s:' |
|
| 'traditional underwater survey methods, which rely on scuba diving and visual counts, consistently undercount nocturnal species and those living in deeper reef crevices.' |
|
| 'Chen has demonstrated that these conventional techniques capture only about 60% of actual species diversity.' |
|
| 'To address this limitation, Chen advocates for combining traditional surveys with environmental DNA sampling and automated underwater cameras,' |
|
| 'which can detect genetic traces of species and monitor reef activity during all hours.' |
|
Provide Passage Architecture & Core Elements
Main Point: Dr. Chen has identified serious limitations in traditional coral reef survey methods and proposes combining them with newer technologies to get more complete species counts.
Argument Flow: The passage first establishes Chen as a researcher facing a specific problem, then details what that problem is and how significant it is, and finally presents her solution and explains how it addresses the original limitation.
Step 2: Interpret the Question Precisely
What's being asked? The overall structure of the text - how the information is organized and presented.
What type of answer do we need? A description of the passage's organizational pattern or rhetorical structure.
Any limiting keywords? Question Characterization:
- Content Genre: Sciences
- Content Format: Text-only
- Question Type: Purpose (specific part)
- Language Complexity: Moderate
Step 3: Prethink the Answer
The passage follows a classic problem-solution organizational pattern where we first learn about a research limitation and then learn about the scientist's approach to fixing it.
It describes a problem that arises in research on a particular topic, then outlines a scientist's method for addressing that problem.
✓ Correct
- Correctly captures the problem-solution structure. 'Problem that arises in research' matches the survey method limitations and 'Scientist's method for addressing that problem' matches Chen's combined approach.
It presents evidence for a particular research finding, then explains how that finding challenges accepted theories.
✗ Incorrect
- Incorrectly claims the passage 'presents evidence for a particular research finding' when it actually presents a research problem.
It identifies limitations of current research practices, then argues that those practices should be abandoned entirely.
✗ Incorrect
- Wrongly says Chen 'argues that those practices should be abandoned entirely' when Chen advocates for combining traditional methods with new ones.
It details the advantages of a specific research technique, then acknowledges a scientist's reservations about that technique.
✗ Incorrect
- Incorrectly claims the passage 'details the advantages of a specific research technique' when it actually details disadvantages of traditional techniques.