During a busy weekend review meeting, the assistant manager questioned which staff member had been assigned to cover Thursday evening...
GMAT Information and Ideas : (Ideas) Questions
During a busy weekend review meeting, the assistant manager questioned which staff member had been assigned to cover Thursday evening service. The scheduling records showed the following assignments:
| Server Name | Day | Shift Type |
|---|---|---|
| Maria Santos | Thursday | Dinner |
| James Chen | Saturday | Lunch |
| Sarah Williams | Tuesday | Breakfast |
| David Park | Monday | Dinner |
Based on these scheduling records, Thursday's dinner shift was assigned to ______
Which choice most effectively uses data from the table to complete the statement?
Sarah Williams to the breakfast shift.
Maria Santos to the dinner shift.
James Chen to the lunch shift.
David Park to the dinner shift.
Step 1: Decode and Map the Passage
Create Passage Analysis Table
| Text from Passage | Analysis |
|---|---|
| "During a busy weekend review meeting, the assistant manager questioned which staff member had been assigned to cover Thursday evening service." |
|
| [Data Table with server assignments] |
|
| "Based on these scheduling records, Thursday's dinner shift was assigned to ______" |
|
Provide Passage Architecture & Core Elements
Main Point: The scheduling records contain the information needed to identify who was assigned to work Thursday's dinner shift.
Argument Flow: A manager needs to know Thursday evening staffing, scheduling records are provided with specific assignments, and we must use this data to complete the statement about Thursday's dinner assignment.
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 table analysis, we can see that Thursday appears in the scheduling records with Maria Santos assigned to the dinner shift
- The question asks us to complete "Thursday's dinner shift was assigned to ______" using the data from the table
- The correct answer must identify Maria Santos as the server, connect her to the dinner shift specifically, and match exactly what the table shows for Thursday
Sarah Williams to the breakfast shift.
✗ Incorrect
- This choice mentions Sarah Williams and breakfast shift
- The table shows Sarah Williams works Tuesday breakfast, not Thursday dinner
- Completely mismatches the day and person we need
Maria Santos to the dinner shift.
✓ Correct
- States "Maria Santos to the dinner shift"
- Matches exactly what the table shows: Maria Santos is assigned Thursday dinner
- Directly answers what the statement asks for using the table data
James Chen to the lunch shift.
✗ Incorrect
- This choice mentions James Chen and lunch shift
- The table shows James Chen works Saturday lunch, not Thursday dinner
- Wrong person and wrong shift type for Thursday
David Park to the dinner shift.
✗ Incorrect
- This choice mentions David Park and dinner shift
- While David Park does work dinner shift, the table shows he works Monday dinner, not Thursday
- Students might see "dinner shift" and think this fits, but they need to check the specific day