During the investigation, digital forensics specialists recovered a corrupted hard drive from the suspect's computer. Although initially damaged, adva...
GMAT Craft and Structure : (Structure) Questions
During the investigation, digital forensics specialists recovered a corrupted hard drive from the suspect's computer. Although initially damaged, advanced recovery techniques allowed the team to ______ critical files and communications that proved essential to building their case.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?
conceal
retrieve
organize
eliminate
Step 1: Decode and Map the Passage
Part A: Create Passage Analysis Table
| Text from Passage | Analysis |
|---|---|
| "During the investigation, digital forensics specialists recovered a corrupted hard drive from the suspect's computer." |
|
| "Although initially damaged, advanced recovery techniques allowed the team to" |
|
| [MISSING WORD/PHRASE] |
|
| "critical files and communications that proved essential to building their case." |
|
Part B: Provide Passage Architecture & Core Elements
Main Point: Advanced digital forensics techniques enabled specialists to successfully extract important evidence from a damaged hard drive during an investigation.
Argument Flow: The passage establishes an investigation context, presents a challenge (corrupted drive), introduces a solution (advanced recovery techniques), and emphasizes the successful outcome that was crucial for the case.
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, we have specialists who used advanced recovery techniques on a damaged hard drive, and this action led to obtaining critical files and communications
- The missing word needs to describe what the specialists did with these files using their advanced techniques
- Key elements the correct answer must have:
- Must logically connect advanced recovery techniques with obtaining files from a damaged source
- Should indicate successfully getting back or obtaining something that was previously inaccessible
- Must make sense in the context of digital forensics and recovering data from corrupted storage
- So the right answer should describe the action of successfully obtaining or getting back the critical files from the damaged hard drive
conceal
✗ Incorrect
- "Conceal" means to hide or keep secret
- This contradicts the entire purpose - investigators want to find and use evidence, not hide it
- What trap this represents: Students might think about keeping evidence secure, but the context clearly shows they need to access the files, not hide them
retrieve
✓ Correct
- "Retrieve" means to get back or recover something that was lost or difficult to access
- Perfectly matches the context of using advanced techniques to get files from a corrupted/damaged hard drive
- Aligns with our prethinking about successfully obtaining previously inaccessible data
organize
✗ Incorrect
- "Organize" means to arrange or structure systematically
- While investigators might organize files later, the sentence focuses on the initial action enabled by recovery techniques
- The emphasis is on getting the files in the first place, not arranging them
eliminate
✗ Incorrect
- "Eliminate" means to remove or get rid of completely
- Completely opposite of what investigators would want - they need the evidence for their case
- What trap this represents: Students might confuse this with eliminating corruption from files, but the sentence structure shows they're acting on the files themselves