Economic forecasters predict that rising interest rates will significantly impact consumer spending patterns throughout the next fiscal quarter. This ...
GMAT Craft and Structure : (Structure) Questions
Economic forecasters predict that rising interest rates will significantly impact consumer spending patterns throughout the next fiscal quarter. This shift will likely force retailers to adjust inventory strategies, modify pricing structures, and reconsider expansion plans as disposable income decreases across key demographic segments. Business analyst Jennifer Liu and her research team recently examined retail sales data from previous rate increases but found that historical patterns could not adequately predict how modern e-commerce dynamics would interact with traditional spending behaviors.
Which choice best describes the function of the second sentence in the overall structure of the text?
It describes the analytical approach taken by Liu and her research team.
It explains the practical consequences of the economic trend identified in the first sentence.
It identifies the research challenge that Liu and her team attempted to solve.
It summarizes the key finding reported by Liu and her team.
Step 1: Decode and Map the Passage
Create Passage Analysis Table
| Text from Passage | Analysis |
|---|---|
| 'Economic forecasters predict that rising interest rates will significantly impact consumer spending patterns throughout the next fiscal quarter.' |
|
| 'This shift will likely force retailers to adjust inventory strategies, modify pricing structures, and reconsider expansion plans as disposable income decreases across key demographic segments.' |
|
| 'Business analyst Jennifer Liu and her research team recently examined retail sales data from previous rate increases but found that historical patterns could not adequately predict how modern e-commerce dynamics would interact with traditional spending behaviors.' |
|
Provide Passage Architecture & Core Elements
Main Point: Rising interest rates will force significant retail adjustments, but predicting exactly how is challenging because historical data doesn't account for modern e-commerce factors.
Argument Flow: The passage moves from a broad economic prediction to its specific practical consequences for retailers, then introduces research showing the difficulty of making precise predictions in this new environment.
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 second sentence takes the economic prediction from sentence one and spells out what this means in practical terms for retailers
- It's essentially the follow-up that explains real-world implications
- The correct answer should recognize that this sentence explains the practical effects or consequences of the economic trend mentioned first
It describes the analytical approach taken by Liu and her research team.
✗ Incorrect
- This choice focuses on Liu and her research team's approach, but the second sentence doesn't mention Liu at all
- Liu doesn't appear until the third sentence
It explains the practical consequences of the economic trend identified in the first sentence.
✓ Correct
- This perfectly captures what we identified: the second sentence explains what retailers will practically have to do
- It connects directly to the economic trend from the first sentence
It identifies the research challenge that Liu and her team attempted to solve.
✗ Incorrect
- This is about identifying Liu's research challenge, but the second sentence doesn't identify any research challenge
- The research challenge appears in the third sentence
It summarizes the key finding reported by Liu and her team.
✗ Incorrect
- This claims the second sentence summarizes Liu's finding, but Liu isn't mentioned until the third sentence