The following text is adapted from a community newsletter profile of a local volunteer coordinator.Elena's work at the community center...
GMAT Information and Ideas : (Ideas) Questions
The following text is adapted from a community newsletter profile of a local volunteer coordinator.
Elena's work at the community center extends far beyond standard operations. Through her coordination efforts, local families benefit from educational workshops, meal preparation programs, and direct service projects. Her evening and weekend hours focus on establishing partnership agreements with area businesses, which she then facilitates into collaborative community events. She has created comprehensive resource guides that support other volunteers and developed orientation programs that welcome new community members to participate effectively.
According to the text, what is true about Elena?
Her primary focus involves managing administrative tasks at the community center.
She establishes business partnerships and develops volunteer resources.
Educational workshops represent her most important community contribution.
She works exclusively during evenings and weekends on community projects.
Looking at this SAT question, I need to work through the passage systematically to find what the text directly tells us about Elena.
Step 1: Decode and Map the Passage
Part A: Passage Analysis Table
| Text from Passage | Analysis |
|---|---|
| "Elena's work at the community center extends far beyond standard operations." |
|
| "Through her coordination efforts, local families benefit from educational workshops, meal preparation programs, and direct service projects." |
|
| "Her evening and weekend hours focus on establishing partnership agreements with area businesses, which she then facilitates into collaborative community events." |
|
| "She has created comprehensive resource guides that support other volunteers and developed orientation programs that welcome new community members to participate effectively." |
|
Part B: Passage Architecture & Core Elements
Main Point: Elena's community center work encompasses multiple areas including program coordination, business partnerships, and volunteer resource development.
Argument Flow: The passage establishes Elena's broad role, then provides specific examples of her coordination work with families, describes her business partnership efforts during off-hours, and concludes with her resource creation for volunteers and new community members.
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
- She works beyond standard operations
- She establishes business partnerships (specifically mentioned)
- She creates resources for volunteers (resource guides mentioned)
- She works with various programs but none is singled out as primary
- The right answer should reflect both her business partnership work and her resource development activities, as these are the most concrete and specific details provided
Her primary focus involves managing administrative tasks at the community center.
✗ Incorrect
- Claims her "primary focus" is administrative tasks
- The passage explicitly states her work "extends far beyond standard operations," contradicting this choice
She establishes business partnerships and develops volunteer resources.
✓ Correct
- Directly matches the passage: "establishing partnership agreements with area businesses"
- Also matches: "created comprehensive resource guides that support other volunteers"
- Captures the two most specific and concrete activities described
Educational workshops represent her most important community contribution.
✗ Incorrect
- Claims educational workshops are her "most important" contribution
- The passage lists workshops as one of several equal activities, never ranking importance
She works exclusively during evenings and weekends on community projects.
✗ Incorrect
- Says she works "exclusively" during evenings and weekends
- The passage only mentions that her "evening and weekend hours focus on" partnerships, not that she only works these hours