Literary educator Harold Bloom championed a "strong reading" approach that emphasized wrestling with influential predecessor texts rather than passive...
GMAT Expression of Ideas : (Expression) Questions
Literary educator Harold Bloom championed a "strong reading" approach that emphasized wrestling with influential predecessor texts rather than passive acceptance. He believed such intellectual struggle was essential for developing authentic literary voice; _____ his students consistently demonstrated more original and confident writing than those taught through traditional methods.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?
for example,
as a result,
in contrast,
specifically,
Step 1: Decode and Map the Passage
Part A: Passage Analysis Table
| Text from Passage | Analysis |
|---|---|
| "Literary educator Harold Bloom championed a 'strong reading' approach that emphasized wrestling with influential predecessor texts rather than passive acceptance." |
|
| "He believed such intellectual struggle was essential for developing authentic literary voice;" |
|
| "[MISSING TRANSITION]" |
|
| "his students consistently demonstrated more original and confident writing than those taught through traditional methods." |
|
Part B: Passage Architecture & Core Elements
Main Point: Harold Bloom's challenging "strong reading" approach produced better student writing outcomes than traditional teaching methods.
Argument Flow: The passage introduces Bloom's educational philosophy, explains his reasoning for why intellectual struggle matters, then presents evidence that his approach worked by showing his students' superior performance.
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 Bloom's belief that struggle is essential for developing authentic literary voice, followed by evidence that his students actually performed better than traditionally-taught students
- The missing connector needs to show that the student results support or flow from his educational philosophy
- The relationship here is cause-effect: because Bloom believed in and presumably implemented his "strong reading" approach, his students achieved better outcomes
- We need a transition that signals "this belief/approach led to this positive result"
for example,
- This would suggest the student results are just an illustration of his belief
- But we're not giving an example of what he believed - we're showing the outcome of applying his belief
- Doesn't capture the cause-effect relationship between his approach and student success
as a result,
- Shows clear cause-effect relationship: his belief/approach caused the positive student outcomes
- Connects his educational philosophy directly to the evidence of its effectiveness
- Matches our prethinking about needing a connector that shows consequences
in contrast,
- Would suggest the student results contradict or oppose his belief
- But the results actually support and validate his approach
- Creates an illogical opposition where none exists
specifically,
- Would suggest we're providing more detailed information about his belief
- But student outcomes aren't a specification of what he believed - they're proof it worked
- This is a common trap - students might choose this thinking we're being more specific about his teaching method, but we're actually showing results, not elaborating on the method itself