In Asiya Wadud's 2022 poem 'Shorn, Treaded Red,' the poet contemplates a painting that has inspired her: Etel Adnan's 2020...
GMAT Expression of Ideas : (Expression) Questions
In Asiya Wadud's 2022 poem 'Shorn, Treaded Red,' the poet contemplates a painting that has inspired her: Etel Adnan's 2020 work Satellites 27. The painting, which features overlapping geometric shapes, fuels the poem's exploration of temporality and identity. ______ in responding to Adnan's artwork, Wadud's poem reflects on the relationship between poetry and other art forms.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?
In other words,
For instance,
What's more,
Conversely,
Step 1: Decode and Map the Passage
Part A: Create Passage Analysis Table
| Text from Passage | Analysis |
|---|---|
| "In Asiya Wadud's 2022 poem 'Shorn, Treaded Red,' the poet contemplates a painting that has inspired her: Etel Adnan's 2020 work Satellites 27." |
|
| "The painting, which features overlapping geometric shapes, fuels the poem's exploration of temporality and identity." |
|
| [MISSING TRANSITION] |
|
| "in responding to Adnan's artwork, Wadud's poem reflects on the relationship between poetry and other art forms." |
|
Part B: Provide Passage Architecture & Core Elements
Visual Structure Map:
[CONTEXT: Two artists and their works]
↓
[INFLUENCE: Painting → poem explores temporality/identity]
↓
[MISSING CONNECTOR]
↓
[ADDITIONAL FUNCTION: Poem reflects on art form relationships]
Main Point: Wadud's poem, inspired by Adnan's painting, explores both temporality/identity themes and broader relationships between different art forms.
Argument Flow: The passage establishes the cross-medium inspiration between Adnan's visual art and Wadud's poetry, then describes one specific way the painting influences the poem's content, before introducing another dimension of what the poem accomplishes in its artistic response.
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 passage analysis, the sentence before the blank tells us the painting fuels the poem's exploration of temporality and identity
- The sentence after the blank tells us the poem also reflects on the relationship between poetry and other art forms
- These are two different but complementary functions of the same poem - it does one thing AND it also does another thing
- We need a connector that signals we're adding more information about what the poem accomplishes, not restating the same idea or contrasting it
- So the right answer should signal that we're adding another layer or dimension to our understanding of what Wadud's poem does
In other words,
✗ Incorrect
- "In other words" signals that what follows restates or explains the same idea differently
- The second sentence isn't restating the temporality/identity exploration - it's introducing a completely different aspect (art form relationships)
- What trap this represents: Students might think both sentences are about the same general topic (the poem's content) and miss that they're actually describing two distinct functions
For instance,
✗ Incorrect
- "For instance" signals that what follows is an example of what was just mentioned
- Reflecting on art form relationships isn't an example of exploring temporality and identity - these are separate themes
- This connector would make the logic flow incorrectly
What's more,
✓ Correct
- "What's more" signals that additional information is being added to what we already know
- Perfectly matches our analysis - the poem explores temporality/identity AND ALSO reflects on art form relationships
- Creates the logical flow: here's one thing the poem does + here's another thing it does
Conversely,
✗ Incorrect
- "Conversely" signals a contrast or opposite relationship
- There's no contrast between exploring temporality/identity and reflecting on art form relationships - both are complementary aspects of the poem's response to the painting
- Would create illogical opposition where none exists