James Baldwin's influence on American literature extends far beyond his own novels and essays. _____ his mentorship of younger writers...
GMAT Expression of Ideas : (Expression) Questions
James Baldwin's influence on American literature extends far beyond his own novels and essays. _____ his mentorship of younger writers like Toni Morrison and his role in shaping the Civil Rights Movement demonstrate the breadth of his cultural impact.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?
In contrast,
Nevertheless,
For example,
Similarly,
Step 1: Decode and Map the Passage
Create Passage Analysis Table
| Text from Passage | Analysis |
|---|---|
| "James Baldwin's influence on American literature extends far beyond his own novels and essays." |
|
| [MISSING TRANSITION] |
|
| "his mentorship of younger writers like Toni Morrison and his role in shaping the Civil Rights Movement demonstrate the breadth of his cultural impact." |
|
Provide Passage Architecture & Core Elements
Main Point: James Baldwin's cultural influence extended well beyond his literary works into mentoring other writers and social activism.
Argument Flow: The passage establishes a broad claim about Baldwin's extensive influence, then provides concrete examples to demonstrate that breadth of impact.
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 table, we see the first sentence makes a broad claim that Baldwin's influence goes beyond his writing
- The sentence after the blank gives us specific examples of that broader influence
- So we need a transition that signals "here are specific examples of what I just claimed"
In contrast,
"In contrast"
✗ Incorrect
- Signals opposition or contradiction
- But the mentorship and Civil Rights examples support the first sentence rather than contradict it
Nevertheless,
"Nevertheless"
✗ Incorrect
- Signals that something unexpected follows despite what was just said
- The examples after the blank are exactly what we'd expect after claiming Baldwin had broad influence
For example,
"For example"
✓ Correct
- Signals that specific instances will follow a general statement
- This perfectly matches our passage structure: broad claim followed by specific examples
- The mentorship and Civil Rights work are concrete examples of the "far beyond" influence mentioned in the first sentence
Similarly,
"Similarly"
✗ Incorrect
- Indicates comparison to something previously mentioned
- But there's nothing in the first sentence to compare the examples to, just the initial claim