Just Patty is a 1911 novel by Jean Webster. Patty and her friends have just been informed that they will...
GMAT Information and Ideas : (Ideas) Questions
Just Patty is a 1911 novel by Jean Webster. Patty and her friends have just been informed that they will no longer be roommates while at school. Patty talks to Mrs. Trent, the head of the school, about the situation. The narrator presents Patty as trying hard to convince Mrs. Trent to allow the group to continue sharing a room: ______
Which quotation from Just Patty most effectively illustrates the claim?
'[Mrs. Trent's] lips twitched. It was a fact, deplored by her assistants, that her sense of humour frequently ran away with her sense of justice.'
'[Mrs. Trent] nodded dismissal, and the three of them found themselves in the hall again. They looked at one another for a moment of blank silence.'
'Patty's eyes suddenly brightened. She seized [her friends] by [the] elbow and shoved them into the empty schoolroom.'
'Patty did use all the diplomacy at her command. Having dwelt touchingly upon their long friendship, and their sorrow at being separated, she passed lightly to the matter of their new roommates.'
Step 1: Decode and Map the Passage
Part A: Passage Analysis Table
| Text from Passage | Analysis |
|---|---|
| "Just Patty is a 1911 novel by Jean Webster." |
|
| "Patty and her friends have just been informed that they will no longer be roommates while at school." |
|
| "Patty talks to Mrs. Trent, the head of the school, about the situation." |
|
| "The narrator presents Patty as trying hard to convince Mrs. Trent to allow the group to continue sharing a room:" |
|
Part B: Main Point and Argument Flow
Main Point: We need to find evidence that shows Patty actively working to persuade Mrs. Trent to let her group stay together as roommates.
Argument Flow: The setup establishes a conflict (separation), introduces the key players (Patty and Mrs. Trent), and makes a specific claim about how Patty is portrayed in this interaction - as someone trying hard to convince the head of school.
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 correct quotation must show Patty actively engaged in trying to persuade Mrs. Trent
- We need evidence of her effort, her strategy, or her actual attempts at convincing
- The key elements should be:
- Patty taking action to convince (not just reacting)
- Directed toward Mrs. Trent specifically
- Clear indication of effort or strategy in persuasion
'[Mrs. Trent's] lips twitched. It was a fact, deplored by her assistants, that her sense of humour frequently ran away with her sense of justice.'
✗ Incorrect
- This focuses entirely on Mrs. Trent's personality - her humor versus justice
- Shows nothing about Patty's efforts to convince anyone
- About the wrong person entirely
'[Mrs. Trent] nodded dismissal, and the three of them found themselves in the hall again. They looked at one another for a moment of blank silence.'
✗ Incorrect
- Describes the aftermath - Mrs. Trent dismissing them
- Shows the result of the conversation, not Patty's convincing efforts
'Patty's eyes suddenly brightened. She seized [her friends] by [the] elbow and shoved them into the empty schoolroom.'
✗ Incorrect
- Shows Patty taking action with her friends
- No interaction with Mrs. Trent at all
- Action-oriented but wrong target - she's not trying to convince Mrs. Trent here
'Patty did use all the diplomacy at her command. Having dwelt touchingly upon their long friendship, and their sorrow at being separated, she passed lightly to the matter of their new roommates.'
✓ Correct
- Directly states "Patty did use all the diplomacy at her command" - shows deliberate persuasive effort
- Specifies her strategy: touching on their friendship and sorrow at separation
- Demonstrates exactly what the claim describes - trying hard to convince through diplomatic approach