Urban development proposals typically involve complex technical documentation that citizens find difficult to navigate, yet city planner Marcus Chen a...
GMAT Craft and Structure : (Structure) Questions
Urban development proposals typically involve complex technical documentation that citizens find difficult to navigate, yet city planner Marcus Chen argues that municipal planning should not stay entirely _____ to community members: he creates interactive digital platforms where residents can explore and respond to proposed changes in their neighborhoods.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?
beneficial
transparent
opaque
comprehensive
Step 1: Decode and Map the Passage
Create Passage Analysis Table
| Text from Passage | Analysis |
|---|---|
| "Urban development proposals typically involve complex technical documentation that citizens find difficult to navigate," |
|
| "yet city planner Marcus Chen argues that municipal planning should not stay entirely ______ to community members:" |
|
| "he creates interactive digital platforms where residents can explore and respond to proposed changes in their neighborhoods." |
|
Provide Passage Architecture & Core Elements
Main Point: City planner Marcus Chen believes urban planning should be more accessible to community members and acts on this belief by creating digital tools for resident engagement.
Argument Flow: The passage sets up a contrast between the current problem (complex documentation that's hard for citizens to navigate) and Chen's response (arguing against keeping planning in its current state and creating interactive solutions to increase community involvement).
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 word "yet" signals a contrast between the problem (citizens find documentation "difficult to navigate") and Chen's position
- Chen argues that planning should NOT stay entirely [blank] to community members, and then he creates interactive platforms to help residents engage
- The logical relationship here is that Chen opposes keeping planning in a state that makes it hard for citizens to understand or access
- His solution (interactive platforms) makes planning more accessible and understandable
- So the right answer should describe a quality that Chen wants to eliminate - something that makes planning hard for citizens to engage with, like being unclear, inaccessible, or hard to understand
beneficial
- This would mean Chen argues planning shouldn't be "entirely beneficial" to residents
- This contradicts his actions - creating platforms to help residents engage shows he wants planning to benefit them
transparent
- This would mean Chen argues planning shouldn't be "entirely transparent" to residents
- This contradicts his solution - interactive platforms make planning MORE transparent and accessible
opaque
- Creates perfect logical relationship: Chen argues planning shouldn't stay "entirely opaque" (unclear/hard to understand) to residents
- Fits the contrast structure: problem is documentation that's "difficult to navigate" (opaque), Chen's solution makes it accessible
comprehensive
- This would mean planning shouldn't be "entirely comprehensive" to residents
- Doesn't address the core problem of accessibility and understanding