Marie Curie was renowned for her meticulous approach to scientific research, maintaining rigorous standards even when working with dangerous radioacti...
GMAT Expression of Ideas : (Expression) Questions
Marie Curie was renowned for her meticulous approach to scientific research, maintaining rigorous standards even when working with dangerous radioactive materials. _____ during her isolation of radium in 1910, she refused to use shortcuts despite the physical toll of handling tons of pitchblende ore, personally stirring vats of boiling material with an iron rod for hours to ensure purity.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?
To illustrate,
On the contrary,
In fact,
Nevertheless,
SAT Transitions Question Solution
Step 1: Decode and Map the Passage
Part A: Passage Analysis Table
| Text from Passage | Analysis |
|---|---|
| "Marie Curie was renowned for her meticulous approach to scientific research, maintaining rigorous standards even when working with dangerous radioactive materials." |
|
| "[MISSING TRANSITION]" |
|
| "during her isolation of radium in 1910, she refused to use shortcuts despite the physical toll of handling tons of pitchblende ore, personally stirring vats of boiling material with an iron rod for hours to ensure purity." |
|
Part B: Passage Architecture & Core Elements
Main Point: Marie Curie's reputation for meticulous scientific research is demonstrated through her painstaking approach to isolating radium.
Argument Flow: The passage establishes Curie's general reputation for careful research methods, then moves to provide a concrete historical example that demonstrates this characteristic through specific details about her radium isolation work.
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 first part establishes Marie Curie's general reputation for being meticulous and maintaining high standards in her research
- The second part gives us a very specific, detailed example of exactly this behavior during her 1910 radium work - refusing shortcuts, doing physical labor personally, working for hours to ensure purity
- This is a classic general-to-specific relationship
- The transition needs to signal "here's a concrete example of what I just told you about"
- The right answer should indicate that we're about to see a specific illustration or example of the meticulous approach that was just described
To illustrate,
✓ Correct
- "To illustrate" perfectly signals that we're about to see a specific example
- Creates the logical general-to-specific flow from her reputation to the concrete 1910 radium work details
- Matches our prethinking that we need a transition introducing an example
On the contrary,
✗ Incorrect
- "On the contrary" signals a contrast or opposite direction
- The radium work actually supports her meticulous reputation rather than contradicting it
- Would create illogical flow since both parts agree about her careful approach
In fact,
✗ Incorrect
- "In fact" typically introduces emphasis or a stronger/surprising claim
- The radium example isn't more extreme than the general statement - it's just a specific instance
Nevertheless,
✗ Incorrect
- "Nevertheless" introduces something that goes against expectation or overcomes an obstacle
- The radium work flows naturally from her reputation rather than surprising us
- Would suggest the meticulous work happened despite something, but there's no obstacle presented