Medical professionals treating patients with chronic fatigue syndrome often cannot determine the underlying biological cause of the condition. However...
GMAT Information and Ideas : (Ideas) Questions
Medical professionals treating patients with chronic fatigue syndrome often cannot determine the underlying biological cause of the condition. However, doctors have found that symptom-based interventions, such as graduated exercise therapy and cognitive behavioral approaches, can significantly improve patients' quality of life and daily functioning. The doctors' success with these treatments therefore suggests that _____
Which choice most logically completes the text?
effective medical treatment doesn't require identifying the underlying cause of a condition.
symptom-based interventions are superior to treatments that target root causes.
chronic fatigue syndrome research should prioritize developing new therapies over investigating biological mechanisms.
using symptom management approaches has resolved the scientific debate about chronic fatigue syndrome's origins.
Step 1: Decode and Map the Passage
Part A: Passage Analysis Table
| Text from Passage | Analysis |
|---|---|
| "Medical professionals treating patients with chronic fatigue syndrome often cannot determine the underlying biological cause of the condition." |
|
| "However, doctors have found that symptom-based interventions, such as graduated exercise therapy and cognitive behavioral approaches, can significantly improve patients' quality of life and daily functioning." |
|
| "The doctors' success with these treatments therefore suggests that _____" |
|
Part B: Passage Architecture & Core Elements
Main Point: Even without knowing the biological cause of chronic fatigue syndrome, symptom-focused treatments can be highly effective.
Argument Flow: The passage establishes a limitation (doctors cannot find the underlying cause), then contrasts this with a success (symptom treatments work well anyway), leading to a logical inference about what this success implies for medical treatment in general.
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 passage sets up this logical structure: doctors cannot identify the underlying cause of chronic fatigue syndrome, BUT they have found that treating just the symptoms works really well. So what does this success suggest?
- The right answer should connect this success to a broader principle about medical treatment. Since treatments work well even without knowing the root cause, this suggests that knowing the underlying cause is not always necessary for effective treatment.
effective medical treatment doesn't require identifying the underlying cause of a condition.
✓ Correct
- This directly captures the logical inference from our passage analysis
- It matches our prethinking perfectly - if symptom treatments work well despite not knowing the biological cause, then effective treatment does not require identifying the underlying cause
symptom-based interventions are superior to treatments that target root causes.
✗ Incorrect
- Claims symptom-based interventions are superior to treatments targeting root causes
- The passage never compares these two approaches - it just says symptom treatments work well
chronic fatigue syndrome research should prioritize developing new therapies over investigating biological mechanisms.
✗ Incorrect
- Shifts to what research should prioritize - this is about research strategy, not what the treatment success suggests
- The passage is about treatment effectiveness, not research priorities
using symptom management approaches has resolved the scientific debate about chronic fatigue syndrome's origins.
✗ Incorrect
- Claims symptom management has resolved the scientific debate about origins
- The passage clearly states doctors still cannot determine the biological cause - no debate has been resolved