Okot p'Bitek's poem Song of Lawino (1966) explores postcolonial Ugandan life through the eyes of a woman living in a...
GMAT Expression of Ideas : (Expression) Questions
Okot p'Bitek's poem Song of Lawino (1966) explores postcolonial Ugandan life through the eyes of a woman living in a rural village. With its vibrant imagery, bitingly satiric tone, and dexterous use of traditional Acholi song and phraseology, the poem inspired a generation of East African writers. _______ those who adopted its style are often referred to as Okot School poets.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?
Nevertheless,
Fittingly,
By comparison,
Instead,
Step 1: Decode and Map the Passage
Part A: Create Passage Analysis Table
| Text from Passage | Analysis |
|---|---|
| 'Okot p'Bitek's poem Song of Lawino (1966) explores postcolonial Ugandan life through the eyes of a woman living in a rural village.' |
|
| 'With its vibrant imagery, bitingly satiric tone, and dexterous use of traditional Acholi song and phraseology, the poem inspired a generation of East African writers.' |
|
| 'those who adopted its style are often referred to as Okot School poets.' |
|
Part B: Provide Passage Architecture & Core Elements
Main Point: Okot p'Bitek's Song of Lawino was so influential stylistically that it inspired a whole school of East African poetry.
Argument Flow: The passage introduces p'Bitek's poem and its subject matter, then describes its distinctive stylistic features and explains how these features inspired a generation of East African writers, leading to the detail that these influenced writers are now known as 'Okot School poets.'
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
- Before the blank, we learn the poem 'inspired a generation of East African writers.'
- After the blank, we learn that 'those who adopted its style are often referred to as Okot School poets.'
- The logical relationship here is one of appropriateness or natural consequence - since the poem was so influential that it inspired many writers, it makes sense that those writers would be given a special name recognizing this influence.
- So the right answer should signal that what follows is a logical, appropriate, or fitting consequence of what came before.
Nevertheless,
Nevertheless,
✗ Incorrect
- 'Nevertheless' signals contrast or opposition.
- This doesn't fit because being called 'Okot School poets' isn't contrary to being inspired by the poem - it's a natural result of that inspiration.
Fittingly,
Fittingly,
✓ Correct
- 'Fittingly' means 'appropriately' or 'as is suitable/proper'.
- This perfectly captures the logical relationship - because the poem inspired so many writers, it's appropriate that they'd be given a name that recognizes this influence.
By comparison,
By comparison,
✗ Incorrect
- 'By comparison' introduces a comparative analysis between two different things.
- We're not comparing the inspired writers to anything else - we're just stating what they're called.
Instead,
Instead,
✗ Incorrect
- 'Instead' signals an alternative or replacement.
- Being called 'Okot School poets' isn't an alternative to being inspired - it's a consequence of being inspired.