On painter William H. Johnson's return to the United States in 1938 after a decade in Europe, his style underwent...
GMAT Craft and Structure : (Structure) Questions
On painter William H. Johnson's return to the United States in 1938 after a decade in Europe, his style underwent an abrupt transformation. Turning away from landscapes painted in an expressionist style—a style that often involves using fluid, distorted shapes and thick, textured brushstrokes to express the artist's subjective experience of reality—Johnson began painting portraits of Black Americans in a bold new way. Evocative of African sculpture and American and Scandinavian folk art, these portraits feature flat, deliberately oversimplified figures in a vibrant but limited color palette.
Which choice best describes the function of the underlined sentence in the text as a whole?
It elaborates on the previous sentence's statement about a transitional moment in Johnson's artistic career.
It provides information about Johnson's travels in support of a claim about his artistic influences, which is advanced in the following sentence.
It recounts a moment in Johnson's personal life that enabled the success of his subsequent career, which is summarized in the following sentence.
It presents evidence that calls into question the previous sentence's characterization of Johnson's artistic development.
Step 1: Decode and Map the Passage
Passage Analysis Table
| Text from Passage | Analysis |
|---|---|
| 'On painter William H. Johnson's return to the United States in 1938 after a decade in Europe, his style underwent an abrupt transformation.' |
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| 'Turning away from landscapes painted in an expressionist style—a style that often involves using fluid, distorted shapes and thick, textured brushstrokes to express the artist's subjective experience of reality—Johnson began painting portraits of Black Americans in a bold new way.' |
|
| 'Evocative of African sculpture and American and Scandinavian folk art, these portraits feature flat, deliberately oversimplified figures in a vibrant but limited color palette.' |
|
Passage Architecture & Core Elements
Main Point: William H. Johnson's artistic style changed dramatically when he returned to America in 1938, shifting from expressionist landscapes to distinctively styled portraits of Black Americans.
Argument Flow: The passage presents a clear chronological narrative of artistic transformation. It establishes the moment of change, then elaborates on what that change entailed by contrasting his old and new approaches, and finally describes the specific visual characteristics of his new style.
Step 2: Interpret the Question Precisely
What's being asked? The function of the underlined sentence within the overall text structure
What type of answer do we need? A description of how this sentence serves the passage's organization and purpose
Any limiting keywords? 'underlined sentence' - we're focused specifically on the second sentence, not the passage as a whole
Step 3: Prethink the Answer
- Looking at our passage analysis, the underlined sentence comes right after we learn about Johnson's 'abrupt transformation'
- We know what that sentence does - it explains what this transformation actually looked like by showing us the before (expressionist landscapes) and after (bold portraits)
- The right answer should recognize that this sentence serves to elaborate on or explain the transformation mentioned in the previous sentence
- It's not introducing something entirely new - it's unpacking what that 'abrupt transformation' meant in concrete terms
- So the right answer should describe this as an elaboration or explanation of the previous sentence's claim about transformation
It elaborates on the previous sentence's statement about a transitional moment in Johnson's artistic career.
- This perfectly captures what we identified - the sentence elaborates on the 'abrupt transformation' mentioned in the first sentence
- It matches our prethinking that the sentence explains what that transformation looked like
- The word 'transitional moment' accurately describes the 1938 return and style change
It provides information about Johnson's travels in support of a claim about his artistic influences, which is advanced in the following sentence.
- The underlined sentence doesn't provide information about Johnson's travels - it describes his artistic change
- The sentence doesn't support claims about influences; it describes the change itself
- Students might connect 'decade in Europe' from the first sentence with 'influences' and think travel information supports influence claims
It recounts a moment in Johnson's personal life that enabled the success of his subsequent career, which is summarized in the following sentence.
- This describes the artistic transformation, not a personal life moment
- The sentence is about style change, not personal experiences that enabled career success
- There's no indication this moment 'enabled' future success
It presents evidence that calls into question the previous sentence's characterization of Johnson's artistic development.
- The sentence supports and explains the previous sentence's characterization - it doesn't question it
- Both sentences work together to describe the same transformation
- Students might think that describing what Johnson moved 'away from' somehow contradicts or questions the previous sentence