The following text is from Laila Lalami's 2019 novel The Other Americans. The narrator is a member of her middle...
GMAT Information and Ideas : (Ideas) Questions
The following text is from Laila Lalami's 2019 novel The Other Americans. The narrator is a member of her middle school's jazz band.
One day the jazz band was invited to perform at the Summer Festival in Palm Springs. Walking across the stage to the piano, I did what my teacher had advised. Pretend you're only playing for one person. That way you won't be so nervous. I glanced at my father, who sat in the front row, leaning his head just so, waiting. Then I closed my eyes, and began to play.
©2019 by Laila Lalami
According to the text, what does the narrator do as she walks across the stage?
She thinks about the differences between playing the piano alone and playing in a band.
She feels excitement about playing in a music festival for the first time.
She remembers how hard she has practiced for the performance.
She follows her teacher's advice about managing her nervousness.
Step 1: Decode and Map the Passage
Part A: Create Passage Analysis Table
| Text from Passage | Analysis |
|---|---|
| 'One day the jazz band was invited to perform at the Summer Festival in Palm Springs.' |
|
| 'Walking across the stage to the piano, I did what my teacher had advised.' |
|
| 'Pretend you're only playing for one person. That way you won't be so nervous.' |
|
| 'I glanced at my father, who sat in the front row, leaning his head just so, waiting.' |
|
| 'Then I closed my eyes, and began to play.' |
|
Part B: Provide Passage Architecture & Core Elements
Main Point: The narrator manages her performance nerves by following her teacher's advice to imagine playing for just one person.
Argument Flow: The passage sets up a performance context, then focuses on the narrator's specific strategy for dealing with nervousness while walking to perform. We learn the teacher's advice about pretending to play for one person, see the narrator implement this by focusing on her father, and conclude with her beginning the performance.
Step 2: Interpret the Question Precisely
What's being asked? The question wants to know what specific action the narrator takes while walking across the stage.
What type of answer do we need? A behavior or action that occurs during her walk to the piano.
Any limiting keywords? 'According to the text' tells us we need something explicitly stated in the passage, and 'as she walks across the stage' gives us the specific timeframe.
Step 3: Prethink the Answer
- The passage explicitly tells us what the narrator does while walking to the piano
- We know that 'Walking across the stage to the piano, I did what my teacher had advised'
- The teacher's advice was to 'Pretend you're only playing for one person. That way you won't be so nervous'
- This is clearly about managing performance nerves through a specific mental strategy
She thinks about the differences between playing the piano alone and playing in a band.
✗ Incorrect
- Claims she thinks about differences between solo and band playing
- The passage mentions nothing about comparing different types of performance contexts
She feels excitement about playing in a music festival for the first time.
✗ Incorrect
- Suggests she feels excitement about performing at a festival for the first time
- The passage gives no indication this is her first festival performance and describes her nervousness, not excitement
She remembers how hard she has practiced for the performance.
✗ Incorrect
- States she remembers how hard she practiced
- The passage makes no mention of practice or preparation work
- Her thoughts are focused on her teacher's advice about managing nerves, not on past practice
She follows her teacher's advice about managing her nervousness.
✓ Correct
- Matches exactly what the passage states: 'I did what my teacher had advised'
- The teacher's advice was specifically about managing nervousness: 'That way you won't be so nervous'
- This directly answers what she does while walking across the stage