While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:Performance venues are spaces designed for live artistic presentations. The...
GMAT Expression of Ideas : (Expression) Questions
While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:
Performance venues are spaces designed for live artistic presentations. The Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. features multiple theaters, concert halls, and performance stages integrated under one architectural complex. Small black box theaters typically seat fewer than 100 audience members in flexible, reconfigurable arrangements. The Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Colorado incorporates natural rock formations directly into its design structure. Lincoln Center includes opera houses, symphony halls, and dance theaters unified within a single cultural campus.
The student wants to make a generalization about performance venues. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?
Performance venues range from small black box theaters seating fewer than 100 to large complexes like Lincoln Center with multiple performance spaces.
Performance venues are characterized by their integration of architectural design with artistic function, whether in intimate settings or expansive cultural complexes.
Examples of performance venues include the Kennedy Center with multiple theaters and Red Rocks Amphitheatre with natural rock formations.
While black box theaters seat fewer than 100 in flexible arrangements, venues like Lincoln Center include multiple performance spaces.
Step 1: Decode and Map the Passage
Part A: Create Passage Analysis Table
| Text from Passage | Analysis |
|---|---|
| "Performance venues are spaces designed for live artistic presentations." |
|
| "The Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. features multiple theaters, concert halls, and performance stages integrated under one architectural complex." |
|
| "Small black box theaters typically seat fewer than 100 audience members in flexible, reconfigurable arrangements." |
|
| "The Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Colorado incorporates natural rock formations directly into its design structure." |
|
| "Lincoln Center includes opera houses, symphony halls, and dance theaters unified within a single cultural campus." |
|
Part B: Provide Passage Architecture & Core Elements
Main Point: Performance venues take various forms but all serve the purpose of presenting live artistic performances through thoughtful design.
Argument Flow: The notes establish what performance venues are, then provide four diverse examples that demonstrate different scales, designs, and approaches to creating spaces for live artistic presentations.
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
- Looking at our examples, we have venues that vary dramatically in size, setting, and organization
- But what connects them all? Each example shows how the physical design serves the artistic purpose
- The right answer should capture this fundamental relationship between how these venues are designed and their artistic function
Performance venues range from small black box theaters seating fewer than 100 to large complexes like Lincoln Center with multiple performance spaces.
✗ Incorrect
- Focuses only on size range, misses the more fundamental connection about design-function integration
Performance venues are characterized by their integration of architectural design with artistic function, whether in intimate settings or expansive cultural complexes.
✓ Correct
- Identifies the key unifying principle: integration of architectural design with artistic function
- Applies to all examples and makes a true generalization
Examples of performance venues include the Kennedy Center with multiple theaters and Red Rocks Amphitheatre with natural rock formations.
✗ Incorrect
- Simply lists examples without making any generalization
- Doesn't fulfill the task of creating a broader statement
While black box theaters seat fewer than 100 in flexible arrangements, venues like Lincoln Center include multiple performance spaces.
✗ Incorrect
- Contrasts only two specific examples rather than generalizing
- Uses opposition rather than identifying unifying principles