Published in 1960, Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird became one of the most influential novels in American literature. The...
GMAT Expression of Ideas : (Expression) Questions
Published in 1960, Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird became one of the most influential novels in American literature. The book's exploration of racial injustice resonated deeply with readers across the country. _____ it sparked nationwide discussions in classrooms, book clubs, and communities about prejudice and moral courage.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?
In particular,
Nevertheless,
On the contrary,
Meanwhile,
Step 1: Decode and Map the Passage
Create Passage Analysis Table
| Text from Passage | Analysis |
|---|---|
| 'Published in 1960, Harper Lee's 'To Kill a Mockingbird' became one of the most influential novels in American literature.' |
|
| 'The book's exploration of racial injustice resonated deeply with readers across the country.' |
|
| '[MISSING TRANSITION]' |
|
| 'it sparked nationwide discussions in classrooms, book clubs, and communities about prejudice and moral courage.' |
|
Provide Passage Architecture & Core Elements
Main Point: Harper Lee's 'To Kill a Mockingbird' became highly influential by exploring racial injustice in a way that deeply connected with readers and generated widespread discussion.
Argument Flow: The passage establishes the novel's general influence, explains that its exploration of racial injustice resonated with readers, then moves to a specific example of how that resonance manifested in real-world discussions across various settings.
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 passage analysis, we see that the sentence before the blank explains how the book 'resonated deeply with readers across the country.'
- The sentence after the blank gives us a specific example of that resonance - 'it sparked nationwide discussions in classrooms, book clubs, and communities.'
- The logical relationship here is that the second sentence is providing a concrete example or specification of the general statement about resonating with readers.
- We need a transition that signals 'here's a specific way this happened' or 'this is what that looked like in practice.'
- The right answer should indicate that the nationwide discussions are a specific instance or example of how the book resonated with readers.
In particular,
'In particular'
✓ Correct
- Signals that what follows is a specific example of the general point just made
- Perfectly connects the general idea that the book 'resonated deeply' with the specific example of sparking discussions
- Creates logical flow from broad impact to concrete manifestation
Nevertheless,
'Nevertheless'
✗ Incorrect
- Indicates contrast or concession - suggests the discussions happened despite something
- Doesn't make sense because the discussions support rather than contradict the idea that the book resonated
On the contrary,
'On the contrary'
✗ Incorrect
- Signals strong opposition or contradiction
- Would suggest the discussions somehow contradict the book's resonance, which is illogical
- The discussions actually prove the book's resonance, not oppose it
Meanwhile,
'Meanwhile'
✗ Incorrect
- Indicates simultaneous but separate events
- Would suggest the discussions were happening at the same time but independently of the book's resonance
- Misses the causal relationship between resonance and discussions