Recent neurological studies examining how children process written language have revealed surprising findings about reading development. Researchers d...
GMAT Craft and Structure : (Structure) Questions
Recent neurological studies examining how children process written language have revealed surprising findings about reading development. Researchers discovered that students who struggle with traditional phonics-based instruction often show different neural pathway activation patterns when decoding text. These brain imaging results demonstrate that some learners naturally rely more heavily on visual word recognition and semantic context rather than sound-based decoding strategies. As a result of these discoveries, many educators are now incorporating multiple teaching approaches that accommodate different cognitive processing styles, leading to improved reading outcomes for students who previously struggled with conventional methods.
Which choice best describes the overall structure of the text?
It outlines competing theories about reading development and then evaluates the effectiveness of each approach.
It presents research findings about learning differences and then describes educational changes that resulted from those findings.
It describes successful teaching methods and then explains the scientific principles underlying their effectiveness.
It introduces a problem in education and then proposes several potential solutions to address the problem.
Step 1: Decode and Map the Passage
Passage Analysis Table
| Text from Passage | Analysis |
|---|---|
| 'Recent neurological studies examining how children process written language have revealed surprising findings about reading development.' |
|
| 'Researchers discovered that students who struggle with traditional phonics-based instruction often show different neural pathway activation patterns when decoding text.' |
|
| 'These brain imaging results demonstrate that some learners naturally rely more heavily on visual word recognition and semantic context rather than sound-based decoding strategies.' |
|
| 'As a result of these discoveries, many educators are now incorporating multiple teaching approaches that accommodate different cognitive processing styles, leading to improved reading outcomes for students who previously struggled with conventional methods.' |
|
Passage Architecture & Core Elements
Main Point: Neurological research revealing different reading processing styles has led educators to adopt varied teaching methods that better serve struggling students.
Argument Flow: The passage moves from scientific discovery to practical application. It begins with recent brain research findings about reading differences, explains what these findings reveal about learning styles, and concludes by showing how educators have responded to this knowledge with more diverse teaching approaches.
Step 2: Interpret the Question Precisely
- What's being asked? The overall structure of the text - how it's organized and flows
- What type of answer do we need? A description of the passage's organizational pattern
- Any limiting keywords? 'Overall structure' means we need to capture the big-picture flow, not get caught up in details
Step 3: Prethink the Answer
- The passage follows a clear two-part structure
- First, we get research findings about how different students process reading - the brain imaging studies showing that some kids use visual and meaning-based strategies instead of phonics
- Then we get the response to those findings - educators changing their teaching methods to accommodate these different learning styles, which led to better results
- The right answer should describe this research-to-application flow: presenting scientific discoveries first, then showing how those discoveries changed educational practice
It outlines competing theories about reading development and then evaluates the effectiveness of each approach.
✗ Incorrect
- This suggests the passage evaluates competing theories, but we don't see any comparison or evaluation of different theories
- The passage presents one set of research findings and their educational impact, not multiple competing approaches
It presents research findings about learning differences and then describes educational changes that resulted from those findings.
✓ Correct
- Perfectly captures the passage structure: first part presents the neurological research findings about learning differences
- Second part describes exactly what happened - educators incorporated new teaching approaches based on those findings
- Matches our prethinking about the research-to-application flow
It describes successful teaching methods and then explains the scientific principles underlying their effectiveness.
✗ Incorrect
- Gets the order backwards - the passage starts with research findings, then describes teaching changes
- This choice suggests starting with teaching methods and then explaining the science behind them
- Students might be tempted because the passage does discuss both teaching methods and scientific principles, but the order is reversed
It introduces a problem in education and then proposes several potential solutions to address the problem.
✗ Incorrect
- The passage doesn't frame anything as a problem that needs solving
- It presents research discoveries and their natural application, not a problem-solution structure
- No several potential solutions are proposed - just one general shift in teaching approaches