Renaissance artists drew inspiration from the natural world around them, carefully observing how light fell across surfaces and how shadows...
GMAT Expression of Ideas : (Expression) Questions
Renaissance artists drew inspiration from the natural world around them, carefully observing how light fell across surfaces and how shadows defined form. This meticulous attention to realistic detail, _____ distinguished their work from the more stylized approaches of medieval art.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?
by contrast,
for instance,
in fact,
nevertheless,
Step 1: Decode and Map the Passage
Part A: Passage Analysis Table
| Text from Passage | Analysis |
|---|---|
| "Renaissance artists drew inspiration from the natural world around them, carefully observing how light fell across surfaces and how shadows defined form." |
|
| "This meticulous attention to realistic detail," |
|
| "[MISSING TRANSITION]" |
|
| "distinguished their work from the more stylized approaches of medieval art." |
|
Part B: Passage Architecture & Core Elements
Main Point: Renaissance artists' careful attention to realistic natural details set their work apart from medieval art.
Argument Flow: The passage establishes that Renaissance artists studied nature carefully, characterizes this as meticulous attention to realistic detail, then connects this attention as what distinguished their work from medieval art.
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
- The transition needs to connect "meticulous attention to realistic detail" with how this attention "distinguished their work from medieval art."
- We need a connector that shows this attention to detail was what made the distinction
- The transition should emphasize or confirm that relationship, reinforcing that their careful approach was truly what set them apart
by contrast,
- Suggests opposition between the attention to detail and the distinguishing effect
- Creates a logical contradiction - we need the detail to be the cause of distinction
for instance,
- Introduces an example, suggesting that distinguishing their work is an example of attention to detail
- Reverses the logical relationship - attention to detail should cause the distinction
in fact,
- Emphasizes and confirms the relationship between cause and effect
- Reinforces that the attention to detail truly was what distinguished their work
- Creates proper logical flow: they paid attention to detail, and this indeed set them apart
nevertheless,
- Suggests that despite their attention to detail, their work was distinguished
- Implies attention to detail would work against distinction, contradicting the passage logic