Small businesses across the region initially struggled when new minimum wage legislation was proposed in 2018, with many economists predicting...
GMAT Expression of Ideas : (Expression) Questions
Small businesses across the region initially struggled when new minimum wage legislation was proposed in 2018, with many economists predicting widespread closures and significant job losses. The implementation included extensive support programs and gradual phase-in schedules designed to ease the transition process. _____ most small businesses successfully adapted to the new requirements within two years.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?
Similarly,
Therefore,
Nevertheless,
Subsequently,
Step 1: Decode and Map the Passage
Part A: Create Passage Analysis Table
| Text from Passage | Analysis |
|---|---|
| 'Small businesses across the region initially struggled when new minimum wage legislation was proposed in 2018, with many economists predicting widespread closures and significant job losses.' |
|
| 'The implementation included extensive support programs and gradual phase-in schedules designed to ease the transition process.' |
|
| '[MISSING TRANSITION]' |
|
| 'most small businesses successfully adapted to the new requirements within two years.' |
|
Part B: Provide Passage Architecture & Core Elements
Main Point: Despite initial struggles and dire predictions about minimum wage legislation, small businesses ultimately succeeded in adapting with proper support measures.
Argument Flow: The passage establishes a contrast between expectations and reality. It opens with the initial negative reaction and expert predictions of failure, describes the supportive implementation approach, then reveals that businesses actually succeeded.
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 have a clear contrast developing
- Before the blank, we have the initial struggles and dire predictions, plus the mention of support programs
- After the blank, we learn that businesses actually succeeded
- The transition needs to acknowledge this contrast and signal that despite the earlier concerns, businesses ultimately succeeded
Similarly,
✗ Incorrect
- Indicates comparison, but succeeding is not similar to struggling and predicting failure
Therefore,
✗ Incorrect
- Indicates cause and effect, but success happened despite initial problems, not because of them
Nevertheless,
✓ Correct
- Expresses contrast/concession, meaning despite what was just mentioned
- Acknowledges that success occurred in spite of initial struggles and dire predictions
Subsequently,
✗ Incorrect
- Simply indicates time sequence, missing the important contrast between predicted failure and actual success