The city council implemented a comprehensive recycling program designed to reduce municipal waste by 40% within two years. _____ the...
GMAT Expression of Ideas : (Expression) Questions
The city council implemented a comprehensive recycling program designed to reduce municipal waste by 40% within two years. _____ the program achieved a 45% reduction in its first eighteen months, demonstrating that well-designed policy initiatives can exceed their intended goals.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?
Otherwise,
Similarly,
As a result,
Nevertheless,
Step 1: Decode and Map the Passage
Create Passage Analysis Table
| Text from Passage | Analysis |
|---|---|
| "The city council implemented a comprehensive recycling program designed to reduce municipal waste by 40% within two years." |
|
| "[MISSING TRANSITION]" |
|
| "the program achieved a 45% reduction in its first eighteen months, demonstrating that well-designed policy initiatives can exceed their intended goals." |
|
Provide Passage Architecture & Core Elements
Main Point: A city recycling program exceeded its intended goals, showing that well-designed policies can be more successful than expected.
Argument Flow: The passage establishes a policy initiative with specific targets, then reveals that the actual results surpassed those targets both in magnitude and timeline, using this as evidence for a broader principle about effective policy design.
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 must connect the program's implementation and goals (before the blank) with its actual results (after the blank)
- The relationship is cause-and-effect: the program was implemented, and consequently it achieved these results
- The connector should show that the 45% reduction happened because of the program implementation
Otherwise,
- "Otherwise" suggests an alternative scenario, but we're showing what actually happened as a result of the program
Similarly,
- "Similarly" indicates a comparison, but there's no comparison being made here
- We're showing a cause-and-effect relationship
As a result,
- Creates a clear cause-and-effect relationship between implementing the program and achieving the results
- Shows that the 45% reduction happened because of the recycling program
Nevertheless,
- "Nevertheless" indicates contrast or contradiction, but the results actually fulfilled the program's purpose - there's no contradiction here