While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:The city of Portland launched an online platform in 2021...
GMAT Expression of Ideas : (Expression) Questions
While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:
- The city of Portland launched an online platform in 2021 to increase community involvement in environmental planning decisions.
- Citizens could access interactive maps showing proposed green infrastructure projects in their neighborhoods.
- Residents were able to submit feedback, suggest modifications, and vote on project priorities through the platform.
- The system allowed community members to track project progress and receive updates on implementation timelines.
- Participation rates in environmental planning increased significantly compared to traditional town hall meetings.
- City officials attributed the platform's effectiveness to empowering residents with meaningful decision-making authority.
The student wants to highlight an advantage of Portland's online platform. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?
Portland's platform featured interactive maps that displayed proposed green infrastructure projects throughout different neighborhoods.
Through the online system, residents could submit feedback, suggest project modifications, and vote on priorities.
The city of Portland created the platform in 2021 to boost community involvement in environmental planning decisions.
The platform succeeded because it gave residents meaningful decision-making authority, resulting in significantly higher participation rates.
Step 1: Decode and Map the Passage
Create Passage Analysis Table
| Text from Passage | Analysis |
|---|---|
| 'The city of Portland launched an online platform in 2021 to increase community involvement in environmental planning decisions.' |
|
| 'Citizens could access interactive maps showing proposed green infrastructure projects in their neighborhoods.' |
|
| 'Residents were able to submit feedback, suggest modifications, and vote on project priorities through the platform.' |
|
| 'The system allowed community members to track project progress and receive updates on implementation timelines.' |
|
| 'Participation rates in environmental planning increased significantly compared to traditional town hall meetings.' |
|
| 'City officials attributed the platform's effectiveness to empowering residents with meaningful decision-making authority.' |
|
Provide Passage Architecture & Core Elements
Main Point: Portland's online environmental planning platform succeeded by giving residents meaningful decision-making authority, resulting in significantly higher community participation than traditional methods.
Argument Flow: The notes begin by introducing Portland's 2021 platform and its goal of increasing community involvement. They then detail the platform's various interactive features that enabled citizen participation. Finally, they present the positive outcomes and explain why city officials believe the platform was effective.
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
- To highlight an advantage, the correct choice should: Show a positive outcome or benefit of the platform
- Demonstrate why the platform was better than alternatives
- Connect features to results or explain what made it effective
- From our analysis, the clearest advantages mentioned are: significantly higher participation rates compared to traditional methods
- The platform's effectiveness being attributed to empowering residents with real decision-making authority
Portland's platform featured interactive maps that displayed proposed green infrastructure projects throughout different neighborhoods.
✗ Incorrect
- Simply describes a platform feature without showing any advantage or benefit
Through the online system, residents could submit feedback, suggest project modifications, and vote on priorities.
✗ Incorrect
- Lists what residents could do through the platform but doesn't demonstrate advantages
The city of Portland created the platform in 2021 to boost community involvement in environmental planning decisions.
✗ Incorrect
- Just states when the platform was created and its basic goal without showing positive outcomes
The platform succeeded because it gave residents meaningful decision-making authority, resulting in significantly higher participation rates.
✓ Correct
- Shows both the reason for success and the measurable result
- Demonstrates a clear advantage by comparing to previous methods