The city planning committee had been struggling with increasing traffic congestion in the downtown business district for months. Commuter surveys...
GMAT Expression of Ideas : (Expression) Questions
The city planning committee had been struggling with increasing traffic congestion in the downtown business district for months. Commuter surveys revealed that most residents avoided the area during peak hours due to lengthy delays at major intersections. _____ the committee allocated emergency funds to install upgraded traffic signal systems at the three busiest crossings.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?
For example,
Similarly,
Consequently,
Meanwhile,
Step 1: Decode and Map the Passage
Part A: Create Passage Analysis Table
| Text from Passage | Analysis |
|---|---|
| "The city planning committee had been struggling with increasing traffic congestion in the downtown business district for months." |
|
| "Commuter surveys revealed that most residents avoided the area during peak hours due to lengthy delays at major intersections." |
|
| [MISSING TRANSITION] |
|
| "the committee allocated emergency funds to install upgraded traffic signal systems at the three busiest crossings." |
|
Part B: Provide Passage Architecture & Core Elements
Main Point: The city planning committee responded to documented traffic congestion problems by funding upgraded traffic signal systems.
Argument Flow: The passage establishes a clear problem (ongoing traffic congestion), provides evidence of its impact (survey data showing avoidance behavior), and then presents the committee's response (emergency funding for signal upgrades). The missing transition needs to connect the problem/evidence to the solution.
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
- From our analysis, we see that the first two sentences establish a problem and provide evidence of its impact
- The final sentence presents a solution action
- The missing connector needs to show that the solution follows logically from the problem evidence and indicate a cause-and-effect relationship
- So the right answer should indicate that because of the traffic problems and survey evidence, the committee took action - essentially a "therefore" or "as a result" type of connection
For example,
- This would suggest the funding decision illustrates something mentioned earlier
- The funding isn't an example of the problem - it's a response to the problem
- Creates an illogical relationship
Similarly,
- This indicates parallel or comparable actions
- Nothing in the first sentences describes committee actions to compare with
- We only have problem description, not similar responses
Consequently,
- Shows cause-and-effect relationship between the documented problems and the committee's response
- Logically connects the evidence (survey data about avoidance) to the action (funding for signals)
- This is correct
Meanwhile,
- Suggests simultaneous but separate actions
- The funding decision isn't happening at the same time as the surveys - it's happening because of them
- Creates temporal rather than causal relationship