While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:The city's downtown revitalization project included two distinct approaches to...
GMAT Expression of Ideas : (Expression) Questions
While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:
- The city's downtown revitalization project included two distinct approaches to community engagement in 2022.
- The first approach used traditional public meetings where officials presented plans to residents.
- These meetings allowed the city to inform the community about proposed changes and gather initial feedback.
- The second approach utilized digital platforms where residents could propose and vote on specific features.
- The digital platforms enabled community members to actively shape the final design through collaborative input.
- Both approaches were essential to the project's success, though they served different purposes in the planning process.
The student wants to contrast the purposes of the two community engagement approaches. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?
The revitalization project used both traditional public meetings and digital platforms to engage the community in planning.
The downtown revitalization project employed two community engagement approaches, each serving a distinct purpose in the planning process.
Traditional public meetings informed the community about proposed changes, while digital platforms enabled residents to actively shape the final design.
In 2022, the city utilized both traditional meetings and digital platforms as part of its downtown revitalization community engagement strategy.
Step 1: Decode and Map the Passage
Part A: Passage Analysis Table
| Text from Passage | Analysis |
|---|---|
| "The city's downtown revitalization project included two distinct approaches to community engagement in 2022." |
|
| "The first approach used traditional public meetings where officials presented plans to residents." |
|
| "These meetings allowed the city to inform the community about proposed changes and gather initial feedback." |
|
| "The second approach utilized digital platforms where residents could propose and vote on specific features." |
|
| "The digital platforms enabled community members to actively shape the final design through collaborative input." |
|
| "Both approaches were essential to the project's success, though they served different purposes in the planning process." |
|
Part B: Provide Passage Architecture & Core Elements
Main Point: The downtown revitalization project used two community engagement approaches that each served distinct purposes in the planning process.
Argument Flow: The notes establish that there were two different approaches to community engagement, then describe each approach and its specific purpose, and conclude by emphasizing that while both were essential, they served different functions in the planning process.
Step 2: Interpret the Question Precisely
What's being asked? The question asks us to find which choice most effectively contrasts the purposes of the two community engagement approaches.
What type of answer do we need? We need an answer that clearly shows how the purposes of the traditional meetings differed from the purposes of the digital platforms.
Any limiting keywords? The key word is "contrast" - we're not just looking for a choice that mentions both approaches, but one that highlights how their purposes were different from each other.
Step 3: Prethink the Answer
- Traditional meetings had one purpose: to inform the community about proposed changes and gather initial feedback
- Digital platforms had a different purpose: to enable residents to actively shape the final design through collaboration
- The key contrast is between informing/gathering feedback versus actively shaping the design
- The right answer should clearly show this difference - it should explain that traditional meetings were about informing and collecting input, while digital platforms were about letting residents actively participate in creating the final design
The revitalization project used both traditional public meetings and digital platforms to engage the community in planning.
- Simply states that both approaches were used
- Doesn't contrast their purposes at all
- Fails to explain what made the approaches different
The downtown revitalization project employed two community engagement approaches, each serving a distinct purpose in the planning process.
- Mentions that each served a distinct purpose but doesn't explain what those purposes were
- The question asks us to contrast the purposes, not just acknowledge they were different
Traditional public meetings informed the community about proposed changes, while digital platforms enabled residents to actively shape the final design.
- Clearly contrasts the two purposes: traditional meetings "informed the community about proposed changes" while digital platforms "enabled residents to actively shape the final design"
- Uses specific language from the notes to show the difference
- Perfectly accomplishes the goal of contrasting purposes by showing one was about informing and the other was about empowering residents to create
In 2022, the city utilized both traditional meetings and digital platforms as part of its downtown revitalization community engagement strategy.
- Simply states that both approaches were utilized
- Like choice A, doesn't contrast their purposes
- Focuses on when and what was used rather than why they were used differently