The following text is adapted from a management consulting report on corporate expansion. The company's current market position allows it...
GMAT Craft and Structure : (Structure) Questions
The following text is adapted from a management consulting report on corporate expansion.
The company's current market position allows it to expand operations without significant risk. Given the established customer base and strong financial reserves, management can pursue growth opportunities that are practically guaranteed to succeed.
As used in the text, what does the word "practically" most nearly mean?
Usefully
Nearly
Realistically
Efficiently
Step 1: Decode and Map the Passage
Part A: Create Passage Analysis Table
| Text from Passage | Analysis |
|---|---|
| "The company's current market position allows it to expand operations without significant risk." |
|
| "Given the established customer base and strong financial reserves," |
|
| "management can pursue growth opportunities that are practically guaranteed to succeed." |
|
Part B: Provide Passage Architecture & Core Elements
Main Point: The company's strong market position and resources make its expansion opportunities virtually certain to succeed.
Argument Flow: The passage establishes the company's favorable position, provides supporting evidence, then concludes that these factors make growth opportunities practically guaranteed to succeed.
Step 2: Interpret the Question Precisely
What's being asked? The meaning of the word "practically" as it's used in this specific context.
What type of answer do we need? A synonym that captures how "practically" functions in the phrase "practically guaranteed."
Any limiting keywords? None specified.
Step 3: Prethink the Answer
- In the phrase "practically guaranteed to succeed," the word "practically" is modifying "guaranteed"
- It's not saying the opportunities are completely guaranteed, but rather that they're almost guaranteed or very close to guaranteed
- The word functions as a qualifier that means "almost" or "very nearly"
Usefully
- This would mean the opportunities are "usefully guaranteed," which doesn't make logical sense
- "Usefully" describes how something is done in a helpful way, not the degree of certainty
Nearly
- This perfectly captures the meaning - "nearly guaranteed" means almost guaranteed
- Matches our prethinking exactly - it shows the opportunities are very close to certain but not absolutely certain
Realistically
- "Realistically guaranteed" would mean guaranteed in a practical, down-to-earth way
- Changes the meaning from degree of certainty to manner of assessment
Efficiently
- "Efficiently guaranteed" would mean guaranteed in an efficient manner
- Like "usefully," this describes how something is done rather than the degree of certainty