The creation of Lotte Reiniger's 1926 animated film The Adventures of Prince Achmed was ________ process. Over the course of...
GMAT Craft and Structure : (Structure) Questions
The creation of Lotte Reiniger's 1926 animated film The Adventures of Prince Achmed was ________ process. Over the course of three years, Reiniger and her collaborators painstakingly made more than 250,000 individual images of hand-cut paper silhouettes and repeatedly had to invent entirely new methods and tools to create the special effects Reiniger envisioned.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?
a haphazard
a contentious
an ineffectual
an arduous
Step 1: Decode and Map the Passage
Part A: Create Passage Analysis Table
| Text from Passage | Analysis |
|---|---|
| 'The creation of Lotte Reiniger's 1926 animated film The Adventures of Prince Achmed was' |
|
| [MISSING WORD/PHRASE] |
|
| 'process.' |
|
| 'Over the course of three years, Reiniger and her collaborators painstakingly made more than 250,000 individual images of hand-cut paper silhouettes' |
|
| 'and repeatedly had to invent entirely new methods and tools to create the special effects Reiniger envisioned.' |
|
Part B: Provide Passage Architecture & Core Elements
Visual Structure Map:
[OPENING STATEMENT + MISSING DESCRIPTOR] → [SUPPORTING EVIDENCE] Time scale: 3 years, Volume: 250,000+ images, Method: Hand-cut silhouettes, Additional challenge: Had to invent new methods/tools
Main Point: Creating Lotte Reiniger's 1926 animated film was an extremely challenging process requiring years of painstaking work and constant innovation.
Argument Flow: The passage opens by characterizing the creation process with a missing descriptor, then provides concrete evidence of the enormous scale, time commitment, and technical challenges involved in making the film.
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
- Based on our analysis, we need a word that captures the nature of this film creation process.
- The evidence shows several key aspects:
- It took three full years
- Required making over 250,000 individual hand-cut images
- Involved painstaking work
- Required repeatedly inventing new methods and tools
- The word we need should reflect that this was an extremely difficult, labor-intensive, and challenging process.
a haphazard
✗ Incorrect
- 'Haphazard' means random, careless, or lacking organization.
- This contradicts the evidence of careful, painstaking work over three years.
a contentious
✗ Incorrect
- 'Contentious' means causing disagreement or controversy.
- Nothing in the passage suggests the process was disputed or controversial.
an ineffectual
✗ Incorrect
- 'Ineffectual' means not producing the desired result or being ineffective.
- This contradicts the fact that they successfully completed the film.
an arduous
✓ Correct
- 'Arduous' means requiring great effort and being very difficult.
- This perfectly matches our prethinking about needing a word for very difficult and is supported by all the evidence.