The historian's _____ the newly discovered documents prompted her to revise several conclusions in her forthcoming book about colonial trade...
GMAT Craft and Structure : (Structure) Questions
The historian's _____ the newly discovered documents prompted her to revise several conclusions in her forthcoming book about colonial trade practices.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?
skepticism of
dismissal of
examination of
ambivalence toward
Step 1: Decode and Map the Passage
Part A: Create Passage Analysis Table
| Text from Passage | Analysis |
|---|---|
| "The historian's _____" | Missing word/phrase describing the historian's action |
| "the newly discovered documents" | New docs found - Identifies what the historian interacted with |
| "prompted her to revise several conclusions" | Made her change ideas - Shows the result/consequence of the historian's action |
| "in her forthcoming book about colonial trade practices" | Book on colonial trade (upcoming) - Provides context for where the conclusions appear |
Part B: Provide Passage Architecture & Core Elements
Main Point: A historian's interaction with newly discovered documents led her to change conclusions in her upcoming book.
Argument Flow: The passage establishes a cause-and-effect relationship where the historian's action with documents resulted in her revising conclusions in her book about colonial trade practices.
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
- The action must be something a historian would logically do with newly discovered documents
- The action must be something that could reasonably lead to revising conclusions
- Looking at our analysis, we need an action that would cause someone to revise their conclusions
- If documents prompt you to change your thinking, you must have studied them carefully and discovered new information
skepticism of
skepticism of
✗ Incorrect
- This suggests the historian doubted the documents
- If she was skeptical of them, she wouldn't be prompted to revise her conclusions based on them
dismissal of
dismissal of
✗ Incorrect
- This means the historian rejected the documents
- If she dismissed them, they couldn't prompt her to revise anything
examination of
examination of
✓ Correct
- This means the historian carefully studied the documents
- Examining documents would naturally lead to discovering new information
- New information from examination would logically prompt revisions to existing conclusions
ambivalence toward
ambivalence toward
✗ Incorrect
- This suggests the historian had mixed feelings about the documents
- Ambivalence implies indecision, which wouldn't drive someone to make definitive revisions