The Marine Mammal Protection Act provides comprehensive federal protection for marine species. The legislation prohibits any actions that could harm...
GMAT Expression of Ideas : (Expression) Questions
The Marine Mammal Protection Act provides comprehensive federal protection for marine species. The legislation prohibits any actions that could harm protected marine mammals in their natural habitats. _____ the Act makes it illegal to hunt, capture, harass, or kill whales, dolphins, seals, and other covered species.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?
However,
Specifically,
Furthermore,
In contrast,
Step 1: Decode and Map the Passage
Part A: Passage Analysis Table
| Text from Passage | Analysis |
|---|---|
| 'The Marine Mammal Protection Act provides comprehensive federal protection for marine species.' |
|
| 'The legislation prohibits any actions that could harm protected marine mammals in their natural habitats.' |
|
| '_____' |
|
| 'the Act makes it illegal to hunt, capture, harass, or kill whales, dolphins, seals, and other covered species.' |
|
Part B: Passage Architecture & Core Elements
Main Point: The Marine Mammal Protection Act provides comprehensive federal protection by prohibiting specific harmful actions against marine mammals.
Argument Flow: The passage introduces the Marine Mammal Protection Act and its comprehensive protective purpose, then explains that it prohibits harmful actions in general terms, and finally provides specific examples of what those prohibited actions include.
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
- Looking at our analysis, the sentence before the blank talks about the Act prohibiting harmful actions in general terms
- The sentence after the blank gives specific examples of what those harmful actions are - hunting, capturing, harassing, killing particular species
- The relationship we need is one that signals we're moving from general to specific - from broad prohibition to concrete examples
- So the right answer should indicate that we're about to get more specific details about the general concept just mentioned
However,
- 'However' signals contrast or opposition
- There's no contrast here - both sentences work together to explain the same protective law
Specifically,
- 'Specifically' signals that we're about to get detailed examples
- Perfectly matches the relationship between general prohibition and specific illegal actions
Furthermore,
- 'Furthermore' adds additional information but doesn't signal the general-to-specific relationship
In contrast,
- 'In contrast' signals opposition between ideas
- Both parts of the passage work together to explain the same protective law - there's no contrast