The Metropolitan Museum's 2018 exhibition on Impressionist paintings drew record crowds and critical acclaim. Visitors praised the comprehensive colle...
GMAT Craft and Structure : (Structure) Questions
The Metropolitan Museum's 2018 exhibition on Impressionist paintings drew record crowds and critical acclaim. Visitors praised the comprehensive collection, which featured works by Monet, Renoir, and Degas alongside detailed historical context about the movement's origins. However, the exhibition's most controversial element was the inclusion of several recently disputed attributions that some scholars argued were not authentic Impressionist works.
Which choice best describes the function of the underlined sentence in the text as a whole?
It explains the museum's strategy for attracting larger audiences.
It introduces a limitation that complicated the exhibition's success.
It describes the methods curators used to verify artwork authenticity.
It emphasizes the importance of including disputed works in major exhibitions.
Step 1: Decode and Map the Passage
Create Passage Analysis Table
| Text from Passage | Analysis |
|---|---|
| 'The Metropolitan Museum's 2018 exhibition on Impressionist paintings drew record crowds and critical acclaim.' |
|
| 'Visitors praised the comprehensive collection, which featured works by Monet, Renoir, and Degas alongside detailed historical context about the movement's origins.' |
|
| 'However, the exhibition's most controversial element was the inclusion of several recently disputed attributions that some scholars argued were not authentic Impressionist works.' |
|
Provide Passage Architecture & Core Elements
Main Point: The Metropolitan Museum's successful 2018 Impressionist exhibition had one significant controversial element involving disputed artwork authenticity.
Argument Flow: The passage begins by establishing the exhibition's clear success through both popular appeal and critical reception. It then explains what visitors specifically appreciated about the comprehensive collection. However, it introduces a complicating factor - the inclusion of artworks whose authenticity scholars questioned, which created controversy despite the overall success.
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 underlined sentence starts with 'However' - a clear contrast signal
- The first part of the passage establishes success and praise, but then this sentence introduces something problematic about the same exhibition
- The sentence reveals a complication or issue that coexisted with the success story
- The right answer should recognize that this sentence introduces a contrasting element that creates tension with the exhibition's otherwise positive reception - essentially a complication or limitation that affected the exhibition despite its overall success
- So the right answer should acknowledge that this sentence introduces a problematic aspect that complicated what was otherwise a successful exhibition
It explains the museum's strategy for attracting larger audiences.
✗ Incorrect
- This choice suggests the sentence explains a deliberate strategy to attract audiences
- However, the sentence presents the disputed attributions as controversial, not as a strategic choice
- The passage treats this as a problem, not as a calculated move to draw crowds
It introduces a limitation that complicated the exhibition's success.
✓ Correct
- This choice recognizes that the sentence introduces something that complicated the exhibition's success
- The word 'However' signals a limitation or problem, and the controversy over disputed authenticity certainly complicates the positive story
- This matches our analysis of the sentence's contrasting function perfectly
It describes the methods curators used to verify artwork authenticity.
✗ Incorrect
- This choice focuses on verification methods, but the sentence doesn't describe how curators verified anything
- The sentence only mentions that scholars disputed certain attributions - it doesn't explain the verification process
- What trap this represents: Students might confuse mentioning authenticity disputes with describing authentication methods
It emphasizes the importance of including disputed works in major exhibitions.
✗ Incorrect
- This choice suggests the sentence emphasizes the importance of including disputed works
- However, the sentence presents this inclusion as controversial and problematic, not as important
- The tone is clearly critical, not supportive of including disputed pieces