The Minneapolis Institute of Art in Minneapolis, Minnesota, has over 90,000 works of art. Digital images of thousands of those...
GMAT Information and Ideas : (Ideas) Questions
The Minneapolis Institute of Art in Minneapolis, Minnesota, has over 90,000 works of art. Digital images of thousands of those works have been put online through the museum's website and the Google Arts & Culture project. One of the images is of Mississippi Delta, a drawing by Siah Armajani. In a paper, a student claims that putting a work from the museum online increases the number of people who experience that work.
Which finding, if true, would most directly support the underlined claim?
The Minneapolis Institute of Art has several works by Siah Armajani.
Many people who have been to Minneapolis say that the Minneapolis Institute of Art is worth visiting.
Mississippi Delta has been praised by some art critics.
Each year, more people access the online image of Mississippi Delta than visit the Minneapolis Institute of Art in person.
Step 1: Decode and Map the Passage
Create Passage Analysis Table
| Text from Passage | Analysis |
|---|---|
| "The Minneapolis Institute of Art in Minneapolis, Minnesota, has over 90,000 works of art." |
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| "Digital images of thousands of those works have been put online through the museum's website and the Google Arts & Culture project." |
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| "One of the images is of Mississippi Delta, a drawing by Siah Armajani." |
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| "In a paper, a student claims that putting a work from the museum online increases the number of people who experience that work." |
|
Provide Passage Architecture & Core Elements
Main Point: A student claims that digitizing museum artworks increases the number of people who can experience them.
Argument Flow: The passage establishes the context of a large museum collection, explains that many works have been digitized, gives a specific example, and then presents a student's claim about the impact of this digitization on audience reach.
Step 2: Interpret the Question Precisely
What's being asked? Which finding would most directly support the student's claim
What type of answer do we need? Evidence that demonstrates putting art online actually increases the number of people who experience it
Any limiting keywords? "most directly support" - we need the strongest, clearest evidence
Step 3: Prethink the Answer
- The student's claim is that putting art online increases the number of people who experience it
- To support this claim, we need evidence that shows:
- More people are actually accessing/viewing the online art
- The online version reaches people who wouldn't otherwise experience the work
- There's a measurable increase in audience reach
- The strongest evidence would be data comparing the number of people experiencing the work online versus in person, showing that digitization actually expands the audience
The Minneapolis Institute of Art has several works by Siah Armajani.
✗ Incorrect
- This tells us the museum has multiple works by the same artist
- Doesn't address whether putting works online increases audience reach
- Has no connection to the student's claim about increased experience
Many people who have been to Minneapolis say that the Minneapolis Institute of Art is worth visiting.
✗ Incorrect
- This is about the museum's reputation among visitors
- Doesn't compare online vs. in-person access
- Says nothing about whether digitization increases the total number of people experiencing the art
Mississippi Delta has been praised by some art critics.
✗ Incorrect
- Art critics praising the work addresses quality, not audience reach
- Doesn't provide evidence about how many people experience the work
- No connection to online vs. physical access
Each year, more people access the online image of Mississippi Delta than visit the Minneapolis Institute of Art in person.
✓ Correct
- Shows that more people access the online image annually than visit the museum in person
- Directly demonstrates that online access expands the audience beyond physical visitors
- Provides exactly the type of comparative data that supports the claim about increased experience through digitization