A community newsletter editor is compiling information about local organizations:The Westside Food Pantry was established in 2018 by three local...
GMAT Expression of Ideas : (Expression) Questions
A community newsletter editor is compiling information about local organizations:
- The Westside Food Pantry was established in 2018 by three local churches.
- It operates from a converted warehouse space donated by a local business.
- The pantry serves an average of 200 families per month.
- Last year, volunteers logged over 3,000 hours of service time.
- The organization has partnerships with five grocery stores for surplus food donations.
The editor wants to emphasize the scale of the pantry's current operations. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information to accomplish this goal?
Since 2018, the Westside Food Pantry has grown from a small church initiative to a significant community resource.
Three local churches collaborated to establish the Westside Food Pantry in a donated warehouse space.
Serving 200 families monthly with support from 3,000+ volunteer hours annually, the Westside Food Pantry demonstrates substantial community impact.
The pantry maintains partnerships with five local grocery stores to obtain surplus food donations.
Step 1: Decode and Map the Passage
Passage Analysis Table
| Text from Passage | Analysis |
|---|---|
| "The Westside Food Pantry was established in 2018 by three local churches." |
|
| "It operates from a converted warehouse space donated by a local business." |
|
| "The pantry serves an average of 200 families per month." |
|
| "Last year, volunteers logged over 3,000 hours of service time." |
|
| "The organization has partnerships with five grocery stores for surplus food donations." |
|
Passage Architecture & Core Elements
Main Point: The Westside Food Pantry has developed into a substantial community operation with significant monthly service numbers and volunteer engagement.
Argument Flow: The passage establishes the pantry's origins, then presents concrete details about its current operational scope through specific metrics (families served, volunteer hours) and infrastructure (location, partnerships).
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
- When we want to emphasize "scale of current operations," we need concrete numbers that show how big the operation is right now
- The passage gives us several quantitative measures: 200 families served monthly and 3,000+ volunteer hours annually
- These specific metrics demonstrate the substantial size of the current operation much more effectively than background information about how it started or general partnership details
- The right answer should combine these key scale indicators—the monthly family count and annual volunteer hours—to paint a picture of significant current operational scope
Since 2018, the Westside Food Pantry has grown from a small church initiative to a significant community resource.
- Focuses on growth over time rather than current scale
- Uses vague language instead of concrete metrics
- Students might think growth implies scale, but the question asks specifically for current operational scale, not historical development
Three local churches collaborated to establish the Westside Food Pantry in a donated warehouse space.
- Only provides establishment background information
- Doesn't include any metrics about current operations
- Tells us about origins, not current scale
Serving 200 families monthly with support from 3,000+ volunteer hours annually, the Westside Food Pantry demonstrates substantial community impact.
- Combines the two strongest scale metrics from the passage: 200 families monthly and 3,000+ volunteer hours annually
- These specific numbers effectively demonstrate substantial current operational scope
- Directly addresses "scale" by quantifying both service volume and human resource involvement
The pantry maintains partnerships with five local grocery stores to obtain surplus food donations.
- Only mentions partnerships without providing scale metrics
- While five partnerships might indicate scope, it doesn't quantify the actual operational volume
- Students might think partnerships show scale, but they indicate network breadth rather than operational volume