While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:In 2020, theater students at Radford and Virginia Tech chose...
GMAT Expression of Ideas : (Expression) Questions
While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:
- In 2020, theater students at Radford and Virginia Tech chose an interactive, online format to present a play about woman suffrage activists.
- Their 'Women and the Vote' website featured an interactive digital drawing of a Victorian-style house.
- Audiences were asked to focus on a room of their choice and select from that room an artifact related to the suffrage movement.
- One click took them to video clips, songs, artwork, and texts associated with the artifact.
- The play was popular with audiences because the format allowed them to control the experience.
The student wants to explain an advantage of the 'Women and the Vote' format. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?
'Women and the Vote' featured a drawing of a Victorian-style house with several rooms, each containing suffrage artifacts.
To access video clips, songs, artwork, and texts, audiences had to first click on an artifact.
The 'Women and the Vote' format appealed to audiences because it allowed them to control the experience.
Using an interactive format, theater students at Radford and Virginia Tech created 'Women and the Vote,' a play about woman suffrage activists.
Step 1: Decode and Map the Passage
Part A: Create Passage Analysis Table
| Text from Passage | Analysis |
|---|---|
| In 2020, theater students at Radford and Virginia Tech chose an interactive, online format to present a play about woman suffrage activists. |
|
| Their 'Women and the Vote' website featured an interactive digital drawing of a Victorian-style house. |
|
| Audiences were asked to focus on a room of their choice and select from that room an artifact related to the suffrage movement. |
|
| One click took them to video clips, songs, artwork, and texts associated with the artifact. |
|
| The play was popular with audiences because the format allowed them to control the experience. |
|
Part B: Provide Passage Architecture & Core Elements
Visual Structure Map:
CONTEXT: Students chose interactive format (2020) → FORMAT DETAILS: Victorian house website → AUDIENCE INTERACTION: Choose room then select artifact → RESULT: Click leads to multimedia content → SUCCESS REASON: Popular because audience controlled experience
Main Point: The interactive Women and the Vote format was successful because it gave audiences control over their experience.
Argument Flow: The notes establish the context of students choosing an interactive format, describe how that format worked (Victorian house with selectable artifacts leading to multimedia), and explain why it succeeded (audience control).
Step 2: Interpret the Question Precisely
- What's being asked? An advantage/benefit of the specific format
- What type of answer do we need? A statement that explains why this format was good/successful
- Any limiting keywords? advantage - we need something positive, not just descriptive
Step 3: Prethink the Answer
- Looking at our notes, the key advantage mentioned is in the final bullet point: The play was popular with audiences because the format allowed them to control the experience. This directly states an advantage - that the format gave audiences control, which made it popular.
- So the right answer should explain that the advantage was giving audiences control over their experience, which led to the format's popularity.
'Women and the Vote' featured a drawing of a Victorian-style house with several rooms, each containing suffrage artifacts.
✗ Incorrect
- States factual details about the format (Victorian house, rooms, artifacts)
- Doesn't explain why this was an advantage - just describes what it was
- Missing the advantage aspect entirely
To access video clips, songs, artwork, and texts, audiences had to first click on an artifact.
✗ Incorrect
- Describes the technical process (click artifact to access content)
- Again just describes how it worked, not why this was beneficial
- Doesn't connect to any advantage or positive outcome
The 'Women and the Vote' format appealed to audiences because it allowed them to control the experience.
✓ Correct
- Directly states that the format appealed to audiences because it allowed them to control the experience
- This clearly explains an advantage - audience control leading to appeal
- Matches exactly what our notes say about why it was popular
- Uses the cause-effect relationship from the final bullet point
Using an interactive format, theater students at Radford and Virginia Tech created 'Women and the Vote,' a play about woman suffrage activists.
✗ Incorrect
- Provides background context about who created it and what it was about
- Doesn't explain any advantage of the format
- Just gives basic factual information without addressing benefits