Through her investigation of productive learning strategies, Dr. Maria Santos found that while soothing methods such as soft music or...
GMAT Craft and Structure : (Structure) Questions
Through her investigation of productive learning strategies, Dr. Maria Santos found that while soothing methods such as soft music or comfortable study environments may help learners feel more at ease, these _______ approaches in fact generate weaker exam results than more rigorous techniques like timed practice exercises conducted under pressure.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?
mild
unsuccessful
conventional
costly
Step 1: Decode and Map the Passage
Create Passage Analysis Table
| Text from Passage | Analysis |
|---|---|
| "Through her investigation of productive learning strategies, Dr. Maria Santos found that" |
|
| "while soothing methods such as soft music or comfortable study environments may help learners feel more at ease," |
|
| "these _______ approaches in fact generate weaker exam results" |
|
| "than more rigorous techniques like timed practice exercises conducted under pressure." |
|
Provide Passage Architecture & Core Elements
Main Point: Dr. Santos discovered that comfortable, soothing study methods produce worse exam results than rigorous, high-pressure techniques.
Argument Flow: The passage establishes Dr. Santos as a researcher, then presents a contrast between two approaches to learning while gentle methods make students comfortable, they actually lead to poorer performance compared to demanding, pressure-filled techniques.
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
- We need a word that describes the soothing methods in a way that sets up the contrast with rigorous techniques
- The soothing methods are characterized as gentle (soft music, comfortable environments) while the rigorous techniques are harsh (timed, under pressure)
- The missing word should capture this gentleness in a way that makes the contrast clear and logical
mild
- Mild perfectly describes soothing methods like soft music and comfortable environments
- Creates a clear contrast with rigorous techniques
- Fits the logical flow: gentle methods may feel good but are not as effective as demanding ones
unsuccessful
- While the methods do produce weaker results, calling them unsuccessful is redundant with weaker exam results
- This would make the sentence say the same thing twice rather than describing the nature of the approaches
conventional
- Conventional means traditional or standard, but the passage is not making a contrast between traditional vs. innovative methods
- The contrast is about intensity level (gentle vs. rigorous)
costly
- The passage makes no mention of expense or cost
- The contrast being made is about the intensity and comfort level of different study approaches, not their financial cost