Traditional mural painting emphasizes community involvement, with local residents participating in both the design process and the actual painting. Th...
GMAT Craft and Structure : (Structure) Questions
Traditional mural painting emphasizes community involvement, with local residents participating in both the design process and the actual painting. The Eastside Community Arts Project _____ this approach: neighborhood children contributed ideas for the imagery while adults helped mix pigments and apply paint to the wall.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?
represents
undermines
complicates
abandons
Looking at this SAT Words in Context question, I need to solve it systematically while following the detailed process guidelines.
Step 1: Decode and Map the Passage
Part A: Passage Analysis Table
| Text from Passage | Analysis |
|---|---|
| 'Traditional mural painting emphasizes community involvement, with local residents participating in both the design process and the actual painting.' |
|
| 'The Eastside Community Arts Project ______ this approach:' |
|
| 'neighborhood children contributed ideas for the imagery while adults helped mix pigments and apply paint to the wall.' |
|
Part B: Passage Architecture & Core Elements
Visual Structure Map:
[TRADITIONAL APPROACH DEFINITION]
Traditional mural painting = community involvement
↓
[PROJECT EXAMPLE]
Eastside Project [relationship] traditional approach
└── Evidence: kids + adults both participated
Main Point: The Eastside Community Arts Project exemplifies the traditional approach to mural painting through community involvement.
Argument Flow: The passage first defines traditional mural painting as emphasizing community involvement in both design and painting. It then presents the Eastside Community Arts Project as an example, showing how both children and adults participated in different aspects of the mural creation, demonstrating the same type of community involvement described in the traditional approach.
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
- The blank needs to show the relationship between the Eastside Community Arts Project and 'this approach' (the traditional approach)
- The traditional approach involves community participation in both design and painting
- The example shows that neighborhood children contributed ideas (design aspect) while adults helped with pigments and painting (painting aspect)
- This shows the project is following or embodying the traditional approach - it's doing exactly what the traditional approach calls for
- The right answer should indicate that the project follows, embodies, or exemplifies the traditional approach
represents
✓ Correct
- 'Represents' means to exemplify or embody something
- The project exemplifies the traditional approach by having community members participate in both design (children contributing ideas) and painting (adults mixing pigments and painting)
- This matches our prethinking that the project follows the traditional model
undermines
✗ Incorrect
- 'Undermines' means to weaken or sabotage something
- The project doesn't weaken the traditional approach - it actually demonstrates it working
- What trap this represents: Students might get confused if they think any change or specific implementation somehow challenges the general principle
complicates
✗ Incorrect
- 'Complicates' means to make something more complex or difficult
- The project doesn't make the traditional approach more complex - it simply applies it
- The example actually clarifies what community involvement looks like in practice
abandons
✗ Incorrect
- 'Abandons' means to give up or stop following something
- The project clearly follows the traditional approach by involving community members
- This is the opposite of what's happening in the example