While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:Virginia Woolf was a prominent modernist writer in early 20th-century...
GMAT Expression of Ideas : (Expression) Questions
While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:
- Virginia Woolf was a prominent modernist writer in early 20th-century literature.
- She employed stream-of-consciousness narrative technique in her novels.
- This technique revealed characters' inner psychological states and thought processes.
- James Joyce was another influential modernist author of the same period.
- He also used stream-of-consciousness technique in his major works.
- This technique allowed him to explore the complexity of human memory and consciousness.
The student wants to emphasize a similarity between Woolf's literary approach and Joyce's literary approach. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?
Woolf's technique revealed characters' psychological states, whereas Joyce's technique explored human memory and consciousness.
Both Woolf and Joyce employed stream-of-consciousness technique in their modernist literature.
Virginia Woolf, a prominent modernist writer, used stream-of-consciousness technique to reveal characters' inner states.
Joyce's stream-of-consciousness technique, which he used to explore consciousness, allowed complex character development.
Step 1: Decode and Map the Passage
Create Passage Analysis Table
| Text from Passage | Analysis |
|---|---|
| "Virginia Woolf was a prominent modernist writer in early 20th-century literature." |
|
| "She employed stream-of-consciousness narrative technique in her novels." |
|
| "This technique revealed characters' inner psychological states and thought processes." |
|
| "James Joyce was another influential modernist author of the same period." |
|
| "He also used stream-of-consciousness technique in his major works." |
|
| "This technique allowed him to explore the complexity of human memory and consciousness." |
|
Provide Passage Architecture & Core Elements
Main Point: Both Virginia Woolf and James Joyce were influential modernist writers who employed the same narrative technique—stream-of-consciousness—though for slightly different exploratory purposes.
Argument Flow: The notes establish Woolf as a prominent modernist who used stream-of-consciousness to reveal characters' inner states, then present Joyce as another influential modernist from the same period who used the identical technique to explore human memory and consciousness, creating a clear parallel between the two authors' approaches.
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
- From our analysis, we can see that both authors share several key similarities
- They were both modernist writers from the same time period
- Most importantly, they both used the stream-of-consciousness technique in their works
- While they used this technique for slightly different purposes (Woolf for psychological states, Joyce for memory/consciousness), the technique itself represents their major shared approach
- The right answer should directly state what both authors did in common, rather than focusing on just one author or emphasizing their differences
- The right answer should clearly identify that both Woolf and Joyce used the same narrative technique in their modernist literature
Woolf's technique revealed characters' psychological states, whereas Joyce's technique explored human memory and consciousness.
✗ Incorrect
- This choice emphasizes the differences between the authors with "whereas"
- While both parts are accurate, it contrasts their purposes rather than highlighting similarity
Both Woolf and Joyce employed stream-of-consciousness technique in their modernist literature.
✓ Correct
- Directly states that both authors used the same technique
- Uses "both" to explicitly emphasize the similarity
- Perfectly matches our prethinking by identifying their shared approach
Virginia Woolf, a prominent modernist writer, used stream-of-consciousness technique to reveal characters' inner states.
✗ Incorrect
- Only discusses Woolf, completely ignoring Joyce
- Cannot emphasize similarity between two people by mentioning only one
Joyce's stream-of-consciousness technique, which he used to explore consciousness, allowed complex character development.
✗ Incorrect
- Only discusses Joyce, completely ignoring Woolf
- Cannot emphasize similarity between two people by mentioning only one