Voting members of the 2002 Latin Grammys were impressed by Banda Cuisillos's album Puras Rancheras Con Cuisillos and its contribution...
GMAT Expression of Ideas : (Expression) Questions
Voting members of the 2002 Latin Grammys were impressed by Banda Cuisillos's album Puras Rancheras Con Cuisillos and its contribution to the banda genre, a form of regional Mexican music featuring large ensembles of wind instruments and drums that first developed in southern and central Mexico in the mid-nineteenth century. ______ they awarded the group the Best Banda Album award.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?
In contrast,
Meanwhile,
Nevertheless,
Accordingly,
Step 1: Decode and Map the Passage
Create Passage Analysis Table
| Text from Passage | Analysis |
|---|---|
| "Voting members of the 2002 Latin Grammys were impressed by Banda Cuisillos's album Puras Rancheras Con Cuisillos and its contribution to the banda genre" |
|
| "a form of regional Mexican music featuring large ensembles of wind instruments and drums that first developed in southern and central Mexico in the mid-nineteenth century." |
|
| "they awarded the group the Best Banda Album award." |
|
Provide Passage Architecture & Core Elements
Main Point: The 2002 Latin Grammy voting members were so impressed by Banda Cuisillos's album that they gave it the Best Banda Album award.
Argument Flow: The passage establishes that Grammy voters had a positive reaction to Cuisillos's album, then moves to the logical outcome of that positive evaluation—awarding the group the prize.
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
- Looking at our analysis, we have Grammy voters who were impressed by the album, and then they awarded the group an award
- This is a clear cause-and-effect relationship—the positive impression led directly to the award decision
- The missing transition needs to show that the award was a logical consequence of their being impressed
In contrast,
- "In contrast" signals opposition between two ideas
- This doesn't fit because the award supports their positive impression—there's no contrast here
- ✗ Incorrect
Meanwhile,
- "Meanwhile" indicates two things happening at the same time
- The award wasn't happening simultaneously with being impressed—it was the result of being impressed
- ✗ Incorrect
Nevertheless,
- "Nevertheless" means "despite this"
- This would suggest the award happened despite their impression, which contradicts the logical flow
- ✗ Incorrect
Accordingly,
- "Accordingly" means "as a logical result"
- This perfectly captures the cause-and-effect relationship: voters were impressed, and accordingly they gave the award
- ✓ Correct