When archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann discovered the ruins of Troy in the 1870s, his findings challenged long-held beliefs about Homer's epic...
GMAT Expression of Ideas : (Expression) Questions
When archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann discovered the ruins of Troy in the 1870s, his findings challenged long-held beliefs about Homer's epic poems. _____ scholars had dismissed the Iliad and Odyssey as purely mythological works with no basis in historical reality.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?
Before that,
As a result,
Nevertheless,
Similarly,
Step 1: Decode and Map the Passage
Part A: Create Passage Analysis Table
| Text from Passage | Analysis |
|---|---|
| "When archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann discovered the ruins of Troy in the 1870s," |
|
| "his findings challenged long-held beliefs about Homer's epic poems." |
|
| "[MISSING TRANSITION]" |
|
| "scholars had dismissed the Iliad and Odyssey as purely mythological works with no basis in historical reality." |
|
Part B: Provide Passage Architecture & Core Elements
Main Point: Schliemann's discovery of Troy challenged the scholarly view that Homer's epic poems were purely mythological rather than based in historical reality.
Argument Flow: The passage establishes that Schliemann made an important archaeological discovery, explains that this discovery challenged existing scholarly beliefs, and then describes what those previous beliefs were about Homer's works being purely mythological.
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 logical relationship here is about timing and sequence
- We have Schliemann's discovery that challenged beliefs, followed by a description of what those previous beliefs were
- The missing connector needs to indicate that the scholarly dismissal happened before Schliemann's discovery - it was the prior state that his findings then challenged
- The right transition should show that the dismissal of Homer's works as mythological was the earlier position that Schliemann's discovery then challenged
- So the right answer should indicate "previously" or "before this discovery"
Before that,
✓ Correct
- Correct - "Before that" perfectly establishes the temporal sequence and shows that scholarly dismissal happened prior to Schliemann's discovery
As a result,
✗ Incorrect
- Incorrect - "As a result" suggests the dismissal followed the discovery, which reverses the logical sequence
Nevertheless,
✗ Incorrect
- Incorrect - "Nevertheless" indicates contrast but no contrasting relationship exists between the discovery challenging beliefs and the description of what those beliefs were
Similarly,
✗ Incorrect
- Incorrect - "Similarly" suggests comparison but there's nothing for the scholarly dismissal to be similar to in the preceding text