expectations when it comes to government rules for business. (Notice the signpost word “yet,” which signals the contradiction.) Start with the second blank, looking for a word that accurately captures the public attitude. Choices (A), (B), and (D) work best; divided, confused, and ambiguous all convey the idea that the public wants two things that don’t go together very well. For the first blank, you want a word that describes what the second part of the sentence also describes. Choice (D) appears to be the best fit; the sentence as a whole has to do with “business regulation”; that is, the rules laid down by government for business. Two other choices, (A) and (C), work all right for the first blank. But “ethics” is a bit too specific, while “practices” is a bit too vague. (Besides, you already eliminated choice (C) based on the second missing word.) As you just saw, the semicolon without a connector word might provide a wordless warning of a restatement. Also look for these key words and phrases, which often mark restatements: in fact in other words in short namely that is Three of these markers could easily be inserted into the sentence about business regulation to strengthen the restatement signal. Try reading the sentence again using each marker in turn, and you’ll find out which three work. Cause and Effect In a sentence fitting this pattern, one part describes something that causes, produces, or influences what’s described in another part. Here’s an example: 13. When waging election campaigns against challengers, most incumbent politicians have significant _______ as a result of the power and recognition that are typically part and parcel of holding public office. (A) propensities (B) expenses (C) contributions (D) budgets (E) advantages The correct answer is (E). In this sentence, the operative phrase is as a result. What precedes this phrase describes the effect or result of the power and recog- nition that goes with holding an official position in the government. Put another way, the power and recognition of public office causes or influences what the earlier part of the sentence intends to describe. Logically, what effects would be caused by the power and recognition of public office? One natural effect would be to make it easier to run for reelection, if for no other reason than because the current officeholder is already well known. So, advantages is an apt expression of this natural effect. The most tempting wrong answer choices are probably choices (C) and (D). However, significant contributions or budgets wouldn’t necessarily be logical or natural effects of having power and recognition. What’s more, the Chapter 13: Sentence and Text Completions 343 . TIP Punctuation, especially colons and semicolons, is often used to restate (paraphrase, define, or elucidate) an idea. But a key word or phrase can be used for the same purpose as well. www.petersons.com phrase “have .contributions” is an awkward idiom. (A more effective and clearer phrase is “receive contributions.”) So choice (C) cannot be the best one. By the way, to complete the sentence correctly, it helps to know that an “incumbent politician” is one who is already in office. Even if you don’t know what incumbent means, you can make an educated guess based on the sentence as a whole. “Incumbent politicians” are depicted here as running against “chal- lengers,” and a “challenger” is typically a person who goes up against a current title holder. So it would be a good guess that an incumbent candidate is the current office holder. In the above example, the signpost “as a result” marked the cause-and-effect con- nection. Here are some other signposts that mark this kind of connection: because hence consequently due to leads to produces results in since therefore thus You can redraft the sentence about incumbent candidates using any of these signposts in place of “as a result.” If you try it, you’ll see that you can simply plug in some as substitutes for “as a result”; to use others, though, you’d also need to restructure the sentence. KEY FACTS ABOUT TEXT COMPLETIONS The Text Completion format is more complex than the Sentence Completion format. You first looked at Text Completions in Chapter 2 and in the Diagnostic Test. Let’s quickly review all the key facts about this format. Where: The 30-minute Verbal Reasoning section of the computer-based GRE How Many: 0–1 What’s Tested: • Your ability to understand the intended meaning of a sentence or paragraph • Your ability to distinguish between a paragraph that is cohesive and coherent and one that lacks these qualities • Your ability to recognize and distinguish between proper and improper word usage and idiom • Your ability to recognize and distinguish between a clear and unclear written expression Directions: During the computerized GRE, test directions similar to the following will precede a Text Completion test item: Directions: Select one entry from each column to fill in the corresponding blanks in the text. Fill in the blanks in a way that provides the best completion for the text. PART V: Verbal Reasoning344 . NOTE Only the computer-based GRE can include a Text Completion question. This format is not used at all on the paper- based test. www.petersons.com Other Key Facts: • A Text Completion involves one to five sentences containing two to three blanks in all. • You’ll fill in blanks with either single words or brief phrases. • You select fill-in choices by clicking directly on them with your mouse. • The primary emphasis is on idiom, sense, and paragraph structure; secondary emphasis is on vocabulary. • You complete each blank independently of the other blank(s). • You must choose the best completion for all blanks in a question to earn credit for a correct response; no partial credit is awarded. • The best choice will make for an excellent sentence or paragraph that’s cohesive, rhetorically effective, and correct in grammar, diction, and idiom. THE 4-STEP PLAN (TEXT COMPLETIONS) Your approach to GRE Text Completions should be similar to your plan for Sentence Completions. However, in the following step-by-step plan, notice that you don’t formu- late your own completion (step 2 for Sentence Completions) before weighing the answer choices. That’s because Text Completions are usually too lengthy and complex for this strategy. Step 1: Read the Passage in Its Entirety Pay particular attention to key words that indicate a description, point of view, conclusion, comparison, or contrast. Step 2: Test Each Answer Choice for the First Blank Eliminate choices that you’re sure are wrong. Step 3: Test Each Answer Choice for the Second Blank Eliminate choices that you’re sure are wrong. Repeat for the third blank as needed. Step 4: Compare Remaining Choices by Rereading the Passage Compare the remaining choices for all blanks by reading the entire passage again with each combination. Pay close attention to whether each word or phrase is used properly and appropriately in context. If you’re still undecided, take your best guess among the viable choices. Applying the 4-Step Plan Now let’s apply this four-step plan to a GRE-style Text Completion. This example is about as brief as any you’d see on the GRE. Chapter 13: Sentence and Text Completions 345 . ALERT! Don’t assume you’ll be able to zero in on the best choice for one blank without considering the other blank(s) as well. Text Completions are generally not designed to be solved that easily. www.petersons.com 14. Friends of the theater have long decried the (i)_______ of big-city drama critics, whose reviews can determine the (ii)_______ a play in a single night. Blank (i) callous indifference unfettered sway incisive judgment Blank (ii) popularity of outcome of audience for Step 1: To handle this Text Completion, it helps to know that the word decry means “to discredit or criticize.” If you’re completely unfamiliar with the word, you can at least guess at its definition. The root cry provides a good clue that decry is a negatively charged word. As a whole, then, the sentence is describing how a play reviewer’s action can impact a play in a way that evokes a critical response from the theatrical community. Step 2: Let’s weigh the choices for blank (i). It wouldn’t make much sense for “friends of the theater” to discredit or criticize a drama critic’s “incisive judgment.” (The word incisive in this context means “keen or sharp.”) So you can at least eliminate this choice, without even considering blank (ii). But the other two choices both make sense as a characteristic of big-city drama critics that friends of the theater might not think highly of. (Of course, it helps to know that unfettered sway means “unconstrained influence or power.”) So you’ll need to consider blank (ii) to determine the best choice for blank (i). Step 3: Now let’s look at the choices for blank (ii). The phrase outcome of doesn’t make much sense in context. It’s the playwright, not the critic, that determines the outcome of a play. But the other two choices both seem to make sense: A drama critic’s review can determine a play’s popularity and its audience. Notice that regardless of which phrase you use in the second blank, the second part of the sentence provides a better description of unfettered sway than callous indifference. In other words, the sentence as a whole is more consistent and cohesive with the former phrase than with the latter. Step 4: You need to decide between popularity of and audience for. When you say that a critic’s review determines a play’s “audience,” aren’t you really saying that it has a great impact on the size of the audience—that is, the play’s “popularity”? It’s for this reason that popularity of is the better completion for blank (ii); it makes for a clearer, more effective sentence. The correct answer is (i) unfettered sway and (ii) popularity of. Remember: If you had selected any other choice for either blank, you’d have received no credit whatsoever for this question. Also, notice the subtle distinction between the best choice and the runner-up for blank (ii). Now let’s look at some paragraph-length (two- to five-sentence) Text Completions, which focus chiefly on idiomatic phrases and sentence transitions. The use of longer passages allows the test designers to gauge your ability to form cohesive paragraphs that make sense as a whole and convey the overall idea articulately and properly. PART V: Verbal Reasoning346 . ALERT! In a challenging Text Completion question, nuances in meaning can mark the difference between the best choice for a blank and the runner-up. www.petersons.com The following example is a bit easier than average for a paragraph-length Text Completion. 15. Low-context cultures, such as those of the United States, England, and Germany, spell things out verbally and rely on a rather (i)_______ interpretation of the spoken word. There tends to be no gap between what is said and what is meant. (ii)_______, high-context cultures, including those of Spain, France, Mexico, and Japan, communicate more by nuance and implication, relying less on actual words than on gestures and situations. In these cultures, (iii)_______ often what is most important. Blank (i) literal straightforward glib Blank (ii) Generally speaking By the same token On the other hand Blank (iii) what remains unsaid is what words actually mean is emphasis and tone are Let’s apply our four-step approach to this paragraph-length Text Completion. Step 1: The first two sentences discuss how low-context cultures communicate; the final two sentences talk about communication in high-context cultures. Based on the passage’s descriptions, there’s clearly a marked difference between the two. In fact, this seems to be the paragraph’s main thrust. (Notice the phrases “more by” and “less on” in the third sentence.) Step 2: Let’s start with blank (ii), which connects the description of a low-context culture with the discussion of high-context cultures. Since the text strongly suggests a contrast, a word like “however” would lead nicely from one to the other. The phrase On the other hand fits perfectly. (The phrase By the same token signals similarity, not contrast. The phrase Generally speaking signals an elaboration or explanation just ahead. Neither phrase is at all appropriate in context.) Step 3: Notice that the first and second sentences both provide a description of whatever should fill in blank (i). The second sentence in particular provides a good definition of the word literally. (The word glib means “fluent or articulate”—not a good fit for the description in the first two sentences.) On to blank (iii). The final sentence appears to be a restatement or interpretation of the idea in the preceding sen- tence—that gestures and implication are more important than actual words. The phrase what remains unsaid is an artful characterization of what’s gestured or implied but not put into actual words, so it’s a perfect fit for blank (iii). The other two phrases confuse the idea; neither one makes the appropriate point. Step 4: We already determined the best choice for each blank, so we can skip step 4. The correct answer is (i) literal, (ii) On the other hand, and (iii) what remains unsaid is. Now try applying the four steps to another example. This one contains only two blanks, but that doesn’t mean it’s easier than the previous example. Chapter 13: Sentence and Text Completions 347 . www.petersons.com 16. The medical profession has traditionally scoffed at the claims of alternative medicine. When (i)_______ its successes is trotted out, doctors routinely and dismissively put it down to the placebo effect. (ii)_______, perhaps one of the reasons that alternative medicine is booming today is precisely because in an era in which medical procedures and antibiotics are prescribed at the drop of a hat while alternative treatments are rarely even suggested, people have become less trusting of medical science. Blank (i) a compelling reason for anecdotal evidence of a cogent theory about Blank (ii) Ironically As a result On the other hand Let’s apply the four steps to this example: Step 1: Here’s the overall gist of the passage: Traditional medical practitioners do not take alternative treatments seriously and do not recommend them to patients—and this fact might be the reason that patients have grown suspicious of traditional medicine and are therefore seeking alternatives. Step 2: Let’s start with blank (i), which you can fill in based on the first two sentences. Notice that the pronoun “it” refers to whatever goes in the blank. What might doctors dismiss as the result of the placebo effect? Well, probably the results of certain scientific experiments—in other words, scientific evidence, not a theory or a reason. Accordingly, the phrase anecdotal evidence of is the only one of the three that makes logical sense in grammatical context of the first two sentences. Step 3: Now let’s tackle blank (ii), which requires you to assimilate the entire passage. Recall the gist of the passage from step 1. Since the passage doesn’t set up any sort of contrast in ideas, the phrase On the other hand makes no sense for blank (ii). You can at least eliminate one of the three choices. But neither of the others are easy to eliminate at first glance. Step 4: Notice that you could insert nothing in blank (ii) and still understand how the idea preceding it connects to what follows it—the connection is cause and effect. So does that mean that the phrase “As a result,” which signals that an effect lies just ahead, is the best choice for blank (ii)? Not necessarily. If you look at the entire sentence, you would have As a result precede “perhaps the reason that,” which would be redundant. So by process of elimination, the best choice for blank (ii) appears to be Ironically. And if you think about it, the word aptly characterizes the cause-and-effect relationship described in the passage. The correct answer is (i) anecdotal evi- dence of and (ii) Ironically. LOGICAL CONNECTIONS FOR COMPLETING TEXT As you probably figured out based on the preceding examples, the blanks in GRE paragraphs often call for “connectors”—words and phrases that link ideas together. To fill in these blanks, you must choose the word or phrase that provides the most natural and sensible flow of ideas. PART V: Verbal Reasoning348 . ALERT! Process of elimination can work for Text Completions, but don’t rely on it as a crutch. Try to complete the passage with the words and phrases you know do work well, rather than simply ruling out completions that don’t work. www.petersons.com Tips for Spotting Connections Between Ideas in the Text A connecting word or phrase should steer the reader in the right direction by signaling a conclusion, an opposing or contradictory idea, or an elaboration. It’s like a good directional sign that shows which way the next sentence is headed. When we looked at the Sentence Completion format earlier in this chapter, we examined the connectors used to link two parts of the same sentence. Here, we’ll review the connectors most often used as the “glue” between sentences to create a cohesive, rhetorically effective para- graph: • Similarity • Contrast • Continuation (description, definition, or illustration) • Cause and effect • Premise and conclusion • Rhetorical emphasis The following examples focus just on appropriate connecting words and phrases; wrong answer choices are omitted. Keep in mind that a Text Completion might also focus on other issues—and it will, of course, require a choice from among three options for each blank. SIMILARITY, THEN CAUSE AND EFFECT 17. When El Niño hit, vast schools of small fish, such as anchovies and sardines, sought cooler temperatures at farther depths of the Pacific than the levels where they are usually found. (i)_______ their response protected these fish from the unseasonable weather conditions, their predators were unable to reach them at these new, greater depths. (ii)_______, the predators suddenly lost their regular food supply. The second sentence suggests a similarity between two results of the fishes’ response to El Niño: It protected them from bad weather and it protected them from predators. Either of the following would be appropriate in blank (i) to signal the similarity: While At the same time that The final sentence indicates what is probably a result of the event described in the preceding sentence. In other words, what precedes blank (ii) caused what follows it. Any of these would be appropriate in blank (ii): As a result Consequently Not surprisingly Chapter 13: Sentence and Text Completions 349 . www.petersons.com CONTINUATION, THEN SIMILARITY 18. When El Niño hit, aquatic mammals were affected especially hard. (i)_______, along one Peruvian beach, the Punta San Juan, a whole season’s pup production of fur seals and sea lions died, as well as thousands of juveniles and breeding adults. By May 13, 1998, only 15 fur seals were counted, when there are usually hundreds; (ii)_______, only 1,500 sea lions were found in an area that usually houses 8,000. The second sentence provides an example of the phenomenon described in the first sentence. Either of the following would fit blank (i): For example For instance The phrase after blank (ii) describes a situation similar to the one described before the blank. Any of the following would work in blank (ii): similarly by the same token also CONTRAST, THEN RHETORICAL EMPHASIS 19. The United States, which was founded mainly by people who had emigrated from northern Europe, had an essentially open-door immigration policy for the first 100 years of its existence. (i)_______, starting in the 1880s and continuing through the 1920s, Congress passed a series of restrictive immigration laws ultimately leading to a quota system based on the number of individuals of each national origin reported in the 1989 census. (ii)_______, the door to freedom hadn’t exactly been slammed shut, but it was now open only to the “right” sort of people. What follows the blank is an idea that contradicts the idea expressed in the preceding sentence. Accordingly, the word in blank (i) should signal that a contrasting idea lies just ahead. Either of the following completions would work: however but The final sentence seems to put a negative rhetorical spin on the events described in the previous sentence. Any of the following would work in blank (ii): Obviously Clearly Apparently PART V: Verbal Reasoning350 . www.petersons.com CONTRAST AND CONCLUSION 20. The polar ice cap’s high-pressure system controls the cold, relatively stable climate of Mount Vinson, the highest peak in Antarctica. (i)_______ Vinson is located in an arctic climate, snowstorms and terrific wind gusts are always possible The first sentence tells us that Mount Vinson’s climate is stable; the second sentence provides opposing, contrary information. A connector is needed to signal that opposing ideas are being presented. Either of the following phrases provides the appropriate connection and fits the paragraph’s grammatical construction: However, since Yet, because RHETORICAL EMPHASIS, THEN CONTRAST 21. (i)_______, the most significant revolution in modern art was the invention of the purely abstract painting in the 1930s. Pablo Picasso is generally regarded as the quintessential modern artist. (ii)_______, in the course of Picasso’s long and varied career, he never painted any significant abstract picture. The first blank could be left empty without sacrificing the flow of ideas in the paragraph. All that is appropriate for blank (i) is some rhetorical flourish. Any of the following would serve the purpose: Without a doubt Indisputably Clearly The idea that follows the blank comes as a surprise, considering the idea that precedes it. The fact that Picasso never made an abstract painting doesn’t follow as a logical result; it’s a surprising contradiction—not at all what we would reasonably expect. Any of the following would be appropriate in blank (ii) as a signal that an opposing idea is coming: Yet Nevertheless However Surprisingly, however Ironically Chapter 13: Sentence and Text Completions 351 . www.petersons.com TEXT COMPLETION STRATEGIES • Try to understand the sentence or paragraph as a whole. Pay special attention to rhetorical structure and to “signpost” words that show direction and logical flow. • Don’t waste time trying to make sense of answer choices that don’t work. If an answer doesn’t make sense, move on to the next choice. • Always consider each and every answer choice. The difference between the best and second-best answer can be subtle. • Eliminate any choice that’s too vague or too specific for the passage as a whole. Keep in mind that you might need to determine the best choice based on nuanced meanings. • Don’t choose any answer just because it contains a difficult word. By the same token, don’t rule it out for this reason. If you don’t know what a word means, try to guess based on the word’s prefix or root, how the word “sounds,” or even your gut instinct. • Decide between viable choices by checking for idiom, usage, and awk- wardness in context. The correct answer should not sound strange or forced in the context of the passage. Checking for good grammar can make the difference between picking the right choice and the wrong one. PART V: Verbal Reasoning352 . www.petersons.com . candidate is the current office holder. In the above example, the signpost “as a result” marked the cause-and-effect con- nection. Here are some other signposts. farther depths of the Pacific than the levels where they are usually found. (i)_______ their response protected these fish from the unseasonable weather