Get Ready to Rumble: GMAT RC Start to Finish - Part 3
Were continuing on with our full review of a GMATPrep RC passage and all of its associated questions!
In Part 1, we deconstructed the entire passage and answered an Authors Purpose, or Why, question. In part 2, we examined two General, or big picture, questions. Today, were going to tackle a different type of question.
Pull up Part 1 so that you have the passage text in front of you. Ready? Give yourself about 1.5 minutes to answer this problem:
It can be inferred from the passage that the author would characterize the activities engaged in by early chartered trading companies as being(A) complex enough in scope to require a substantial amount of planning and coordination on the part of management
(B) too simple to be considered similar to those of a modern multinational corporation
(C) as intricate as those carried out by the largest multinational corporations today
(D) often unprofitable due to slow communications and unreliable means of transportation
(E) hampered by the political demands imposed on them by the governments of their home countries
This is an Inference question, signaled by the word inferred in the question stem. The three most common words that signal an Inference question are infer, imply, or suggest (or some variation thereof).
What do the test writers want us to do on Inference questions?
We have to be careful here: the concept is thought of in a different way in the real world than on this test. If I said, I prefer physical books to e-readers, what could you infer?
In the real world, you might infer that I like to read. Indeed, if I have an opinion about physical books vs. e-versions of those books, then chances are good that I do like to read. Its also possible, however, that I dont like to read, but if I have to do so, then Id rather read a physical book.
On the GMAT, You like to read, would be a trap (wrong!) answer. The GMAT is actually asking you to make a formal deduction: find an answer that must be true according to the information presented in the passage.
It might be true that I like to read, but it doesnt have to be true. What does have to be true is that I like e-readers less than I like physical books. Its also the case that I must have at least a little bit of experience with or knowledge about both forms; otherwise, I wouldnt be able to say that I like one more than the other.
So what can we infer about how the author would characterize the activities of early chartered trading companies?
When a question stem is this specific, its typically best to find and review the relevant text from the passage and try to come up with your own answer to the question before you check the answer choices.
If you havent already found the relevant text, go do so now. Im about to show it to you, but I dont want to give it away, since one important aspect of RC is figuring out how to find the information that you need to answer a question.
The first mention of chartered trading companies is towards the end of the first paragraph:
Sixteenth- and seventeenth-century chartered trading companies, despite the international scope of their activities, are usually considered irrelevant to this discussion: the volume of their transactions is assumed to have been too low and the communications and transport of their day too primitive to make comparisons with modern multinationals interesting.
The word early isnt used until the first sentence of the next paragraph, but that reference does clearly point back to the 16th and 17th century companies discussed above.
Can you deduce anything from that sentence? These companies are considered irrelevant because the transaction volume is assumed to have been low. It doesnt sound much like the author thinks these companies really are irrelevant, but we dont have anything solid on which to base a deduction yet. Keep reading.
In reality, however, early trading companies successfully purchased and outfitted ships, built and operated offices and warehouses, manufactured trade goods for use abroad, maintained trading posts and production facilities overseas, procured goods for import, and sold those goods both at home and in other countries. The large volume of transactions associated with these activities seems to have necessitated hierarchical management structures well before the advent of modern communications and transportation. For example,
Bingo! In reality, something else was going on. These companies were managing all kinds of complex transactions! So much was going on, in fact, that the companies had to form into hierarchies in order to be able to manage it all.
Youve probably noticed that I included the beginning of a sentence at the end of that quote but then cut off the quote. The question asks what can be inferred about early chartered trading companies in general, so one specific example likely isnt going to contain the information necessary to answer the question. Use these kinds of clues to help you narrow the scope of the answer.
Okay, so these old companies were quite sophisticated and did have hierarchical structures in order to manage large volumes of transactions. What answers do not match with that idea?
(A) complex enough in scope to require a substantial amount of planning and coordination on the part of management
That generally goes along with what we said. Keep it in.
(B) too simple to be considered similar to those of a modern multinational corporation
No! Too simple doesnt go along with either the main idea or what we just decided. Eliminate (B).
(C) as intricate as those carried out by the largest multinational corporations today
That generally goes along with what we said. Keep it in.
(D) often unprofitable due to slow communications and unreliable means of transportation
I didnt see anything about profitability. Also, this choice has a negative connotation, while the passage indicates that these companies were doing well, so this isnt it. Eliminate (D).
(E) hampered by the political demands imposed on them by the governments of their home countries
Nope. Again, this is negative, while the author spoke about these companies in a positive way. Eliminate (E).
So were down to (A) and (C). Compare them against each other:
(A) complex enough in scope to require a substantial amount of planning and coordination on the part of management(C) as intricate as those carried out by the largest multinational corporations today
Whats the difference? Answer (A) focuses on the fact that the companies activities were really complexcomplex enough to require a lot of management. Answer (C), on the other hand, makes a direct comparison with MMCs: that these old companies engaged in activities that were as intricate as those of MMCs.
Answer (A) can be directly deduced from the passage: these companies engaged in a large volume of transactions. The activities described are complex and do require planning and coordination and, according to the passage, necessitated a hierarchical management structure.
Answer (C) cannot be directly deduced from the passage. The passage indicates only some similarities with MMCs; it does not go so far as to indicate that the older companies activities were as intricate as those of MMCs.
The correct answer is (A).
What did you learn about Inference questions from this problem? Try to come up with your own takeaways before you keep reading. Also, dont forget to join me next time for the last installment of our RC series.
Key Takeaways for Inference Questions
(1) Most inference question stems will contain some form of the words infer, imply, or suggest. Inference questions are asking you to deduce something that must be true based on some information from the passage.
(2) Whenever possible, go back to the passage and figure out an answer in your own words before you move to the answer choices. Most question stems will give you specific enough information to make this possible.
* GMATPrep questions courtesy of the Graduate Management Admissions Council. Usage of this question does not imply endorsement by GMAC.