Bee .
Eve .
Lie.
( hope this helps )
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GMAT Club Forum Index Verbal
How to get "Primary Purpose of Passage" right? : Verbal
Topic Discussion
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jimmyjamesdonkey
Jun 24, 2007
I always get "The Primary Purpose of this passage is to?" wrong on Reading Comp. I'm guessing this is hurting my score as it seems like a simple questions and I always get it wrong.
Any idea on how to nail this??? I started taking notes during the section and it helps. I know what the passage is about, but trying to stick it into one of those GMAT choices is difficult. Suggestions?
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baer
Jun 24, 2007
Main Idea/Primary Purpose Questions:
Many people believe there is no difference between the main or central idea of the passage and the primary purpose of the author of the passage. This is simply not true. Let's take a look at the subtle but important difference between them:
Main Idea
The question might look something like this:
"Which of the following best states the central idea of the passage?"
"Which of the following most accurately states the main idea of the passage?"
"Which of the following is the principal topic of the passage?"
"The main topic of the passage is...."
Primary Purpose
The question might look like this:
"The primary purpose of this passage is to..."
"The primary purpose of the passage as a whole is to..."
"The primary focus of this passage is on which of the following?"
"The main concern of the passage is to..."
"In the passage, the author is primarily interested in...."
"The passage is chiefly concerned with..."
i think this is helpful to
Answer:
We have done all the activities very well
I intently thought of going to the gym
I honestly replied to the old man
He was badly beaten because of theft
Expository text gets to the point rather quickly. It is intended as education rather than just narrative text. An example of narrative text is the Excerpt by Charles Dickens which is meant to draw a picture of what this woman was like.
So the last one is out.
The first one talks about volcanoes and how they are classified. That's one of your answers if you are trying for brevety and education.
I think the second one would also be a choice. It is trying to show you the nature of anxiety and what causes it. You learn a lot about symptoms from reading it. It's quick and to the point. Expository? Yes.
I don't think four is exactly expository, but I might be wrong. It sounds too argumentative to be completely expository. It wouldn't be my first choice even though I have read Twain a great deal, beginning in my teens. He always has something pointedly funny to say about the human condition. So it's hard for me not to include him in anything. It's not exactly narrative either. The tough ones are three and four.
Three tries to tell you what it would be like to live in another country. I think it likely is the choice you are looking for.
Answers 1,23. I could be wrong, so if you have a different answer in mind, go with it.
