GMATPrep Reading Comp: Tackling a Tough Passage (Part 4)
Did you know that you can attend the first session of any of our online or in-person GMAT courses absolutely free? We’re not kidding! Check out our upcoming courses here.
In the first installment of this series, we deconstructed a challenging Reading Comprehension passage from the GMATPrep® free exams. Pull up that page and keep it handy; it contains the full passage text. (And if you’re just starting here, go through the first three parts before you continue with this one!)
At the end of the third installment, I posted the third problem for the passage. Here it is again:
“Which of the following best describes an application of the principles of comparable worth as they are described in the passage?
“(A) The current pay, rates of increase, and rates of promotion for female mechanics are compared with those of male mechanics.
“(B) The training, skills, and experience of computer programmers in one division of a corporation are compared to those of programmers making more money in another division.
“(C) The number of women holding top executive positions in a corporation is compared to the number of women available for promotion to those positions, and both tallies are matched to the tallies for men in the same corporation.
“(D) The skills, training, and job responsibilities of the clerks in the township tax assessor’s office are compared to those of the much better-paid township engineers.
“(E) The working conditions of female workers in a hazardous-materials environment are reviewed and their pay schedules compared to those of all workers in similar environments across the nation.”
Step 1: Identify the question
This is a weird one. They’re asking you to apply some concept from the passage to the new scenarios described in the answer choices. This one is sort of a cross between specific detail (find something in the passage) and inference (deduce something that must follow from information in the passage). You need to find a scenario that fits with the principles of comparable worth.
Step 2: Find the proof.
What are the principles of comparable worth? Find and review them.
“Comparable worth, as a standard applied to eliminate inequities in pay, insists that the values of certain tasks performed in dissimilar jobs can be compared. In the last decade, this approach has become a critical social policy issue, as large numbers of private-sector firms and industries as well as federal, state, and local governmental entities have adopted comparable worth policies or begun to consider doing so.”
In short, CW is a way to help close pay gaps and it works well even when you’re dealing with different jobs, unlike some other methods.
Step 3: Predict an answer.
Obviously, you aren’t going to be able to predict whatever scenarios the answers detail, but you can try to articulate what characteristic(s) the correct answer should have.
The correct answer should go along with CW principles. The scenario described should help to close pay gaps among people with different jobs.
Step 4: Find a match in the answers.
Dive in!
“(A) The current pay, rates of increase, and rates of promotion for female mechanics are compared with those of male mechanics.”
Female mechanics and male mechanics are doing the same job, not different jobs. This one doesn’t fit CW.
“(B) The training, skills, and experience of computer programmers in one division of a corporation are compared to those of programmers making more money in another division.”
The divisions might be different, but we’re still talking about the same job: computer programmer. This one also does not fit.
“(C) The number of women holding top executive positions in a corporation is compared to the number of women available for promotion to those positions, and both tallies are matched to the tallies for men in the same corporation.”
This one is sort of comparing people in different jobs: the people who hold executive positions vs. the people who don’t but might be promoted. The focus of the comparison, though, is not about addressing any pay gap. It’s just talking about the number of people in each group. This one isn’t the right answer.
“(D) The skills, training, and job responsibilities of the clerks in the township tax assessor’s office are compared to those of the much better-paid township engineers.”
Okay, we’ve got two different jobs: clerks and engineers. Oh, and they have a difference in pay: the engineers make a lot more. This one hits the two main criteria. Leave it in.
“(E) The working conditions of female workers in a hazardous-materials environment are reviewed and their pay schedules compared to those of all workers in similar environments across the nation.”
This choice doesn’t specify an actual job—what are the workers doing? And are they doing similar things or different things? We do know that they’re working in the same dangerous environment, so if we assume anything, we’d probably assume that they’re performing similar jobs. But answer (D) already works, and we’re not supposed to assume anyway. This one isn’t the right answer.
The correct answer is (D).
Sometimes, you’re going to get a question that doesn’t fall neatly into one of the common categories. When this happens, you can usually use your knowledge of other question types to get to the answer. You may have something like this one, which is sort of a cross between specific detail and inference. Sometimes, you may get one that looks more like a Critical Reasoning problem—these can ask you to strengthen or weaken something that was claimed in the passage.
It’s rare, though, to see a question that’s completely unlike anything you’ve ever seen before anywhere on the test. If that does happen, assume that it’s likely an experimental question. If you think you can tackle it in a reasonable amount of time, feel free to try, but don’t spend any extra time. And if, when you dive in, the problem turns out to be more taxing than you thought, pick your favorite letter and move on.
Here’s the fourth and final problem in the set. Good luck!
“According to the passage, comparable worth principles are different in which of the following ways from other mandates intended to reduce or eliminate pay inequities?
“(A) Comparable worth principles address changes in the pay schedules of male as well as female workers.
“(B) Comparable worth principles can be applied to employees in both the public and the private sector.
“(C) Comparable worth principles emphasize the training and skill of workers.
“(D) Comparable worth principles require changes in the employer’s resource allocation.
“(E) Comparable worth principles can be used to quantify the value of elements of dissimilar jobs.”
In the last installment of this series, we’ll talk about how to work your way through the problem above. ?
Key Takeaways for Application questions
(1) This question type is not as common as other types; you may or may not see one on the test. They’re asking you to take some specific detail in the passage and apply it to new scenarios described in the answer choices.
(2) You can’t truly predict an answer (step 3) because the scenarios could be anything, but you can articulate the kinds of characteristics that the correct answer should have. In this case, the correct answer had to go along with the two main CW details: it addresses pay gaps for people with dissimilar jobs.
(3) If you keep those two principles in mind while analyzing each answer (jot them down!), your job will be made easier. Now, instead of trying to analyze each choice from scratch, you’re checking each choice against your little list of criteria—and eliminating any that don’t match.
* GMATPrep® questions courtesy of the Graduate Management Admissions Council. Usage of this question does not imply endorsement by GMAC.
Can’t get enough of Stacey’s GMAT mastery? Attend the first session of one of her upcoming GMAT courses absolutely free, no strings attached. Seriously.
Stacey Koprince is a Manhattan Prep instructor based in Montreal, Canada and Los Angeles, California. Stacey has been teaching the GMAT, GRE, and LSAT for more than 15 years and is one of the most well-known instructors in the industry. Stacey loves to teach and is absolutely fascinated by standardized tests. Check out Stacey’s upcoming GMAT courses here.