Definition of pedestrian: Any person who, while on a sidewalk or similar paved walkway alongside a roadway, is walking, running,...
GMAT Two Part Analysis : (TPA) Questions
Source: Official Guide
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Definition of pedestrian: Any person who, while on a sidewalk or similar paved walkway alongside a roadway, is walking, running, or otherwise moving in any manner on foot or who, while on a paved, public, travelable surface is riding on any type of conveyance (including a wheelchair or roller skates) moved by human muscular power.
This definition of pedestrian fails to capture the standard concept of a pedestrian in that it allows for the inclusion of some things that are not ordinarily thought of as pedestrians, for example, people who are___ 1 , and excludes some things that are ordinarily thought of as pedestrians, for example, people who are 2 ____.
Solution
Phase 1: Owning the Dataset
Argument Analysis Table
| Text from Passage | Analysis |
|---|---|
| "Any person who, while on a sidewalk or similar paved walkway alongside a roadway" |
|
| "is walking, running, or otherwise moving in any manner on foot" |
|
| "or who, while on a paved, public, travelable surface" |
|
| "is riding on any type of conveyance (including a wheelchair or roller skates) moved by human muscular power" |
|
Argument Structure
- Main definition: Two distinct ways to be a pedestrian
- Structure: Either/or construction with specific location-movement pairings
- Key limitation: Walking on foot is only allowed on sidewalks, not on roadways directly
Phase 2: Question Analysis & Prethinking
Understanding What Each Part Asks
- Part 1: Examples of non-pedestrians that this definition would incorrectly include
- Part 2: Examples of actual pedestrians that this definition would incorrectly exclude
- Relationship: We need to find where the definition is both too broad AND too narrow
Prethinking for Each Part
For Part 1 (incorrectly includes):
- The definition includes anyone on human-powered conveyances on public surfaces
- This could include cyclists on roads - we don't normally think of them as pedestrians
- Could include skateboarders on streets
For Part 2 (incorrectly excludes):
- The definition requires specific locations: sidewalks for walking, or public surfaces for conveyances
- What about people crossing streets on foot? They're on the roadway itself, not the sidewalk
- What about people walking on private property?
Phase 3: Answer Choice Evaluation
Evaluating Each Choice
"walking on private sidewalks"
- Part 1: No - these would be excluded, not included
- Part 2: Yes - ordinary pedestrians, but excluded due to "private" aspect
"carrying roller skates while walking on sidewalks"
- Part 1: No - clearly fits the definition (walking on sidewalk)
- Part 2: No - included by the definition
"riding bicycles on roadways"
- Part 1: Yes! - bicycles are human-powered conveyances on public surfaces, so included as "pedestrians" though we don't think of cyclists that way
- Part 2: No - they'd be included, not excluded
"crossing roadways on foot"
- Part 1: No - these would be excluded, not included
- Part 2: Yes! - we think of people crossing streets as pedestrians, but they're on the roadway itself (not sidewalk) and not riding a conveyance
"swimming in pools near roadways"
- Part 1: No - not on paved surfaces
- Part 2: No - we don't think of swimmers as pedestrians
"pushing carts on sidewalks"
- Part 1: No - fits definition (moving on foot on sidewalk)
- Part 2: No - included by the definition
The Correct Answers
- For Part 1: "riding bicycles on roadways" - The definition includes them as pedestrians (human-powered conveyance on public surface), but we don't ordinarily think of cyclists as pedestrians
- For Part 2: "crossing roadways on foot" - We ordinarily think of people crossing streets as pedestrians, but the definition excludes them (they're on the roadway but not riding a conveyance)
Common Traps to Highlight
- "walking on private sidewalks" might seem like a Part 1 answer, but it's actually excluded, not included
- Don't confuse what the definition includes vs. excludes - read carefully!
- Remember that the definition has specific location-movement pairings that create these gaps
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