During a given legislative session, Committee X gives higher priority to bills as the level of each of several factors...

GMAT Two Part Analysis : (TPA) Questions

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Two Part Analysis

Verbal - CR

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During a given legislative session, Committee X gives higher priority to bills as the level of each of several factors increases: public interest in the bill; its contentiousness; its scale; the uncertainty about it; and the ongoing relevant research. In a recent session, Committee X reviewed exactly three bills: A, B, and C. All had the same level of public interest. Bill A had the highest level of contentiousness; Bill B had the highest level of uncertainty; Bills A and B had the same levels of scale and ongoing relevant research; and Bill C had the lowest levels of contentiousness, scale, uncertainty, and ongoing relevant research. During the legislative session, Committee X gave Bill A the highest priority.

It would help explain the priority given to Bill A if it were true that Committee X gave a higher priority for the level of 1 than it did for the level of 2.

(1)

(2)

public interest

contentiousness

scale

uncertainty

ongoing relevant research

Solution

Phase 1: Owning the Dataset

First, Create an Argument Analysis Table

Text from Passage	Analysis
"Committee X gives higher priority to bills as the level of each of several factors increases: public interest in the bill; its contentiousness; its scale; the uncertainty about it; and the ongoing relevant research."	What it says: Committee X uses five factors to prioritize bills - higher levels mean higher priority What it does: Establishes the decision-making framework Key connections: Sets up the criteria we'll use to evaluate the bills Visualization: \(\mathrm{Priority} ↑ \mathrm{as\ any\ factor\ level} ↑\)
"All had the same level of public interest."	What it says: Bills A, B, and C are equal on public interest factor What it does: Eliminates one variable from consideration Key connections: We can ignore public interest when comparing bills Visualization: \(\mathrm{A} = \mathrm{B} = \mathrm{C}\) for public interest
"Bill A had the highest level of contentiousness; Bill B had the highest level of uncertainty"	What it says: A leads in contentiousness, B leads in uncertainty What it does: Identifies key differences between top bills Key connections: These are the distinguishing factors between A and B Visualization: Contentiousness: \(\mathrm{A} > \mathrm{B,C}\); Uncertainty: \(\mathrm{B} > \mathrm{A,C}\)
"Bills A and B had the same levels of scale and ongoing relevant research"	What it says: A and B are tied on two factors What it does: Further narrows the differentiating factors Key connections: Only contentiousness and uncertainty differ between A and B Visualization: Scale: \(\mathrm{A} = \mathrm{B} > \mathrm{C}\); Research: \(\mathrm{A} = \mathrm{B} > \mathrm{C}\)
"Bill C had the lowest levels of contentiousness, scale, uncertainty, and ongoing relevant research"	What it says: C ranks last in all factors except public interest What it does: Explains why C wasn't prioritized Key connections: C is clearly the lowest priority bill Visualization: C is at bottom for 4 of 5 factors
"Committee X gave Bill A the highest priority"	What it says: A was chosen as top priority What it does: Provides the outcome we need to explain Key connections: This is what our answer must justify Visualization: Final ranking: \(\mathrm{A} > \mathrm{B} > \mathrm{C}\)

Second, Identify Argument Structure

Main conclusion: Bill A received the highest priority
Supporting evidence: The comparative levels of five factors across three bills
Key assumption: The committee's relative weighting of factors determines final priority
Overall logical flow: \(\mathrm{Factor\ levels} → \mathrm{Committee's\ weighting} → \mathrm{Final\ priority\ decision}\)

Phase 2: Question Analysis & Prethinking

First, Understand What Each Part Asks

The question asks us to identify two factors where prioritizing factor (1) over factor (2) would explain why Bill A got highest priority.

Part 1: We need a factor where Bill A excels
Part 2: We need a factor where Bill A doesn't excel (likely where another bill excels)
Relationship: The committee valuing (1) more than (2) must logically lead to A being prioritized

Second, Generate Prethinking Based on Question Type

This is an explanation question - we need to explain why A got priority over B (since C was clearly last).

Third, Develop Specific Prethinking for Each Part

For Part 1: Since A got priority over B, we need A's advantage. A had highest contentiousness while B had highest uncertainty. So contentiousness is likely our answer for Part 1.
For Part 2: We need B's advantage that wasn't enough to overcome A. B had highest uncertainty, so uncertainty is likely our answer for Part 2.

Phase 3: Answer Choice Evaluation

Evaluating Each Choice

Let's evaluate each choice for both parts:

Public interest: All bills had the same level, so this can't differentiate them. Not useful for either part.

Contentiousness: Bill A had the highest level. Perfect for Part 1 as it's A's advantage.

Scale: Bills A and B had the same level. Can't explain why A beat B. Not useful for either part.

Uncertainty: Bill B had the highest level. Perfect for Part 2 as it's B's advantage that wasn't enough.

Ongoing relevant research: Bills A and B had the same level. Can't explain why A beat B. Not useful for either part.

The Correct Answers

For Part 1: Contentiousness - This is where Bill A excelled compared to all others
For Part 2: Uncertainty - This is where Bill B excelled, but it wasn't valued as highly as contentiousness

If Committee X valued contentiousness more than uncertainty, it perfectly explains why A (highest contentiousness) got priority over B (highest uncertainty) despite their tie on other factors.

Common Traps to Highlight

Scale or Ongoing Research: These might seem relevant since A and B were higher than C in these areas. However, since A and B were equal in these factors, they can't explain why A beat B.

Public Interest: Students might be drawn to this as an important-sounding factor, but the passage explicitly states all bills had the same level, making it irrelevant to the prioritization decision.

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