Metro Ballet Company presents high-quality productions of traditional, classical ballet. For the past several years, however, the company's overall pr...

GMAT Two Part Analysis : (TPA) Questions

Source: Official Guide

Two Part Analysis

Verbal - CR

HARD

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Notes

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Metro Ballet Company presents high-quality productions of traditional, classical ballet. For the past several years, however, the company's overall profits have been declining, and ticket sales have been flat. Annual audience surveys indicate that a majority of those who attend Metro Ballet productions consistently enjoy the performances and prefer classical ballet to other forms of dance; almost all of them have been attending Metro Ballet for several years. General surveys of area residents indicate, however, that very few are aware of Metro Ballet productions, and most imagine that the performances are boring and the tickets too expensive. In an effort to appeal to a wider audience, over the past decade the company has spent increasing amounts of money on spectacular stage productions, while lowering ticket prices.

In the first column, select the strategy that, in the absence of the other alternatives listed, would lead most directly to decreasing Metro Ballet's expenses for its classical ballet productions. In the second column, select the strategy that, in the absence of the other alternatives listed, would constitute the most direct approach to solving the problem of increasing audience size for Metro Ballet's classical ballet productions. Make only two selections, one in each column.

Decrease expenses

Increase audience size

Obtain public funding to double the spending on stage productions without increasing ticket prices

Return spending on productions to levels of several years ago

Expand productions to include modern, folk, and tap dance traditions

Offer special discounts to reward people who have attended the greatest number of performances

Mount a local advertising campaign emphasizing the affordability and excitement of Metro Ballet's spectacular stage productions

Solution

Phase 1: Owning the Dataset

First, Create an Argument Analysis Table

Text from Passage	Analysis
"Metro Ballet Company presents high-quality productions of traditional, classical ballet"	What it says: The company focuses on traditional ballet What it does: Sets up the company's core offering Key connections: This traditional focus may limit appeal Visualization: Narrow product offering
"profits have been declining, and ticket sales have been flat"	What it says: Financial performance is poor What it does: Establishes the problem Key connections: Despite efforts to appeal to wider audience Visualization: Downward profit trend, horizontal ticket sales line
"majority of those who attend...consistently enjoy the performances and prefer classical ballet"	What it says: Current audience is satisfied What it does: Shows product quality isn't the issue Key connections: But this is a limited audience pool Visualization: Small but loyal customer base
"very few are aware of Metro Ballet productions, and most imagine that the performances are boring and the tickets too expensive"	What it says: Public lacks awareness and has misconceptions What it does: Identifies the real barrier to growth Key connections: Contradicts reality (tickets were lowered) Visualization: Gap between perception and reality
"spent increasing amounts of money on spectacular stage productions, while lowering ticket prices"	What it says: Company increased expenses while reducing revenue per ticket What it does: Explains declining profits Key connections: Strategy hasn't worked to attract new audiences Visualization: Rising cost curve, falling price line

Second, Identify Argument Structure

After analyzing the passage, we can see:

Main Problem: Declining profits and flat ticket sales
Current Situation: Small, loyal audience that's satisfied but not growing
Root Cause: Lack of public awareness and misconceptions about the company
Failed Strategy: Spending more on productions while lowering prices hasn't attracted new audiences
Key Insight: The problem isn't product quality—it's marketing and perception

Phase 2: Question Analysis & Prethinking

First, Understand What Each Part Asks

Part 1: Which strategy would most directly decrease expenses for classical ballet productions?

We need something that reduces costs
Must be direct, not indirect

Part 2: Which strategy would most directly increase audience size?

We need something that brings in new people
Must address the awareness/perception problem

Second, Generate Prethinking Based on Question Type

For decreasing expenses, we should look for:

Strategies that cut costs directly
Since they've been increasing spending on productions, reversing this trend would help

For increasing audience size, we should look for:

Strategies that address the awareness problem
Something that corrects misconceptions about price and entertainment value

Third, Develop Specific Prethinking for Each Part

For Part 1: The most direct way to decrease expenses would be to reduce spending on productions, especially since increased spending hasn't helped.

For Part 2: The most direct way to increase audience would be to inform the public about Metro Ballet and correct their misconceptions through advertising.

Phase 3: Answer Choice Evaluation

Evaluating Each Choice

Let's examine each option:

"Obtain public funding to double the spending on stage productions without increasing ticket prices"
- For expenses: This would actually INCREASE total spending, not decrease it
- For audience: Doesn't address the awareness problem
- Not suitable for either part
"Return spending on productions to levels of several years ago"
- For expenses: PERFECT - Since they've been increasing spending, returning to previous levels directly decreases expenses
- For audience: Doesn't help with awareness
- Best choice for Part 1
"Expand productions to include modern, folk, and tap dance traditions"
- For expenses: Would likely increase costs (new productions, choreography, etc.)
- For audience: Might attract some new people, but current audience prefers classical ballet
- Not optimal for either part
"Offer special discounts to reward people who have attended the greatest number of performances"
- For expenses: Doesn't reduce expenses (reduces revenue instead)
- For audience: Targets existing loyal customers, not new audiences
- Not suitable for either part
"Mount a local advertising campaign emphasizing the affordability and excitement of Metro Ballet's spectacular stage productions"
- For expenses: Would increase expenses (advertising costs money)
- For audience: PERFECT - Directly addresses awareness problem and corrects misconceptions
- Best choice for Part 2

The Correct Answers

For Part 1 (Decrease expenses): "Return spending on productions to levels of several years ago"

This directly reduces costs by reversing the trend of increasing production expenses
It's the only option that actually decreases spending

For Part 2 (Increase audience size): "Mount a local advertising campaign emphasizing the affordability and excitement of Metro Ballet's spectacular stage productions"

This directly addresses the core problem: lack of awareness
It corrects the misconceptions about price and entertainment value
It's the only option that reaches new potential customers

Common Traps to Highlight

Public funding option: Students might think this helps with expenses because the company doesn't pay, but the question asks about decreasing expenses overall, not just shifting who pays.

Expanding dance styles: This seems like it could attract new audiences, but it ignores that current loyal customers prefer classical ballet and doesn't address the awareness problem.

Loyalty discounts: This might seem like audience building, but it only rewards existing customers rather than attracting new ones.

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