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Difficulty: HardElaboration and Restatement Clues

Professor Aris’s treatise on early modern cartographic techniques is explicitly __________: rather than offering a radical revision of historical mapping protocols, the volume functions as a thorough restatement and detailed elaboration of established eighteenth-century surveying methods. Which of the following words best completes the sentence?

  1. elucidatoryAnswer
  2. B
    iconoclastic
  3. C
    specious
  4. D
    polemical
  5. E
    anomalous

Answer

elucidatory
The sentence employs a colon to introduce an elaboration clause that defines the target blank. The clause explains that the volume does not offer radical revisions, but rather functions as a 'thorough restatement and detailed elaboration' of existing cartographic methods. The word 'elucidatory' means serving to elucidate, clarify, or explain, making it the precise semantic fit for a work dedicated to detailed restatement and clarification.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze structural punctuation clues in the stem.
Identified a colon (:) directly after the blank, signaling that the second clause will elaborate on or restate the meaning of the target word.
Colon structures in GRE Text Completion items introduce explicit definitions or structural elaborations of the preceding concept.
2
Extract contextual meaning from the elaboration clause.
The clause states that the work offers 'no radical revision' and instead acts as a 'thorough restatement and detailed elaboration of established... methods'.
The target word must describe a text that clarifies, explains, or elaborates on existing material rather than challenging it.
3
Evaluate option choices against the required semantic meaning.
'Elucidatory' (meaning explanatory or clarifying) perfectly captures the nature of a text that restates and elaborates on established methods.
Other options either imply conflict (polemical), destruction of tradition (iconoclastic), dishonesty (specious), or irregularity (anomalous).

Key Concept

Elaboration and Restatement Clues
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Topics

Elaboration and Restatement Clues

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