Power TOEFL
TOEFL practice tests and AI study tools.
TOEFL practice tests and AI study tools.
Look at the four squares [■] that indicate where the following sentence could be added to paragraph 3. 'In this view, democratization is less about waiting for the right societal conditions and more about crafting a viable political compromise.' Where would the sentence best fit?
[PASSAGE] "This led to the development of a new approach known as "transitology" or the voluntarist approach. ■ Spearheaded by scholars such as Guillermo O'Donnell and Philippe C. Schmitter, this perspective shifted the analytical focus away from broad socioeconomic structures and onto the political actors themselves." This section introduces transitology as a new approach that focuses on political actors rather than broad societal structures. [WHY CORRECT] Option 2 is correct because the inserted sentence, "In this view, democratization is less about waiting for the right societal conditions and more about crafting a viable political compromise," directly elaborates on the "shifted analytical focus away from broad socioeconomic structures and onto the political actors themselves." It contrasts the new approach (transitology) with the old one (modernization theory, which focused on societal conditions), aligning perfectly with the introduction of transitology's core principle. [TRAPS] Option 1 is wrong because placing the sentence there would introduce the core idea of transitology before the approach itself is fully introduced or named. Option 3 is wrong because the sentence would then follow a more detailed explanation of what transitologists contend, making it a redundant summary rather than an introductory statement of their primary focus. Option 4 is wrong because it comes after the concept of "pacts" is introduced as the mechanism, making the general statement about compromise too late. [TIP] When placing a sentence, look for a logical flow where the inserted sentence either introduces a concept that is then elaborated, or acts as a bridge between two related ideas. Pay attention to pronouns and connecting phrases in the inserted sentence and the surrounding text.
The language describing Political Science rewards close reading: notice contrast markers, hedging, and emphasis, since TOEFL organization items hinge on nuance rather than matching keywords.
Read for the structure of the argument before judging individual answers.