For a words-in-context question, determine not only the general effect described but also its exact scope and degree. Compare choices by asking whether the evidence limits possibilities, increases them, favors one possibility, or replaces the decision-maker's judgment.
Hints
- Hint 1
Track what the records exclude
Consider how disqualifying certain sequences changes the set of arrangements available to the curator.
- Hint 2
Distinguish restriction from direction
The records remove possibilities, but they do not favor any one of the possibilities that remain.
Step-by-step
- Step 1
Identify the distinction
The records neither dictate the display nor leave the curator entirely unrestricted. They exclude some arrangements while permitting multiple others.
- Step 2
Determine the required meaning
The missing word must mean that the records narrow the curator's available choices without pointing the curator toward one particular remaining choice.
- Step 3
Select the most precise word
Constrain means to restrict or limit. It precisely describes the records' effect on the range of permissible arrangements.