Read the following sentence from the passage: "Complete drying is essential before adding the sealant so that the paint doesn’t smear.
Replacing the word “essential” with the word “beneficial” changes the meaning of the sentence to suggest that _________.

The word “essential” and the word “beneficial” are distinctly different. “Essential” indicates something that is completely necessary; without that something, some type of failure would result. “Beneficial” indicates something that is helpful, but not totally necessary. Therefore, if the words were to be swapped, the meaning would change from complete drying being something that HAS to occur prior to applying sealant, to complete drying being helpful, but non-essential before applying sealant.