soft spots skulls

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soft spots skulls

by gkkk » Sat Dec 24, 2016 12:01 am
Despite its being soft enough to grow, a newborn human has a skull that is not an unbroken casing with "soft spots," rather it is a series of body plates joined together by anatomical lines known as sutures.

A - Despite its being soft enough to grow, a newborn human has a skull that is not an unbroken casing with "soft spots," rather it is
B - Despite being soft enough to grow, a newborn human's skull is not an unbroken casing with "soft spots," but is
C - Despite being soft enough to grow, a newborn human's skull is not an unbroken casing nor does it have "soft spots," but rather
D - Although soft enough to grow, a newborn human's skull is not an unbroken casing with "soft spots," but rather
E - Although soft enough to grow, a newborn human's skull is not an unbroken casing with "soft spots," but

OA - D

Straight I go for answer E, now only difference is but vs but rather. I thought D is wordy cause of but rather. any explanations??

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by ceilidh.erickson » Mon Dec 26, 2016 5:37 am
What is the source of this question?

D and E are both perfectly grammatically correct, as is B. The GMAT will not make you choose between "not X but Y" and "not X but rather Y," as the meanings are identical. I recommend that you stop using this source.
Ceilidh Erickson
EdM in Mind, Brain, and Education
Harvard Graduate School of Education

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by gkkk » Thu Dec 29, 2016 5:26 am
Seems legit, Thanks !