Approach for the whole sentence underlined?

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Approach for the whole sentence underlined?

by cccmom » Thu Apr 15, 2010 10:31 am
Hi, All-

On SC, what is the best approach for the whole sentence underlined? I find these more overwhelming and harder to recogonize the errors. I am also struggling with determing the best meaning, since there are many options based upon the wording. Here is an example. I understand the answer. I'd like help and advice on the best approach and the best mindset for attacking this type of problem. For those that need an answer on this one, check out Stacey's awesome explanation here - https://www.beatthegmat.com/sc-t19761.html

According to its proponents, a proposed new style of aircraft could, by skimming along the top of the atmosphere, fly between most points on Earth in under two hours.

A. According to its proponents, a proposed new style of aircraft could, by skimming along the top of the atmosphere, fly between most points on Earth in under two hours.
B. By skimming along the top of the atmosphere, proponents of a proposed new style of aircraft say it could fly between most points on Earth in under two hours.
C. A proposed new style of aircraft could fly between most points on Earth in under two hours, according to its proponents, with it skimming along the top of the atmosphere.
D. A proposed new style of aircraft, say its proponents, could fly between most points on Earth in under two hours because of its skimming along the top of the atmosphere.
E. According to its proponents, skimming along the top of the atmosphere makes it possible that a proposed new style of aircraft could fly between most points on Earth in under two hours.
Source: — Sentence Correction |

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by Stacey Koprince » Thu Apr 22, 2010 7:18 am
Received a PM asking me to respond.

It's definitely extra-tricky when the entire sentence (or most of it) is underlined. Often, these kinds of sentences will be testing modifiers and/or parallelism, and so we want to try to compare "chunks" of the sentence, rather than comparing individual words.

It can also help to visualize the problem in terms of its core vs. its modifiers.

For example, in the above original sentence, we've got:
<modifier>, <core subject + core verb>, <modifier>, <core verb> <modifier>

Yuck. Okay, I've got an opening modifier followed by the main subject. I know how to check that! The modifier should be modifying the subject (the main noun that follows the comma). And, skimming the other choices, E has the same opening setup, so I can check E in the same way.

And, hey! B also has one of those opening modifiers followed by a subject (even though the actual words are different). So, again, I can check the same rule here.

Notice that I'm starting to examine these based upon the structure of the sentence. I'm not just trying to compare the words / look for the same words. Based on words, B looks nothing like A and E. But based on structure, the beginning of B looks just like the beginning of A and E. All three have an opening modifier followed by the subject.

So, I notice that both B and E are problematic in this regard. In B, presumably the proponents are not really skimming along the top of the atmosphere. :) And, in E, the proponents are presumably proponents of the new aircraft, not proponents of skimming along the top of the atmosphere. So I can eliminate both of those.

C and D both start with the core of the sentence - no opening modifier here. The sentence still must have modifiers, though, so where are they now?

C: <core subject + core verb> <modifier>, <modifier>, <modifier>
D: <core subject>, <modifier>, <core verb> <multiple prepositional phrase modifiers in a row>

Okay, C has multiple modifiers in a row. I know from experience that this is dangerous - each one should refer to one touching it, often the one before it in this kind of setup. Is that the case? No. "According to its proponents" is modifying... hours? Earth? It should be aircraft, which is all the way at the beginning of the sentence.

And we can do the same thing with D. The first modifier (between subject and verb) is okay, but the multiple modifiers in a row at the end get problematic.

And, hey, I just learned something else to look for: multiple modifiers in a row are often "dangerous." Obviously, you can construct a sentence correctly with multiple modifiers in a row - we do it all the time - but it's also very easy to mess up the order / relationship of things when you have multiple modifiers in a row. So now I've got a new structure to think about / look for when I see these really-long-underline sentences. :)
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by frank1 » Thu Apr 22, 2010 10:25 am
thanks for that info.

But sad part of the story is we need to do all those brain stroming in less than 90 seconds.So,most of the cases non native english speakers get stumped.

The problem with the long sentence is i guess,once it is long,we need to check lots of things....tense...parallelism....pronoun....and have to read 4 long answer choices which makes the thing quite difficult.

So,most of the time,i have to decide on how it sounds.(not the right tactic...but no choice for now so trying to improve)

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by Stacey Koprince » Thu Apr 22, 2010 10:37 am
Yes, it's definitely challenging. You'll have to decide where your time is best spent studying, and part of that is based on your goal score.

If you are aiming for a 700+, then you need to learn how to check based on the overall construction of the major components of the sentence. For a 700+, it isn't enough to know how to compare only individual words (eg, pronouns, verbs). You've also got to know how to handle the more complicated modifiers, comparisons, parallelism, etc.

If you're aiming for a 650-, though, then you can probably get away with not worrying as much about the few questions on which the whole thing is underlined.
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by frank1 » Thu Apr 22, 2010 8:03 pm
Thanks
by the way,is there any ideal approach to handle question like this...
may be like,
first read the whole question,examine tense then if ok
go for modifiers....
I know every question is different ,but is there any approach which could atleast save time and maximize probability of getting answer right.


Most of the time,i am fooled by akward positioning of the preposition i guess(which is gramatically correct but sound akward)

thanks for info.

Well,with 3.94 CGPA and 3 years full time work experience,i think i can end up in atleast moderate university if i get 650+ or 700+....
For now feel like i have reached to 600+ level....so still trying....

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by Stacey Koprince » Fri Apr 23, 2010 5:59 am
There isn't any one thing that I always examine. Basically, I read the original sentence and just see whether I notice anything. I might notice something that's definitely wrong, or I might just notice something that I think sounds bad. If it's the latter, then I try to figure out what sounds bad and WHY it sounds bad - in other words, I try to see whether there's an actual error with whatever sounds bad or whether it just sounds bad.

If I can't figure anything out, then I start comparing answer choices to get an idea of what I should test.I know there's always a difference at the beginning and end of the underline, so I see what those two are to start. If it isn't just one word changing back and forth, but big chunks of words moving around, then I start to suspect that some modifier stuff might be going on, and I start to look at the sentence in terms of the <core> vs. the <modifiers>.
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by cccmom » Sat Apr 24, 2010 7:34 am
Stacey,

This is a HUGE help! Thank you so much!! :D

CCCMom

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