Sentence Correction

The introductory maths course is worth four credits, but the philosophy course is worth only two.

a. but the philosophy course
b. while the course in philosophy
c. whereas the philosophy course
d. while that of philosophy
e. and the course of philosophy

I dont agree with the OA given the worksheet though!

[spoiler]OA:D[/spoiler]

Source: 4GMAT

IMO C

Comparision is made between maths course Vs the philosophy course. "whereas" is a conjuction rightly used.

@sam..plz post ur OA for ye previous SC..they r really good!!

gmatmachoman wrote:IMO C

Comparision is made between maths course Vs the philosophy course. "whereas" is a conjuction rightly used.

@sam..plz post ur OA for ye previous SC..they r really good!!

You are right in that comparison(contrast) is made between maths vs. philosophy. However IMO 'whereas (or) but' will serve the purpose.

In fact, the OA is neither C nor A! Any comments?

i am confused bw B and E but i would go with B option....................wats the OA?

i rejected A and C because they are sounding transition and we dont need transition in this sentence.
D is wrong because of the use of "that" as that seems to point to worth but it would cause redundancy.


ur sc's are really good. From where are u preparing?

samarpan_bschool wrote:The introductory maths course is worth four credits, but the philosophy course is worth only two.

a. but the philosophy course
b. while the course in philosophy
c. whereas the philosophy course
d. while that of philosophy
e. and the course of philosophy

I dont agree with the OA given the worksheet though!

[spoiler]OA: After some discussion![/spoiler]

Source: 4GMAT

Tricky one, love it.
Here, what I think is, comparison is between, credits in Maths course VS credits in Phil course.
Since, in the non underline portion does not mention the credits, we need 'that' to refer to 'credits'.
IMO D.
But, I think [spoiler]while that of philosophy course [/spoiler]would be more appropriate.

tetura84 wrote: Tricky one, love it.
Here, what I think is, comparison is between, credits in Maths course VS credits in Phil course.
Since, in the non underline portion does not mention the credits, we need 'that' to refer to 'credits'.
IMO D.
But, I think [spoiler]while that of philosophy course [/spoiler]would be more appropriate.

How do you determine which one - credit or maths / philosophy - is compared?

To your point of 'credit not being mentioned' in the non underlined portion, isn't that 'two' refers to 'two credits' and NOT just two? I think 'two (credits)' is elided.

Thoughts?

samarpan_bschool wrote: How do you determine which one - credit or maths / philosophy - is compared?

To your point of 'credit not being mentioned' in the non underlined portion, isn't that 'two' refers to 'two credits' and NOT just two? I think 'two (credits)' is elided.

Thoughts?

Okay, before I start, want to say, this is completely my analysis, comments are most welcome

We have a COMMA + but = means, this is coordinating conjunction, each of the clauses must stand seperately.
Now read the 2nd clause, "the philosophy course is worth only two" = it is not clear only two of what.
So "credit" is needed.
In all the choices, I see COMMA+coordinating conjunction, so A, B, C & E is out in this same logic.
In D, that mentions "credit"

@Sam,

Plz take my words with a pinch of salt : Prepping from our local desi stuff will do no good but more harm than better.!!

Now that the book says D is the OA. I doubt if the proper comparison is made.

Please talk to Ron for expert comments.

And that we don't have Testluv & Stacey for sharing gyan too

gmatmachoman wrote:@Sam,

Plz take my words with a pinch of salt : Prepping from our local desi stuff will do no good but more harm than better.!!

Now that the book says D is the OA. I doubt if the proper comparison is made.

Please talk to Ron for expert comments.

And that we don't have Testluv & Stacey for sharing gyan too

Thanks for putting your thoughts across! Same sentiments here. I have PM'ed forum experts to take a look at the questions and advice.

Here are my thoughts, interested to hear from other experts.

First of all no official GMAT question would say "The introductory maths course" it would say "The introductory math course" I know that this is a small point but it is a clue that this may not be along the lines of the official GMAT questions. In America the plural for "math" is "math." When I saw that I would look for a second instance of the use of non-American English and then I would look for a different source of practice questions.

Next let me say that D cannot be the correct answer to a GMAT question. "The introductory maths course is worth four credits, while that of philosophy is worth only two." This cannot be correct. Is "that of" meant to refer back to course? Remember that sentence correction is a matter of comparison and there are multiple answer choices that are superior to this one.

I agree that "whereas" and "but" can each be used. So there is not enough difference between those choices. This is not a good question. A and C seem to both be okay. The official answer (D) is probably the worst choice here.

Thanks David for the clarification. Infact I will go with A since it appears simpler compared to C.

Thanks David

One quick doubt - I want to make sure that I understand the usage of 'that' correct.

If the question were,

(i) The credits for Math is two while those for Philosophy is four. Correct?

(i) The credit for Math is two while that for Philosophy is four. Correct?

Thanks

samarpan_bschool wrote:The introductory maths course is worth four credits, but the philosophy course is worth only two.

a. but the philosophy course
b. while the course in philosophy
c. whereas the philosophy course
d. while that of philosophy
e. and the course of philosophy

I dont agree with the OA given the worksheet though!

[spoiler]OA:D[/spoiler]

Source: 4GMAT

In D, even if the pronoun that refers to course -- and the antecedent for that is far from clear -- the idiom is incorrect. The course of philosophy means the progression of philosophy. The correct idiom for the SC above would be either a course in philosophy or a course on philosophy.

How can you learn the correct idioms if you use a source that teaches them incorrectly?