Hello Everyone!
Let's tackle this question, one thing at a time, and narrow it down to the right answer quickly! First, here is the original question with the major differences highlighted in orange:
A ruined structure found at Aqaba, Jordan, was probably a church as indicated in its eastward orientation and by its overall plan, as well as artifacts, such as glass-oil lamp fragments, found at the site.
(A) A ruined structure found at Aqaba, Jordan, was probably a church, as indicated in its eastward orientation and by its overall plan, as well as
(B) A ruined structure found at Aqaba, Jordan, once probably being a church, was indicated by its eastward orientation, overall plan, and
(C) Indicating that a ruined structure found at Aqaba, Jordan, was probably a church were its eastward orientation and overall plan, but also the
(D) A ruined structure found at Aqaba, Jordan, was probably a church, as indicates its eastward orientation and overall plan, as well as the
(E) That a ruined structure found at Aqaba, Jordan, was probably a church is indicated by its eastward orientation and overall plan, as well as by the
There are a few things we can focus on here:
1. How they begin: A ruined structure / Indicating that a ruined structure / That a ruined structure (Meaning)
2. was probably vs. once probably being (Verb Tense & Meaning)
3. How the end (Hint: Parallelism & Idioms!)
I know it may be tempting to start with #1 or #2 on the list. However, none of them will eliminate 2-3 options right off the bat, so let's save them for later if we need them. Instead, let's start with #3 on our list: Idioms & Parallelism.
If we look at the entire sentence, we can quickly spot the idiom we need to focus on:
A ruined structure found at Aqaba, Jordan, was probably a church as indicated in its eastward orientation and by its overall plan, as well as artifacts, such as glass-oil lamp fragments, found at the site.
The idiom we're using here is:
X as well as Y
We need to make sure that both X and Y in this idiom are worded using parallel structure. To help make this easier to spot, we'll go ahead and add the word "artifacts" to the end of each option. Here's how each one works out:
(A) A ruined structure found at Aqaba, Jordan, was probably a church, as indicated in its eastward orientation and by its overall plan, as well as artifacts --> NOT PARALLEL
(B) A ruined structure found at Aqaba, Jordan, once probably being a church, was indicated by its eastward orientation, overall plan, and artifacts --> OK
(This option doesn't use the "as well as" idiom, so let's save it for later.)
(C) Indicating that a ruined structure found at Aqaba, Jordan, was probably a church were its eastward orientation and overall plan, but also the artifacts --> NOT PARALLEL
(This is also incorrect because it uses the phrase "but also," which needs another negative phrase such as "not only" or "not just" to go with it! We can also rule this out because it doesn't follow idiomatic formatting.)
(D) A ruined structure found at Aqaba, Jordan, was probably a church, as indicates its eastward orientation and overall plan, as well as the artifacts --> NOT PARALLEL
(E) That a ruined structure found at Aqaba, Jordan, was probably a church is indicated by its eastward orientation and overall plan, as well as by the artifacts --> PARALLEL/OK
We can eliminate options A, C, & D because they don't use parallelism for the "X as well as Y" idiom structure.
Now that we have this narrowed down to only 2 options, let's take a closer look at each one to determine which is the best choice:
(B) A ruined structure found at Aqaba, Jordan, once probably being a church, was indicated by its eastward orientation, overall plan, and
This is INCORRECT because it changes the intended meaning of the sentence. This sentence is trying to say that the structure was indicated by something, which doesn't make sense. The indication is that the structure used to be a church. The eastward orientation, overall plan, and artifacts aren't how we know it's a ruined structure - it's how we know that structure likely used to be a church.
(E) That a ruined structure found at Aqaba, Jordan, was probably a church is indicated by its eastward orientation and overall plan, as well as by the
This is CORRECT! It's the only option that uses parallel structure with the "X as well as Y" idiom. It also has a clear meaning - the ruined structure was probably a church, and then it lists the evidence to back up that indication.
There you have it - option E is the correct choice!
Don't study for the GMAT. Train for it.
