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GMAT superia's sentence correction tips to ace the SC sectio

by georgeanand » Tue Sep 17, 2013 1:56 am
Sentence correction tips.

Post 1
Some SC tips to think over.

1.Among/Between- use between for two persons or things; among for more than two.
2.And which is used only when preceded by which
The parliament is debating the bill which was in the UPA manifesto and which was opposed by certain
political parties.
3.'As' should not replace whether or that.
4.As...as is used in positive correlates; with negative use so...as
5.As yet is redundant; use only yet.
6.Either and neither used only with two persons or things, not with more than two.
7.Except when is wrong; prefer unless
8.Have got is redundant; 'have' is enough.
9.Ask whether, doubt whether more effective than ask if/doubt if
10.No use should be preceded by the preposition 'of'

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by georgeanand » Tue Sep 17, 2013 2:01 am
Post 2
SC tips continuation
11. Plan on is redundant; omit on
12. Prefer proved to proven
13. Same is not a pronoun; He borrowed my book, and offered to return the same in time. This is
incorrect; replace with 'it'
14. A clause of result following such, should have 'that'. There was such a loud noise that I could
not hear.
15. Those should be followed by a relative clause. He is one of those journalists who are awarded.
16. Try to is correct, not try and.
17. Use the passive voice only when the fact that something was done to the subject is more
important.
18. When combining one or more idioms, careful not to drop part of one idiom.Eg. I have no desire nor
need for another holiday.
(incorrect) I have no desire for nor need for another holiday.
19. positive sentence is more effective. 'He rejected our invitation' is better than 'he did not
accept our invitation.'
20. Avoid run-on sentence. Use a semicolon instead. Run-on: A soft answer turns away wrath, grievous
words stir up anger.
Effective: A soft answer turns away wrath; grievous words stir up anger

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by georgeanand » Tue Sep 17, 2013 2:11 am
Post 3

21. Avoid faulty subordination
Weak: Although he easily won the tennis championship, he showed some signs of fatigue.
Effective: Although he showed some signs of fatigue, he easily won the tennis championship.

22. Split the infinitive only when it results in clearer meaning.
Less clear: the judge refused to dismiss the case summarily.
Clearer: The judge refused to summarily dismiss the case.
Less effective: the teacher asked the students to legibly write.
More effective : The teacher asked the students to write legibly.

23.Avoid double negative; words such as barely, hardly, neither, never, no , nobody, no one, none,
nothing, are negative; a second negative word should not accompany these.

24. Informal vs formal
I wish I was in Delhi ( informal). I wish I were in Delhi.( formal)

25.Should and would suggest doubt or uncertainty; shall expresses obligation. Can is used for
ability/ permission, may for probability.

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by GMATGuruNY » Tue Sep 17, 2013 8:35 am
Some of these "tips" are incorrect and directly contradict GMAC's rules.
11. Plan on is redundant; omit on
GMAC considers plan on a correct idiom.
The OA to an SC in GMATPrep:
Minority graduates are nearly four times as likely as other graduates to PLAN ON practicing in socioeconomically deprived areas.
13. Same is not a pronoun.
Both the American Heritage Dictionary and Merriam-Webster's Dictionary indicate that the same can serve as a pronoun.
The OA to an SC in the OG13:
The cost of running nuclear plants is about THE SAME as for other types of power plants.
15. Those should be followed by a relative clause.
Not in all cases.
The OA to an SC in the OG12:
Its sales of computer products have surpassed THOSE of measuring instruments.
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by georgeanand » Tue Sep 17, 2013 10:01 pm
The comments are appreciated.
GMATGuruNY wrote:Some of these "tips" are incorrect and directly contradict GMAC's rules.
Is there a GMAC rule? As a language trainer I was exposed to British English and American English ( though some contradictory usages exist)

11. Plan on is redundant; omit on
GMAC considers plan on a correct idiom.
The OA to an SC in GMATPrep:
Minority graduates are nearly four times as likely as other graduates to PLAN ON practicing in socioeconomically deprived areas.

Is Incorrect usage same as redundant usage?
For example
Members who are attending the meeting are seated in the hall.
'Who are' can be redundant
Members attending the meeting are seated in the hall - will suffice, isn't it?




13. Same is not a pronoun.
Both the American Heritage Dictionary and Merriam-Webster's Dictionary indicate that the same can serve as a pronoun.
The OA to an SC in the OG13:
The cost of running nuclear plants is about THE SAME as for other types of power plants.


If same serves as a pronoun above , can the preposition change from cost of to (cost)for? Is it cost for other power plants or cost of running? Not clear.
Can the sentence be modified as
The cost of running nuclear plants is the same as that of running other power plants.
Then, 'that' substitutes cost, not same as
The cost of running A............................the cost of running B
15. Those should be followed by a relative clause.
Not in all cases.
The OA to an SC in the OG12:
Its sales of computer products have surpassed THOSE of measuring instruments.


"Its sales of computer products have surpassed THOSE of measuring instruments."
The function of those in the comparative sentence above is different from, say in a sentence that reads - those who are exposed to radiation....

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by georgeanand » Tue Sep 17, 2013 10:39 pm
Use working verb, not its noun form
An action expressed in the verb form is more effective than the noun form; a noun form creates wordy prepositional phrases.

Example 1
Ineffective:
Her decision was to invite her colleagues to the dinner that is being hosted by her.
Effective:
She decided to invite her colleagues to the dinner party she is hosting.
Here, decided, a 'working/action verb' is more effective than the noun form, 'decision'

Example 2
Ineffective:
The Indian government demanded the withdrawal of security forces by China from the border and that the bunkers put up within Indian territory be removed.
Effective:
The Indian government demanded that China withdraw its forces from the border and remove the bunkers put up within the Indian territory.

Example 3
Ineffective:
The dissidents' objection was against the delaying of election of party functionaries by the high command.
Effective:
The dissidents objected to the high command's delaying the election of party functionarie

Example 4
Ineffective:
The coach's encouragement was influential to the team, for good performance.
Effective:
The coach encouraged the team to perform well.

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by georgeanand » Thu Sep 19, 2013 3:24 am
GMAT sentence correction: Think beyond grammar

Fine, you know the GMAT SC jargon - tense error, pronoun error, subject verb disagreement. Good. Useful. But you must think beyond grammar to do justice to the range SC questions.
One of such errors is ambiguity. That is something is not clear. To make clear the meaning conveyed. So keep track of meaning also while checking a sentence for errors.
Illustration

1.Incorrect: In mammals, a lifetime's supply of egg cells are produced during fetal development and remain dormant until maturity.

Here remain dormant is ambiguously used; one may ask what remain egg cells or development? In such cases, we need to repeat the word, cells, since these remain dormant until maturity. The verb is agrees with the singular sub lifetime's supply.
Correct ... is produced during fetal development and the cells remain dormant until maturity.

2.In 1869, anxious to balance its population of 8,000 men and 2,000 women, the Wyoming legislature extended voting rights to women in Wyoming.

A. its population of 8,000 men and 2,000 women, the Wyoming legislature
B. their population of 8,000 men and 2,000 women, the Wyoming's legislature
C. the state's population of 8,000 men and 2,000 women, the Wyoming legislature
D. a state population of 8,000 men and 2,000 women, the legislature in Wyoming
E. its population of 8,000 men with 2,000 women, the Wyoming's legislature
So since you know that singular pronouns agree with singular nouns, its agrees with Wyoming legislature. But grammar alone wont rescue us here.
Look at the meaning, can Wyoming legislature have population? No the population belongs to the state, C is clear and exact. D, would mean any state's population, not necessarily Wyoming's.

Moral of the story
Attention to detail...is very important..keep looking out for similar errors; match grammar with meaning.

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