comparison

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nikhilkatira: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 318; Joined: Mon Jul 13, 2009 3:55 am; Thanked: 12 times

by nikhilkatira » Wed Jun 23, 2010 5:39 am

Unlike that of earlier works on slavery, Blassingame's innovative study relies not on the records of White slave owners but on the records of the salves themselves, especially the 70 or so autobiographies and memoirs that have been preserved.

A. that of earlier words on slavery, Blassingame's

B. that of earlier works on slavery, Blassingame in his

C. earlier works on slavery, Blassingame in his

D. earlier works on slavery, Blassingame's

E. the earlier works on slavery, Blassingame in his[/i]

Best,
Nikhil H. Katira

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Source: Beat The GMAT — Sentence Correction | Wed Jun 23, 2010 5:39 am

albatross86: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 392; Joined: Sun May 16, 2010 2:42 amFollowed by: 10 members; Location: Bangalore, India; Thanked: 116 times; GMAT Score:770

by albatross86 » Wed Jun 23, 2010 5:50 am

A. Illogical comparison. Compares "that of earlier works" with "Blassingame's study" . What of the earlier works??

B. Again illogical comparison. Compares "that of earlier works" with "Blassingame".

C. Again illogical comparison. Compares "earlier works" with "Blassingame".

D. Perfect. correctly compares "earlier works" with "Blassingame's study".

E. Again illogical comparison. Compares "earlier works" with "Blassingame".

Pick D.

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paridhi: Senior | Next Rank: 100 Posts; Posts: 74; Joined: Mon Jun 30, 2008 3:07 am; Thanked: 5 times

by paridhi » Wed Jun 23, 2010 8:19 am

IMO D - only one with the right comparision.

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sumanr84: Legendary Member; Posts: 758; Joined: Sat Aug 29, 2009 9:32 pmFollowed by: 2 members; Location: Bangalore,India; Thanked: 67 times

by sumanr84 » Wed Jun 23, 2010 8:46 am

nikhilkatira wrote:Unlike that of earlier works on slavery, Blassingame's innovative study relies not on the records of White slave owners but on the records of the salves themselves, especially the 70 or so autobiographies and memoirs that have been preserved.

A. that of earlier words on slavery, Blassingame's

B. that of earlier works on slavery, Blassingame in his

C. earlier works on slavery, Blassingame in his

D. earlier works on slavery, Blassingame's

E. the earlier works on slavery, Blassingame in his[/i]

A really difficult one..IMO A

I chopped off B,C and E because of wrong comparison. They all compare "earlier works on slavery" to "Blassingame".
Tough call b/w A and D, at least for me. Finally, I choose A since I think even in D comparison is not proper. D compares "earlier works on slavery" to "Blassingame's innovative study ". Ideally, method of study should be compared. So, we need "THAT OF" to substitute for the "Study method".

A take-away I remember is as below,
When you see "That of" or "Those of" construction, it must be parallel to one of the following two types of construction,
1. Another OF construction
2. A Possessive construction

So, Rule 2 properly fits with options A.
OA ?

I am on a break !!

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albatross86: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 392; Joined: Sun May 16, 2010 2:42 amFollowed by: 10 members; Location: Bangalore, India; Thanked: 116 times; GMAT Score:770

by albatross86 » Wed Jun 23, 2010 8:50 am

The confusion between A and D has actually also been discussed on this thread:

https://www.beatthegmat.com/blassingame- ... 11959.html

Expert Stuart's post is especially enlightening.

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missionGMAT007: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 135; Joined: Sat Jun 20, 2009 10:59 am; Thanked: 4 times

by missionGMAT007 » Wed Jun 23, 2010 9:51 am

sumanr84 wrote:
A really difficult one..IMO A

I chopped off B,C and E because of wrong comparison. They all compare "earlier works on slavery" to "Blassingame".
Tough call b/w A and D, at least for me. Finally, I choose A since I think even in D comparison is not proper. D compares "earlier works on slavery" to "Blassingame's innovative study ". Ideally, method of study should be compared. So, we need "THAT OF" to substitute for the "Study method".

A take-away I remember is as below,
When you see "That of" or "Those of" construction, it must be parallel to one of the following two types of construction,
1. Another OF construction
2. A Possessive construction

So, Rule 2 properly fits with options A.
OA ?

The correct answer must be D.

Yes the above take away is true but not in the way which is shown in this question.
for the take away to be applicable here, the possessive construction should be present on the ' innovative study'.
in other words,
In the first section of the sentence, 'that of' is part of 'earlier works'
as the 'earlier works' are compared with 'innovative study', the 'OF' or Possessive construction should be part of 'innovative study'.

hope this helps

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martin.jonson007: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 226; Joined: Wed Jun 02, 2010 1:46 am; Thanked: 2 times

by martin.jonson007 » Thu Jun 24, 2010 5:26 am

A is Correct....!

D wrongly compare earlier work with study.....!

it is actually study of earlier work , which needs to be compared Blassingame's innovative study

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Rin12: Junior | Next Rank: 30 Posts; Posts: 20; Joined: Mon Feb 22, 2010 7:54 am; Thanked: 3 times

by Rin12 » Thu Jun 24, 2010 7:55 am

I agree completely with Stuart.
IMO: D

albatross86 wrote:The confusion between A and D has actually also been discussed on this thread:

https://www.beatthegmat.com/blassingame- ... 11959.html

Expert Stuart's post is especially enlightening.

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albatross86: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 392; Joined: Sun May 16, 2010 2:42 amFollowed by: 10 members; Location: Bangalore, India; Thanked: 116 times; GMAT Score:770

by albatross86 » Thu Jun 24, 2010 8:00 am

Rin12 wrote:I agree completely with Stuart.
IMO: D

albatross86 wrote:The confusion between A and D has actually also been discussed on this thread:

https://www.beatthegmat.com/blassingame- ... 11959.html

Expert Stuart's post is especially enlightening.

Me too!

I think a lot of people read too much into this problem. This is actually got to do with the meaning of "earlier works". I see no problem at all in treating these ""works" and someone's "study" as both analogous and parallel. This is established when you consider Blassingame's study itself as a work on slavery.

Thus "that of earlier works" is not parallel to "Blassingame's study" since his study is not a study on some work on slavery but a study or a work on slavery itself.

I hope that makes sense.

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outreach: Legendary Member; Posts: 748; Joined: Sun Jan 31, 2010 7:54 amFollowed by: 3 members; Thanked: 46 times

by outreach » Thu Jun 24, 2010 9:27 am

d is correct
@albatross86 - thnks for posting the link

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GMATGuruNY: GMAT Instructor; Posts: 15539; Joined: Tue May 25, 2010 12:04 pmFollowed by: 1906 members; Location: New York, NY; Thanked: 13060 times; GMAT Score:790

by GMATGuruNY » Thu Jun 24, 2010 11:40 am

nikhilkatira wrote:Unlike that of earlier works on slavery, Blassingame's innovative study relies not on the records of White slave owners but on the records of the salves themselves, especially the 70 or so autobiographies and memoirs that have been preserved.

A. that of earlier words on slavery, Blassingame's

B. that of earlier works on slavery, Blassingame in his

C. earlier works on slavery, Blassingame in his

D. earlier works on slavery, Blassingame's

E. the earlier works on slavery, Blassingame in his[/i]

In answer choices A and B, what noun is being replaced by the pronoun that? Since we can't tell, answer choices A and B must be wrong.

Whenever you see a pronoun in an answer choice, ask yourself what noun is being replaced by the pronoun. If you can't tell, eliminate the answer choice.

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kvcpk: Legendary Member; Posts: 1893; Joined: Sun May 30, 2010 11:48 pmFollowed by: 7 members; Thanked: 215 times

by kvcpk » Thu Jun 24, 2010 12:45 pm

GMATGuruNY wrote: In answer choices A and B, what noun is being replaced by the pronoun that? Since we can't tell, answer choices A and B must be wrong.

Whenever you see a pronoun in an answer choice, ask yourself what noun is being replaced by the pronoun. If you can't tell, eliminate the answer choice.

Hi Mitch,

Can you please tell me if this sentence construction is correct?
"Unlike that of earlier studies, the genre of Blassingame's study is purely based on geography"

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GMATGuruNY: GMAT Instructor; Posts: 15539; Joined: Tue May 25, 2010 12:04 pmFollowed by: 1906 members; Location: New York, NY; Thanked: 13060 times; GMAT Score:790

by GMATGuruNY » Thu Jun 24, 2010 1:03 pm

kvcpk wrote:
GMATGuruNY wrote: In answer choices A and B, what noun is being replaced by the pronoun that? Since we can't tell, answer choices A and B must be wrong.

Whenever you see a pronoun in an answer choice, ask yourself what noun is being replaced by the pronoun. If you can't tell, eliminate the answer choice.
Hi Mitch,

Can you please tell me if this sentence construction is correct?
"Unlike that of earlier studies, the genre of Blassingame's study is purely based on geography"

The comparison is fine -- the pronoun that is standing in for the noun genre -- but the modifier purely should precede on geogrpahy, and the sentence itself feels wordy. I'd prefer:

Unlike that of earlier studies, the focus of Blassingame's study is geography.

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kvcpk: Legendary Member; Posts: 1893; Joined: Sun May 30, 2010 11:48 pmFollowed by: 7 members; Thanked: 215 times

by kvcpk » Thu Jun 24, 2010 7:06 pm

Thanks Mitch!! got it now.

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