Like their male counterparts, women scientists are above average in terms of intelligence and creativity, but unlike men of science, their female counterparts have had to work against the grain of occupational stereotyping to enter a "man's world."
(A) their female counterparts have had to work
(B) their problem is working
(C) one thing they have had to do is work
(D) the handicap women of science have had is to work
(E) women of science have had to work
GPREP SC- 9
This topic has expert replies
GMAT/MBA Expert
- ceilidh.erickson
- GMAT Instructor
- Posts: 2095
- Joined: Tue Dec 04, 2012 3:22 pm
- Thanked: 1443 times
- Followed by:247 members
Here, we have a comparison structure:
Unlike X, Y...
When we have this structure, we need to make sure that our X and Y elements are comparable.
In this sentence, our "X" element is:
Unlike men of science
We want to compare men to women, not to problems, handicaps, etc.
Unlike men..., women....
is the only correct comparison, so E is the correct answer.
Unlike X, Y...
When we have this structure, we need to make sure that our X and Y elements are comparable.
In this sentence, our "X" element is:
Unlike men of science
We want to compare men to women, not to problems, handicaps, etc.
Unlike men..., women....
is the only correct comparison, so E is the correct answer.
Last edited by ceilidh.erickson on Mon Jul 18, 2016 10:04 am, edited 1 time in total.
Ceilidh Erickson
EdM in Mind, Brain, and Education
Harvard Graduate School of Education
EdM in Mind, Brain, and Education
Harvard Graduate School of Education
GMAT/MBA Expert
- ceilidh.erickson
- GMAT Instructor
- Posts: 2095
- Joined: Tue Dec 04, 2012 3:22 pm
- Thanked: 1443 times
- Followed by:247 members
Unlike X, Y is a very common structure on the GMAT. For more, see:
https://www.beatthegmat.com/the-use-of-u ... tml#539972
https://www.beatthegmat.com/the-use-of-u ... tml#539972
Ceilidh Erickson
EdM in Mind, Brain, and Education
Harvard Graduate School of Education
EdM in Mind, Brain, and Education
Harvard Graduate School of Education
GMAT/MBA Expert
- ceilidh.erickson
- GMAT Instructor
- Posts: 2095
- Joined: Tue Dec 04, 2012 3:22 pm
- Thanked: 1443 times
- Followed by:247 members
I see your confusion, and I've amended the above post. Yes, people can be compared to counterparts, as in "like their male counterparts, women scientists..."
The issue in the original sentence is with pronoun usage. In "like their male counterparts, women scientists..." the pronoun "their" replaces the subject "women." When there is a pronoun in an opening modifier, it should replace the subject of the clause after it.
If we say "unlike men of science, their female counterparts..." then the pronoun in the subject phrase is referring to a noun in a modifier (that itself is modifying that same subject phrase). It is more direct and logical to have the subject be a direct noun. Consider the difference between these two sentences:
Like their owners, pets have distinct personalities. --> Direct and clear. The pronoun in the modifier refers to the subject, and the independent clause could stand on its own.
Like human owners, their pets have distinct personalities. --> Awkward. The independent clause contains a pronoun replacing something in the modifier, and could thus not stand on its own.
Does that help to clarify?
The issue in the original sentence is with pronoun usage. In "like their male counterparts, women scientists..." the pronoun "their" replaces the subject "women." When there is a pronoun in an opening modifier, it should replace the subject of the clause after it.
If we say "unlike men of science, their female counterparts..." then the pronoun in the subject phrase is referring to a noun in a modifier (that itself is modifying that same subject phrase). It is more direct and logical to have the subject be a direct noun. Consider the difference between these two sentences:
Like their owners, pets have distinct personalities. --> Direct and clear. The pronoun in the modifier refers to the subject, and the independent clause could stand on its own.
Like human owners, their pets have distinct personalities. --> Awkward. The independent clause contains a pronoun replacing something in the modifier, and could thus not stand on its own.
Does that help to clarify?
Ceilidh Erickson
EdM in Mind, Brain, and Education
Harvard Graduate School of Education
EdM in Mind, Brain, and Education
Harvard Graduate School of Education
-
- Senior | Next Rank: 100 Posts
- Posts: 79
- Joined: Tue Dec 15, 2015 3:56 am
- Followed by:1 members
- GMAT Score:750
Thank you Ceilidh! I could never, for the life of me, have been able to figure it out on my own.
But just to be clear I understand the explanation fully- so the difference between the two versions is essentially of awkwardness and not of grammatical correctness, ain't it?
But just to be clear I understand the explanation fully- so the difference between the two versions is essentially of awkwardness and not of grammatical correctness, ain't it?
- GMATGuruNY
- GMAT Instructor
- Posts: 15539
- Joined: Tue May 25, 2010 12:04 pm
- Location: New York, NY
- Thanked: 13060 times
- Followed by:1906 members
- GMAT Score:790
Generally, PARALLEL FORMS should serve the SAME FUNCTION.
A: Like their male counterparts, women scientists are above average, but unlike men of science, their female counterparts have had to work against the grain.
Here, the two colored portions are parallel.
For this reason, their seems to have the same referent in each case: women scientists.
As result, the red portion seems to convey the following meaning:
Women scientists' female counterparts have had to work against the grain.
This meaning is nonsensical.
Since a counterpart in science must refer to a DIFFERENT type of person in science, WOMEN scientists cannot have FEMALE counterparts in science.
Eliminate A.
A: Like their male counterparts, women scientists are above average, but unlike men of science, their female counterparts have had to work against the grain.
Here, the two colored portions are parallel.
For this reason, their seems to have the same referent in each case: women scientists.
As result, the red portion seems to convey the following meaning:
Women scientists' female counterparts have had to work against the grain.
This meaning is nonsensical.
Since a counterpart in science must refer to a DIFFERENT type of person in science, WOMEN scientists cannot have FEMALE counterparts in science.
Eliminate A.
Private tutor exclusively for the GMAT and GRE, with over 20 years of experience.
Followed here and elsewhere by over 1900 test-takers.
I have worked with students based in the US, Australia, Taiwan, China, Tajikistan, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia -- a long list of countries.
My students have been admitted to HBS, CBS, Tuck, Yale, Stern, Fuqua -- a long list of top programs.
As a tutor, I don't simply teach you how I would approach problems.
I unlock the best way for YOU to solve problems.
For more information, please email me (Mitch Hunt) at [email protected].
Student Review #1
Student Review #2
Student Review #3
Followed here and elsewhere by over 1900 test-takers.
I have worked with students based in the US, Australia, Taiwan, China, Tajikistan, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia -- a long list of countries.
My students have been admitted to HBS, CBS, Tuck, Yale, Stern, Fuqua -- a long list of top programs.
As a tutor, I don't simply teach you how I would approach problems.
I unlock the best way for YOU to solve problems.
For more information, please email me (Mitch Hunt) at [email protected].
Student Review #1
Student Review #2
Student Review #3