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netigen: Legendary Member; Posts: 631; Joined: Mon Feb 18, 2008 11:57 pm; Thanked: 29 times; Followed by:3 members

Need help with this SC question

by netigen » Sat Mar 15, 2008 10:37 pm

Jurassic Park, written by Michael Crichton, and which was first printed in 1988, is a novel about a theme park of the future in which dinosaurs roam free.

(A) Jurassic Park, written by Michael Crichton, and which was first printed in 1988,
(B) Jurassic Park, written by Michael Crichton and first printed in 1988,
(C) Jurassic Park, which was written by Michael Crichton, and which was first printed in 1988,
(D) Written by Michael Crichton and first printed in 1988, Jurassic Park
(E) Jurassic Park, which was written by Michael Crichton and first printed in 1988

Q whats the difference between B and D and why is one correct and the other not correct.

Ans is B

Last edited by netigen on Mon Mar 17, 2008 4:59 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Source: Beat The GMAT — Sentence Correction | Sat Mar 15, 2008 10:37 pm

tar.goyal: Senior | Next Rank: 100 Posts; Posts: 50; Joined: Mon Jan 28, 2008 3:38 am; Thanked: 1 times

by tar.goyal » Mon Mar 17, 2008 9:06 am

I think the answer is D. Written by ....in 1988 acts as a modifier which should always come before the modified(Jurassic Park in this case).

Please correct me if I am wrong!

I have started to realize that I am the one!!!

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camitava: Legendary Member; Posts: 645; Joined: Wed Sep 05, 2007 4:37 am; Location: India; Thanked: 34 times; Followed by:5 members

by camitava » Mon Mar 17, 2008 10:38 am

Agree with tar.goyel. To me, D is the best option to chose.

Correct me If I am wrong

Regards,

Amitava

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netigen: Legendary Member; Posts: 631; Joined: Mon Feb 18, 2008 11:57 pm; Thanked: 29 times; Followed by:3 members

Ans is B

by netigen » Mon Mar 17, 2008 5:00 pm

The answer is (B).
Choice (A) is incorrect since the verb written is not parallel to the construction which was . . .
printed.
Choice (B) is the correct answer since the sentence is concise and the verb written is parallel
to the verb printed.
Choice (C) does offer a parallel structure (which was written/which was printed); however,
choice (B) is more concise.
Choice (D) rambles. The introduction Written by . . . 1988 is too long.
Choice (E) also offers a parallel structure (which was written/[which was] printed); however,
Choice (B) again is more concise. Note: which was need not be repeated for the sentence to be
parallel.

I actually chose D like others and hence my Q on this forum. I am having second thoughts about this book

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lunarpower: GMAT Instructor; Posts: 3380; Joined: Mon Mar 03, 2008 1:20 am; Thanked: 2256 times; Followed by:1535 members; GMAT Score:800

by lunarpower » Thu Mar 20, 2008 12:26 am

this problem is severely inauthentic: it has two answer choices with no actual errors.

in my opinion, choice b is better than choice d because of purely rhetorical factors: it's more effective to begin with the title of the work, since that's the subject, and most important idea, of the sentence. the book's authorship and date of publication are subordinate ideas, so it makes sense to present them as an appositive modifier after the book's title is introduced.

but the other posters on this thread are correct: nothing is really wrong with choice d. it's just sort of weird, especially when measured by the yardstick of choice b, although it's nowhere near weird enough to consider it fatally awkward.

what's the source of this problem? i'd be suspicious of problems from that source from this point onward.

Ron has been teaching various standardized tests for 20 years.

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simplyjat: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 423; Joined: Thu Dec 27, 2007 1:29 am; Location: Hyderabad, India; Thanked: 36 times; Followed by:2 members; GMAT Score:770

by simplyjat » Thu Mar 20, 2008 1:42 am

B is the correct answer. The reason being difference between essential and non-essential clauses.

In the original question written by Michael Crichton, and which was first printed in 1988 is a non-essential clause; i.e. you can remove the clause without affecting the meaning of the sentence.

In D, the clause is modified to be a essential-clause. B does not modify the clause and retains non-essentiality

simplyjat

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sachin.ranjit: Junior | Next Rank: 30 Posts; Posts: 16; Joined: Sun Mar 16, 2008 7:02 am; Location: NC US

by sachin.ranjit » Thu Mar 20, 2008 12:22 pm

i havent started preparing for sentence correction yet, so cant tell u the exact rule y (B) is correct. But the answer to this question is (B).

Both seem to be the right answers. but as per GMAC we should select the most suitable answer choice.

If you compare both (b) and (d).. (b) is forms a cleaner sentence than (d). will try to get the exact reason y it is so..

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700+: Newbie | Next Rank: 10 Posts; Posts: 2; Joined: Fri Oct 17, 2008 8:49 pm

by 700+ » Mon Oct 20, 2008 9:32 am

lunarpower,

do you agree with simplyjat answer?

Thanks a lot

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stop@800: Legendary Member; Posts: 871; Joined: Wed Aug 13, 2008 7:48 am; Thanked: 48 times

by stop@800 » Mon Oct 20, 2008 1:50 pm

simplyjat wrote:B is the correct answer. The reason being difference between essential and non-essential clauses.

In the original question written by Michael Crichton, and which was first printed in 1988 is a non-essential clause; i.e. you can remove the clause without affecting the meaning of the sentence.

In D, the clause is modified to be a essential-clause.

I think No.
Both are non essential.

B does not modify the clause and retains non-essentiality

www.interrogationpoint.com

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Bidisha800: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 344; Joined: Sun Sep 28, 2008 11:00 am; Location: USA; Thanked: 6 times; Followed by:1 members

by Bidisha800 » Mon Oct 20, 2008 6:35 pm

simplyjat wrote:B is the correct answer. The reason being difference between essential and non-essential clauses.

In the original question written by Michael Crichton, and which was first printed in 1988 is a non-essential clause; i.e. you can remove the clause without affecting the meaning of the sentence.

In D, the clause is modified to be a essential-clause. B does not modify the clause and retains non-essentiality

LOL ! :mrgreen:

A GMAT destroyer indeed !

Drill baby drill !

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sanjaysmart: Junior | Next Rank: 30 Posts; Posts: 28; Joined: Mon Oct 20, 2008 10:28 pm; Thanked: 5 times

Re: Need help with this SC question

by sanjaysmart » Mon Oct 20, 2008 10:45 pm

netigen wrote:Jurassic Park, written by Michael Crichton, and which was first printed in 1988, is a novel about a theme park of the future in which dinosaurs roam free.

(A) Jurassic Park, written by Michael Crichton, and which was first printed in 1988,
(B) Jurassic Park, written by Michael Crichton and first printed in 1988,
(C) Jurassic Park, which was written by Michael Crichton, and which was first printed in 1988,
(D) Written by Michael Crichton and first printed in 1988, Jurassic Park
(E) Jurassic Park, which was written by Michael Crichton and first printed in 1988

Q whats the difference between B and D and why is one correct and the other not correct.

Ans is B

Yes, I would agree that the source of this question should be avoided because this is a very ambiguous question. I agree with Ron that the subject takes precedence but 'd' where 'written.......1988', takes the form of the participial phrase has nothing inherently wrong with it.