Sentence Correction

<< They went to Africa, a continent with abundant resources, in the month of September. >>

(A) They went to Africa, a continent with abundant resources, in the month of September.

(B) They went to Africa a continent with abundant resources in September.

(C) They had gone to Africa in the month of September, which is a continent with abundant resources.

(D) They went in September to Africa, a continent with abundant resources.

(E) In September, they went to Africa, a continent with abundant resources.


[spoiler]Actual Answer : E

Explanation
The given sentence makes it sound as if the continent of Africa has abundant resources only in the month of September.

In sentences such as this, it is best to place the modifier ('in September') as close as possible to what it modifies ('they went to Africa').

Option E does this, and removes all ambiguity from the sentence. It also correctly does away with the redundant 'the month of'.

Hence (E) is the correct answer.

This is a standard type of sentence correction question in the GMAT. It tests the usage of 'Modifiers'
For more information and practice questions of this type,
Refer to the chapter - 'Modifiers' in Crack-GMAT Verbal Tutorial.[/spoiler]

Can some GMAT Expert explain this SC for me?

A is fine, but we don't need to say "in the month of September" when "in September" works just as well.

B fails to set the modifying phrase ("a continent...") off with commas. Since the phrase is not critical for understanding the meaning of the sentence, it should be set off with commas.

C uses the relative clause "which is a continent..." to modify "September", creating a modifier error.

D puts the prepositional phrases "in September" and "to Africa" in reverse order. If we're using the verb "went", typically the location comes next.

E is a good sentence.

bill

when i read the ques i thought that option A was conveyin the meaning more clearly to me
also it is starting with a subject , which is actually quite clear and one of the preferences of GMAT

is there any other reason beside in the month of sept.. to eliminate A ??
pls explain

Grammatically, A is fine, but there are stylistic considerations as wel. One of the GMAT's preferences is brevity; our sentences should be as direct as possible. E is also grammatically fine, but it uses fewer words to get the same idea across.