Sentence Correction

Teratomas are unusual forms of cancer because they are composed of tissues such as tooth and bone not normally found in the organ in which the tumor appears.

(A) because they are composed of tissues such as tooth and bone
(B) because they are composed of tissues like tooth and bone that are
(C) because they are composed of tissues, like tooth and bone, tissues
(D) in that their composition, tissues such as tooth and bone, is
(E) in that they are composed of tissues such as tooth and bone, tissues

GMATGuruNY wrote:
Note the following:
The purpose of in that is to introduce the particular WAY in which something is true.
In the SC above, teratomas are unusual IN ONE PARTICULAR WAY: IN THAT they are composed of tissues such as tooth and bone.

The distinction between because and in that is another reason to eliminate answer choices here.
The relationship expressed by the SC above is not causal.
The composition of teratomas is not CAUSING them to be unusual; the tooth and bone that compose teratomas are simply the WAY in which these forms of cancer are unusual.

[email protected] wrote:Hey!
In option "E" there is COMMA SPLICE ERROR.
Am I wrong?
Do reply!

Regards,
Mukherjee

aflaam wrote:Hi Mitch,
Is that true GMAC prefer in that to because whenever there is a split?

ngk4mba3236 wrote:gmatguru,
is this an Official SC ?

if yes, then I think, with reference to your last post above, doesn't it seem to be contradicting in terms of GMAT's stand in using "in that" in an OA of GMAT SC ?

as for the meaning in A, if we consider it as follows: tooth and bone are merely examples of the types of tissues that the Teratomas are composed of. hence, the modifier "not normally found in the organ in which the tumor appears" being close to "tooth and bone" actually refers to the "tissues" because "tooth and bone" is simply a subset of such tissues.

why will this interpretation be incorrect ?

GMATGuruNY wrote:

as for the meaning in A, if we consider it as follows: tooth and bone are merely examples of the types of tissues that the Teratomas are composed of. hence, the modifier "not normally found in the organ in which the tumor appears" being close to "tooth and bone" actually refers back to the "tissues" because "tooth and bone" is simply a subset of such tissues.

why will this interpretation be incorrect ?

An answer choice that allows for more than one logical interpretation is incorrect.
In A, not found could logically serve to modify bone or tissues.
Since A allows for more than one logical interpretation -- whereas E makes the intended meaning crystal clear -- eliminate A and choose E.

ngk4mba3236 wrote:

GMATGuruNY wrote:

as for the meaning in A, if we consider it as follows: tooth and bone are merely examples of the types of tissues that the Teratomas are composed of. hence, the modifier "not normally found in the organ in which the tumor appears" being close to "tooth and bone" actually refers back to the "tissues" because "tooth and bone" is simply a subset of such tissues.

why will this interpretation be incorrect ?

Generally, a modifier should be AS CLOSE AS POSSIBLE to what it modifies.
A: They are composed of tissues such as tooth and bone not normally found in the organ in which the tumor appears.
Since a modifier should be as close as possible to what it modifies, the adjective in blue should refer to the NEAREST PRECEDING NOUN OR NOUN PHRASE that yields a logical meaning.
The noun phrase that most closely precedes the adjective in blue is tooth and bone.
It is certainly logical to refer to tooth and bone not normally found in the organ.
Thus, the DEFAULT interpretation should be that the modifier in blue serves to modify tooth and bone -- the nearest preceding noun phrase that yields a logical meaning.

But in referring to tooth and bone not normally found in the organ, option A distorts the intended meaning.
The intended meaning is that TISSUES are not normally found in the organ and that tooth and bone are merely EXAMPLES of these tissues.

OA: They are composed of tissues such as tooth and bone, tissues not normally found in the organ in which the tumor appears.
Here, it is crystal clear that the adjective in blue serves to modify not tooth and bone but tissues.
Since E makes the intended meaning crystal clear and is free of errors, eliminate A and choose E.

GMATGuruNY wrote:An answer choice that allows for more than one logical interpretation is incorrect.
In A, not found could logically serve to modify bone or tissues.
Since A allows for more than one logical interpretation -- whereas E makes the intended meaning crystal clear -- eliminate A and choose E.