Sentence Correction

Demographers generally divide urban and suburban areas not into individual cities and towns, separated by political boundaries, but into "metropolitan statistical areas," each of which comprises multiple cities and towns with interdependent economies.

(A) divide urban and suburban areas not into individual cities and towns, separated by political boundaries, but into "metropolitan statistical areas," each of which comprises multiple cities and towns with

(B) do not divide urban or suburban areas into individual cities and towns, which are separated by political boundaries, but instead into "metropolitan statistical areas," each of which comprise multiple cities and towns having

(C) do not divide urban and suburban areas into individual cities and towns, separated according to political boundaries, but instead group them into "metropolitan statistical areas," each of which having multiple cities and towns with

(D) divide urban and suburban areas not into individual cities and towns that are separated by political boundaries, and instead into "metropolitan statistical areas," each comprising multiple cities and towns that have

(E) divide urban or suburban areas not into individual cities and towns, separating them according to political boundaries; instead, they group them into "metropolitan statistical areas," each made up of multiple cities and towns having


OA A

Source: Manhattan Prep

Option A - Correct
There is a clear demonstration of the two ways demographers can divide urban and sub-urban areas which is expressed using 'not...but'. This sentence is fully parallel to what the author has given.

Option B - Incorrect
The use of 'but instead' is redundant. If the sentence had contained 'and instead', it would have the most suitable.

Option C - Incorrect
The phrase 'each of which having' needs a verb to make complete sense, and also the use of and instead is redundant.

Option D - Incorrect
This is not grammatically correct. The use of 'not...and' is not right as it fails to explain the contrast between the use of one method and why the other method was not used at all.

Option E - Incorrect
The portion before semicolons have to be able to stand alone, but in this case, the sentence preceding it is a dependent clause. Also, the sentence instead of separating them, is creating a group.