Ryunosuke Akutagawa

Hello Everyone!

Let's take a look at this question, one issue at a time, and narrow it down to the right choice! Before we dive in, let's take a look at the original question and highlight any major differences between the options in orange:

Ryunosuke Akutagawa‘s knowledge of the literatures of Europe, China, and that of Japan were instrumental in his development as a writer, informing his literary style as much as the content of his fiction.

(A) that of Japan were instrumental in his development as a writer, informing his literary style as much as
(B) that of Japan was instrumental in his development as a writer, and it informed his literary style as well as
(C) Japan was instrumental in his development as a writer, informing both his literary style and
(D) Japan was instrumental in his development as a writer, as it informed his literary style as much as
(E) Japan were instrumental in his development as a writer, informing both his literary style in addition to

After a quick glance over the options, we have a few things we can focus on:

1. that of Japan / Japan (parallelism)
2. was / were (subject-verb agreement)
3. How they end (modifiers/conjunctions)

Let's start with #1 on our list: that of Japan / Japan. This is an issue of parallelism! Let's take a look at each option, and determine which ones use parallel structure, and toss out the ones that don't:

(A) Europe, China, and that of Japan were instrumental in his development as a writer, informing his literary style as much as
(B) Europe, China, and that of Japan was instrumental in his development as a writer, and it informed his literary style as well as
(C) Europe, China, and Japan was instrumental in his development as a writer, informing both his literary style and
(D) Europe, China, and Japan was instrumental in his development as a writer, as it informed his literary style as much as
(E) Europe, China, and Japan were instrumental in his development as a writer, informing both his literary style in addition to

We can rule out options A & B because "that of Japan" isn't worded the same way as the other two items on the list (Europe, China).

Now, let's move on to #2 on our list: was / were. This is an issue of subject-verb agreement! We know the subject of the sentence is "knowledge," which is a singular subject, and that means we need to use a singular verb to match. Let's see which options use a singular verb, and toss out the ones that don't:

(C) Europe, China, and Japan was instrumental in his development as a writer, informing both his literary style and
(D) Europe, China, and Japan was instrumental in his development as a writer, as it informed his literary style as much as
(E) Europe, China, and Japan were instrumental in his development as a writer, informing both his literary style in addition to

We can rule out option E because it uses the plural verb "were" with a singular subject, which doesn't agree!

Now that we're left with only 2 options, let's move on to #3 on our list: how they end. We need to make sure the ending makes sense, doesn't distort meaning, and is 100% clear for readers:

(C) Europe, China, and Japan was instrumental in his development as a writer, informing both his literary style and

This is CORRECT! The modifier "informing both his literary style and..." is clearly modifying the subject "knowledge." It also follows the idiomatic structure "both X and Y" at the end when it says "both his literary style and the content of his fiction."

(D) Europe, China, and Japan was instrumental in his development as a writer, as it informed his literary style as much as

This is INCORRECT because it's not written clearly. We have the pronoun "it," which could refer to knowledge or development. Vague pronouns are a major no-no on the GMAT! Also, the word "as" is a problem because it changes the meaning. This sentence is saying that Akutagawa's knowledge helped him develop as a writer at the same time that it informed his literary style and the content of his fiction. This isn't true - he gained the knowledge first, and then it helped make him a better writer!

There you have it - option C is the right choice here! It uses parallel structure, proper subject-verb agreement, and a clearly written modifier!


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