SC problem needing explanation

Question

A firm that specializes in the analysis of handwriting claims from a one-page writing sample that it can assess more than three hundred personality traits, including enthusiasm, imagination, and ambition.
(A) from a one-page writing sample that it can assess
(B) from a one-page writing sample it has the ability of assessing
(C) the ability, from a one-page writing sample, of assessing
(D) to be able, from a one-page writing sample, to assess
(E) being able to assess, from a one-page writing sample,
-------------------------------------------

-------------------------------------------
B, C & E have verb error but confused between A & D

A firm ... claims <that it can assess> more than ... -- which i picked
A firm ... claims <to be able to assess> more than ... -- the right ans

I am less than a week to GMAT idea so pardon if i missed something obvious

iamcste · Answer

deepak_tx wrote:A firm that specializes in the analysis of handwriting claims from a one-page writing sample that it can assess more than three hundred personality traits, including enthusiasm, imagination, and ambition.
(A) from a one-page writing sample that it can assess
(B) from a one-page writing sample it has the ability of assessing
(C) the ability, from a one-page writing sample, of assessing
(D) to be able, from a one-page writing sample, to assess
(E) being able to assess, from a one-page writing sample,
-------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------
B, C & E have verb error but confused between A & D

A firm ... claims <that it can assess> more than ... -- which i picked
A firm ... claims <to be able to assess> more than ... -- the right ans

I am less than a week to GMAT idea so pardon if i missed something obvious

or other way

Claims what??needs an object.

AB gone..since "from"cant be an object

E "Being" is almost always incorrect

Left with C and D

Here "able to " or "ability to" a popular idiom or reading instinct can help

logitech · Answer

Whenever you see a pronoun such as it, its, they, their , you have to check what they refer to. ( For example use of they is wrong in this sentence )

In the first option we have IT , which is intended to refer to firm but it is too far away from the noun it refers and there are other singular nouns in between : analysis and one-page writing sample

So in written English, this IT creates an ambiguity

Option D eliminates this pronoun - one way of fixing the pronoun issue - and gives us a better option.

LGTCH
---------------------
"DON'T LET ANYONE STEAL YOUR DREAM!"

iamcste · Answer

deepak_tx wrote:A firm that specializes in the analysis of handwriting claims from a one-page writing sample that it can assess more than three hundred personality traits, including enthusiasm, imagination, and ambition.
(A) from a one-page writing sample that it can assess
(B) from a one-page writing sample it has the ability of assessing
(C) the ability, from a one-page writing sample, of assessing
(D) to be able, from a one-page writing sample, to assess
(E) being able to assess, from a one-page writing sample,
-------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------
B, C & E have verb error but confused between A & D

A firm ... claims <that it can assess> more than ... -- which i picked
A firm ... claims <to be able to assess> more than ... -- the right ans

I am less than a week to GMAT idea so pardon if i missed something obvious

or other way

Claims what??needs an object.

AB gone..since "from"cant be an object

E "Being" is almost always incorrect

Left with C and D

Here "able to " or "ability to" a popular idiom or reading instinct can help

karmayogi · Answer

A clearly can't be the answer as it distorts the meaning. "from a one-page writing sample that it can assess" means, from a one-page writing, the firm can claim more than 300 personalities rather than assess .

The main idea of the sentence is, the firm can assess x from y rather than the firm can claim x from y.

singalong · Answer

logitech wrote:Whenever you see a pronoun such as it, its, they, their , you have to check what they refer to. ( For example use of they is wrong in this sentence )

In the first option we have IT , which is intended to refer to firm but it is too far away from the noun it refers and there are other singular nouns in between : analysis and one-page writing sample

So in written English, this IT creates an ambiguity

Would (1) have been right if the sentense was "A firm that specializes in the analysis of handwriting claims, from a one-page writing sample, that it can assess more than three hundred personality traits" ?
Note the use of commas.

SticklorForDetails · Answer

singalong wrote:logitech wrote:Whenever you see a pronoun such as it, its, they, their , you have to check what they refer to. ( For example use of they is wrong in this sentence ) In the first option we have IT , which is intended to refer to firm but it is too far away from the noun it refers and there are other singular nouns in between : analysis and one-page writing sample So in written English, this IT creates an ambiguity Would (1) have been right if the sentense was "A firm that specializes in the analysis of handwriting claims, from a one-page writing sample, that it can assess more than three hundred personality traits" ? Note the use of commas. No. "from a one-page writing sample" should be inside the clause about what the firm claims it can do. Your sentence makes it sound as if their claim was written on a one-page document. However, if you switched it around, it will work: "A firm that specialized in the analysis of handwriting claims that, from a one-page writing sample, it can assess..."

BlindVision · Answer

deepak_tx wrote:A firm that specializes in the analysis of handwriting claims from a one-page writing sample that it can assess more than three hundred personality traits, including enthusiasm, imagination, and ambition.
(A) from a one-page writing sample that it can assess
(B) from a one-page writing sample it has the ability of assessing
(C) the ability, from a one-page writing sample, of assessing
(D) to be able, from a one-page writing sample, to assess
(E) being able to assess, from a one-page writing sample,
-------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------
B, C & E have verb error but confused between A & D

A firm ... claims <that it can assess> more than ... -- which i picked
A firm ... claims <to be able to assess> more than ... -- the right ans

I am less than a week to GMAT idea so pardon if i missed something obvious

or other way

Claims what??needs an object.

AB gone..since "from"cant be an object

E "Being" is almost always incorrect

Left with C and D

Here "able to " or "ability to" a popular idiom or reading instinct can help

Choose how you want to prepare

Get Ready for GMAT Test Day Faster with Live Online Classes

Target Test Prep EA OnDemand

Target Test Prep GMAT OnDemand

SC problem needing explanation

Re: SC problem needing explanation

Re: SC problem needing explanation

Re: SC problem needing explanation

Chicago Booth

GMAT Course Reviews

Admissions Consulting Reviews

FREE GMAT PREP RESOURCES

GMAT PREP DEAL TRACKER