ceilidh.erickson wrote:This question is SC #101 in OG 2016. It's primarily testing COMPARISONS.

The GMAT often tests logical comparisons by beginning a sentence with a comparison word:
Unlike...
Like...
Similar to...
In contrast to...

Any of these words at the beginning of a sentence signal that we're modifying the MAIN SUBJECT of the sentence by comparing it to something else. In the construction
Similar to X, Y is...
the X and the Y must be comparable.

In the original sentence here, we want to compare other people's music to Robert Johnson's music, but what we're actually comparing (structurally) is singers to music. This is not a logical comparison.

Similar to other early Mississippi Delta blues singers, the music of Robert Johnson arose from an oral tradition beginning with a mixture of chants, fiddle tunes, and religious music and only gradually evolved into the blues.

Looking at the other answer choices...

B) Similar to that of other early Mississippi Delta blues singers, Robert Johnson made music that arose from an oral tradition that began with

This one is comparing "that of" (i.e. the music of other people) to Robert Johnson himself. Illogical.


C) As with other early Mississippi Delta blues singers, Robert Johnson made music that arose from an oral tradition beginning as

This is implying that Robert Johnson is doing something WITH the other singers. Illogical.


D) Like other early Mississippi Delta blues singers, Robert Johnson's music arose from an oral tradition beginning with

Same issue as the original: comparing singers to music.


E) Like the music of other early Mississippi Delta blues singers, the music of Robert Johnson arose from an oral tradition that began as

This one compares music to music. It's the only logical comparison.

The answer is E.

Thank you for a great explanation.


In like X, Y--> comparison is between X and Y.
What actually is the comparison in construction As with X, Y (option C).

GMAT seems not really like this particular, as it is pretty much incorrect option all the time.
Is there any way to knock off answer choice containing this construction much more confidently?

Hello Everyone!

Let's tackle this question, one issue at a time, and narrow it down to the correct answer! To begin, here is the original question with any major differences between the options highlighted in orange:

Similar to other Mississippi Delta blues singers, the music of Robert Johnson arose from an oral tradition beginning with a mixture of chants, fiddle tunes, and religions music and only gradually evolved into the blues.

A. Similar to other Mississippi Delta blues singers, the music of Robert Johnson arose from an oral tradition beginning with
B. Similar to that of other early Mississippi Delta blues singers, Robert Johnson made music that arose from oral tradition that began with
C. As with other early Mississippi Delta blues singers, Robert Johnson made music that arose from an oral tradition beginning as
D. Like other early Mississippi Delta blues singers, Robert Johnson's music arose from an oral tradition beginning with
E. Like the music of other early Mississippi Delta blues singers , the music of Robert Johnson arose from an oral tradition that began as

After a quick glance over the options, there are a few key differences we can focus on:

1. How they begin: similar to / as with / like
2. What comes after the modifier: the music of Robert Johnson / Robert Johnson / Robert Johnson's music
3. How they end: beginning with / that began with / beginning as

Since we're dealing with a comparison question, the first place to start should always be parallelism! We need to make sure that the sentence is comparing 2 similar things (apples to apples, bicycles to bicycles, etc.). Let's focus on that first, and eliminate any options that don't compare similar things:

A. Similar to other Mississippi Delta blues singers, the music of Robert Johnson arose from an oral tradition beginning with --> WRONG (compares people to music)

B. Similar to that of other early Mississippi Delta blues singers, Robert Johnson made music that arose from oral tradition that began with --> WRONG (compares music to a person)

C. As with other early Mississippi Delta blues singers, Robert Johnson made music that arose from an oral tradition beginning as --> OK (compares people to people)

D. Like other early Mississippi Delta blues singers, Robert Johnson's music arose from an oral tradition beginning with --> WRONG (compares people to music)

E. Like the music of other early Mississippi Delta blues singers , the music of Robert Johnson arose from an oral tradition that began as --> OK (compares music to music)

We can eliminate options A, B, & D because they create a non-parallel comparison.

Now that we have it narrowed down to only 2 options, let's focus on the other two list items to narrow it down to just one option:

C. As with other early Mississippi Delta blues singers, Robert Johnson made music that arose from an oral tradition beginning as

This is INCORRECT for a couple reasons. First, starting a noun phrase with "As with" is considered a no-no on the GMAT. The GMAT prefers you use "like" instead because it's clear and to the point. Second, the phrase "beginning as" suggests these events took place in the present tense, but we need to use verbs or phrases that are in the past tense for this to make sense. If his music eventually "evolved" at some point in the past, then it doesn't make sense to say that it "starts" in the present.

E. Like the music of other early Mississippi Delta blues singers , the music of Robert Johnson arose from an oral tradition that began as

This is CORRECT! The comparison is parallel, the phrasing is clear and concise, and the meaning is clear thanks to the use of past tense verbs throughout.


There you have it - option E is the correct choice!


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