Hey Osirus,
Good question - there are definitely some rules for different types of modifiers (participial, appositive, etc.) that may be worth knowing, and we cover those in our Sentence Correction 2 lesson book (which I'm pretty sure you have). That said, the "make sure the modifier is as close as possible to what it modifies" is probably the most useful mentality out there.
One other thing that the GMAT tests, and one of my favorite applications, is along the lines of "when is a modifier not a modifier" - that is, they make what looks like a modifier (based on the original sentence and some other answer choices having a modifier) actually a full-on clause (with its own subject and verb). An example from the OG is:
Unlike transplants between identical twins, whose genetic endowment is the same, all patients receiving hearts or other organs must take anti-rejection drugs for the rest of their lives.
(A) Unlike transplants between identical twins, whose genetic endowment is the same
(B) Besides transplants involving identical twins with the same genetic endowment
(C) Unless the transplant involves identical twins who have the same genetic endowment
(D) Aside from a transplant between identical twins with the same genetic endowment
(E) Other than transplants between identical twins, whose genetic endowment is the same
It looks like you're being asked to pick the correct modifier here, and that the modifier must modify "all patients". Well, none of the answer choices properly modifies "patients", as they all talk about transplants, which could never be "like" or "unlike" people. But choice C, upon further inspection, is not a modifier - it has its own subject and verb "...a transplant involves", so it's a clause, not a modifier, and it's therefore correct.
So that's one unique way that they can take a "modifier" problem and put a twist on it. For the most part, if you keep that rule in mind that a modifier must clearly and logically modify what it's supposed to, that's the mentality that will lead toward success...then you just need to be careful with those subtle differences like the non-modifier above.
I hope that helps...
Brian Galvin
GMAT Instructor
Chief Academic Officer
Veritas Prep
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