Sentence Correction

Unlike a female grizzly bear in the Rockies, which typically occupies a range of 50 to 300 square miles, a male’s range will cover 200 to 500 and occasionally as many as 600.

(A) Unlike a female grizzly bear in the Rockies, which typically occupies a range of 50 to 300 square miles, a male’s range will cover 200 to 500 and occasionally as

(B) Unlike the range of a female grizzly bear in the Rockies, typically occupying 50 to 300 square miles, a male will cover 200 to 500 and occasionally so

(C) While the typical range of a female grizzly bear in the Rockies is 50 to 300 square miles, with males, their range can cover 200 to 500 square miles and occasionally so

(D) Whereas a female grizzly bear in the Rockies typically occupies a range of 50 to 300 square miles, a male will cover 200 to 500 and occasionally as

(E) The typical range of a female grizzly bear in the Rockies is 50 to 300 square miles, unlike males, which will cover 200 to 500 square miles and occasionally as


OA D

Source: GMAT Prep

The correct answer is:

(D) Whereas a female grizzly bear in the Rockies typically occupies a range of 50 to 300 square miles, a male will cover 200 to 500 and occasionally as

This option effectively contrasts the typical range of a female grizzly bear with the range of a male grizzly bear, providing clear and concise information. The use of "whereas" appropriately sets up the comparison between the two, making it the most effective choice among the options provided.

Let's analyze each wrong answer choice:

(A) Unlike a female grizzly bear in the Rockies, which typically occupies a range of 50 to 300 square miles, a male’s range will cover 200 to 500 and occasionally as

This option is incorrect because it lacks parallelism. It contrasts the range of a female grizzly bear with the range of a male grizzly bear but does so in an awkward manner. Additionally, the phrase "occasionally as" is unclear and does not convey the intended meaning effectively.

(B) Unlike the range of a female grizzly bear in the Rockies, typically occupying 50 to 300 square miles, a male will cover 200 to 500 and occasionally so

This option suffers from similar issues as option (A). It lacks parallelism and clarity. The phrase "occasionally so" is awkward and does not effectively convey the comparison between the ranges of female and male grizzly bears.

(C) While the typical range of a female grizzly bear in the Rockies is 50 to 300 square miles, with males, their range can cover 200 to 500 square miles and occasionally so

This option also lacks parallelism and clarity. The phrase "occasionally so" is awkward and does not effectively convey the comparison between the ranges of female and male grizzly bears. Additionally, the use of "with males" is redundant and unnecessary.

(E) The typical range of a female grizzly bear in the Rockies is 50 to 300 square miles, unlike males, which will cover 200 to 500 square miles and occasionally as

This option suffers from lack of parallelism. The phrase "occasionally as" is awkward and does not effectively convey the intended meaning. Additionally, the use of "unlike males" is not as clear and direct as the use of "whereas" in option (D).

Overall, option (D) provides the most clear and concise contrast between the range of female and male grizzly bears, making it the most effective choice.

Bernard Baah
MS '05, Stanford
GMAT and GRE Instructor
MapAdvantage Prep