Difference between: ... in both... AND ...both in....

[berndl]

Is there a difference in meaning?

She was interested BOTH IN plants and IN animals.
She was interested IN BOTH plants and animals.

I am refering to the order of the two words BOTH and IN.

Greetz

[theCodeToGMAT]

Greetz, I don't see any difference in the meaning.

Is there a specific SC question that resulted in such a doubt?

[Patrick_GMATFix]

Is there a difference in meaning?

She was interested BOTH IN plants and IN animals.
She was interested IN BOTH plants and animals.

I am refering to the order of the two words BOTH and IN.

Greetz

The meaning is the same. The order of words gets tested in relation to parallel structures. The phrases/clauses that follow BOTH must be parallel. Both your sentences follow this rule "both in plants and in animals" and "in both plants and animals" are parallel. An incorrect sentence would read: "She was interested both in plants and animals" or "She was interested in both plants and in animals".

If you use the GMATFix App, run a search for SC questions with the phrase "both in" or "in both" and you will find a few examples of how the GMAT actually tests this concept.

[berndl]

Thanks for the help. I had fallen exactly into the trap that Patrick-GMATFix just mentioned.