OG Unlike buildings in Mesopotamian cities

[AbeNeedsAnswers]

Unlike the buildings in Mesopotamian cities, which were arranged haphazardly, the same basic plan was followed for all cities of the Indus Valley: with houses laid out on a north-south, east-west grid, and houses and walls were built of standard-size bricks.

A) the buildings in Mesopotamian cities, which were arranged haphazardly, the same basic plan was followed for all cities of the Indus Valley: with houses
B) the buildings in Mesopotamian cities, which were haphazard in arrangement, the same basic plan was used in all cities of the Indus Valley: houses were
C) the arrangement of buildings in Mesopotamian cities, which were haphazard, the cities of the Indus Valley all followed the same basic plan: houses
D) Mesopotamian cities, in which buildings were arranged haphazardly, the cities of the Indus Valley all followed the same basic plan: houses were
E) Mesopotamian cities, which had buildings that were arranged haphazardly, the same basic plan was used for all cities in the Indus Valley: houses that were

D

[Brent@GMATPrepNow]

Unlike the buildings in Mesopotamian cities, which were arranged haphazardly, the same basic plan was followed for all cities of the Indus Valley: with houses laid out on a north-south, east-west grid, and houses and walls were built of standard-size bricks.

A) the buildings in Mesopotamian cities, which were arranged haphazardly, the same basic plan was followed for all cities of the Indus Valley: with houses
B) the buildings in Mesopotamian cities, which were haphazard in arrangement, the same basic plan was used in all cities of the Indus Valley: houses were
C) the arrangement of buildings in Mesopotamian cities, which were haphazard, the cities of the Indus Valley all followed the same basic plan: houses
D) Mesopotamian cities, in which buildings were arranged haphazardly, the cities of the Indus Valley all followed the same basic plan: houses were
E) Mesopotamian cities, which had buildings that were arranged haphazardly, the same basic plan was used for all cities in the Indus Valley: houses that were

D

When a sentence begins with "Unlike...." we must ensure that we are comparing two things that can be logically compared. To do this, we'll stop at the comma and ask the question that the opening modifier raises. If the sentence is properly constructed, the part that immediately follows the comma will answer that question in a logical manner.

A) Unlike the buildings in Mesopotamian cities, which were arranged haphazardly, STOP!
Question: What is unlike the buildings in Mesopotamian cities?
Reading on, we get....the same basic plan ...
The same basic plan is unlike the buildings????
This makes no sense.
ELIMINATE A

B) Unlike the buildings in Mesopotamian cities, which were haphazard in arrangement, STOP!
Question: What is unlike the buildings in Mesopotamian cities?
Reading on, we get....the same basic plan ...
The same basic plan is unlike the buildings????
This makes no sense.
ELIMINATE B

C) Unlike the arrangement of buildings in Mesopotamian cities, which were haphazard, STOP!
Question: What is unlike the arrangement of buildings?
Reading on, we get....the cities of the Indus...
The cities are unlike the arrangement of buildings????
This makes no sense.
ELIMINATE C

D) Unlike Mesopotamian cities in which buildings were arranged haphazardly, STOP!
Question: What is unlike Mesopotamian cities?
Reading on, we get....the cities of the Indus...
The cities of the Indus Valley are unlike Mesopotamian cities
Makes sense.
KEEP D

E) Unlike Mesopotamian cities which had buildings that were arranged haphazardly, STOP!
Question: What is unlike Mesopotamian cities?
Reading on, we get....the same basic plan...
The same basic plan is unlike Mesopotamian cities???
Makes no sense.
ELIMINATE E

Answer: D