which vs that

Hi prernamalhotra,

The issue of "that" vs. "which" is one that you may or may not see on Test Day.

As a general "usage" rule, the word….

"that" refers to something specific

"which" refers to something vague or non-specific

For example:

That is my car.
That is the school that I'm interested in.

I'm not sure which computer to buy.
Which color is the best color for this dress?

Notice in the "that" examples, there's a reference to a specific subject. In the "which" examples, the reference is vague (non-specific).

In this SC, the prompt refers to "judges…producing opinions" - this is a specific idea... AND the opinions "….are justified by the text" - that's another specific idea. The word "THAT" is appropriate.

Final Answer: D

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich

prernamalhotra wrote:The legal philosophy of 'strict constructionism' requires that judges avoid drawing inferences from the text of a law, instead only producing opinions with the explicit justification of the text.

1)opinions with the explicit justification of the text
2)opinions with the text explicitly justifying
3)opinions, which are explicitly justified by the text
4)opinions that are explicitly justified by the text
5)opinions with the text's explicit justification

We use WHICH when we're adding additional information about something that we've ALREADY IDENTIFIED.
example: We visited Amsterdam, WHICH is a beautiful city.
Once we get to WHICH, we have already identified the place that was visited. The 2nd part (which is a beautiful city) simply provides extra information about Amsterdam. Notice that, if we remove the 2nd part, we STILL know what we're talking about. The part after WHICH is not crucial.

We use THAT when we still haven't completely identified the thing we're talking about.
example: We visited the house THAT Joe Schluzberg built.
In this example, once we get to THAT, we still have no clue which house we're discussing. The 2nd part (THAT Joe Schluzberg built) provides necessary information. Notice that, if we remove the 2nd part, we HAVE NO IDEA STILL know which house we're talking about. The part after THAT is crucial.

Answer choice C (opinions, WHICH are explicitly justified by the text) suggests that the part after WHICH is not crucial information, but it is. We desperately need this information, otherwise we're saying that ALL opinions are explicitly justified by the text

If you're interested, we have a free video on "that" vs "which" : https://www.gmatprepnow.com/module/gmat- ... on?id=1165

Cheers,
Brent