Hello Everyone!
This is a great example of a GMAT question that focuses concise writing! Let's start by looking at the original question, and then highlighting any major differences between the options:
The automotive conveyor-belt system, which Henry Ford modeled after an assembly-line technique introduced by Ransom Olds, reduced from a day and a half to 93 minutes the required time of assembling a Model T.
(A) from a day and a half to 93 minutes the required time of assembling a Model T
(B) the time being required to assemble a Model T, from a day and a half down to 93 minutes
(C) the time being required to assemble a Model T, a day and a half to 93 minutes
(D) the time required to assemble a Model T from a day and a half to 93 minutes
(E) from a day and a half to 93 minutes, the time required for the assembling of a Model T
After a quick glance over the options, we can see that there are a few major issues we can focus on:
1. The order of phrases in orange and purple (conciseness/clarity)
2. Wordiness/word choice/punctuation in each phrase
Let's start with #1 on our list: the order of phrases. If we look at the original sentence in its entirety, we can see a pretty big clue:
The automotive conveyor-belt system, which Henry Ford modeled after an assembly-line technique introduced by Ransom Olds, reduced from a day and a half to 93 minutes the required time of assembling a Model T.
In English, it's best to structure sentences in the following order:
SUBJECT + VERB + OBJECT
In this sentence, the subject is "The automotive conveyor-belt system," and the verb is "reduced." To determine what the object of the sentence is, we must ask ourselves, "WHAT was reduced?" The time required to assemble a Model T! Let's see which options do this correctly or not:
(A) from a day and a half to 93 minutes the required time of assembling a Model T
(B) the time being required to assemble a Model T, from a day and a half down to 93 minutes
(C) the time being required to assemble a Model T, a day and a half to 93 minutes
(D) the time required to assemble a Model T from a day and a half to 93 minutes
(E) from a day and a half to 93 minutes, the time required for the assembling of a Model T
We can eliminate options A & E because they don't put the object of the sentence directly after the verb, which makes them confusing to readers!
Now that we're left with only 3 options, let's take a closer look at each option. We need to focus on concise wording, clear meaning, and any punctuation problems:
(B) the time being required to assemble a Model T, from a day and a half down to 93 minutes
This option is INCORRECT for a few reasons. First, adding "being" isn't necessary. In fact, it might confuse readers into thinking that a person determines how long it takes to assemble a Model T, rather than the efficiency of the machine used to build them. It's also not necessary to say "from X down to Y" here - just say "from X to Y." It's more concise and means the same thing!
(C) the time being required to assemble a Model T, a day and a half to 93 minutes
This is INCORRECT because it also uses the added "being," which isn't necessary. The comma between "Model T" and "a day" also creates a comma splice, which is a big no-no on the GMAT!
(D) the time required to assemble a Model T from a day and a half to 93 minutes
This is CORRECT! It uses concise wording (required instead of being required), there is no comma splice before "from," and it uses the proper structure for "from X to Y."
There you have it - option D is the correct choice!
Don't study for the GMAT. Train for it.
