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A controversial study suggests

by NandishSS » Thu Nov 02, 2017 2:05 am
A controversial study suggests that the violent behavior and poor judgment displayed by some teenagers who play several hours of video games a day are due to developmental damage to the frontal lobe region of the brain rather than the absorption of any specifically violent content.

(A) day are due to developmental damage to the frontal lobe region of the brain
(B) day is due to damage to the development of the frontal lobe region of the brain
(C) day are damaged due to the development of the brain's frontal lobe
(D) day, due to developmental damage to the frontal lobe region of the brain,
(E) day is due to damage to the brain's developmental frontal lobe region

OA: A

Source: GMATPrep QP1

What is wrong in C?

violent behavior and poor judgment needs plural , hence eliminate B & E. D don't have verb

Now A and C. What is wrong in C?

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by ErikaPrepScholar » Thu Nov 02, 2017 6:12 am
C: A controversial study suggests that the violent behavior and poor judgment displayed by some teenagers who play several hours of video games a day are damaged due to the development of the brain's frontal lobe rather than the absorption of any specifically violent content.

This answer choice has an issue of meaning: it actually tells us that the violent behavior and poor judgment are damaged due to the brain's development, NOT that the violent behavior and poor judgment are due to developmental damage to the brain. We want to say that the BRAIN is damaged, not that violent behavior and poor judgment are damaged. This makes C incorrect.

This is easier to see when we take our descriptive information from the sentence:

C: ... the violent behavior and poor judgment ... are damaged due to the development of the brain's frontal lobe ...

whereas A tells us:

A: ... the violent behavior and poor judgment ... are due to developmental damage to the frontal lobe region of the brain ...
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by NandishSS » Thu Nov 02, 2017 6:02 pm
ErikaPrepScholar wrote:C: A controversial study suggests that the violent behavior and poor judgment displayed by some teenagers who play several hours of video games a day are damaged due to the development of the brain's frontal lobe rather than the absorption of any specifically violent content.

This answer choice has an issue of meaning: it actually tells us that the violent behavior and poor judgment are damaged due to the brain's development, NOT that the violent behavior and poor judgment are due to developmental damage to the brain. We want to say that the BRAIN is damaged, not that violent behavior and poor judgment are damaged. This makes C incorrect.

This is easier to see when we take our descriptive information from the sentence:

C: ... the violent behavior and poor judgment ... are damaged due to the development of the brain's frontal lobe ...

whereas A tells us:

A: ... the violent behavior and poor judgment ... are due to developmental damage to the frontal lobe region of the brain ...
HI Erika,

This is easier to see when we take our descriptive information from the sentence: How to take out or identify the descriptive information?

Can you pls help me to identify descriptive information?

Thanks
Nandish
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by GMATGuruNY » Sun Nov 05, 2017 3:52 am
NandishSS wrote:Now A and C. What is wrong in C?
due to is an ADJECTIVE.
It must serve to modify a NOUN.
When due to is used correctly, it can be replaced with caused by.
C: Violent behavior and poor judgment are damaged due to the development.
Here, due to (adjective) incorrectly serves to modify are damaged (verb).
If we replace due to with caused by, we get:
Violent behavior and poor judgment are damaged caused by the development.
The conveyed meaning is nonsensical.
Eliminate C.

OA: Violent behavior and poor judgment are due to developmental damage.
Here, due to (adjective) correctly serves to modify the noun phrase in blue.
If we replace due to with caused by, we get:
Violent behavior and poor judgment are caused by developmental damage.
This meaning makes sense.
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by ErikaPrepScholar » Mon Nov 06, 2017 8:54 am
Can you pls help me to identify descriptive information?
We actually just released a video on this subject! You can watch it here: https://youtu.be/zgxcG2bl_n8

Basically, the idea is that we can eliminate anything that is set off by commas and anything that acts as an adjective or adverb.

So, for instance, we can eliminate "displayed by some teenagers who play several hours of video games a day" because it acts as an adjective - it describes "violent behavior and poor judgment". This makes it easier to decipher exactly what A and C are saying and find the error in meaning.
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