Hi
gmat8998This is a good question to discuss, because we find a typical GMAT split here:
that vs.
of (or
that vs.
another preposition).
In my observation, this split is a
dominant issue in SC questions. Let me explain what I mean ...
We find many SC questions that ask us to choose between something like the following:
* The scientists' belief in the rapidly increasing global temperatures inspired two articles ...
* The scientists' belief that global temperatures are rapidly increasing inspired two articles ...
See the split here? While both idioms are correct [
belief in noun, and
belief that subject + verb], GMAT will usually prefer the second one when you have an idea that is too "heavy" to pack into a noun and would be better expressed with a verb.
When there really is an action, GMAT will prefer to express that with a real, conjugated verb, instead of turning that verb into an adjective and piling it on top of a noun.
We often find this split with thinking words ... such as
belief,
conclusion, convinced, or report. (
Researchers are convinced of noun, vs.
Researchers are convinced that subject + verb.)
This same split is the dominant consideration when deciding between B and C above.
Should we choose "conclusion of" + noun, or "conclusion that" + subject + verb?
Well, how complex is the idea we need to put after "conclusion"?
In this case, pretty complicated! Way too complicated to pile all on top of a noun.
(
conclusion of someone doing something vs.
conclusion that someone did something)
You're right about C: it still has a passive construction at the end. It would be even better if we had an alternative to C that used "that" AND had an active construction at the end. But we don't have one, and so we'll have to settle for C.
Regarding your other question, whether "conclusion seems inescapable" must all be together ... it's better that way, yes. Would it be dead wrong to split it up? Not necessarily. I think we'd find some other issue in the sentence that would lead us to our final decision.
Does this help? This is a very good issue to be clear about, because it comes up often, so let me know if you can now apply it.
Best, Jennifer