Danica Patrick is a notable racer on the Indy circuit, which once agai

(A)which once again shows that women can compete with men

==>> Which is wrong here, it nonsensically modifying Indy Circuit
INCORRECT

(B)which once again shows that women are able to complete with men

==>> Which is wrong here, it nonsensically modifying Indy Circuit

INCORRECT

(C)a fact which once again shows that women can compete with men

INCORRECT

A Fact which --> is wordy and awkward. No need of 'A fact"

(D)showing once again that women can compete with men
CORRECT, Best among all

Showing (Verb-ing) modifier is modfying the previous clause. Clear and Concise

(E)proof once again that women can compete with men

INCORRECT

Proof (doesn't sound good). We need to have a modifier here. 'Proving' should the better

IMO D

Danica Patrick is a notable racer on the Indy circuit, which once again shows that women can compete with men.
(A)which once again shows that women can compete with men
In this option WHICH does not refers to Circuit but the whole action "Danica Patrick is a notable racer on the Indy circuit". As per GMAT, WHICH can not refer to a action. Thus Incorrect

(B)which once again shows that women are able to complete with men
In this option WHICH does not refers to Circuit but the whole action "Danica Patrick is a notable racer on the Indy circuit". As per GMAT, WHICH can not refer to a action. Moreover, there is no need to use ABLE TO. Thus Incorrect

(C)a fact which once again shows that women can compete with men
"Danica Patrick is a notable racer on the Indy circuit" is not a FACT but just an INSTANCE (One Case). More use of WHICH is incorrect here as per GMAT. Instead, THAT should be used. Thus Incorrect

(D)showing once again that women can compete with men
Present participle SHOWING correctly modifies the previous clause. Correct

(E)proof once again that women can compete with men
"Danica Patrick is a notable racer on the Indy circuit" is not a PROOF but just an INSTANCE (One Case). Thus Incorrect

OE edited .

Here's the OA -

Vague use of pronoun. “Which” refers to the noun it follows, but in this sentence it is illogical, as not the Indy circuit shows that women can compete with men, but the whole situation. Therefore, A and B can be eliminated. In Choice (C), “which” clearly refers to “fact.” Choice (D) is too general and ambiguous. Choice (E) changes the original meaning by adding word “proof”.

The correct answer is C

Danica Patrick is a notable racer on the Indy circuit, -ing modifier blah blah blah

When we need a ing modifier.
1) if ing modifier explains how subject is performing that particular action.
2) if action done by the subject results into some outcome or result.

Here in option D.
D. Showing that women can also compete with men.

First half of the sentence is not stating any action performed; first half of the sentence is presenting a fact not any action is done by the subject.
Thus, usage of ing modifier is not correct here.

this is agreat question to learn a lot from.
chetan2u what do you think about this showing once again that and once again shows that?
Your explanation pointed to that but it wasnt very clear. Can u please explain the difference in placing of "showing once again"?

Disagreement is a word that suits this question

and it creates such things quite a lot

Firstly let me get to the meaning : a particular gender does something noticeable, which shows that one particular gender can compete with other

I feel a clear situation is there for a cause and effect, hence D seems right

C is wordy with use of word *a fact* basically it's not used as fact in very literal meaning
use of a fact which once again shows that women can compete with men

here the use of relative modifier is somewhat problematic, which is used to describe non-essential info and precedes by comma (use of that in place of which can make it better)
Again it's too much stretched to use two times relative modifier in this case, D filters out this thing in better way.

Hi,
Nez, I feel 'once again' actually just tells us that there are other things that have shown the VIEW spoken about..
So, the sentence should not be wrong with or without it.. Thats my view because I have not come across any Q where such thing is not allowed..

eg,
roger federer won the wimbelbon this year, showing once again that he is the best in the game..
Here 'showing' modifier is better, as he is best in the game is " an outcome of the preceding clause"

Don't you think in C " a fact which once again shows that women can compete with Men " conveys that this fact has already shown the same and is showing again? :S
D on the other hand makes sense to me .
Her being a notable driver presents the effect that women can compete with men!

sayantanc2k , chetan2u

X once again shows that ......
The above implies that the showing is happening again - previously X might have shown or someone / something else might have shown.

The reasoning is applicable for D as well.

The only problem I see in C is that no comma is used before the non-essential modifier "which" (though in GMAT an option would not be wrong just because of punctuation error).

I see no problem with D.

In option C, do we have a punctuation error or such usage (using which without comma or using which in place of that) is acceptable on GMAT?

Verb+ing can either modify preceding noun or preceding clause. So, in option D, Is it wrong coz of ambiguity because "showing" can refer to the previous clause or noun (indy circuit) or is there any other reason?

Please share your insight.

Danica Patrick is a notable racer on the Indy circuit, which once again shows that women can compete with men.


(A) which once again shows that women can compete with men

(B) which once again shows that women are able to complete with men

(C) a fact which once again shows that women can compete with men

(D) showing once again that women can compete with men

(E) proof once again that women can compete with men

which always refers to the word it is preceding. So using of which does not solve the sentence. Option A and B are wrong.
Proof once again seems idiomatically wrong. Option D says showing once again....what showing once again. So option C is ans

karishma
How can I not think of option D as correct one if this question comes in exam?
I see no problem in D, a verb-ing modifies the phrase correctly, while in C, "a fact" is bringing in a new piece of information, that changes the meaning.

I don't think this is a very good one, and I'm not convinced that the GMAT would consider D definitely correct and C definitively incorrect. "Showing" in D is a bit odd, since the preceding clause just says that she is notable. I get the meaning, but it's a bit odd to say that she is "showing" something simply by being notable, rather than by, say, winning races. Meanwhile, as others pointed out, C uses "which" as an essential modifier. The GMAT generally avoids this. (Adding a comma wouldn't help; in fact, it would designate this as a non-essential modifier, and it's definitely not.)

We also don't need to worry about "changing the meaning." That's not a thing in general. We only worry about missing words if one of the choices leaves out a concept that the others are clearly trying to convey, and that's not happening here. Nor do we want to cut C because it is "awkward and wordy." That doesn't mean much either. If C fixed a clear problem in the other choices, it might use some extra verbiage to do that.

So, short version: there's a fairly official reason to cut C. It uses "which" to create an essential (aka "restrictive") modifier, and the GMAT doesn't like that. But otherwise C is fine. Since D is a little sketchy, I don't fully endorse this question.