Regarded by analysts to be the result of tensions during the Cold War,

Odd why someone didnot mention this already. So am going to put this explanation out there, hope the experts can comment on this assessment.....

"Regarded by analysts to be the result of tensions during the Cold War" >> This subordinate clause is really talking about "sales" or in other words is modifying "sales" - not "the spy novel". hence this clause must be next to "sales". E is the only option that corrects this.

Am I wrong in my assessment?
If not and you like this assessment then +1kudos pls

"when" should modify the time 1960s, not "cold war" ,hence D is wrong. also note that D is in passive voice

E is right because

"regarded as" is correct idiom
when correctly modifies time

according to me answer should be D

Reaching the zenith of its sales in the 1960s, the spy novel was regarded by analysts as the result of tensions during the Cold War, when most Americans perceived the U.S.S.R. as a constant threat.

Reaching the zenith of its sales in the 1960s ---> as a modifier describes when the novel reached the peak of its sales
while

when most Americans perceived the U.S.S.R. as a constant threat---> refers to period of cold war

Regarded by analysts as the result of tensions during the Cold War, sales of the spy novel reached their zenith in the 1960s, when most Americans perceived the U.S.S.R. as a constant threat.

E confuses the timing of events
here it seems that most Americans perceived the U.S.S.R. as a constant threat in 1960 while it was the time when sales peaked out.. actual time of perceived that was during the cold war which was prior to 1960.. which we perceive by the use of ''as the result of tensions during the Cold War''

Best Regards,
Mansoor

PS: Please consider kudos if you found it useful

D. Reaching the zenith of its sales in the 1960s, the spy novel was regarded by analysts as the result of tensions during the Cold War, when most Americans perceived the U.S.S.R. as a constant threat.
the spy novel was regarded by analysts as the result of tensions during the Cold War ... this part incorrectly conveys that the spy novel was a result of the war, whereas actually the sales were a result of the war.
E. Regarded by analysts as the result of tensions during the Cold War, sales of the spy novel reached their zenith in the 1960s, when most Americans perceived the U.S.S.R. as a constant threat.
Regarded by analysts as the result of tensions during the Cold War, sales of the spy novel reached their zenith in the 1960s,
This statement correctly modifies everything correctly

Hope it helps! and if it does, press the kudos button please
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a very tricky one, yet I got to E as the answer choice.

what was regarded as a result of tensions? the spy novel? maybe the sales? as a result of the tensions, people started buying more spy novels.
regarded to be is incorrect
perceived USSR like - no - we do not need a comparison here. Maybe as to present the role of USSR? USSR played the role of a threat.


A. Regarded by analysts to be the result of tensions during the Cold War, the spy novel reached the zenith of its sales in the 1960s, when most Americans perceived the U.S.S.R. like a constant threat.
Regarded to be - nope
USSR like a threat - nope
meaning error as well.
novel reached - awkward to me...
maybe sales reached tops in 1960?

B. The spy novel, regarded by analysts to be the result of tensions during the Cold War, reached the zenith of its sales in the 1960s, when most Americans perceived the U.S.S.R. to be a constant threat.
regarded to be - nope.
perceived USSR to be - nope, changes the meaning.

C. Regarded by analysts as the result of tensions during the Cold War, in the 1960s the spy novel reached the zenith of its sales, when most Americans perceived the U.S.S.R. like a constant threat.
opening modifier error.
like - incorrectly used.

D. Reaching the zenith of its sales in the 1960s, the spy novel was regarded by analysts as the result of tensions during the Cold War, when most Americans perceived the U.S.S.R. as a constant threat.
changes the meaning. the focus is from reaching the tops in 1960 to being regarded ...

E. Regarded by analysts as the result of tensions during the Cold War, sales of the spy novel reached their zenith in the 1960s, when most Americans perceived the U.S.S.R. as a constant threat.
looks good..analysts believe that the sales reached top because of the cold war..best from what is given..

E for me.

I do not believe this is a good GMAT question. It has a problem with meaning.

We can eliminate A and C because they use “like” incorrectly.
We can eliminated A, and B, and for the incorrect use if the idiom “regarded to be” instead of “regarded as”; we can also eliminate B for the use of “perceived to be” instead of “perceived as.”

The other choices can be eliminated because they change the meaning of the original sentence.

The main clause in the original sentence is: “the spy novel reached the zenith of its sales in the 1960s,” and “Regarded by analysts to be the result of tensions during the Cold War,” modifies the subject “the spy novel”, not “sales of the spy novel.” This eliminates choice E. Some people have argued that what the author meant was that the sales were the result of the tensions, but the sentence does not say so; the novel itself can be the result of the tensions, and there is nothing to support that the author meant something else.

Even though choice D conveys the same information changes the focus from ” the spy novel reached the zenith of its sales in the 1960s” to “the spy novel was regarded by analysts as the result of tensions during the Cold War.” In addition, the modifier “when most Americans perceived the U.S.S.R. as a constant threat” modifies “cold war” instead of “the 1960s.” Even if the cold war was in progress during the 1960s, the cold war started before the 1960s and ended after the 1960s; thus these concepts are not the same.

A good GMAT sentence would not change the meaning. Only if the meaning of the original sentence does not make sense, we can assume that the author's intention was something else.
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perceived as is the correct idiom. only D and E has this correctly.

Option E incorrectly modifies sales instead of the book. meaning is ambiguous.

Hence D is only option Left

I believe the E retains the original meaning of the sentence and Analysts are correcting regarding the sales as a result of something. So, I dont think E has ambiguity issue.
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OFFICIAL EXPLANATION

The original sentence contains several errors. First, the proper idiom is "to regard as" not "to regard to be". Second, the initial modifier "regarded by analysts to be the result of tensions during the Cold War" should modify "sales" and not "the spy novel." Third, the proper idiom is "to perceive as" not "to perceive like".
(A) This choice is incorrect as it repeats the original sentence.
(B) The modifier "regarded by analysts to be the result of tensions during the Cold War" incorrectly describes the spy novel when it should modify sales of the spy novel. Moreover, the modifier use of "regarded . . . to be" is unidiomatic.
(C) The modifier "regarded by analysts as the result of tensions during the Cold War" incorrectly describes the spy novel when it should modify sales of the spy novel. Additionally, the phrase "perceived the U.S.S.R like" is unidiomatic.
(D) The modifier "reaching the zenith of its sales in the 1960s" incorrectly describes the spy novel when it should modify sales of the spy novel.
(E) CORRECT. "Sales" is correctly positioned as the subject of the opening modifier. Additionally, the phrases "regarded by analysts as . . ." and "perceived the U.S.S.R as" are idiomatic.
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Regarded by analysts to be the result of tensions during the Cold War, the spy novel reached the zenith of its sales in the 1960s, when most Americans perceived the U.S.S.R. like a constant threat.


A. Regarded by analysts to be the result of tensions during the Cold War, the spy novel reached the zenith of its sales in the 1960s, when most Americans perceived the U.S.S.R. like a constant threat.

B. The spy novel, regarded by analysts to be the result of tensions during the Cold War, reached the zenith of its sales in the 1960s, when most Americans perceived the U.S.S.R. to be a constant threat.

C. Regarded by analysts as the result of tensions during the Cold War, in the 1960s the spy novel reached the zenith of its sales, when most Americans perceived the U.S.S.R. like a constant threat.

D. Reaching the zenith of its sales in the 1960s, the spy novel was regarded by analysts as the result of tensions during the Cold War, when most Americans perceived the U.S.S.R. as a constant threat.

E. Regarded by analysts as the result of tensions during the Cold War, sales of the spy novel reached their zenith in the 1960s, when most Americans perceived the U.S.S.R. as a constant threat.

The entire sentence is U, so it might be a Misplaced Modifier.

Regarded by analysts to be the result of tensions during the Cold War.
What is Regarded by analysts to be the result of tensions during the Cold War? Sales or The spy novel? Hold both options.

Relative Pronoun
When- refers to time or a time period.
1960's or Cold War. Both are correct.

From the above two. Eliminate C. For RPE

Idioms
Regarded by: all options have this one
perceived X like/as a constant threat. - perceived as: correct Idiom

Eliminate A,B

Active/Passive

D. Reaching the zenith of its sales in the 1960s (active), the spy novel was regarded by analysts as the result of tensions during the Cold War(passive)
Eliminate D. It should have both active or both passive in a sentence.

E. Regarded by analysts as the result of tensions during the Cold War,(passive) sales of the spy novel reached their zenith in the 1960s,(passive)

Meaning
D. the spy novel was regarded by analysts as the result of tensions during the Cold War - This sentence conveys the meaning that the because of the spy novels there were tensions during the Cold War.

Answer- E

ankurgupta03
abhimahna
I hope my explanations are right, Let, me know if there is any error in my judgment.
My verbal scores are V27 in Gmatprep exam. I intend to improve. Overall, my RC,CR are lacking. SC is somewhat in control.
I want to score above 700+. I don't have people around me to advise me on GMAT. I would be grateful for any sort of help.
Thank you in advance.

I really can't agree that E is the answer.
What is "regarded by analysts as the result of tensions during the Cold War"? It's the spy novel, not sales of the spy novel. I've eliminated this option in the first round.

Although, the reason I still struggled is that, what reached the zenith? It's the sales not the novel. But E is the only one that addresses this concern.

abhimahna

Yeah right. I ignored the option E because all along the way I assumed (like a fool) that novel was the result of war. lol.

Nice Photo by the way. You look great

Thank you!

A. Regarded by analysts to be the result of tensions during the Cold War, the spy novel reached the zenith of its sales in the 1960s, when most Americans perceived the U.S.S.R. like a constant threat. - spy novel was not the result of tensions during Cold War. Incorrect modification. Eliminated.

B. The spy novel, regarded by analysts to be the result of tensions during the Cold War, reached the zenith of its sales in the 1960s, when most Americans perceived the U.S.S.R. to be a constant threat. - same as A. Just a different structure starting with clause instead of -ed modifier. Eliminate.

C. Regarded by analysts as the result of tensions during the Cold War, in the 1960s the spy novel reached the zenith of its sales, when most Americans perceived the U.S.S.R. like a constant threat. -ed modifier is incorrectly modifying 1960s. Eliminate.

D. Reaching the zenith of its sales in the 1960s, the spy novel was regarded by analysts as the result of tensions during the Cold War, when most Americans perceived the U.S.S.R. as a constant threat. - same as A and B. Eliminate.

E. Regarded by analysts as the result of tensions during the Cold War, sales of the spy novel reached their zenith in the 1960s, when most Americans perceived the U.S.S.R. as a constant threat. - Correct. Sales were regarded by analysts to be the result of Cold War tension.

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