Law firms and other professional services groups, academic institution

Dear Friends,

Here is a detailed explanation to this question-

Meaning is crucial to solving this problem:
Understanding the intended meaning is key to solving this question; the intended core meaning of this sentence is that in the informal talent marketplaces, senior employees strive to identify the best junior employees and the best junior employees compete for the most attractive assignments.

Concepts tested here: Meaning + Pronouns + Verb Forms + Awkwardness/Redundancy

• "where" is only used to refer to a physical location.
• The infinitive verb form ("to + base form of verb" - "to + identify" in this sentence) is the preferred construction for referring to the purpose or intent of an action.

A: This answer choice incorrectly refers to "talent marketplaces" with "where"; please remember, "where" is only used to refer to a physical location. Further, Option A uses the needlessly wordy phrases "employees junior to them" and "that they find most attractive", leading to awkwardness and redundancy.

B: This answer choice alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrase "strive and identify"; the construction of this phrase incorrectly implies that in the informal talent marketplaces senior employees strive and as a separate action identify the best junior employees; the intended meaning is that in the informal talent marketplaces senior employees strive for the purpose of identifying the best junior employees. Further, Option B uses the needlessly wordy phrase "that they find most attractive", leading to awkwardness and redundancy.

C: This answer choice incorrectly refers to "talent marketplaces" with "where"; please remember, "where" is only used to refer to a physical location.

D: This answer choice alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrases "that enable" and "strive and identify; the construction of these phrases incorrectly implies that the informal talent marketplaces make it possible for senior employees to strive and as a separate action identify the best junior employees; the intended meaning is that in the informal talent marketplaces senior employees practically strive for the purpose of identifying the best junior employees.

E: Correct. This answer choice correctly refers to "informal talent marketplaces" with "in which" and uses the phrase "strive to identify", conveying the intended meaning - that in the informal talent marketplaces senior employees practically strive for the purpose of identifying the best junior employees; please remember, the infinitive verb form ("to + base form of verb" - "to + identify" in this sentence) is the preferred construction for referring to the purpose or intent of an action. Further, Option E is free of any awkwardness or redundancy.

Hence, E is the best answer choice.

Additional Note: Please understand that in this context, "marketplaces" refers to a metaphorical concept rather than to literal, physical marketplaces, so "where" cannot be used to refer to it.

To understand the concept of "Where" versus "When" on GMAT, you may want to watch the following video (~1 minute):



To understand the concept of "Infinitive" vs "Present Participle" on GMAT, you may want to watch the following video (~2 minutes):



All the best!
Experts' Global Team