Benford’s Law, stating that certain numbers appear more often in

Interesting one:
- Idiom construed as right idiom
- A -> where VS in which or ing-modifier

Choice E

A) when used as evidence in trials where financial fraud is concerned, it is often construed as a desperate ploy on the part of the prosecution, even if
B) if used as evidence in trials in which financial fraud is concerned, it is often construed to be a desperate ploy by the prosecution, even when
C) when used as evidence in financial fraud trials, it is often construed to be a desperate ploy on the prosecution’s part, even if
D) if used as evidence in trials in which financial fraud is concerned, the evidence is often construed by the prosecution as a desperate ploy, even when
E) when used as evidence in trials concerning financial fraud, such evidence is often construed as a desperate ploy used by the prosecution, even when


if ---is used for conditions
so B,D are out

C----financial fraud trials---meaning is changed

out of A,E-----E seems better with construction and usage

MAGOOSH Official Explanation

This question is very subtle, and very deceptive. First off, it’s not testing an if/when distinction. Either is fine, in this case, since we are dealing with an outcome that is a likely or expected (you want to use “if”, not “when”, if the outcome is uncertain, or if you are dealing with a purely hypothetical matter, e.g. “Imagine they use Benford’s Law in trials. If they did so…) In other words, when/if Benford’s law is used in certain trials it has an expected result. The second use of when/if can also use either word since it is describing something that could likely result: numbers that speak to malfeasance.

The when/if distinction is so subtle and it is a good idea to look for more typical GMAT SC culprits. That said, this is a very difficult question and there aren’t too many obvious errors. There are two good places to start: the idiom “consider (no preposition) Noun” or, in this case, “Noun + is considered (no preposition), and the ambiguous use of “it”.

First, “considered TO BE” is incorrect. Eliminate (A) and (B). “Considered…AS”, which we get in (D), is also incorrect.

Secondly, the “it” in (B) and (C). It illogically refers to Benford’s Law, not the “evidence”, as is clearly stated in the original sentence. It is not the law that is considered a desperate ploy, but the evidence that is considered a desperate ploy.

Therefore, we can eliminate (A), (B), and (C) in one fell swoop.

That leaves (E) as the answer.

Of course, there is more going on in one of the answer choices, but this so subtle as to be diabolical.

Some who miss the idiom error end up picking (D). It superficially seems right since it uses “when” and “if” (remember, this isn’t an actual split), though (D) actually changes the original meaning of the sentence. It says “considered by the prosecution as a desperate ploy”, whereas the original sentence—and indeed all the other answer choices—indicate that the evidence is often considered a desperate ploy by the prosecution. In other words, people (presumably the court) perceive the prosecution as being desperate, not the other way around. The good news is that “considered as” is an idiomatic error, so you don’t even have to get tangled up in the semantics of the sentence to eliminate (D).

(E) correctly uses “such evidence” instead of “it”. Also, it does change the meaning of the sentence the way that (D) did.


Answer: (E)

I think mikemcgarry can help.
daagh @e-gmat GMATNinja, please feel free to add what you can to this discussion.

This isn't an official question, but nevertheless, a tough one.

the official answer is E and not D for the reason that D has an idiom error - "construed as"
but doesn't E also have the same construction (error) ?

Help me out, please.

Doesn't (E) also use the same idiom construction ?

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