That the new managing editor rose from the publication’s “soft” new se

This one is similar in spirit to the classic Halley's comet OG question, covered in a recent QOTD: https://gmatclub.com/forum/qotd-in-no-o ... 53668.html. Check that out for a comparison that has similar issues in it, albeit without the word "that".

In this case, the word "that" basically means the same thing as "the fact that." So what, exactly, are we trying to compare in (E)? The underlined bits: "That the new managing editor rose from the publication’s “soft” new sections to a leadership position is more of a landmark in the industry than that she is a woman." We're comparing those two facts, and the comparison is a heck of a lot clearer if the word "that" is included in both halves of the comparison.

I hope this helps!
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I go for E.

My reasoning: Must have the 'that' because the question starts with 'that' (parallelism).
Therefore eliminate ABC, remaining choices: D or E.

But D implies she was (past tense) a woman, which I think sounds odd ... once a woman, always a woman (except in cases of plastic surgery ;p) - therefore eliminate D.
More scientifically, the first part "the new managing editor rose from the publications soft news sections to a leadership position" is in the present tense, therefore we should choose the same tense for the second part.

That ..... is more of a landmark is parallel with than that she is a woman.

D is wrong because it uses was where as the non underlined part uses is.

That the new managing editor rose from the publications soft news sections to a leadership position is more of a landmark in the industry than her being a woman.

A. her being a woman
B. being a woman is
C. her womanhood
D. that she was a woman
E. that she is a woman

E is clearer and I'll never pick being unless everything else is eliminated clearly

E for parrallelism
the sentance should begin with that

A - "Being" should be avoided in most cases.
B - the words "being" and "is" are redundant
C - Somewhat illogical. This implies that the editor's womanhood is a landmark.
D - Tempting, but the word "was" doesn't fit well in this case. If the sentence was about a past editor, then maybe. However, the question stem reads "the new editor." Present tense is needed.
E - Present tense "is" works here.


This was a tricky question for me. I hope this helps!

Take Away :

1) Parallelism X more than Y where X and Y are parallel. Here X starts with "that" which is not underlined while Y doesnt so an option with "that" is correct
2)she is a woman and that is going to be a fact irrespective of time. So it is not a point of present tense or past tense but it is a FACT.

the X "than" Y structure requires that both (X and Y) be balanced.

Option A and C look more like noun clauses; whereas, the X format uses a subject and verb
combination (that...is more of a landmark in the industry) than ...
We expect the blank to contain a subject and verb as well.

B (being a woman is) has no subject

D uses the wrong tense "was"

E "than she is a woman" has both subject (she) and a verb (is) and parallel to the X format
-before "than".

Experts opinion is welcome.

E

being usage must handle with care on the Gmat SC.

being is the continuous form of the verb ‘Be’. We use “Being” when action is temporary. or for passive voice.

A, B out. C out

hence D or E. D out for WAS. E maintains parallelism
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Point1. She is the new MD; and so she is still alive. The sentence is set in present tense. We use- rose- because that was a past event. There is no need to parallelize it by using another past tense for the current situation.
Point 2. ‘That’ //ism is to be maintained. E Satisfies both the conditions.
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Comparison.

That X.....is more landmark... than that Y.....

E is correct.

GMATNinja, Could you help with this question? Why we need "that"?
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in choice a, possessive+doing+ direct objective is wrong. only when doing is a pure noun ,it can go with possessive.
"my learning of gmat is bad" is correct." my learning gmat is bad" is wrong. doing as gerund and participle must not go with possessive.

in choice b, we need a that- clause to parallel with "that she rose".
in choice C, "her womanhood" is still not parallel with "that-clause'

choice d in interesting.normally, if the time frame is in the past, the tense of the verbs is in the past. we can think that "was' is correct because "she rose" is in the past and time frame is in past. but the point is the fact that she is woman is alway right and we can not use "was". this mean the time frame is in the past but some verb is in present tense because that verb show a timeless fact. for example, I told him she is good and I told him she would come.

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 meaning of this sentence is - the fact that the new managing editor rose from the publication's "soft" news sections to a leadership position is more of a landmark in the industry than the fact that the managing editor is a woman.

Concepts tested here: Meaning + Tenses + Parallelism

• Actions being compared must be parallel.
• Comparisons must always be made between similar things.
• The simple present tense is used to indicate actions taking place in the current time frame, indicate habitual actions, state universal truths, and convey information that is permanent in nature.
• The simple past tense is used to refer to actions that concluded in the past.

A: Trap.
1/ This answer choice fails to maintain parallelism between "That the new managing editor rose from the publication's "soft" news sections to a leadership position" and "her being a woman"; remember actions being compared must be parallel.

B:
1/ This answer choice alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrase "being a woman is"; the construction of this phrase incorrectly implies that the fact that the new managing editor rose from the publication's "soft" news sections to a leadership position is more of a landmark in the industry than women working in the industry is; the intended meaning is that the fact that the new managing editor rose from the publication's "soft" news sections to a leadership position is more of a landmark in the industry than the fact that the managing editor is a woman.

C:
1/ This answer choice incorrectly compares "That the new managing editor rose from the publication's "soft" news sections to a leadership position" to "her womanhood"; remember, comparisons must always be made between similar things.

D:
1/ This answer choice incorrectly uses the simple past tense verb "was" to refer to an action that takes place in the current time frame; remember, the simple present tense is used to indicate actions taking place in the current time frame, indicate habitual actions, state universal truths, and convey information that is permanent in nature, and the simple past tense is used to refer to actions that concluded in the past.

E: Correct.
1/ This answer choice uses the phrase "that she is a woman", conveying the intended meaning - the fact that the new managing editor rose from the publication's "soft" news sections to a leadership position is more of a landmark in the industry than women working in the industry is - the intended meaning is that the fact that the new managing editor rose from the publication's "soft" news sections to a leadership position is more of a landmark in the industry than the fact that the managing editor is a woman.
2/ Option E correctly uses the simple present tense verb "is" to refer to an action that takes place in the current time frame.
3/ Option E maintains parallelism between "That the new managing editor rose from the publication's "soft" news sections to a leadership position" and "that she is a woman".

Hence, E is the best answer choice.

To understand the concept of "Simple Tenses" on GMAT, you may want to watch the following video (~2 minutes):



All the best!
Experts' Global Team
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Why are the other options incorrect? Can someone explain the grammatical errors in terms of comparison?

I selected option A as I thought "rose from..." was being compared with the second part of the sentence.

That the new managing editor rose from the publication's "soft" news sections to a leadership position is more of a landmark in the industry than her being a woman.

Option Elimination -

(A) her being a woman - The intended meaning is that the rise of the new managing editor (ME) from a news section to ME is itself a landmark in the publication industry than the fact that the new ME is a woman. We need "that" from a parallelism perspective. Moreover, the idea is to highlight her professional achievement, not her gender. Wrong.

(B) being a woman is - The comparison in this option is not complete. So, we have a situation on the left side of the comparison. What situation? "The new managing editor rose from the publication's "soft" news sections to a leadership position." So are we saying this "situation" is more important than "woman"? We need parallel elements on both sides of the comparison. As the non-underlined part has a situation introduced by a relative clause, on the right side, we need a situation "that she is a woman" introduced by the relative pronoun. Comparing a "situation" with "person" or "gender" is wrong.

(C) her womanhood - same comparison parallelism issue.

(D) that she was a woman - This is a good deception with the verb "rose" in the relative clause. But think of it for a minute: what is the main tense in the sentence? Present? And she is a new ME, so is she still there? Right? And the situation "The new managing editor rose from the publication's "soft" news sections to a leadership position" is still a landmark for the industry, so there is no need to shift to the past here.

(E) that she is a woman - ok